US announces framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced the deal after talks unfolded in Washington, DC.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced a deal framework between Lebanon and Israel after negotiations in Washington, DC.

Details about the agreement remain scarce. But in his remarks on Friday, Rubio made clear that the deal was only the “first step” in further negotiations.

“It’s the beginning of the beginning,” Rubio said, surrounded by representatives from both Lebanon and Israel.

“There’s a lot of work ahead. We don’t in any way underestimate the difficulty of the task ahead, but we understand the importance of it, how vital it is.”

The two sides had gathered in Washington, DC, for four days of US-mediated talks this week, starting on Tuesday.

Ongoing fighting in Lebanon has threatened to disrupt efforts to forge a ceasefire between Iran and the US.

On June 17, the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to bring to a halt the US-Israeli war against Iran. That 14-point document required “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.

But Israel has occupied nearly a fifth of Lebanon, and it continued to bombard the country after the memorandum was signed.

Last Friday, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire, but Israeli troops remain stationed in southern Lebanon, and while its attacks have lessened, they have not stopped.

The Lebanese group Hezbollah has since called on Israel to withdraw from the country as a necessary condition for peace. “Israel must leave unconditionally,” Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said.

The continued fighting in Lebanon has become a growing source of tension between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, who is facing domestic backlash over the war against Iran.

Earlier this month, Trump confirmed he called Netanyahu “crazy”, though he has insisted the Israeli leader is a “very good man” with whom he has an “amazing partnership”. 

“We have a little dispute over Lebanon,” Trump said at the Group of 7 (G7) summit in France last week. “You don’t have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah.”

He then encouraged Netanyahu to adopt a “softer touch” in approaching Lebanon.

“They could do a much better job with Hezbollah on that. I don’t think they’re doing well. And I feel very bad for Lebanon,” Trump added.

In Friday’s news conference, Rubio echoed that message of concern for Lebanon.

“The people of Lebanon have suffered tremendously now for decades as a result of outside interference in their affairs, of countries trying to use the country as a launchpad for attacks,” he said. “This is not what the people of Lebanon want, and that’s not what they deserve.”

This is not the first time the US has hosted talks between Israel and Lebanon in recent months, though such negotiations had been otherwise rare.

In April, Rubio hosted talks between the two sides after ongoing fighting in Lebanon threatened to derail another US-Iran ceasefire agreement, signed on April 7.

It was touted as the first high-level engagement between the two sides since 1993, but that meeting ultimately concluded with little more than an agreement “to launch direct negotiations” in future.

That was followed by a two days of negotiations in May, which concluded with “a framework for negotiations to advance lasting peace”, similar to what was announced on Friday.