Israel and Lebanon agree to renew ceasefire, make security zones

The United Nations chief proposed three options to help end the decades-old conflict between Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and Israel.

Beirut, Jun 4: Israel and Lebanon have agreed to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah militants would be banned.

In a joint statement released after a fourth round of US-mediated talks at the State Department, the two sides said the ceasefire “is contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from areas south of the Litani River.

It was not immediately clear how the security zones would be established but the agreement calls for the Lebanese army to take full control of those areas.

“These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement,” the statement said.

“All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments. They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage.”

The latter is a reference to Iran, which supports Hezbollah and has insisted that Israeli attacks on Lebanon be halted as part of a tentative agreement with the US to end the conflict with Iran.

Hezbollah is not part of the Israel-Lebanon talks.

UN chief proposes three options to end Israel-Hezbollah conflict

The United Nations chief has proposed three options to help end the decades-old conflict between Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and Israel when the 8,100-member UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon ends on December 31.

All of the options presented to the UN Security Council by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would continue UN military monitoring of the boundary between Israel and Lebanon, support Lebanese forces in deploying throughout the country and strengthen political efforts to end the fighting, which has persisted despite a nominal ceasefire.

UN peacekeepers have played a significant role in monitoring the security situation in southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold, for decades. Six of the peacekeepers have been killed in recent months.

US resolution demands Hezbollah to disarm

Bowing to demands from the United States and its close ally Israel, the Security Council voted unanimously in August 2025 to terminate the peacekeeping mission known as UNFIL and asked Guterres to present options for implementing a 2006 resolution that ended a monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The resolution demands that Hezbollah disarm, Israeli forces withdraw and the Lebanese army deploy throughout the country as the sole military force. None of this has happened.

In his letter to the Security Council on Monday, Guterres said the recurring hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah show the imperative of implementing the 2006 resolution, which is the framework toward peace.