Israel and Lebanon agree to implement conditional ceasefire

Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to implement a ceasefire but said it would require a “complete cessation” of fire by Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to a joint statement after US-led talks in Washington.

The two sides, which do not have formal diplomatic relations, also agreed to create “pilot zones” in which the Lebanese armed forces “will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors.”

The statement added that the two sides agreed to reconvene for more talks on “political and security tracks  the week of  June 22, with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement.”

“All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments,” the statement continued.

“They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage,” the document said, in apparent references to Iran and its allied militant group Hezbollah.

The negotiations come days after US President Donald Trump said the two countries had pledged to de-escalate.

But Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade fire, with Hezbollah claiming missile attacks on northern Israel Wednesday and Lebanon saying Israeli strikes in the south killed at least nine people, including two paramedics.