Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Saturday evening that Israel and Lebanon reached a security agreement. Netanyahu said Iran and Hezbollah tried to force Israel to withdraw from the security zone — and failed. The statement follows a framework agreement announced earlier Saturday that keeps the IDF in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Saturday evening that a security agreement has been reached between Israel and Lebanon, saying Iran and Hezbollah 'tried to force Israel to withdraw from the security zone — they did not succeed.' The statement, released by his office, builds on a day of rapid developments on the northern front.
Earlier Saturday, at 20:52 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that Netanyahu had described the framework agreement as a 'hard blow to Iran' and a message that Tehran is 'out of the game.' In subsequent updates at the same timestamp, he characterized Lebanon's signature as 'a very brave step' indicating a desire for peace, and stated his intention to form a broad national government. By 21:02 Jerusalem, the full framework was detailed: Israel will remain in the southern Lebanon security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed. At 21:08, Netanyahu added that over 200 Hezbollah operatives had been killed in the past two weeks and 9,000 since the war began — figures he reiterated tonight. The prime minister's latest framing explicitly claims that the Iran-Hezbollah attempt to force an Israeli withdrawal has collapsed.
As The Zioneer reported on June 8 (18:34 Jerusalem), Netanyahu had earlier declared that the equation Iran and Hezbollah tried to impose was 'unacceptable.' U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously called the framework 'the first and hardest step' toward peace (reported June 26, 22:16 Jerusalem). President Isaac Herzog noted on June 21 that Hezbollah 'hijacked Lebanon,' insisting Iran must be removed from the equation for any regional peace.
The full terms of the security agreement have not been publicly disclosed. The mechanism for verifying Hezbollah's disarmament — a condition for any Israeli withdrawal — remains unspecified, and it is unclear whether Lebanon's government has formally endorsed the deal's security arrangements beyond the framework.
8 developments
- ConfirmedNetanyahu details Lebanon security-zone framework; warns Iran against attack
- StrongNetanyahu: new framework with Lebanon a major blow to Iran; Rubio calls it 'first and hardest step'
- StrongNetanyahu: Beirut showed 'great courage,' a major blow to Iran, Hezbollah; Israel to remain at Beaufort
- ConfirmedNetanyahu addresses Lebanese people: 'Israel is not at war with you, but with Hezbollah'
Source and signal
- Internal intake