The deal carries the risk of putting Israel and Iran closer to a more dangerous direct confrontation.

For most of the people of Lebanon, a ceasefire could not come quickly enough. A leading Lebanese analyst at a conference on the Middle East that I’m attending in Rome said she couldn’t sleep as the appointed hour for the ceasefire came closer. “It was like the night before Christmas when you’re a kid. I couldn’t wait for it to happen.”

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants began early Wednesday morning, after Beirut residents endured the most intense day of Israeli strikes since the war began. Many wondered if the agreement to stop fighting would hold.