Israel Katz Says Israel Will Continue Operations as Hezbollah Rejects U.S.-Brokered Ceasefire

Israel and Lebanon announced a renewed U.S.-brokered ceasefire that is “contingent on a complete cessation” of Hezbollah fire and on the “evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from areas south of the Litani River.

“Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire that would require a “complete cessation” of fire by Hezbollah, according to a joint statement after US-led talks in Washington, DC”

Al Jazeera

The deal also calls for “pilot zones” in which the Lebanese Armed Forces would take “exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors,” while the two sides pledged to work toward a “comprehensive” agreement.

Al Jazeera

Hezbollah was not part of the talks, and the agreement’s enforcement questions were immediately raised by the group’s rejection of the framework and by the absence of maps indicating where the pilot zones would be located.

In Washington, the fourth round of direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli diplomats followed fighting that escalated on March 2, when Hezbollah renewed attacks against Israel in support of Iran and led to intensified Israeli bombardments and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

The ceasefire renewal was paired with continued Israeli ground operations, with Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz saying the military would “for the time being, continue its fire and operations on the ground” to “dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the area.”

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the renewed ceasefire, telling the BBC that negotiations were “futile” and “humiliating” for Lebanon and rejected categorically by “broad segments of the Lebanese people”.

In Beirut’s southern suburbs, the BBC’s Sami, who has run his business there for 25 years, said, “You cannot have a ceasefire from one side, it's going to be an all side or no ceasefire.”

BBC

Sami said there had been strikes in Lebanon on Thursday, and he asked, “This is surrender. This is not a peace agreement. This is a surrender agreement,” as he described the mood across the neighborhood.

The BBC reported that the agreement followed a partial ceasefire announced on Monday, with Lebanon saying Israel would refrain from bombing Beirut in exchange for Hezbollah not attacking Israel.

The Washington Examiner framed the ceasefire as contradictory, writing that it is “ostensibly aimed at a permanent peace but allows for Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon to continue,” while Hezbollah vowed that “As long as the occupation exists, the resistance will continue,” according to Qassem’s warning.

Despite the ceasefire announcement, the BBC reported that Lebanese media said multiple Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon on Thursday, with the state-run National News Agency (NNA) saying five people were killed in air strikes on the Bekaa Valley town of Sohmor and another person was killed in Maaroub near the city of Tyre.

“BEIRUT, Lebanon — Israel and Lebanon have agreed to renew their shaky ceasefire, with an aim to continue talks later this month for a comprehensive peace deal”

Chicago Tribune

The Lebanese health ministry later said at least eight people were killed and 15 others injured on Thursday in strikes targeting Sohmor, Masaken and Arab Al-Jalil, while Unifil said one of its peacekeepers died of wounds sustained when mortar shells struck his position.

Franceinfo reported that eight people were killed and eight others wounded in Israeli strikes on Thursday, with five killed in the eastern part of the country and three near the city of Tyre, and it specified that three children and three women were among the injured.

The BBC said the two countries’ representatives will meet again on 22 June to hold further talks “with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement,” and it reported that Joseph Aoun said the ceasefire “could be implemented within 24 hours of its final approval.”

In the meantime, the Washington Examiner said the Lebanese army is beginning to deploy to the “pilot zones” as the “first phase” of ending the violence, while Aaron Miller warned that “Ceasefires are made to be broken,” citing the lack of monitoring, verification, and commitment from both sides.