Israeli Drones Strike Lebanon Hours After Washington Peace Deal Signed

Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon have left at least one person dead and two others wounded, according to Lebanon's health ministry — coming just hours after Israel and Lebanon signed a US-brokered framework agreement intended to lay the groundwork for lasting peace between the two countries.

Lebanon's state news agency reported that an Israeli drone targeted the southern town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, with further strikes following in the same area. The Israeli military confirmed carrying out the strike, stating it targeted an individual who posed a threat to its forces, though it gave no further details.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the Washington agreement as "historic" and characterised it as "a blow to Iran and Hezbollah." Under the four-point framework, Israeli forces are expected to withdraw from the South Litani area, with the Lebanese army taking exclusive control of that territory. However, Israeli forces are permitted to remain within an expanded security zone stretching up to 10 kilometres inside Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah, which was excluded from the negotiations, has fiercely rejected the deal. The group's leader, Naim Qassem, on Saturday condemned the agreement as "humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty," declaring it "null and void." He warned that provisions tying Israel's withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament crossed "all red lines" and vowed the group would continue its armed resistance. He also accused Lebanese authorities of committing a "grave blunder" that could potentially lead to the annexation of southern Lebanese lands.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz added to tensions on Saturday by ordering Israeli forces to "prepare for an extended stay in the security zone," signalling that a full military withdrawal remains far from imminent.

Since the current round of hostilities began, Lebanese health authorities report that Israeli attacks have killed at least 4,192 people, injured over 11,600, and displaced more than 1.2 million. Israel, for its part, says 36 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed. A previous US-brokered ceasefire in April collapsed, and a renewed fragile truce agreed in June has similarly struggled to hold.