Israel and Lebanon signed a peace framework agreement on Friday, according to an announcement from the State Department, marking the latest effort to end months of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Officials have released few specific details from the agreement, which was signed by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh.
“We’re happy to announce a framework agreement between the sovereign government of Lebanon and the government of Israel, with the mediation and support of the United States of America,” the State Department said in a social media post.
Representatives from the United States, Israel, and Lebanon signed a trilateral framework following lengthy negotiations aimed at ending the conflict and laying out the groundwork for a future peace agreement.
Under the agreement, Israel will maintain a security zone along the Yellow Line, a several-mile deep buffer zone inside Lebanon occupied by the Israeli military since the war began earlier this year. The Yellow Line is north of the Blue Line, which is a boundary drawn by the United Nations between Israel and Lebanon following Israel’s withdrawal from the region in 2000.
“Israel and Lebanon have agreed on two areas adjacent to the Blue Line, as recommended by the IDF, where a pilot program will be conducted to disarm Hezbollah and transfer control of the territory to the Lebanese Army: one area outside the Blue Line and south of the Litani River, and the other outside the original Blue Line and north of the Litani River,” a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
The latest conflict between Israel and Lebanon began after Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel just days after Feb. 28, when Israel and the U.S. launched their war on Iran.
“Israel will maintain its security zone along the Yellow Line in Lebanon until the day when Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations in Lebanon are disarmed and no longer pose a threat to the territory of the State of Israel from Lebanon,” officials said.
The negotiations were separate from the interim agreement reached last week between the U.S. and Iran. That accord reportedly established a 60-day negotiating period focused on key issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program, an allegation Tehran denies.
Lebanon pursued direct negotiations with Israel after the latest conflict began, while Hezbollah was not a participant in the talks. Previous ceasefire agreements between Israel and Hezbollah were announced during the conflict but were never fully implemented.
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“The most important thing, first and foremost, is that Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in a video on Friday. “This is a major achievement, and we will maintain it as long as Hezbollah has not been disarmed and as long as it continues to pose a threat to the State of Israel.”
More than 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since March. At least 37 Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Lebanon or northern Israel during the fighting.