Israel and Lebanon have signed a framework agreement mediated by the United States that aims to end months of conflict with Hezbollah, though the militant group was not party to the negotiations.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the framework on 26 June 2026 alongside Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh, who signed on behalf of their respective governments. The agreement's specific terms were not made public.
Leiter said "In this performance-based trilateral framework agreement, Iran is out. Hezbollah is out. And the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in."
Hamadeh described the framework "as a first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, securing a permanent and final cessation of hostilities, enabling our people to go back to their land and allowing all Lebanese to live in peace, security, and prosperity".
Conflict background and casualties
The conflict began on 28 February when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel after a joint Israel-US military operation against Iran. Israel subsequently invaded Lebanon and has expanded the territory under its control.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 4000 people in Lebanon since March. The fighting has killed at least 37 Israeli soldiers in Lebanon or northern Israel during the same period.
A temporary lull in fighting earlier this week began to deteriorate after Israeli strikes on Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon.
Competing priorities and pilot zones
Lebanese officials have stated their primary objective is securing the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. Israeli officials have said Hezbollah's disarmament is their top priority.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told a British parliamentary delegation that a pilot zones proposal is under discussion, subject to Israeli approval. Under this proposal, the Lebanese army would assume exclusive control of areas as Israeli troops withdraw.
Aoun stated that the Israel-Lebanon negotiations in Washington are proceeding separately from concurrent Iran-US talks in Switzerland.
An Israeli official said discussions include redeploying Israeli forces after clearing Hezbollah infrastructure and disarming the group. However, the source article notes Hezbollah is unlikely to accept any plan requiring its disarmament throughout Lebanon.
Hezbollah maintains it is required under previous agreements and UN resolutions to disarm only in the area south of the Litani River near Lebanon's border with Israel, not across all of Lebanon.
Israeli position on security zone
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the framework a major achievement for Israel.
"The most important thing, first and foremost, is that Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon. This is a major achievement, and we will maintain it as long as Hezbollah has not been disarmed and as long as it continues to pose a threat to the State of Israel," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu stated Israel is permitting the Lebanese army to begin preparing to assume territorial control. Israel is establishing 2 pilot zones based on military recommendations.
One pilot zone is located outside the security zone and south of the Litani River. The second zone is positioned north of the Litani River.
Implementation challenges
Hezbollah was excluded from the framework agreement negotiations. Previous ceasefire agreements from earlier rounds of talks were never implemented on the ground.