Lebanon and Israel said on Wednesday that they had agreed to the implementation of a ceasefire following negotiations in Washington aimed at ending the conflict that has spiralled since the war in Iran started in February.
The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of fire from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia and the removal of all of its operatives from south of the Litani River, according to a joint statement released with the US.
“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 statement said.
Israel and Lebanon had previously agreed to a cessation of hostilities in April that was then extended in May, but violence has continue
The US ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, told reporters after the talks in Washington that President Donald Trump, who previously announced that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to “stop shooting at each other”, had not communicated directly with Hezbollah, but rather with Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, Nada Moawad.
Mr Trump confirmed in a Pod Force One interview that he called Mr Netanyahu “crazy” during the Monday phone call, but insisted they have “worked very well together”.
“I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon,” Mr Trump said. The attacks have jeopardised US-Iran peace talks due to Tehran’s insistence that they cease before a deal is reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and to address its nuclear programme.
“We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” Mr Trump said after confirming his fiery outburst demanding that Mr Netanyahu hold fire. “I’m a wartime president. He’s a wartime prime minister.”
Although he said he was frustrated by the possibility that the side conflict could derail a broader peace agreement, he said he remained optimistic that he will have a deal “fairly quickly”.
Meanwhile, in southern Lebanon, Israel launched more deadly strikes, while Hezbollah announced more attacks on invading Israeli troops.
Israeli strikes killed five people and injured 48 on Tuesday, including a doctor and healthcare workers at Tebnine Governmental Hospital, Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health said. The casualties included a child. The ministry said the strike on the hospital was part of a series of attacks on healthcare centres, which breached international law.
On Wednesday, at least six people were killed in a series of Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, Lebanon's National News Agency reported. According to the agency, four Syrian nationals were killed in a drone strike on the Mayadin road in Al Hosh area, while two Palestinians were killed in a separate strike on Al Maamoura-Al Hosh road near the city of Tyre.
The Israeli military also issued forced displacement orders to residents of Kharayeb in Sidon, saying it was preparing to act against what it described as Hezbollah infrastructure in the area.
An Israeli army spokesman called on residents of a building marked on a military-issued map, as well as adjacent buildings, to leave immediately and move north of the Zahrani River. The military said the building was being used by Hezbollah and warned that anyone staying in the area would be at risk.
Israel halted a planned attack on Beirut on Monday after Iran threatened to end negotiations with the US if the Lebanese capital was struck. The episode underscored how closely Lebanon's fate has become intertwined with US-Iran diplomacy.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that his country had US approval to strike Beirut's southern suburbs if Hezbollah launched attacks on northern Israeli communities, echoing the position outlined by Mr Netanyahu after his phone call with Mr Trump.
