Israel, Lebanon agree to conditional ceasefire after US-led talks

BEIRUT/WASHINGTON: Israel and Lebanon said on Wednesday they had agreed to put in place a ceasefire after US-led talks in Washington, but the arrangement was tied to a complete halt in fire by Hezbollah and the withdrawal of the group’s operatives from southern Lebanon.

According to a joint statement issued after the talks, the two sides also agreed to move ahead with pilot zones where the Lebanese armed forces would exercise sole authority and no non-state actors would be present. The statement said the next round of political and security talks would take place in the week of June 22 with the aim of reaching a broader agreement.

The negotiations marked the fourth round of direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli diplomats since fighting resumed on March 2, when Hezbollah renewed attacks on Israel in support of Iran. The joint statement also said the two countries, which do not have formal diplomatic relations, discussed a security framework that includes dismantling non-state armed groups and preventing their return, and reaffirmed that they had no hostile intent toward each other.

Fighting continued despite the announcement

The ceasefire announcement came even as violence persisted earlier in the day. The Israeli military said it intercepted a hostile aircraft and two projectiles that entered Israeli territory from Lebanon. Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israeli soldiers in northern Israel, saying the attack came in response to what it described as Israeli violations of the ceasefire.

A truce intended to stop the fighting was due to take effect on April 17, but it has not been observed, with each side blaming the other for continued attacks. Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati had told AFP a day earlier that the group would not accept a partial ceasefire.

Earlier on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he wanted talks over Lebanon to be handled separately from negotiations linked to the war with Iran. Tehran, however, has maintained that the two tracks are connected. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any attack on Beirut would lead to a full-scale resumption of war.

Israeli strikes reported in south Lebanon

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that one Israeli strike hit a car on the main highway out of Beirut, while more than 20 locations in the south were also struck after Israeli military warnings for residents of several villages to evacuate.

On casualties, there was a discrepancy between reports. Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in southern Lebanon, while a background report carried by Dawn put the toll at at least ten. Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on Al-Hawsh near Tyre killed four Syrians and two Palestinians, though an Israeli military spokesperson told AFP’s Jerusalem bureau that the military was not aware of such an attack in that area.

The Lebanese health ministry also said another Israeli strike in the south hit an ambulance, killing two paramedics from the Risala Scouts Association, which is linked to Hezbollah ally the Amal movement. The ministry released images of the damaged vehicle, with medical masks scattered on the road. At least 130 emergency and health workers have been killed since the fighting began.

Lebanon’s army said one soldier was killed in an Israeli strike, while an officer and another soldier were wounded in a separate attack on a military vehicle. The army condemned what it called Israel’s deliberate targeting of military personnel, vehicles and positions.

Pressure in Tyre and wider context

On Tuesday, the Israeli military alleged that Hezbollah members were operating in Tyre’s Christian quarter and said it would issue warnings for people to leave if they remained there. An AFP correspondent said conditions in the city were relatively calm on Wednesday morning, though some people who had been sleeping in cars or tents near the Christian quarter moved to other parts of Tyre.

A petition seeking to have Tyre declared an open city without any armed presence, and calling on the Lebanese military to deploy there, has drawn more than 180 signatures, including lawyers and intellectuals from the area. Hezbollah has a strong presence in Tyre and that some signatories later faced attacks on social media because of their position. More than 200 people have also signed a similar petition regarding Nabatieh, another major southern city that has come under Israeli attack.

Israel has recently intensified its strikes and launched its deepest ground offensive into Lebanon in two decades. According to a background report citing Lebanese sources speaking to Anadolu, the second and final day of negotiations at the US State Department lasted more than six hours.