BEIRUT — Hezbollah has rejected an extension of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire framework between Lebanon and Israel, dealing a setback to diplomatic efforts aimed at reducing hostilities along the countries' southern border and reviving broader regional negotiations.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said the group would not accept an arrangement that, in its view, required unilateral concessions while Israeli forces remained in parts of southern Lebanon. He described the U.S.-backed framework as a form of surrender and said Hezbollah would continue what it called resistance as long as Israeli forces maintained a military presence in Lebanese territory.
The ceasefire proposal, brokered by the United States and accepted by the Lebanese and Israeli governments, envisioned a phased Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon alongside the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces and measures intended to reduce Hezbollah's military presence in designated areas. U.S. officials said the arrangement was designed to lower the risk of renewed cross-border fighting and create conditions for a more durable security agreement.
The rejection highlights divisions within Lebanon over how to address security arrangements with Israel. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally, has also criticized the agreement, saying it would not be implemented and warning it could deepen political divisions inside the country.
Israeli officials have maintained that any lasting settlement must include measures preventing Hezbollah from re-establishing military positions near the border. Israel has continued to conduct strikes against what it says are Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon despite repeated ceasefire efforts, while Hezbollah has insisted that Israeli military operations and territorial presence must end before it halts its own armed activities.
The latest impasse comes after months of intermittent fighting that displaced large numbers of civilians on both sides of the frontier and complicated wider diplomatic efforts involving the United States and regional governments. International mediators have sought to stabilize the Israel-Lebanon border as part of broader attempts to reduce tensions across the Middle East.
As of Sunday, there was no indication that Hezbollah intended to reconsider its position, and neither Washington nor the Lebanese government had announced a revised negotiating framework. Sporadic military activity has continued in southern Lebanon while diplomatic contacts remain ongoing, according to officials involved in the mediation effort.
