The ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah may be shaky, but it is nevertheless an important stage in the radical reshaping of the politics of the Middle East that has been under way since the Hamas raid into Israel on 7 October last year.

The European Union’s top diplomat says there are “no excuses” for Israel to refuse to implement a ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying all its security concerns had been addressed in the U.S.-French-brokered deal