- Israel and Lebanon agreed to respect the conditional ceasefire of April.
- The condition is the cessation of Hezbollah’s attacks and its withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
- The Lebanese army is to take sole control of the new security zones.
- Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed at least 3,433 people and injured thousands.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to abide by a fragile ceasefire from April. This follows from a joint statement published by the US Department of State on Thursday night after trilateral negotiations in Washington. The truce is conditional on the fact that the pro-Iranian militant movement Hezbollah will stop attacks on Israel and withdraw all its members from southern Lebanon. It was reported by the AP agency.
The fourth round of US-mediated direct talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. These meetings are supposed to contribute to lasting peace between the two countries, which do not recognize each other.
“U.S.-led negotiations result in agreement between Israel and Lebanon to implement cease-fire,” it is written in Wednesday’s statement, according to which the ceasefire is conditional on a cease-fire by Hezbollah and the removal of all its members from the areas south of the Lítání river.
The two sides also agreed to quickly establish zones in which the Lebanese army would take sole control of the territory and expel “all non-state actors”. It was not immediately clear how these security zones would be created, The Times of Israel wrote.
“All countries reaffirmed that the future of Israel-Lebanon relations must be decided by their sovereign governments. They rejected any attempt by state or non-state actors to hold Lebanon’s future hostage,” it is stated further in the statement. Lebanese and Israeli officials plan to meet again in the week beginning June 22. Hezbollah, which dragged Lebanon into war by firing rockets at Israel in March, strongly rejects direct negotiations with Israel.
An official cease-fire has been in effect between Israel and Lebanon since April 16. In mid-May, the ceasefire was extended for another 45 days. Israel has nevertheless stepped up attacks in southern Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah targets. The militant movement continues to fire sporadically into the territory of the Jewish state and attack Israeli targets in Lebanon. Israeli attacks in Lebanon have left at least 3,433 dead and 10,395 injured since the start of the war, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
