War in the Middle East: Lebanon announces Hezbollah’s agreement to a plan of "mutual cessation of attacks" with Israel

The Lebanese authorities announced Monday June 1 that Hezbollah had accepted an American proposal for a “mutual cessation of attacks” with Israel, Donald Trump urging the two camps to stop fighting “forever”, on the eve of Israeli-Lebanese negotiations in Washington.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier said that the army would strike Beirut in the event of Hezbollah fire against Israeli targets, triggering the flight of part of the population of the Lebanese capital. On his social network Truth Social, Donald Trump indicated Monday evening that he had asked the Israeli leader “not to launch a major raid on Beirut”, and that the latter had accepted.

The American president declared that Hezbollah had “agreed to stop shooting at Israel and its soldiers.” “Likewise, Israel agreed to stop shooting at them. Let’s see how long this lasts – let’s hope it’s FOREVER!”, he added.

“Repeated ceasefire violations”

“The Lebanese authorities have received confirmation of Hezbollah’s acceptance of the American proposal providing for a mutual cessation of attacks”, indicates a press release from the Lebanese embassy in the United States, distributed by the office of the Lebanese presidency shortly before an emergency meeting of the Council of security in Lebanon at the request of Paris.

“Under the proposed arrangement, Israeli strikes on Dahiyeh (the southern suburbs of Beirut) would cease in exchange for Hezbollah’s commitment to refrain from launching attacks against Israel, with the framework of the ceasefire to be expanded to cover the entire Lebanese territory,” the text adds.

While American diplomacy was active, Benjamin Netanyahu had asked in the morning for the army to strike “terrorist targets” in the southern suburbs of Beirut, stronghold of the Shiite movement, arguing “repeated violations of the ceasefire” by Hezbollah and attacks against the “cities and citizens” of its country. The Israeli army then called for the evacuation of this densely populated area, while intensifying its ground offensive in Lebanon where it is carrying out its deepest military incursion in 26 years.

“Aggression féroce”

The European Union also called on Israel, which withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 after 18 years of occupation, to stop its “military escalation”, while the UN said it was “very worried”. In a report sent Monday to the Security Council, seen by AFP, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres judged that maintaining a UN military presence in Lebanon after the departure of the current peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) at the end of 2026 will be “necessary”.

On the ground Monday, hostilities continued. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for missile attacks against military targets in northern Israel and the Israeli army struck more than 40 locations in the south, including in Tire near a hospital, causing damage and injuring several people, according to the National Agency. information (ANI, official).Â
         
Denouncing a “ferocious aggression” from the neighboring country, President Joseph Aoun nevertheless affirmed that the negotiations between the two countries, which Hezbollah opposes, and of which a fourth session is to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, remained “the only way to end the war”. Lebanon was drawn into the regional conflict on March 2, with a Hezbollah attack on Israel in retaliation for Israeli-US strikes against Iran. A truce is believed to have suspended fighting since April 17.

Accusing Israel of crossing “red lines”, while negotiations are slipping to end the war in the Middle East, Iran for its part threatened to open “new fronts”, despite the truce in force since April 8. Tehran had earlier reaffirmed that any agreement to end the war in the Middle East would be conditional on a ceasefire in Lebanon.