Israel and Lebanon they agreed to implement a cease-fire to halt hostilities, the Trump administration announced, as the United States tries to overcome one of the biggest obstacles to reaching a broader deal to end the war with Iran.
The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is conditional on a complete ceasefire by the armed group Hezbollah, which is linked to Iran, as well as the evacuation of all its fighters from the area south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon, according to a joint statement issued by the US State Department after the talks in Washington.
Despite the joint commitment to a cease-fire, Israel carried out several drone attacks this morning in the Nabatieh area, in southern Lebanon.
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.”
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A Hezbollah representative said the group would not accept a partial ceasefire, and the organization itself did not participate in the talks in Washington. The joint statement by the US, Israel and Lebanon did not specify when Israeli forces would withdraw from southern Lebanon, where Israel controls at least 608 square kilometers along the border.
Although the truce was due to take effect on April 17, fighting continued, with both sides accusing each other of violations.
The latest talks in Washington were the fourth round of direct contacts between Lebanese and Israeli diplomats since fighting resumed on March 2, when Hezbollah resumed attacks on Israel in a show of support for Iran.
Trump has tried to separate talks on Lebanon from talks on Iran, but Tehran insists the conflicts are linked. Iran has warned it could suspend talks with Washington if Israel’s offensive in Lebanon continues. At the same time, new tensions spread in the region after the attacks on Kuwait and near the Strait of Hormuz.
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