Israel Strikes Southern Lebanon After Netanyahu Hails Lebanon Deal, Hezbollah Rejects Framework

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed a US-brokered agreement with Lebanon as “a blow to Iran and Hezbollah,” while Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the framework as “null and void,” underscoring uncertainty over plans to disarm Hezbollah.

“Israel's defence minister said on Saturday thatIsraeli forceshad been ordered to prepare for an extended stay in the so-called security zone in southern Lebanon, after Israel and Lebanon agreed on a framework to end hostilities”

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The agreement, signed in Washington on Friday after five rounds of talks, aims to pave the way for peace between the neighbours and includes plans to disarm Hezbollah.

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A day after the deal, Israel carried out strikes in southern Lebanon, with Lebanon’s state news agency reporting an Israeli drone hit the southern town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa and later reporting further strikes with at least two more people wounded.

The Israeli military said it carried out the drone strike on an individual who posed a threat to its forces, without providing details, as Hezbollah condemned the new deal and accused the Beirut government of undermining Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Hezbollah’s Naim Qassem accused the Lebanese government of making damaging concessions and said, “The framework agreement in Washington is humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty. This agreement is null and void,” while also accusing provisions linking Israel’s withdrawal to the group’s disarmament of crossing “all red lines.”

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz insisted that Israel’s troops would be able to stay in Lebanon so long as Hezbollah remained armed, saying he had instructed Israeli troops “to prepare for an extended stay” in southern Lebanon.

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Katz said there would be “no redeployment by Israel in southern Lebanon, no withdrawal,” as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed throughout Lebanon, and he tied any future withdrawal to complete disarmament across Lebanon.

In Beirut, Hezbollah supporters protested the framework, and in western Beirut’s Hamra street, 48-year-old Ahmad Shamas told AFP on Saturday that “the agreement reached is a humiliating and shameful one,” while Husam Beiruiti, 43, said, “Let’s wait and see what this agreement achieves.”

Under the four-point framework described by the BBC, Israel will withdraw its forces from the South Litani area with the Lebanese army taking exclusive control of the vacated territory, but Israeli forces are permitted to remain in an expanded security area in southern Lebanon.

The BBC reported that Katz said Israeli forces had been ordered to “prepare for an extended stay in the security zone” referring to an area up to 10km inside Lebanese territory, while Anadolu Ajansı reported that the decision reflected ongoing security concerns where tensions with Hezbollah have persisted.

Separately, Anadolu Ajansı said Israeli fire targeted French UNIFIL logistics convoy on a resupply mission, with one vehicle hit and no casualties, and France’s Foreign Minister denounced “threats to security” and “intimidations” directed at UN personnel as “unacceptable and unjustifiable.”

With the fragile ceasefire framework under strain, the BBC said Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed at least 4,192 people since the current round of hostilities began, and more than 11,600 have been injured, while Lebanon says more than 1.2 million people have been displaced.