Hezbollah rejects Israel-Lebanon framework as Israeli strikes hit the south
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the US-mediated framework signed on June 26 between Israel and Lebanon, calling it “humiliating, shameful and a surrender of sovereignty” and vowing the group would “continue as a resistance in the field,” Al Jazeera reported . His central objection is that the accord ties any Israeli withdrawal to Hezbollah’s disarmament rather than requiring Israel to pull back from southern Lebanon.
The day after the signing, Israeli forces bombed southern towns including Markaba and Nabatieh al-Fawqa, killing one person and wounding two — the first casualties since the deal was finalized. Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, have signalled Israel may keep its security-zone presence in place regardless of any Hezbollah disarmament.
The agreement is meant to set a path toward normalisation, but it contains no explicit requirement for Israeli withdrawal. With the country’s most powerful armed faction rejecting it outright and strikes continuing, the framework faces immediate doubts over whether it can hold.