Lebanon and Israel sign 'framework agreement' to end war
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Yasmine El-Sabawi
on
Fri, 06/26/2026 - 18:41
The agreement signed in Washington is a first step towards a wider agreement to end the ongoing war
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) applauds after the signing of a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon at the State Department in Washington DC, on 26 June 2026 (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)
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Lebanon and Israel have agreed to a deal as part of a trilateral framework with the United States in Washington on Friday, following five rounds of talks hosted by US President Donald Trump's administration.
The details have yet to be disclosed, but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called it "the beginning of the beginning" in remarks to reporters moments before the signing.
"Obviously, the people of Israel deserve to live in peace and security. The people in northern Israel, in particular, who have been targeted repeatedly by terrorist attacks launched from the territory of Lebanon - but not by the Lebanese people, not by the Lebanese government, but by an outside actor who has sought to use that territory," he said, referring to Hezbollah, who were not represented at the talks.
Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, described the meetings as "long and difficult".
"Today is a first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, securing a permanent and final cessation of hostilities, enabling our people to go back to their land, and allowing all Lebanese to live in peace, security and prosperity," she told reporters on Friday.
Her Israeli counterpart, Yechiel Leiter, said that Moawad fought for her country "like a lioness" during the discussions.
"Iran is out, Hezbollah is out and the road to peace between Israel [and] Lebanon is in," he said.
Little change
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video posted to X on Friday that "the most important point is that Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon", and that maintaining that position is "a major achievement" until Hezbollah is disarmed.
Hezbollah has insisted that it cannot disarm while Israel remains a threat to Lebanon, and as Israeli officials normalise rhetoric about expanding Israel's borders to the north.
Lebanon is a house divided as its leaders negotiate and Hezbollah fights on
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Netanyahu said that Israeli forces would be implementing "two pilot zones" in southern Lebanon - one south of the Litani River, and the other north of the waterway.
The Litani is a critical natural resource for Lebanon, but is also desired by the Israelis as the beginning of a "buffer zone" they claim is meant to protect their northern border towns.
Israel has advanced far enough from that border to occupy one-fifth of Lebanese territory so far.
Friday's signing comes the same week that the US and Iran agreed to a 14-point deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on 28 February.
During that time, Israel ramped up its war on Lebanon, despite having signed a ceasefire agreement under former US President Joe Biden's administration in November 2024.
More than 4,200 Lebanese have been killed by Israel since 2 March, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
This is a developing story...
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