BEIRUT — Hezbollah on Saturday rejected a U.S.-brokered security agreement between Lebanon and Israel signed a day earlier, with the Iran-backed group describing the framework as a surrender to Israel and declaring it would not accept provisions linking an Israeli military withdrawal from southern Lebanon to Hezbollah's disarmament. The rejection came as Israel carried out a drone strike in southern Lebanon, underscoring continuing hostilities despite diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions.
The agreement is intended to establish a phased Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon while expanding the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces. Under the framework, Israeli forces would remain temporarily in an enlarged security zone pending further implementation, while Hezbollah would be expected to disarm under the agreed process, according to details released by officials involved in the negotiations.
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejected the arrangement in a public statement, calling it "null and void" and saying it represented "a surrender to Israel." He accused the Lebanese government of making unilateral concessions and said Hezbollah would continue what it describes as armed resistance. Qassem also said an earlier memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States, which Hezbollah says guarantees Lebanon's territorial integrity, should instead serve as the basis for ending the conflict.
Israeli officials defended the agreement as a security measure intended to stabilize the border. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the arrangement would allow Israeli forces to remain in designated security areas until the agreed conditions were met, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented plans for the phased transfer of additional territory to Lebanese army control under the framework.
The agreement has also drawn criticism from Hezbollah's allies inside Lebanon. The Amal movement opposed the framework, arguing that it favors Israeli interests and complicates the return of displaced residents to southern Lebanon. The conflict has displaced more than one million people, according to reports cited by officials and humanitarian organizations.
Separately on Saturday, the Israeli military carried out a drone strike in Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon. Israeli authorities said the target was an individual they identified as posing a threat. Lebanese health authorities reported one person was killed and two others were injured in the strike.
As of Saturday, the U.S.-brokered agreement remained in place despite Hezbollah's rejection, while Israeli and Lebanese officials continued implementing its initial provisions and sporadic military activity persisted along the border.
