U.S. Brokers Israel-Lebanon Framework Deal, but Hezbollah Calls It 'Null and Void'

A deal signed without the group that controls the ground

Israel and Lebanon signed a U.S.-brokered trilateral framework agreement in Washington on Friday, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it a "first step" toward "lasting peace and security" — even as he acknowledged it marks only "the beginning of the beginning."nytimes +1 The 14-point document outlines a sequenced process: the Lebanese Armed Forces would restore sovereignty over southern Lebanon, but only after the "verified disarmament of non-state armed groups" — a condition squarely aimed at Hezbollah.aljazeera +1 Within hours of the signing, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the deal as "null and void," calling it "humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty," and demanding Israel end its military occupation first.aljazeera +1

What the framework does — and doesn't — do

The agreement commits Israel to a partial, phased military withdrawal, beginning with two "pilot zones" where the Lebanese army would assume exclusive control: one south of the Litani River and a second smaller area north of it.aljazeera +1 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that Israeli forces would remain in a broader "security zone" in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah disarms, flatly rejecting any linkage to the wider U.S.-Iran ceasefire.bbc Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun described the deal as "the first step on the path to restoring Lebanon's sovereignty," but Hezbollah supporters flooded streets in Beirut in protest, blocking the road to the airport.aljazeera

The deal was reached as the Lebanon conflict has repeatedly jeopardized the broader U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding signed June 15. Just over a week ago, Iran refused to attend planned peace talks in Switzerland — forcing Vice President JD Vance to cancel his trip — because it demanded fighting in Lebanon stop first.pbs A renewed Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire was later brokered, and the Switzerland talks eventually proceeded.pbs Washington has feared that ongoing clashes in southern Lebanon, which Iran views as a core condition of its broader deal, could unravel the entire peace architecture.bbc +1

A deal that bypasses its most important actor

Analysts are openly skeptical the framework can hold without Hezbollah's buy-in. "Without Hezbollah's consent, this is not going to happen," Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem said. "The Lebanese government isn't capable of imposing this deal. It's not the de facto force on the ground."aljazeera Tahani Mustafa of the European Council on Foreign Relations argued that Israel and the U.S. would "use the fact that Hezbollah refuses to disarm and capitulate to blame Hezbollah for derailing the entire process."aljazeera

Iran's state media, meanwhile, framed the framework as permitting Israel to violate Article 1 of the Islamabad MoU, which mandates an end to hostilities on all fronts.aljazeera The U.S. announced an immediate $100 million humanitarian aid contribution to Lebanon as part of the agreement, and Netanyahu acknowledged the deal could "eliminate any future need" for Israeli presence in Lebanon — provided Hezbollah lays down its arms.nytimes +1