Israel, Lebanon and the United States signed a trilateral framework agreement in Washington on Friday, following five rounds of US-mediated talks. The accord, described by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “the beginning of the beginning,” sets out a structured process for the Lebanese Armed Forces to assume control of two pilot areas in southern Lebanon from which Israeli troops will withdraw, and for the eventual disarmament of non-state armed groups — a reference to Hezbollah. Washington committed $100 million in humanitarian assistance, $30 million in reimbursements to the Lebanese army, and the creation of a US-facilitated military coordination group to oversee implementation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu framed the deal as a strategic blow to Iran, stating that “Iran is out, Hezbollah is out, and the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in.” He stressed that Israeli forces would remain in a security zone in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is fully disarmed. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the framework as a “first step” toward restoring full sovereignty and enabling displaced civilians to return, while the Lebanese ambassador in Washington said it would secure a “permanent and final cessation of hostilities.” US officials presented the agreement as a verifiable path to removing the threat on Israel’s northern border and a genuine exit from crisis for Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which was not a party to the talks, immediately rejected the accord. Hassan Fadlallah, a member of the group’s parliamentary bloc, warned that Lebanese authorities “will not be able to enforce the agreement … unless they go, with American support, to civil war,” and insisted Hezbollah would not surrender its weapons. Iranian negotiators had previously conditioned an end to the broader war with the US and Israel on a ceasefire in Lebanon, and Tehran views the Lebanese front as inseparable from the wider conflict. The signing in Washington thus unfolded against the backdrop of a separate interim US-Iran deal that included a 60-day negotiation window, with Iranian officials arguing that the Lebanon framework could undermine that process.

The latest hostilities erupted on 2 March when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader. Israel responded with a ground invasion and extensive airstrikes that Lebanese authorities say have killed more than 4,200 people and displaced over a million. Several ceasefires brokered since April collapsed, and a fragile truce this month allowed the Washington talks to proceed. The framework does not constitute a final peace treaty, and its success hinges on the Lebanese army’s capacity to assert control over territory where Hezbollah maintains a powerful armed presence. The US-facilitated military coordination group is expected to begin work on the pilot withdrawals, while further negotiations on a comprehensive settlement are anticipated in the coming weeks.