An Israeli drone struck the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon on Saturday, the first such attack since Israel and Lebanon signed a US-brokered security framework in Washington the previous day. The Israeli military confirmed the strike, stating it targeted an individual who posed a threat to its forces in an area where no ground troops were present. Lebanon’s state news agency reported damage to a local amusement park, while no casualties were immediately recorded. The location lies outside the security zone that Israel has declared it controls in the south.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the agreement provides for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from two areas north and south of the Litani River, to be replaced by Lebanese army units as a pilot programme. However, Israeli officials have made clear that the military will maintain a security zone in southern Lebanon and will continue to conduct operations against Hezbollah targets until the Iran-backed militia is disarmed. The military said the drone strike was necessary because no Israeli soldiers were in the immediate vicinity.

The Lebanese presidency, under Joseph Aoun, described the accord as a step toward ending Israeli occupation. Hezbollah’s leadership, by contrast, rejected the framework. Secretary-General Naim Qassem called the agreement a mistake that legitimises Israeli occupation, while deputy Hassan Fadlallah warned it infringes Lebanese sovereignty and could trigger severe internal divisions. The group, which refuses direct negotiations with Israel, views the deal as unilateral concessions by Beirut.

The framework, presented by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a first step toward lasting peace, establishes coordination mechanisms and envisages a gradual reduction of Hezbollah’s presence in parts of the south. It leaves unresolved the core questions of a full Israeli withdrawal and the disarmament of the militia. The hostilities that the accord seeks to pause erupted after Hezbollah launched attacks in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli operation in February. The Lebanese army is expected to deploy in the two pilot areas, but Israeli officials have conditioned any further pullback on the complete disarmament of Hezbollah. The next concrete step is the Lebanese army’s movement into those zones, though the timeline remains uncertain.