US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, together with the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon, announced on Friday a framework agreement described as an initial step toward peace after months of conflict between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.
The officials did not disclose details of the deal, which was signed by Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, and Nada Hamadeh, Lebanon’s ambassador to the United States.
Hamadeh said the framework marks “a first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, securing a permanent and final cessation of hostilities, enabling our people to return to their land and allowing all Lebanese to live in peace, security, and prosperity.”
Leiter emphasised that the ultimate goal of the framework is a lasting peace.
“Real peace, where both countries will live in security, where Israel’s and Lebanon’s sovereignty will be respected, honoured, and protected,” Leiter said. “In this performance-based trilateral framework agreement, Iran is out. Hezbollah is out. And the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in.”
Divergent priorities and background to the conflict
The current conflict erupted when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel shortly after the outbreak of the war between Israel, the US, and Iran on 28 February.
Israel subsequently launched a ground invasion of Lebanon and expanded its control over the region. Since March, Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, whilst at least 37 Israeli soldiers have died during the fighting in Lebanon and northern Israel.
A temporary lull in fighting earlier this week had already begun to fracture after Israel carried out several fresh strikes against Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah was not included in the Washington talks, which followed several previous ceasefire agreements that failed to take hold on the ground.
The negotiations face steep hurdles due to the opposing priorities of both nations. Lebanon’s priority is to secure an immediate and total withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern territory. Israel’s priority is to secure the total disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The issue of disarming Hezbollah
On Wednesday, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun informed a visiting British parliamentary delegation that a proposal for “pilot zones” was currently under consideration.
Under this plan, the Lebanese army would take exclusive control of specific territories as Israeli troops withdraw, a move Aoun noted was **“**under discussion pending approval from the Israeli side.” He also reiterated that these bilateral talks in Washington remain entirely separate from the parallel US-Iran negotiations happening in Switzerland.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that direct negotiations with Lebanon involve the eventual redeployment of Israeli forces once southern Lebanon is cleared of Hezbollah infrastructure and the group has disarmed.
However, analysts note that Hezbollah is highly unlikely to accept any national disarmament plan. The group has consistently argued that existing agreements and UN resolutions only require it to disarm in the specific zone south of the Litani River, close to the Israeli border.