Israel and Hezbollah have dashed hopes for a “last chance” ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, with Tel Aviv insisting it will continue military operations until a demilitarized zone is established, and Hezbollah vowing to fight on, calling the deal “a road map to exterminate part of the Lebanese people and enslave the rest.”
Lebanese contacts with domestic and international players are continuing in a bid to rescue the agreement.
The effort to salvage the deal, reached between the Lebanese state and Israel during direct talks in Washington on Wednesday, appeared to show that the crisis is tied to regional developments.
Lebanese ministerial sources said Lebanon had received Hezbollah’s rejection of the agreement from its secretary-general, Naim Qassem, “pending clarity on the Iranian position.” Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who supports a comprehensive ceasefire, remained silent.
Two obstacles appeared to be undercutting the agreement. The first was the failure to secure a comprehensive ceasefire across Lebanon. The second was Israel’s demand for “freedom of movement.”
A third hurdle, Hezbollah’s demand for a clause requiring Israel to withdraw from occupied territory, was eased after the Shiite duo accepted a timetable for withdrawal, starting after the ceasefire takes effect, with the next steps to proceed “step for step.”
A “last chance” agreement
Official Lebanon sees the deal as “the last chance” for a final and comprehensive ceasefire.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in remarks to reporters that “each party must bear responsibility if it does not respond” to the statement and its provisions, which he described as highly important for Lebanon.
Aoun said that once replies are received from the concerned domestic parties, especially Hezbollah, Lebanon’s position will be relayed to the American side so the next steps can be determined.
Aoun praised the resolve of the Lebanese negotiating team, led by Ambassador Simon Karam, saying Wednesday’s talks were extremely difficult.
Karam, he said, suspended one round of negotiations and refused to move to any other issue before a comprehensive ceasefire was settled.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio then intervened to resume the talks, which ended with Lebanon’s demand for a comprehensive ceasefire being accepted.
Aoun said he remained in contact with international and domestic parties throughout Wednesday and into the early hours of Thursday to secure the comprehensive ceasefire.
He said brotherly and friendly states had helped put pressure on Lebanon’s side, and that US President Donald Trump would be the direct guarantor of the agreement’s implementation.
The deal could take effect 24 hours after Trump is notified of approval and the necessary guarantees are provided.
Israel and Hezbollah respond
The response came quickly. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the army would not stop firing and would remain in the occupied areas “until Hezbollah elements are first removed from the entire area south of the Litani and a demilitarized zone is established.”
He also insisted on freedom of movement, including the right to strike targets in Beirut.
Qassem, for his part, called the agreement “a road map to exterminate part of the Lebanese people and enslave the rest.”
“We are concerned only with stopping the comprehensive aggression, with a ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal,” he said.
“The ceasefire must be comprehensive. There can be no partition between the south and the rest of Lebanon, and no freedom for the Israeli enemy to kill in Lebanon. As long as the occupation exists, the resistance continues.”
Qassem said Hezbollah had given no one a pledge not to resist or respond to aggression.
“As long as the aggression continues, we will confront it with all the power we have, and we will reach it wherever we decide and are able,” he said.
“As long as our villages are not safe, are bombed and destroyed, and our people are killed, the settlements will not be safe, and they will see our force and severity.”
He said Hezbollah rejected any link between the presence of the resistance, stopping the aggression, and Israel’s withdrawal.
“No one has the right to interfere in Lebanon’s internal affairs among the Lebanese, in organizing their political, economic, and social life, and the decisions they agree on regarding the sovereignty and protection of their country within the national security strategy they agree on,” he said.
Prime Minister
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam supports the official negotiating track. Opening a cabinet session, Salam said: “The negotiating path we chose is the fastest and least costly route for Lebanon and the Lebanese, and for the south and its people.”
He said negotiation “was not the only available option, but it was the best option.”
Referring to Aoun’s statement that “the negotiations were not easy, and our delegation faced Israeli intransigence,” Salam said Lebanon’s demands were unchanged.
“What we are demanding in these negotiations is not new,” he said.
“It is what we said from day one, a full Israeli withdrawal from our land, the return of our people to their homes and villages with dignity and safety, armed with our right to our land, the support of our Arab brothers, international support, and American understanding.”
On clearing the area south of the Litani of gunmen and weapons, Salam said, “This is not a condition imposed on us by anyone. This is what Lebanon pledged to the world when it agreed to Resolution 1701 in 2006.”
On the state’s exclusive control of arms across Lebanon, he said, “We have been very late in implementing what was stipulated in the Taif Agreement, which the Lebanese signed, and what was also included in our ministerial statement. We missed the opportunity in 2000 after the Israeli withdrawal, and then after the Syrian withdrawal in 2005. We must not miss this opportunity as well, because missing it this time will have grave consequences.”
Salam urged “all parties to place the interest of Lebanon and its people above any other interest, whether foreign or factional, and to bear their responsibilities.”
“Whoever rejects or stalls will alone bear the burden of what may result from that, before history, and more importantly before the Lebanese people, who have suffered greatly and made the greatest sacrifices,” he said.
