American mediator Amos Hochstein, who helped broker the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect today, spoke to Israel's Channel 12 News this evening (Wednesday) about the agreement.
"Over the last 3 months or so, really an effort to bring into an actual ceasefire. I think the real issue was the linkage that Hezbollah had made between Lebanon and Gaza and being able to break that linkage. De-linking the two conflicts was the key to solving this one," Hochstein said.
In response to critics of the deal from figures like Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Hochstein said, "Hezbollah is weakened, it is degraded, and at some point, you have to say, 'what's the point of degrading it [further]? You have to get to a deal."
Addressing concerns that a better deal or outcome could have been reached, he said, "There are fantasy deals that are utopia."