Israel and Lebanon agree to renew cease-fire, create Lebanese security zones
The joint statement, co-signed by Washington, Jerusalem and Beirut, demands Hezbollah withdraw from southern Lebanon and halt cross-border fire. The deal is described as 'progress toward a comprehensive peace and security agreement'
The joint statement, co-signed by Washington, Jerusalem and Beirut, demands Hezbollah withdraw from southern Lebanon and halt cross-border fire. The deal is described as 'progress toward a comprehensive peace and security agreement'
(L/R) US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, Deputy National Security Advisor Mike Needham, and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa attend a meeting with Israeli and Lebanese delegations at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday.Credit: Kent Nishimura/AFP
(L/R) US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, Deputy National Security Advisor Mike Needham, and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa attend a meeting with Israeli and Lebanese delegations at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday.Credit: Kent Nishimura/AFP
07:52 AM • June 04 2026 IDT
Israel and Lebanon announced early Thursday that they agreed to renew the fragile cease-fire that collapsed during the Iran war and create Lebanese security zones from which Hezbollah will be banned.
The statement, co-signed by Israel, Lebanon and the United States, said the cease-fire is contingent on Hezbollah removing all its fighters from the area south of the Litani River and a "complete cessation" of its fire.
According to the announcement, Israel and Lebanon agreed to create "pilot zones in which the Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of the territory." The joint statement also cited U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's Tuesday statement, saying Hezbollah is "an enemy of Lebanon."
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Beirut and Jerusalem, the agreement said, agreed to continue diplomatic and military talks in late June, hoping to eventually reach "a comprehensive agreement."
The joint statement was released after a fourth round of U.S.-mediated talks at the State Department.
The statement does not specify either the areas or the timetables – neither for an Israeli withdrawal nor for the "evacuation of Hezbollah" north of the Litani River. Unlike Gaza, where U.S. President Donald Trump's 20-point plan provided a general map showing Israeli control and future withdrawal goals, the Lebanon plan has neither.
"These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement," the statement said. "All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments. They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon's future hostage."
The latter is a reference to Iran, which supports Hezbollah and has insisted that Israeli attacks on Lebanon be halted as part of a tentative agreement with the U.S. to end the conflict with Iran. Hezbollah is not part of the Israel-Lebanon talks.
Israel's ambassador to the United States said that the agreement shows that "Israel and Lebanon want Iran out of our region."
Speaking to reporters, Yechiel Leiter said that, "we will work to make sure that Iran and its terror proxies won't continue to wreak havoc on our lives in the name of terror and destruction."
Earlier Wednesday, Lebanon's army said that a soldier was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a road between Nabatieh and Kfar Tibnit in southern Lebanon, and that an officer and another soldier were wounded in a separate drone strike near Deir al-Zahrani, north of Nabatieh.
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the village of Arnoun on June 3, 2026.Credit: AFP/-This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the village of Arnoun on June 3, 2026.Credit: AFP/-
The Lebanese army said in a statement that the strikes "are part of a pattern of deliberate targeting of military personnel, vehicles and positions," adding that the "systematic attacks aim to displace residents from their villages and towns and expose the true objectives behind the escalation of Israeli aggression."
In separate incidents, the pan-Arab Al-Ghad channel reported six drone strikes targeting vehicles in southern Lebanon. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said a paramedic was killed in one of the attacks, which struck the town of Arabsalim in the Nabatieh district.
Joint Statement of the United States of America, Republic of Lebanon, and State of Israel on the Latest High-Level Trilateral Meeting
Also Wednesday, the Israeli military issued evacuation order for several villages in southern Lebanon. The IDF's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, called on residents to leave their homes and move north of the Zahrani River, later issuing another order.
