Israel to withdraw from two areas in Lebanon under newly signed agreement

By Oren Liebermann, Sean Lyngaas, and Charbel Mallo, CNN

(CNN) — Israel will withdraw from two areas in southern Lebanon, transferring the sites to the Lebanese military, under an initial agreement signed Friday after four days of talks in Washington.

The deal, which both sides framed as a first step, comes as Israel has been waging a sustained war against Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah. Israeli attacks on the group in Lebanon have complicated efforts to secure a lasting peace agreement between the United States and Iran.

The US-brokered negotiations led to a trilateral deal between Israel, Lebanon and the US that would enable “future agreement” on a broader peace deal, according to a senior Israeli official.

Lebanon’s Ambassador to the US, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, said the agreement would be the “first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would withdraw from areas north and south of the Litani River. The Israeli-occupied territory in southern Lebanon includes the area south of the river. In a pre-recorded video statement on Friday evening, Netanyahu said Israeli forces were leaving sites that the IDF “does not need” in Lebanon.

CNN previously reported that Israel was considering “symbolic” withdrawals from occupied territory in southern Lebanon as a “gesture” to the Lebanese government.

The US State Department was hosting a fifth round of talks between Israel and Lebanon in an attempt by the Trump administration to reach a broader agreement between the two countries, which have never had diplomatic relations.

Today is “the beginning of the beginning,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the signing ceremony. “We don’t, in any way, underestimate the difficulty of the task ahead. But we understand the importance of it, how vital it is. And we are honored to play a part in bringing this together.”

That difficulty was underscored Saturday when Israel carried out a drone attack in southern Lebanon. An IDF official told CNN the strike was aimed at eliminating a terrorist who posed a threat to its forces.

Under the agreement signed Friday, the Lebanese Armed Forces would move into the designated areas around the Litani River as part of a pilot program.

Netanyahu described the agreement as a major win for Israel, allowing the Israeli military to remain in much of the territory it occupied in southern Lebanon, as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed.

“This is also a major blow to Iran,” Netanyahu said. “Iran is trying to force us into a withdrawal from southern Lebanon by force. In effect, Israel, Lebanon, and the United States are telling them: this is none of your business.”

Lebanon also framed the deal in a positive light. In a statement issued after the signing, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun thanked the Trump administration for hosting the negotiations. He said the agreement would allow the people of Lebanon to “return to their fully liberated land … under sovereignty of a Lebanese state that has no partner in its sovereignty over its land and its people,” an apparent reference to Iran’s influence in the country through Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, criticized the deal. In a lengthy statement Saturday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said the agreement was “a squandering of Lebanon’s sovereignty.”

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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Eyad Kourdi and Eugenia Yosef contributed reporting.