Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called on the United States to "keep always standing beside" Lebanon following a recent US-backed framework deal with Israel aimed at permanently ending hostilities sparked by the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict. In a message to President Donald Trump marking the US 250th Independence Day, Aoun expressed hope that Lebanon could "open a new page of hope, peace and stability," while Washington's embassy in Beirut echoed the sentiment, pledging solidarity with the Lebanese people. The framework deal — which calls for Hezbollah's disarmament, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army to border areas — has been rejected by Hezbollah, which objects to the absence of a fixed withdrawal timetable, and Israeli strikes have continued intermittently in the south despite a ceasefire that took effect on 21 June.