Israel, Lebanon sign framework agreement with U.S. in ‘first step’ toward peace, Rubio says
Secretary of State Marco Rubio along with Israel and Lebanon’s Ambassadors announced a framework agreement Friday (June 26, 2026) that was described as a first
Secretary of State Marco Rubio along with Israel and Lebanon’s Ambassadors announced a framework agreement Friday (June 26, 2026) that was described as a first step toward peace following months of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The agreement does not include Hezbollah and prompted one of the group’s officials in Lebanon to warn of civil war. The U.S. State Department said the framework establishes a process for dismantling Hezbollah and for Lebanon to regain territory that was taken by Israeli forces as they battled the militant group. The US will facilitate a newly created “Military Coordination Group for Lebanon” to implement the framework, the State Department said, while committing $100 million in humanitarian assistance. “For Lebanon, this Framework provides a genuine pathway out of a long crisis,” the State Department said. “For Israel, it creates a verifiable path to removing the persistent threat on its northern border.” Friday’s (June 26, 2026) agreement was signed in front of Mr. Rubio in Washington by Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, and Nada Hamadeh Moawad, the Lebanese ambassador to the United States. Leiter said the final destination of the framework is peace between the two countries. “Our language is we want to embrace Lebanon,” he said. “Our language is we want to get in our car in Tel Aviv and take a drive up to Beirut, and we want Beirut to come down and take a drive to Tel Aviv. That’s where we’re going. That’s where we want to go.” Mr. Leiter said that will depend on Hezbollah being disarmed and dismantled, which will allow Israel to withdraw and Lebanon to “regain its full sovereignty.” “So it really depends on the Lebanese army,” Mr. Leiter said.
“It depends on the support the Lebanese army gets from the US. And we think it’s going to be solid.” Mr. Moawad said the framework “is 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.” Hezbollah official says group won’t give up weapons The latest conflict began when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel days after Israel and the U.S. launched their war on Iran on February 28. Israel invaded Lebanon and has expanded its control. More than 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since March. At least 37 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon or northern Israel during the fighting. Lebanese officials have said that securing a withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon is a top priority for them in the negotiations, while Israeli officials have prioritized the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The talks between Israel and Lebanon were separate from the interim deal that was signed last week by the leaders of the U.S. and Iran to end the fighting in the Islamic Republic. That agreement set a 60-day period for negotiations on key issues, including the future of Tehran’s nuclear programme amid concerns that Iran wants to use it for military purposes, a claim the country denies. The Lebanese government had been wary of having Iran negotiate on its behalf, and Lebanon launched its own direct negotiations with Israel after the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.
The BriefWire