• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the military will not withdraw from areas it occupies in southern Lebanon, stressing that “we will maintain these dominating territories for as long as required”.
• Hezbollah has accused Israel of targeting civilians seeking to return to their homes in southern Lebanon, killing at least two people, despite the US-Iran deal stipulating an end to the war on all fronts.

State Department official says Israel-Lebanon talks to continue on today

A US State Department official has said that Israeli and Lebanese delegations will resume their meetings today.

Officials from the two countries have been meeting for US-brokered talks in Washington, DC, aimed at reaching a deal to end fighting in Lebanon.

The discussions were set to conclude on Thursday.

Rubio optimistic Israel, Lebanon can reach ‘commitment of intent’

Day three of diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon has come to an end here at the State Department. The delegations did not reach any sort of meaningful or final conclusion, and have decided to resume talks on today.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Rubio had seemed to express optimism that both sides were moving very close to reaching a commitment of intent and an outline that he described as offering a promising future for both countries.

Throughout the course of this latest round of negotiations – we are now at the fifth round – there have been several contradictory bits of rhetoric. On Tuesday, there was a statement by the Israeli ambassador to the US, who described this round as a “train wreck”, seeming to contradict the more optimistic tone here at the State Department.

These talks are taking place against the backdrop of the wider efforts by Washington to find a way to calm tensions across the Middle East.

One of the main objectives of US officials is to keep these talks going, to continue to host a space for good-faith negotiations for Israel and Lebanon … [while] moving, ultimately, towards the goal of stabilizing that relationship, and building the infrastructure necessary for a more lasting, durable and sustainable peace between the two countries.

Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon key issue in US-brokered talks

Tracy Chamoun, a former Lebanese diplomat and ex-ambassador to Jordan, says the Lebanon-Israel talks are “not going very well” as the ceasefire and withdrawal terms remain vague and unresolved.

“I don’t think we can call it any more a ceasefire – and that’s one of the things that the Lebanese delegation is really seeking, a comprehensive ceasefire,” Chamoun said.

“The other point is the question of Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and the Israelis have been very clear … [that] they will remain in Lebanon.”

Two killed in Israeli raid in southern Lebanon town of Mayfadoun

Two people were killed and one person was wounded in an Israeli raid on the town of Mayfadoun, in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh district, the National News Agency reported, citing the country’s Health Ministry.

The ministry said it was a revised toll from earlier.

An Israeli air raid also hit the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa this morning.

One killed, another injured after war remnant explodes in southern Lebanese town

An explosion caused by an unexploded remnant in the town of al-Mansouri in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district has killed one person and critically injured another, NNA is reporting.

Israeli military bulldozes, burns homes in Lebanon’s Nabatieh

The Israeli army has been bulldozing and burning houses in the municipality of Markaba, in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh district, during military operations, the country’s National News Agency has reported.

Israel-Lebanon talks to continue in Washington later today

US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon that were slated to end last night will go on for another day, resuming in Washington later today.

The talks are a fifth round of discussions that began earlier this week to discuss a US-backed proposal for the fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The negotiations have been focused on Israeli forces handing over some of the territory they have occupied to Lebanon’s military.

A US State Department official yesterday told the Reuters news agency that Israel had taken a “concrete step” towards the proposal, by pulling back from a part of a buffer zone in southern Lebanon. However, Lebanon’s military told Al Jazeera no such action had taken place.

Israeli officials have rejected withdrawing “as long as Hezbollah remains a threat, is not disarmed and demilitarized,” said Israeli government spokesman David Mencer.

Despite this, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that Israel and Lebanon were making good progress towards a “commitment of intent”.

The talks come despite Israel continuing to violate a fragile “ceasefire,” largely attacking southern Lebanon on a near-daily basis.

Israel must leave Lebanon ‘unconditionally’, says Hezbollah chief

Israel must leave Lebanon unconditionally, says Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, in a broadcast aired live now.

Israel is in Lebanon not because of the missiles [from Hezbollah], but because it wants to swallow up and occupy the country, Qassem added.

Lebanese authorities cannot ‘antagonize half of the Lebanese people’: Qassem

“We broke the Israeli-American project and entered a new phase,” Qassem also says.

Lebanese authorities cannot afford to antagonize half of Lebanon’s population, he added, saying the “resistance” will stand with the government if it proceeds on the path of Lebanese sovereignty.

‘Stop implementing dictates of America, Israel,’ says Qassem

Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem also called on the Lebanese authorities to “unite the ranks against the enemy, stop implementing the dictates of the mandate, and the interests of America and Israel,” in his broadcast speech.

Iran calls US-GCC joint statement ‘interventionist, provocative’

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has called the joint statement from the US and GCC countries “interventionist, irresponsible, and provocative,” and warned against “the continuation of hostile and interventionist behaviors in the region”.

Palestinian, Lebanese struggles are legitimate under international law, says Iran

Iran also criticized the GCC countries’ “alignment with the United States and the Israeli regime in describing the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements as ‘Iranian proxies'”.

The Foreign Ministry noted in its statement that “the struggles of the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples against occupation are legitimate under international law”.

The United Nations has designated Hamas as a political movement while its armed wings are within the Law of Belligerent Occupation, which states that occupied people have the right to form armed groups to resist occupation. But Hamas is branded a "terrorist organization" on religionized and ideological grounds.

Members of Hamas have the full right to resist the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the annexation of the West Bank. If they take and use that right, they must distinguish themselves from the civilian population, or based on articles 43 & 44 of the Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions, at least carry their weapons openly during attacks and deployments.

We do not have any international legal information about Hezbollah.

Israelis and their forever wars

An overwhelming 92 percent of Israelis felt the US has signed away their victory over a decades-old enemy, with almost half of those polled saying Israel should continue its attacks on Lebanon.

Israel has spent years fighting continuous wars across the region since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, in Israel, which killed 1,139 people.

It has committed a genocide in Gaza in response, killing more than 73,000 Palestinians and razing large swaths of the territory to the ground.

It has attacked Iran twice, killed thousands in Lebanon while fighting Iran’s ally Hezbollah, launched multiple ground incursions into Syria, and launched sporadic strikes on the Houthis in Yemen, also allies of Tehran.

Lebanese president welcomes French-Italian post-UNIFIL initiative

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has welcomed a French-Italian initiative to form an international coalition to manage the post-United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) period, calling it a sign of strong international support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and stability, according to a statement on X from his office.

The president considered this initiative “a sincere expression of the international commitment to supporting Lebanon’s sovereignty and stability, and a genuine appreciation of the role played by the Lebanese Armed Forces in maintaining security and extending state authority over all its territory, particularly in the southern border regions”, the statement read.

He added that the project aligns with Lebanon’s consistent position that the Lebanese army be the sole guarantor of security in the south of the country.

Former Lebanese president urges withdrawal from Israel-Lebanon talks

Former Lebanese President Emile Lahoud has praised the Lebanese army commander for what he described as the “honourable stance” of the country’s military delegation, which declined being photographed alongside the Israeli delegation at talks in Washington, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.

He also expressed hope that the entire Lebanese delegation would withdraw from the negotiations.

Lahoud argued that Israel is not seeking a truce or peace, but is instead attempting to weaken Lebanon’s resistance through negotiations and create internal divisions, NNA said.

He also claimed that Iran had achieved a “strategic victory” that forced the US and Israel to accept a new reality, concluding that steadfast confrontation remains the only effective approach in dealing with Israel, the agency reported.

Israel must recalibrate Lebanon objectives to end fighting with Hezbollah

Hezbollah is not seeking to be a part of Israel-Lebanon negotiations, says Sultan Barakat, a professor in public policy at Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

“What they seek is for Israel to withdraw fully from south Lebanon,” Barakat said.

“As long as Israel does not recalibrate its objectives in Lebanon, it’s very difficult to see how we’re going to get out of this.”

Barakat said Israel believes “what they have attempted in Gaza can be applied to Lebanon” but that’s “a very wrong assumption”.

“Lebanon is not Gaza,” he said, noting that it is “not under the same isolation Gaza is subjected to.”

Hezbollah is “a general part of the Lebanese society,” not only within the Shia community, but also politically, said Barakat.

Barakat also said Israel’s military goals have shifted.

“They started by saying we don’t want Hezbollah to threaten the north of Israel. Now Hezbollah is not threatening the north of Israel, they are now well into the Litani River, and they’re saying we don’t want Hezbollah to threaten our soldiers inside Lebanon,” he said.

“This is impossible to guarantee by anyone.”

Israel drops leaflets over Lebanese town ordering people to leave

The Israeli military has dropped leaflets over a town in southern Lebanon, ordering residents to leave, Lebanese state media reported, in a first such order issued since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.

The town lies near the boundary of the area occupied by Israeli troops inside southern Lebanon.

Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon have continued despite a ceasefire in place, and negotiations under way in Washington.

Israel says kills 7 in southern Lebanon, alleging Hezbollah membership

The Israeli army has claimed to have killed seven Hezbollah members who had transferred weapons near soldiers in southern Lebanon.

In a statement on Telegram, the army said it had struck the alleged members near the so-called “security zone” in the al-Manzala area that was used as a “combat and observation post”.

The “security zone” is an area of southern Lebanon that Israeli forces are occupying north of the Israeli border.

Lebanese FM welcomes GCC-US statement on the situation in the country

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji says he spoke with the secretary-general of the GCC, Jasem Albudaiwi, conveying his “appreciation for the support expressed in the joint ministerial statement” for the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations mediated by the US.

In a statement posted on X, Raji said the ministry had “highly appreciated” the references to Lebanon in the GCC-US statement.

“Particularly its welcome of the ongoing US-mediated negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, its emphasis on preserving the negotiation process and keeping it separate from any other track, and its affirmation that Lebanon cannot achieve full sovereignty as long as non-state armed groups retain military capabilities,” the statement read.

“The ministry also welcomes its call for the complete disarmament of all such groups and for the Lebanese state alone to have the exclusive authority to use force,” it added.

Iran slams the GCC and the US for ‘interventionist’ statement

The US-GCC statement followed talks in Manama co-chaired by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, in which foreign ministers from other Gulf nations, including Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, also participated.

The ministers welcomed the June 17 memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, but tied any future economic engagement with Iran to strict conditions.

The ministers said “any trade and investment with Iran is conditional and reversible”, and reaffirmed “the shared objective of preventing Iran from ever developing or otherwise acquiring a nuclear weapon”.

The statement also said, “lasting regional peace and security requires addressing the full spectrum of Iran’s threats, including its ballistic missiles, drones, and support of proxies in the region”.

What do Israel and Lebanon want to gain from US talks?

Throughout the course of these talks, there’s been a lot of contradictory rhetoric. It’s been very difficult to read the room in terms of how these different delegations have been feeling.

On the one hand, there has been this sense of optimism, especially from US officials, that forward momentum has been made. Just the simple fact that these talks continue to happen is largely seen as a success in and of itself.

But it doesn’t take an expert in diplomatic policy to see that some of the rhetoric that we’ve heard since the very beginning of these talks has been very concerning.

On the political track, it’s about stabilizing the relationship between two countries that, outside of this building, don’t have a formal diplomatic relationship. And on the military track, it’s about lessening tensions to prevent a spillover and a scenario that could … drag the US into a wider, broader regional conflict.

For Lebanon, they want a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory. For Israel, the sticking point is that any sort of withdrawal has to be contingent on the full disarmament of Hezbollah and an assurance that Hezbollah would not be able to re-establish a military presence along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Lebanon death toll from Israeli attacks rises

The Lebanese Ministry of Health has said the overall toll from Israeli attacks since March 2 has risen to 4,243 dead and 12,186 wounded.

Israeli officials insist they will stay in Lebanon, despite Iran saying Israel is obliged to withdraw under the terms of the interim US-Iran ceasefire agreement that also covers Lebanon.

Israel must recalibrate Lebanon objectives to end fighting with Hezbollah

Hezbollah is not seeking to be a part of Israel-Lebanon negotiations, says Sultan Barakat, a professor in public policy at Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

“What they seek is for Israel to withdraw fully from south Lebanon,” Barakat said.

“As long as Israel does not recalibrate its objectives in Lebanon, it’s very difficult to see how we’re going to get out of this.”

Barakat said Israel believes “what they have attempted in Gaza can be applied to Lebanon” but that’s “a very wrong assumption”.

“Lebanon is not Gaza,” he said, noting that it is “not under the same isolation Gaza is subjected to.”

Hezbollah is “a general part of the Lebanese society,” not only within the Shia community, but also politically, said Barakat.

Barakat also said Israel’s military goals have shifted.

“They started by saying we don’t want Hezbollah to threaten the north of Israel. Now Hezbollah is not threatening the north of Israel, they are now well into the Litani River, and they’re saying we don’t want Hezbollah to threaten our soldiers inside Lebanon,” he said.

“This is impossible to guarantee by anyone.”

No advance by Israeli forces in Ali al-Taher heights: Lebanese military source

A Lebanese military source says that the situation in the Ali al-Taher heights of southern Lebanon has not changed in a week.

No advance has been seen by Israeli forces in the area in the Nabatieh district, the source added.

The Israeli military earlier claimed that it was in control of the area.

Israel and Lebanon expected to sign framework agreement after talks extended

After negotiations were extended for a third day in Washington, sources are saying that negotiators from Lebanon and Israel have come to a framework agreement that is expected to be signed shortly.

The agreement centers around zones in southern Lebanon occupied by the Israeli army that would be handed over to the Lebanese army.

Israel-Lebanon deal concerns handover of areas controlled by Israeli army

In just the last few moments we’ve learned that an agreement has been reached between delegations from Israel and Lebanon regarding an agreement and a framework that is expected to be signed shortly here at the US State Department.

No details are known yet of what exactly the framework is going to entail. But since the start of these talks that the framework, if any, would be centered around the so-called “pilot zones” and a plan that would involve the Lebanese army regaining control of certain territories close to Lebanon’s border with Israel, paving the way for a gradual withdrawal of Israeli security forces.

At this point, an agreement has been reached and that the signing ceremony is expected to take place in the presence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Israel-Lebanon talks in the US

Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are continuing for a third day in Washington and sources telling that a framework agreement may be signed shortly.

• Talks ⁠include discussions on a US-backed proposal for Israeli forces to hand some of the territory they occupy to Lebanon’s military.
• Before talks resumed this week, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to halt fire, even as Israel kept troops occupying what it describes as a “security zone”.
• Israeli ⁠forces dropped leaflets ⁠over the southern Lebanese town of Mansouri earlier today ordering residents to leave – the first order since the latest ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began.
• Lebanon wants a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory. The Israeli sticking point is that any sort of withdrawal has to be contingent on the full disarmament of Hezbollah – and an assurance that its military presence along the border would not be re-established.
• Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged that the Israeli military is “not going to withdraw” from occupied areas.
• Under US pressure, Lebanese officials began direct talks with Israel in Washington in April.
• Lebanon does not have a formal diplomatic relationship with Israel.

Hezbollah says Israel must ‘unconditionally’ leave Lebanon

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem says Israel has “no option” but to “unconditionally” withdraw from southern Lebanon and other areas under its occupation. His statement came after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated there are no plans to leave, even if the US were to demand a withdrawal.

Israel, Lebanon sign agreement after fifth round of talks

Negotiators from the US, Israel and Lebanon have signed a trilateral framework after the fifth round of diplomatic talks.

Talks ⁠included discussions on a US-backed proposal for Israeli forces to hand some of the territory they occupy to Lebanon’s military.

Going into the talks, Lebanon wanted a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory, while for Israel, the sticking point is that any sort of withdrawal has to be contingent on the full disarmament of Hezbollah and an assurance that the group would not re-establish its military presence along the border.

“It’s the beginning of the beginning,” Rubio said at the signing ceremony. “There’s a lot of work ahead. Today is the first step. The first step is sometimes the hardest one.”

Israel and Lebanon agreed on pilot project to disarm Hezbollah, says Netanyahu

Israeli newspaper Haaretz is reporting Netanyahu as saying that Israel and Lebanon have agreed on a pilot project to disarm Hezbollah and transfer control to the Lebanese army.

He said Lebanon and Israel have agreed on two areas recommended by the Israeli military, one outside the so-called “Yellow Line” – a military zone stretching roughly 10km (6 miles) north of the border inside southern Lebanon and south of the Litani River.

The other area is inside the “Yellow Line” and north of the Litani River.

Netanyahu says deal a ‘blow to Iran’, Israeli military to stay in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah ‘disarm’

In a televised address, the Israeli PM has said that the framework deal between the US, Israel and Lebanon “is a blow to Iran”.

In a segment of the address published by Israeli Army Radio on X, Netanyahu added that Israel will remain in southern Lebanon “as long as Lebanon does not disarm”.

Israel, Lebanon sign framework deal after US-mediated talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a US-mediated framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon aimed at achieving “lasting peace and security”.

The deal calls for a ceasefire, contingent on Hezbollah ending all fire and withdrawing from southern Lebanon.

Agreement with Israel seen as diplomatic breakthrough in Lebanon

The framework signed in Washington will be warmly received in Lebanon, a country that is short of any good news and diplomatic achievements.

These are the first such direct talks we’ve had in decades, and Lebanon often feels left out and sidelined by all the negotiations taking place. Because of the fighting happening on its soil, Lebanon is acutely significant for the US-Iran war, but often feels its voice isn’t heard.

These diplomatic talks have been hailed as one of the achievements to come out of the somewhat fraught negotiating process taking place in Switzerland between the US and the Iranian delegations. These negotiations took place separately, and people in Lebanon were not expecting very much to come from that.

We don’t yet know the details of what has been signed in Washington, but the hope is that it will lead to a more permanent ceasefire.

Hezbollah rejects Israel-Lebanon agreement

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah has rejected the agreement between Israel and Lebanon signed in Washington, DC.

“The course being pursued by the Lebanese authorities amounts to unilateral, gratuitous concessions that will only undermine the country and serve the interests of the Israeli enemy,” he said in a reported statement, adding that the agreement “risks creating dangerous internal divisions.”

Real peace unlikely between Israel and Lebanon despite agreement

Ronnie Chatah, host of the Beirut Banyan podcast, says he does not expect real peace between Lebanon and Israel despite an agreement having been signed between the two sides in Washington.

“What I see is something far more practical – at least in the near term – which is a permanent cessation of hostilities and a mechanism for two things to happen over time,” namely “Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon and some solution to Hezbollah’s weapons,” he said.

Nonetheless, the talks held in Washington opened the door to diplomacy and direct negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese officials, Chatah added. American mediation could then move things forward by “giving the Lebanese government space to take over what Hezbollah is leaving behind.”

However, “this is a very delicate and sensitive issue for Lebanon,” Chatah said, as the Lebanese army risks direct confrontation with Hezbollah.

Israel-Lebanon agreement a ‘public relations idea’

The agreement between Israel and Lebanon signed today is essentially a public relations tool, Rami Khouri from the American University of Beirut says.

“(A) framework in the American diplomatic context, from the way the Americans have behaved in the last few years, is not something very significant. It’s a public relations idea that they’d like to see an eventual agreement between Lebanon and Israel where they’re not shooting, Hezbollah and Israel are not shooting. But Hezbollah was not involved in the talks. The Lebanese army by itself cannot disarm Hezbollah.”

The agreement signed at the US State Department came from a need for Trump and Netanyahu to notch a win, Khouri said.

“Trump and Netanyahu are both desperate for some kind of success,” he said. “The biggest problem is that this whole process is predicated, and the symbolism of it being in the State Department, is predicated on the fact that Israel’s safety has to be guaranteed before the Lebanese get their rights.”

The US politics on the Middle East has always been put the Israeli interest first.

Lebanon’s Aoun says framework agreement first step in ‘restoring Lebanon’s sovereignty’

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has thanked the US administration and Trump for hosting the Lebanon-Israel negotiations and thanked the “brotherly and friendly countries” for supporting them and “declaring their full commitment to Lebanon’s independence, safety, and prosperity.”

In a statement from Lebanon’s presidency, Aoun thanked the Lebanese negotiating team for achieving what they consider the “first step on the path to restoring Lebanon’s sovereignty over its complete, undivided territory”.

“Thanks remain due to all Lebanese people, who sacrificed, endured, and confronted the harshest conditions of aggression, destruction, and displacement,” the statement read.

It added that the framework agreement marks the beginning of the road to realise their sacrifices, adding that homes will be rebuilt and repopulated under the “sovereignty of a Lebanese state”.

“This is what we have sworn to embody … So that there shall be no occupation, no captives, no subservience, and no tutelage. This is what every free, responsible, and honourable Lebanese unites upon. And this is our covenant to them and our duty toward them,” it added.

‘Israel-Lebanon deal not possible without Hezbollah’s consent’

The agreement between Lebanon and Israel is an “existential threat” to Hezbollah’s presence, Ali Hashem says.

Despite that, the agreement, which includes disarming Hezbollah, can’t be enforced without the group’s consent.

“Without Hezbollah’s consent, this is not going to happen,” Hashem said. “This is going to be another recipe for another confrontation. The Lebanese government isn’t capable of imposing this deal. It’s not the de facto force on the ground.”

The deal, signed earlier today, is about “putting Hezbollah in the corner,” Hashem said.

"The Lebanese government isn’t capable of imposing this deal. It’s not the de facto force on the ground.”

Reminder:

On June 16, 2025, Netanyahu called on the US for help in the assassination of the Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, knowing that Hezbollah would respond. During the following six months, the CIA and the Israeli Mossad, which needed the Americans as it doesn't have the means and technology for that covert operation, were preparing the assassination also knowing that Hezbollah would respond.

The CIA needs explicit presidential approval for its covert activities, that the president has knowledge thus also knew that Hezbollah would respond.

Rubio: Israel-Lebanon deal creates process to disarm Hezbollah

The US secretary of state is touting the deal between Israel and Lebanon, saying it establishes “a clear and structured process to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty” and to disarm and dismantle Hezbollah.

The framework agreement signed earlier today will enable Israel to return to its borders as well, once the threat to its citizens is removed, Rubio said, adding that the Pentagon is prepared to reimburse the Lebanese army with more than $30m under existing arrangements.

‘Israel signed deal to placate US despite unwillingness to uphold it’

Israel signed a deal with Lebanon in Washington “to placate its American patron”, despite having “no real intention of carrying it out in good faith to the end”, former senior US diplomat Alan Eyre said.

By signing the agreement, “Israel feels it can diminish political pressure on it from the Trump administration”.

“The odds are stacked heavily against this tripartite deal,” Eyre continued. Israel does not want to cede authority to the Lebanese army while Hezbollah is not included in the framework.

Eyre concluded that Israel would attempt to find a new equilibrium point, both in terms of action against Hezbollah and the presence of troops inside Lebanon.

Lebanese PM says framework agreement aims to achieve Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam says the framework agreement aims to achieve “Israel’s withdrawal from all Lebanese territories, the restoration of the state’s sovereignty over them, and the return of their people to them.”

In a post on X, Salam said that what is required from Lebanon during the framework is “extending the Lebanese state’s authority through its armed forces over all its territories.”

“The ministerial statement of our government, which received parliament’s confidence on its basis, has reaffirmed these national constants, in addition to emphasizing that the state alone is the holder of the decision on war and peace,” he said.

“All thanks to the United States of America, to our Arab brothers, and to our friends around the world whose efforts contributed to reaching this agreement. And I look forward to the blessed hour when Israel will begin its withdrawal, so that our dear people can return safely and with dignity to their homes that they were forcibly compelled to leave, and to launching the reconstruction workshop there,” he added.

Yariv Oppenheimer, a member of Israel’s Democrats party says that the agreement with Lebanon was perceived as a success for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, as it allows Israel to remain in Lebanon beyond internationally recognized borders.

Hezbollah MP calls Israel-Lebanon agreement a ‘mistake’

Direct negotiations with Israel are a “mistake”, Hezbollah member of parliament, Amin Sherri, says.

“What Israel failed to achieve in two wars, it now seeks to achieve by igniting a war among the Lebanese,” Sherri told Al Jazeera. “Israel continues to drag Lebanon into further concessions. Our agreement to the deployment of the army south of the Litani means a complete Israeli withdrawal.”

‘Israel-Lebanon agreement puts US in difficult position’

The US finds itself in a difficult position after the Israel-Lebanon agreement, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this would be the “beginning of the beginning” of a tough but necessary journey.

This is not a bilateral agreement between Lebanon and Israel but a trilateral agreement that includes commitments from the US, including from the Department of War to reimburse the Lebanese Army with more than $30 million and to mobilize an immediate $100 million in humanitarian assistance in coordination with the UN.

Israel and Lebanon technically remain at war, and it can be difficult to reconcile the idea that peace is at hand, considering the escalation over the past two weeks and that many of the sticking points have not been resolved.

The framework that was signed today apparently lays the ground for the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, which was the main sticking point for Lebanese negotiators. What remains a big question now is Hezbollah and how this framework can be implemented without its participation.

"Israel and Lebanon technically remain at war,.."

Lebanese law has officially classified Israel as an enemy state since the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. This classification is primarily enforced through two main pieces of legislation:

• 1943 Lebanese Criminal Code: The foundational legal framework that prohibits citizens from having contact with enemy states.1955 Anti-Israeli
• Boycott Law: This stringent law strictly criminalizes any economic, political, or personal engagement with Israel or Israeli nationals

Israel-Lebanon deal sets roadmap to end cycle of conflict: State Department

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott has told Al Jazeera that the trilateral agreement between Lebanon, Israel and the US “offers a clear pathway”.

“What this agreement does is ending the cycle of endless conflict,” he said. “We’re restoring the sovereignty of the Lebanese government while making sure that Israel is secure.

“Our ongoing commitment [is] to build up the capability and the capacity of the Lebanese government,” Pigott continued.

“What we’re seeing is the establishment of pilot zones where it can start to reassert its sovereignty and then, once the threat to Israel is removed, the return of Israel’s arm to its borders.”

Hezbollah will not support Israel-Lebanon framework deal

The agreement marks an initial step towards an Israeli troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah continues to reject the talks.

Yariv Oppenheimer, a member of Israel’s Democrats party says that the agreement with Lebanon was perceived as a success for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, as it allows Israel to remain in Lebanon beyond internationally recognized borders.

“The deadline for Netanyahu to remain in Lebanon will be the election,” Oppenheimer said, referring to the legislative vote scheduled for October. The prime minister has sought to avoid withdrawing from Lebanon before the election as this would be perceived as an “humiliation”.

However, if Netanyahu is re-elected, he “will be much more free to do the thing that is not so popular”, Oppenheimer continued.

“The Americans understood that the only thing they could achieve [at present] was this kind of agreement, which doesn’t solve the problem but creates an atmosphere of optimism.”

Protest in Beirut against framework agreement

Hezbollah supporters have gathered on motorcycles in the Lebanese capital to protest the framework agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reports.

The agreement reportedly includes the disarmament of Hezbollah and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.