U.S. brokers Israel-Lebanon framework to disarm Hezbollah and restore borders

Israel and Lebanon signed a U.S.-brokered framework in Washington on Thursday to push Hezbollah out of the border zone and strengthen Lebanese state control. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended the signing with Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, and Lebanon’s ambassador, Nada Hamadeh, and called it a first step toward peace.

Previous ceasefires between Israel and Hezbollah did not stop near-daily strikes, and the latest fighting began after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in March 2026, triggering Israeli strikes and a widening border war. A U.S. ceasefire implementation agreement on June 3 followed the fourth high-level trilateral meeting on June 2 and 3, and it required a complete halt to Hizbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hizbollah operatives from the South Litani Sector.

The new framework does not include Hezbollah. One Hezbollah-linked official warned it could lead to civil war. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the arrangement fit Lebanon’s sovereignty and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, and stressed that only legitimate Lebanese forces are authorized to bear arms. Israeli officials said the accord is a verifiable path to remove a continuing threat on Israel’s northern border while keeping direct negotiations with Lebanon under U.S. mediation.

The deal is performance-based, with implementation tied to Hezbollah’s compliance and to Lebanese state control south of the Litani. The framework also called for pilot zones where the Lebanese Armed Forces would take exclusive control and exclude non-state actors. The United States will support the Lebanese Armed Forces with more than $30 million under existing authorities and appropriations, and Washington will provide $100 million in humanitarian assistance coordinated with the United Nations. A Military Coordination Group for Lebanon will be facilitated by Washington.