Hezbollah must withdraw from Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon – US
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a renewed ceasefire that requires the militant group Hezbollah to stop firing and withdraw from southern Lebanon, according to a joint statement released after US-mediated talks at the State Department on Wednesday.
The talks followed weeks of Israeli strikes and ground operations in Lebanon, as well as Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel. Washington has said previous ceasefire efforts were undermined by Hezbollah attacks carried out without the approval of the Lebanese government.
“The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of Hizbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hizbollah operatives from the South Litani Sector,” the joint statement read.
“The two sides agreed with the guidance of the United States to swiftly advance the creation of pilot zones in which the Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors.”
The latest arrangement is not a completely new ceasefire but an effort to implement and reinforce previous understandings, with the prospective pilot zones as the main new element.
Lebanon previously demanded that Israel withdraw from its territory as part of any lasting arrangement, while Israel has insisted that Hezbollah must be removed from the border area before it ends its operations.
Israel sent troops across the border after Hezbollah supported Iran in the face of the US-Israeli attack in February, and renewed its ground push in recent weeks, including the capture of Beaufort Castle, also known as Qalaat al-Chakif.
The 900-year-old Crusader fortress, located on a strategic hilltop, was previously used by Israel as a base during its two-decade occupation of the region, which ended in 2000. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the move a “dramatic shift” and said he had ordered the military “to expand its ground maneuver in Lebanon.”
The occupation and mounting civilian casualties have complicated US peace negotiations with Iran, as Tehran has demanded that the deal include an end to hostilities in Lebanon. Lebanese health authorities said on Wednesday that more than 3,500 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since early March.
US President Donald Trump called Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” during a heated phone conversation after the Israeli leader threatened to bomb Beirut again, Axios reported.
