{"id":514247,"date":"2026-06-27T21:03:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T21:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/514247\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T21:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T21:03:19","slug":"lebanon-israel-deal-requires-hezbollahs-disarmament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/514247\/","title":{"rendered":"Lebanon-Israel deal requires Hezbollah’s disarmament"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEIRUT (AP) \u2014 Hezbollah\u2019s<\/a> leader on Saturday criticized a framework agreement<\/a> that Israel and Lebanon signed a day earlier to end months of conflict between the Iran-backed militant group and Israel, raising concerns about its effectiveness.<\/p>\n

The agreement signed Friday in Washington links Israel\u2019s withdrawal from Lebanon to Hezbollah\u2019s disarmament, something the group rejects.<\/p>\n

Several previous ceasefire agreements that Lebanon has negotiated with Israel since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war were never implemented on the ground. More than 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since March, when Hezbollah fired at Israel two days after the Iran war began.<\/p>\n

In a statement Saturday, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said his group will keep fighting until Israel is forced to leave Lebanon. The group\u2019s supporters protested in the streets of Beirut following the announcement of the agreement.<\/p>\n

Despite the deal, the Lebanese state news agency reported an Israeli drone strike near the southern city of Nabatiyeh<\/a>. It also reported that Israel\u2019s military released three Lebanese and three Syrian workers who were taken near the southern village of Ain Arab on Friday.<\/p>\n

Deal calls on Israel to withdraw but only if Hezbollah disarms<\/p>\n

The talks between Israel and Lebanon were separate from the interim deal<\/a> signed earlier this month by the U.S. and Iran.<\/p>\n

Details of the deal that the U.S. State Department released Saturday say Lebanon and Israel aim to eventually end the state of war between them that began when Israel was created in 1948.<\/p>\n

The deal says Israel will withdraw from Lebanon, provided Hezbollah disarms.<\/p>\n

It calls for Israel to initially withdraw from two small areas, called pilot zones. It did not say where they will be. The Lebanese army will gradually assume full security responsibility over those areas. The countries will agree to future pilot zones for Israel\u2019s withdrawal in the future, the agreement says.<\/p>\n

The deal has a security annex that includes details of the deployment of the Lebanese army and redeployments of Israeli troops. The security annex was not made public.<\/p>\n

As part of the deal, Israel stresses that Hezbollah\u2019s disarmament throughout Lebanon and additional security measures to be agreed upon between the countries will eliminate any future need for the Israeli army\u2019s military action or presence in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement said Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon \u201cuntil Hezbollah and the rest of the terrorist organizations are disarmed, and until no further threat to Israel is posed from Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Netanyahu said the two agreed-upon zones will have a \u201cpilot program for disarming Hezbollah and transferring the territory to the control of the Lebanese army.\u201d He said Israel\u2019s military already withdrew from one.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military has been instructed \u201cto prepare for an extended stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hezbollah\u2019s leader rejects the deal as \u2018a humiliation\u2019<\/p>\n

From Hezbollah\u2019s point of view, the deal is nonexistent, Kassem said.<\/p>\n

He called the agreement a \u201chumiliation,\u201d adding that linking Israel\u2019s withdrawal to Hezbollah\u2019s disarmament as a \u201cvery dangerous suggestion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deal prompted one of the group\u2019s officials, Hassan Fadlallah, to warn that it could result in civil war because Hezbollah won\u2019t give up its weapons and will resist any measures taken by the Lebanese army.<\/p>\n

Judge Ahmed Rami al-Hajj, Lebanon\u2019s top public prosecutor, on Saturday told the heads of the country\u2019s security agencies to take measures to prevent riots.<\/p>\n

Some Israelis and Lebanese doubt the deal will last<\/p>\n

The deal says both Lebanon and Israel recognize that the restoration of security in southern Lebanon through the deployment of the Lebanese army, the safe return of its civilian population and the security of Israel\u2019s northern communities are essential to long-term stability and peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, I don\u2019t think it will be lasting because the Lebanese military cannot really stand a chance against Hezbollah,\u201d said Israeli citizen Ronit Belson while visiting the town of Metula along the border.<\/p>\n

In Lebanon, people were divided.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople just want to rest for good. I support the Lebanese authorities in the decision\u201d taken, said Rabie Sammour, a resident of the southern city of Sidon.<\/p>\n

Another Sidon resident, Khaled Ghannoum, said the deal \u201clegitimized Israel\u2019s occupation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an apparent reference to Iran, which has sent billions of dollars in cash to Hezbollah over the past four decades, the deal says Lebanon and the U.S. commit to preventing funds from flowing to any entity, organization or individual affiliated with non-state armed groups.<\/p>\n

The deal states that the Lebanese government explicitly commits to prevent reconstruction funds from flowing to non-state armed groups and connected entities.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Mor reported from Metula, Israel. Associated Press journalist Ibrahim Hazboun contributed to this report from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BEIRUT (AP) \u2014 Hezbollah\u2019s leader on Saturday criticized a framework agreement that Israel and Lebanon signed a day…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[120,159991,235768,49,737,25637,122,192388,86,85,119,117780,46,1984,88,2034,3896,182604,43,917,121,126],"class_list":["post-514247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-2024-2025-mideast-wars","tag-2024-2026-mideast-wars","tag-ahmed-rami-al-hajj","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-crime","tag-disarmament","tag-general-news","tag-hassan-fadlallah","tag-hezbollah","tag-il","tag-international-agreements","tag-iran-war","tag-israel","tag-israel-government","tag-lebanon","tag-mideast-wars","tag-military-and-defense","tag-naim-kassem","tag-news","tag-u-s-news","tag-war-and-unrest","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}