Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire, the US State Department announced on Wednesday following a fourth round of diplomatic talks in Washington. The agreement is contingent on a "complete cessation" of attacks by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group, as well as the evacuation of all its operatives from the area south of the Litani river — a major waterway in southern Lebanon that has long served as a security benchmark in the region. The two countries, which have no formal diplomatic relations, also agreed to establish "pilot zones" where the Lebanese Armed Forces would take "exclusive control" to the exclusion of all non-state actors, with US guidance. Further talks are scheduled for the week of 22 June, with the stated aim of reaching a comprehensive agreement.
The announcement came on a day of continued cross-border violence that underscored the fragility of the arrangement. Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in southern Lebanon, including two paramedics whose ambulance was hit in the Chehour area. Lebanon's health ministry accused Israel of "demonstrating contempt for international humanitarian law" and said at least 130 emergency and healthcare workers have been killed since fighting began. The Israeli military, which has in the past alleged that ambulances are used for military purposes without providing evidence, did not immediately comment. Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it fired rockets at Israeli troop positions in northern Israel, and the Israeli military confirmed intercepting a drone and two projectiles crossing the border.
The ceasefire deal builds on a partial truce announced earlier in the week, under which Israel agreed to refrain from large-scale strikes on Beirut in exchange for Hezbollah holding back from attacks on Israel. That arrangement was immediately tested, with a car struck near the Lebanese capital on Wednesday in what Lebanese media described as the closest Israeli strike to Beirut since the partial truce was declared. Hezbollah's position adds a significant complication: a senior official of the group, Mahmoud Qamati, said this week that Hezbollah would "not accept a partial ceasefire" and rejected the Washington talks outright, saying the group did not recognise their outcomes.
The broader diplomatic context is shaping the urgency behind the deal. US President Donald Trump confirmed he had a tense phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he was "a little bit perturbed" at Israel's continued military campaign in Lebanon, which has complicated US-led efforts to reach a wider agreement with Iran. Trump told reporters he would like to separate the Lebanon track from the Iran negotiations, but Tehran insists the two conflicts are linked and has warned that continued strikes on Beirut could trigger a "full-scale resumption" of war. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, reiterated that position on Wednesday. Netanyahu, for his part, said he and Trump share the goal of disarming Hezbollah and achieving peace between Israel and Lebanon.
The human toll of the conflict has been severe. At least 3,516 people have been killed in Lebanon since fighting erupted on 2 March, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel following an Israeli strike that killed Iran's supreme leader, drawing Lebanon into the broader US-Israel-Iran war. More than one million people have registered as displaced inside Lebanon, and Israeli evacuation orders now cover more than an eighth of the country's territory. Israel says 26 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed on both sides of the border. The joint statement issued after Wednesday's talks affirmed that all parties "rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon's future hostage" — a pointed reference to Iran and Hezbollah's influence over the country's political trajectory.