Israel and Lebanon have agreed to expand their fragile ceasefire and set up a handful of ‘pilot’ security zones within Lebanon where Hezbollah operatives will be banned, the US state department said.
But a joint statement claimed the deal was “contingent on a full cessation” of strikes by Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, among other conditions. The three countries also “rejected any attempt by any state or non-state actors to hold Lebanon’s future hostage”.
The deal was revealed Wednesday in Washington after Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah fired missiles into northern Israel. Israeli bombings continued in southern Lebanon on Thursday, Lebanese state television said, with at least one hit killing and wounding people.
Hezbollah is a Shia Muslim militia, political party and social organization, and is the most dominant force in Lebanon. Supported by Iran, it has built up an armed force that outmatches the Lebanese army and has been engaged in a string of battles with Israel. It has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel and several other nations including the UK and US.
The agreement between Israel and Lebanon, reached after a fourth round of talks mediated by the US, is conditional on the “evacuation of all [Hezbollah] operatives” from an area between the Israeli border and the Litani river, some 30km (19 miles) to the north, which is currently occupied by Israeli ground forces.
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