Israel Strikes Lebanon Hours After Washington Peace Deal Signed as Hezbollah Vows to Fight On

Israeli drone strikes have killed at least one person in southern Lebanon and wounded several others, just a day after Israel and Lebanon signed a US-brokered framework agreement intended to pave the way for lasting peace between the two countries. Lebanon's health ministry confirmed the casualty, while the country's state news agency reported a strike on the southern town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, followed by additional attacks in the surrounding area.

The Israeli military acknowledged carrying out the drone strike, stating that it targeted an individual who posed a direct threat to its forces, though it offered no further details. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz later announced that Israeli forces had been instructed to "prepare for an extended stay in the security zone" — a strip of territory stretching up to 10 kilometres inside Lebanese soil.

The four-point Washington framework stipulates that Israeli forces will withdraw from the South Litani area, handing exclusive territorial control to the Lebanese army. However, Israeli troops are permitted under the deal to remain within an expanded security zone in southern Lebanon — a provision that has drawn fierce criticism from Hezbollah.

Hezbollah Rejects Deal, Calls It 'Humiliating'

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, whose group was excluded from the Washington negotiations, strongly condemned the agreement on Saturday, describing it as "humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty." Qassem declared the deal "null and void" and warned that conditions tying Israel's withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament crossed "all red lines." He further cautioned that the agreement could eventually lead to the annexation of southern Lebanese territory, and vowed that Hezbollah would continue its armed resistance.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, by contrast, hailed the Washington agreement as "historic" and described it as "a blow to Iran and Hezbollah." The conflict drew Lebanon in when Iran-backed Hezbollah launched missiles into Israel, prompting a sweeping Israeli air campaign and a ground invasion in the south of the country.

According to Lebanon's health ministry, Israeli attacks have claimed at least 4,192 lives since the current round of fighting began, with more than 11,600 people injured and over 1.2 million displaced. Israel reports the loss of 36 soldiers and four civilians. A prior ceasefire brokered by the United States in April collapsed, and a renewed truce agreed in June remains fragile as both sides test its limits.