Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group, has rejected a renewed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, calling the negotiations ‘futile’ and ‘humiliating’ for Lebanon, according to a BBC report. The group’s leader, Naim Qassem, stated that the deal was ‘categorically rejected by broad segments of the Lebanese people.’

Agreement Includes Security Zones

Israel and Lebanon announced the renewal of their fragile ceasefire, which includes the creation of ‘pilot’ security zones within Lebanon where Hezbollah operatives would be banned. The joint statement, released on Wednesday by the US State Department, emphasized the deal was ‘contingent on a complete cessation’ of fire by Hezbollah.

Rejection From Hezbollah and Local Community

Hezbollah’s leader argued that the ‘supposed ceasefire’ amounted to surrender and would fulfill Israel’s objectives. This sentiment was echoed in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahieh. A storekeeper, Sami, who has operated there for 25 years, expressed doubts about the agreement, stating, ‘You cannot have a ceasefire from one side, it’s going to be an all side or no ceasefire.’

On Thursday, there had been strikes in Lebanon, which Sami questioned, asking, ‘If this was supposed to be a truce, what did that make it?’ He added, ‘This is surrender. This is not a peace agreement. This is a surrender agreement.’

Across the road, another store owner, Hadi, whose family store has been around for 35 years, shared similar sentiments. He said, ‘My generation, my dad’s generation, my grandpa’s generation, they didn’t see anything of hope from these people – not necessarily the Israeli people. You can say the Israeli government.’

Terms and Conditions of the Agreement

The agreement, reached after a fourth round of US-mediated talks in Washington, requires the ‘evacuation of all [Hezbollah] operatives’ from an area between the Israeli border and the Litani river, about 30km (19 miles) to the north. This area is currently occupied by Israeli ground forces.

According to the deal, the US would assist in creating ‘pilot zones in which the Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors.’ The agreement does not include maps indicating where the pilot zones would be located or how they might work in practice.

The agreement followed a partial ceasefire announced on Monday, which Lebanon said would see Israel refrain from bombing the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in exchange for Hezbollah not attacking Israel. The two countries’ representatives will meet again on 22 June to hold further talks ‘with a view toward reaching a broad agreement.’

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stated the ceasefire ‘could be implemented within 24 hours of its final approval’ by all concerned parties. Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military would ‘for the time being, continue its fire and operations on the ground’ to ‘dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the area.’

Lebanese media reported multiple Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon on Thursday. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported five people were killed in air strikes on the Bekaa Valley town of Sohmor on Thursday. Another person was killed when a motorcycle was targeted by an Israeli aircraft in the town of Maaroub, near the city of Tyre.

The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (Unifil) said one of its peacekeepers had died of wounds sustained when mortar shells struck his position near Marjayoun late on Wednesday. The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of firing the mortars that landed inside the UN position overnight, killing the personnel member. The group has not yet commented on the incident.

Serbia’s defence ministry identified the peacekeeper as Senior Sergeant Milovan Jovanovic, one of around 170 Serbians in the 7,500-strong UN force. The Israeli military also said it had identified impacts of several ‘suspicious aerial targets’ in an area of southern Lebanon where Israeli troops were operating on Thursday afternoon. No injuries were reported, it added.

Hezbollah said earlier that it had targeted Israeli troops and military vehicles in the Lebanese town of Qantara and the area of Beaufort Castle with attack drones and rockets on Thursday.

Lebanon was drawn into the war between the US, Israel, and Iran on 2 March, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader. Israel responded with an air campaign across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south.

A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon on 16 April failed to stop the fighting, and last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to intensify its strikes on Hezbollah and advance deeper into Lebanon in response to drone and rocket attacks on communities in northern Israel.

At least 3,526 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the war, according to the country’s health ministry. Its figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The UN says more than one million people have also registered themselves as displaced in Lebanon, where Israeli evacuation orders cover more than an eighth of the country.

Israel says 26 of its soldiers and four Israeli civilians have been killed on both sides of the border during the war.