TEL AVIV: The Israeli military said it carried out an air strike on Saturday targeting suspected fighters in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon, the first such attack since Washington announced a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon. Israel, Lebanon and the United States signed a trilateral agreement aimed at paving the way for a broader peace deal between the two Middle East nations.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said that Saturday's air strike targeted "suspected militants who posted a threat to IDF soldiers" in the Nabatieh area. "The results of the strike are still being assessed." Lebanon was drawn into the broader Middle East war on March 2 when the group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.
Israel responded with heavy air strikes and a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, where its troops occupy swathes of territory and have been carrying out extensive demolitions of homes and other buildings. Friday's US-brokered agreement followed five rounds of negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese officials aimed at ending the fighting.
The deal "begins to put in place a framework for lasting peace and security," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the signing ceremony.
"It's the beginning of the beginning. There's a lot of work ahead." According to the text of the agreement, Israel and Lebanon "declare their intent to conclusively end the conflict, address its underlying causes, and therewith formally conclude any state of war between them." Lebanon does not recognise Israel and the two have officially been at war for decades, although Israel has largely fought Hezbollah and other non-state actors in its conflicts in Lebanon.
In the agreement, Israel says its military actions in Lebanon "are solely a consequence of the attacks, threat posed by, and hostile intent of non-state armed groups, particularly Hezbollah." "Termination of this threat," notably through disarmament of such non-state groups and "additional security arrangements to be agreed upon between the two countries," will eliminate any future necessity for IDF military action or presence in Lebanon, it says. It also stressed that "the Government of Israel declares that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon."
Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem condemned the US-Israel-Lebanon framework agreement on Saturday, saying it is a major mistake by the government and that his group deems it null and void. "The framework agreement in Washington is humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty. This agreement is null and void, and the provisions of the Iranian-American memorandum of understanding must be implemented," Qassem said in a statement, referring to the deal to end the broader Middle East war, which includes a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Qassem called on the government to withdraw from "its sins that are ruining Lebanon". He accused Lebanese authorities of committing a "grave blunder" and "legitimising the continuation of the (Israeli) occupation for many years," which "may even lead to the annexation of these lands". Hezbollah strongly rejects direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, which have been ongoing since April.
Separately, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday welcomed the US-Israel-Lebanon framework agreement as a "critical step" away from conflict in the Middle East. "I welcome the agreement between Israel and Lebanon. This is a critical step away from escalation. Because there can be no peace in the Middle East with Lebanon in flames," she said in a statement posted on X, thanking Washington for its mediation role. "Key next steps are the disarmament of non-state groups and preserving Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity," she stressed. Von der Leyen added that "the EU stands ready to support this path to lasting regional stability, also with the continued delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid, with EUR 100 million euros mobilised for the displaced." — AFP
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