Hezbollah Rejects US-Brokered Ceasefire, Demands Israeli Troops Withdraw From Lebanon

Hezbollah rejected a US-brokered ceasefire plan agreed by the Lebanese and Israeli governments, with its leader Naim Qassem calling it a “roadmap to annihilate part of the Lebanese people” and demanding a complete ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.

“Toggle Play Trump seeks to split Lebanon talks from war on Iran negotiations US President Donald Trump says he wants to keep talks on the conflict in Lebanon separate from negotiations over the war between the US and Iran”

Al Jazeera

The Guardian reported that the Israeli and Lebanese governments agreed a ceasefire to end hostilities on Monday night, including a complete cessation of fire from Hezbollah and the evacuation of all its fighters south of the Litani River.

Al Jazeera

The Guardian said Hezbollah’s rejection came as the Lebanese prime minister, Nawaf Salam, stated that those who delayed or rejected a ceasefire would bear responsibility and that “The negotiation track we chose is the fastest and least costly road for Lebanon, the Lebanese people, the south and its residents,” while the Lebanese army was described as not a party to the conflict because fighting has been between Hezbollah and Israel.

On Thursday, the Guardian said Israel carried out airstrikes in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa valley, killing four people, while Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli soldiers in the village of Qantara, southern Lebanon.

Al Jazeera reported that U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to keep talks on the conflict in Lebanon separate from negotiations over the war between the US and Iran, while the bombardment in the south continued.

In the same Al Jazeera account, Trump pressed Israel to halt its attacks on Lebanon, but the report said the bombardment undermined a potential deal with Iran that insists the two tracks are inseparable.

The Guardian

The Hill described Trump as pressing Israel to retreat on a major military offensive in Beirut against Iranian-backed Hezbollah, and it quoted Trump telling the New York Post that he was “perturbed” in a call with Netanyahu, saying, “Bibi we gotta stop this, you gotta stop it.”

The Hill also quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling lawmakers on Tuesday during a Senate committee hearing, “We are trying to view the Lebanon-Israeli talks as separate and distinct from Iran, and what Iran wants to do is mix it all together,” as it framed Lebanon as a wedge in U.S.-Israel tensions.

The Guardian said Hezbollah’s rejection of the ceasefire raised questions about how the Lebanese government can negotiate with Israel without Hezbollah at the table, even as the Lebanese prime minister said negotiations were the best option.

“Hezbollah has rejected a US-brokered ceasefire plan agreed by the Lebanese and Israeli governments, throwing the future of a truce in Lebanon and regional peace negotiations into question”

The Guardian

The Guardian reported that Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said his country had “freedom of action, backed by the United States, to strike Beirut in response to attacks on Israeli communities and territory,” and he said Israeli troops would remain in south Lebanon to maintain a “buffer zone.”

The Guardian added that Israel controls more than 600 sq km (230 sq miles) of territory in southern Lebanon and has destroyed dozens of border villages, preventing hundreds of Lebanese people from returning to their homes, while Lebanon and Israel agreed to create “pilot zones” where the Lebanese armed forces would take exclusive control to the exclusion of all non-state actors.

In parallel, the Guardian said Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, told reporters he had suggested the first pilot zone be in the area of Beaufort Castle, which Israeli soldiers captured earlier in the week, and it noted that Lebanese media reported Israeli troops had begun withdrawing from the villages of Dibbine and Marjayoun and were being replaced by their Lebanese counterparts.