JUNE 4, 2026
Israel and Lebanon agree to new ceasefire terms, but Hezbollah rejects the deal and fighting continues
Israel and Lebanon reached a new ceasefire agreement on Wednesday following U.S.-brokered trilateral talks in Washington, D.C. Hezbollah, which was excluded from the negotiations, rejected the deal, with its leader Naim Kassem calling it "surrender and defeat." Fighting continued after the announcement, with Israeli strikes killing at least four people in Lebanon and a Serbian UNIFIL peacekeeper killed in crossfire near Marjayoun.
The ceasefire agreement emerged from the third round of talks involving the U.S. State Department, an Israeli delegation, and a Lebanese government delegation held Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington. The joint statement from the three parties called for a "complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives from the South Litani Sector," and introduced a new provision for "pilot zones" where the Lebanese Armed Forces would take exclusive territorial control. The agreement's text referred to Hezbollah as "an enemy" of Israel, the U.S., and Lebanon, and called for its dismantlement.
Hezbollah chief Naim Kassem, in a written statement read on television, said the agreement's terms would amount to "surrender, defeat and achieving the enemy's goals." He said the deal was "absurd, humiliating, and insulting" and demanded a full Israeli withdrawal as a precondition for any cessation of hostilities. A Hezbollah official, speaking to NPR anonymously, told Lebanon's president that Israeli forces must depart from southern Lebanon for a truce to take hold.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described the agreement as "the last chance to enter a final and comprehensive ceasefire" and said Lebanon was ready to implement it once relevant factions — including Hezbollah — responded. He said the United States and Trump himself would determine how and when the deal is implemented. The three negotiating parties agreed to reconvene the week of June 22 for further talks, according to the Washington Examiner.