Lebanon and Israel have agreed to the implementation of a ceasefire, according to a joint statement with the United States released by the State Department on Wednesday following negotiations in Washington.
The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of fire from Hezbollah and the evacuation of all its operatives from the South Litani Sector, according to the statement. The two sides had agreed last month to a ceasefire but hostilities had continued.
The two sides, which do not have formal diplomatic relations, also agreed to create “pilot zones” in which the Lebanese armed forces “will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors.”
The statement added that the two sides agreed to reconvene for more talks on “political and security tracks the week of June 22, with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement.”
“All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments,” the statement continued.
“They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage,” the document said, in apparent references to Iran and Hezbollah.
Israel invaded Lebanon in March after Hezbollah fired across the border in support of Tehran after US-Israeli airstrikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 28 February.
The opening strikes triggered a broader regional war that has seen the Strait of Hormuz closed, causing a global supply shock.
Iran has said it will not agree to a deal to end the conflict with the United States and Israel launched in late February unless a ceasefire also covers Lebanon.
Israel’s strikes on Lebanon have killed 3,516 people and wounded a further 10,674 others, according to Lebanon’s health authorities, as well as displacing millions of Lebanese from their homes. Israel also occupies a sizeable portion of southern Lebanon.
