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Ceasefire clash near Nabatiya
The fifth round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon opened on Tuesday in Washington, with talks centered on creating “pilot areas” where Israeli forces would withdraw so the Lebanese army could prove its ability to disarm Hezbollah.
Just before the talks began, Hezbollah claimed the IDF “violated” the ceasefire by opening fire with “automatic weapons toward a group of civilians” near Nabatiya at approximately 11:30 a.m., saying two civilians were killed and two more were injured.
Israel’s Ambassador to the US Leiter said the talks were heading toward “a train wreck,” warning that a condition of the ceasefire—Hezbollah’s withdrawal northward—raised the question of whether the agreement was still binding.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told a cabinet meeting that his government would “accept nothing less than the end of the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon.”
IDF refusal and Iran linkage
In Tel Aviv, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said the IDF would not withdraw from southern Lebanon, telling an interview audience that “we are not retreating” and that “there is no American demand for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon.”
The Guardian framed Katz’s stance as undermining Iran peace talks, noting that the US and Iran signed an accord last week extending a fragile ceasefire and setting 60 days of talks meant to lead to a permanent peace.
Hezbollah accused Israel of another “violation” of the ceasefire after an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle near the town of Kfar Rumman, killing two people on Wednesday, according to Lebanese state media.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that “For us, a ceasefire in Lebanon is as important as a ceasefire in Iran,” linking an end to fighting in Lebanon to an end to the war in Iran.
Experimental zones and next steps
Lebanon-Israel talks in Washington continued with a proposal for “experimental zones” in which the Lebanese Armed Forces would assume full security control while explicitly excluding Hezbollah from the areas.
The fifth round was set to continue until June 25, with Tuesday’s session focused on identifying the locations of these zones and setting a withdrawal timetable.
In a statement from his office, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J. D. Vance pledged to activate a trilateral committee comprising the United States, Lebanon, and Iran to cement a cease-fire in Lebanon.
An Iranian state media account said Tehran would “stop any negotiations” with American officials if Israel does not withdraw from Lebanon, while Iran reiterated it would “retaliate” against any Israeli attacks there after two additional people were killed in Lebanon by Israeli fire.
