Hezbollah rejects Israel-Lebanon ceasefire deal as Trump claims progress
Hezbollah rejected the new Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, which requires its fighters to withdraw from south of the Litani River, per NPR. Strikes continued after the announcement, per Time. President Trump says progress is being made. Talks resume the week of June 22, per the Washing
Hezbollah has rejected the ceasefire deal that Israel and Lebanon agreed this week, leaving the agreement in doubt one day after it was announced. The deal, reached after talks in Washington, made a full ceasefire conditional on Hezbollah halting attacks and withdrawing its fighters from the area south of the Litani River, per Axios. It also set up pilot zones in southern Lebanon where the Lebanese Armed Forces would take exclusive control and Israeli forces would withdraw, per the Washington Post. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the requirement to pull fighters out of southern Lebanon while under attack would amount to surrender, per NPR. A Hezbollah official told AFP the group has informed Lebanese authorities of its rejection. Hours after the agreement was announced, strikes continued on both sides of the border, per Time. President Trump said progress has been made toward ending the fighting and stated that Hezbollah did not reject the US-brokered proposal, per the Times of Israel. The group has not publicly endorsed the deal, per Bloomberg. Both sides plan to meet for further talks in the week of June 22, with the goal of reaching a comprehensive agreement, per the Washington Post. Sources: NPR, Washington Post, Axios, Time, Times of Israel, Bloomberg.