Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Saturday rejected a US-brokered security agreement between Lebanon and Israel, calling it a "surrender to Israel" and declaring the framework "null and void." The agreement, signed in Washington on Friday, outlines a phased Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon alongside the deployment of the Lebanese army. However, it also allows Israeli forces to remain temporarily in an expanded security zone.
Qassem accused the Lebanese government of making unilateral concessions and undermining Lebanon's sovereignty. He criticized provisions tying Israel's withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament, saying they crossed "all red lines." Reaffirming the group's position, Qassem said Hezbollah would continue its armed resistance. "We did not leave the battlefield in the most difficult circumstances, and we will not leave it," he said.
The agreement has drawn criticism beyond Hezbollah. The Amal movement, led by parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, denounced the framework as unbalanced, arguing that it entrenches conditions favoring Israel. The backlash comes as hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese, most of them Shi'ite Muslims, remain unable to return to homes in areas still occupied by Israeli forces.
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz welcomed the agreement, saying it allows Israel to maintain control of the designated security zone in southern Lebanon while preventing displaced residents from returning. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the agreement "historic" and "a blow to Iran and Hezbollah."
Under the four-point framework, Israel will withdraw its forces from the South Litani area, with the Lebanese army taking exclusive control of the vacated territory. However, Israeli forces are permitted to remain in an expanded security area in southern Lebanon. The deal calls for Israel to withdraw but only if Hezbollah disarms.
The agreement was signed without Hezbollah's involvement. Several previous ceasefire agreements that Lebanon has negotiated with Israel since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war were never implemented on the ground. Despite the deal, the Lebanese state news agency reported an Israeli drone strike near the southern city of Nabatiyeh.
The U.S. State Department published the text of the agreement, which aims to achieve "lasting peace" in the region. The agreement lays out a performance-based process under which the Lebanese Armed Forces would gradually restore state authority across Lebanon while disarming Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups. As those steps are verified, Israeli forces would progressively redeploy from Lebanese territory, with the ultimate goal of ending the long-running conflict and establishing peaceful relations between the two countries.
The agreement marks the most comprehensive U.S.-brokered effort in years to transform a fragile ceasefire into a lasting political settlement after months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group that the United States designates as a terrorist organization.