We need this ceasefire for all Lebanon, not just certain areas
Along the ancient fault lines of the Levant, where the ambitions of states and armed movements have long outlasted the agreements meant to contain them, Israel and Lebanon reached a fourth US-brokered ceasefire in as many months — this one contingent on Hezbollah withdrawing from southern Lebanon entirely. The arrangement carries the weight of genuine effort and the fragility of all such efforts: the group at the center of the conflict has refused to recognize the negotiations at all. More than three thousand lives lost and a million people displaced form the human ledger against which diplomats are still searching for an architecture of peace on ground that will not stop shaking.
- On the very day a new ceasefire was being negotiated in Washington, Israeli airstrikes hit southern Lebanon nine times and killed two paramedics inside a marked ambulance — a sign of how little the previous truce was holding.
- Hezbollah fired rockets and a drone into northern Israel the same day, openly defying the partial ceasefire announced just three days earlier and signaling that no agreement reached without them would bind them.
- The new deal introduces 'pilot' security zones in southern Lebanon under exclusive Lebanese Armed Forces control, demanding Hezbollah's complete withdrawal from the border region as the price of any lasting quiet.
- Hezbollah's political council flatly rejected the negotiations, refusing to recognize their findings — leaving the central armed actor in the conflict entirely outside the framework meant to end it.
- Over a million Lebanese remain displaced, 3,516 have been killed since March, and a 23-year-old student living in a tent on Beirut's waterfront captured the exhaustion of millions: she wants a ceasefire for all of Lebanon, not just one neighborhood or one front.
- The wider diplomatic architecture is fracturing along its own seams — Trump wants to separate US-Iran nuclear talks from the Israel-Hezbollah file, while Iran insists any regional deal must include Lebanon, leaving the pieces of peace in different hands.
On a Wednesday in early June, Israeli warplanes struck southern Lebanon at least nine times. Two paramedics died when their ambulance was hit near Chehour. Hezbollah fired rockets and a drone into northern Israel the same day. The partial ceasefire announced just three days earlier was already cracking.
By that evening, the United States announced a new agreement — the fourth round of Washington-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon. This time the truce came with structure: 'pilot' security zones in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah fighters would be banned entirely, with the Lebanese Armed Forces taking exclusive control. The whole arrangement depended on Hezbollah halting all attacks and withdrawing its operatives from the territory between the Litani River and the border. The two sides would meet again on June 22 to work toward something fuller.
But the group at the center of the conflict had not agreed to any of it. A member of Hezbollah's political council told the BBC his organization rejected the negotiations outright and did not recognize their findings. Hezbollah had not even officially commented on the new ceasefire announcement.
The war had been grinding since early March, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel following an Israeli strike that killed Iran's supreme leader. An earlier ceasefire in April had failed to hold. Last week, Netanyahu ordered the military to intensify strikes and push deeper into Lebanese territory. The human toll had become staggering: at least 3,516 killed, over a million displaced, and 128 paramedics and healthcare workers killed in just the past three months. Lebanon's health ministry accused Israel of 'demonstrating contempt for international humanitarian law' after the ambulance strike; Israel offered no immediate comment.
At Beirut's waterfront, thousands of displaced people were living in tents. A 23-year-old student named Mariam Hessa told the BBC what she needed: 'I want the ceasefire to be for all Lebanon, not just for an area like Dahieh or even the south. We need this.'
The partial ceasefire Monday had followed an unusual rupture between allies. Trump told the New York Post he had called Netanyahu 'crazy' in a frustrated phone call over the bombing of Beirut. Netanyahu agreed to pause strikes on the capital but insisted the military would continue in the south. Trump appeared worried that further escalation could derail broader US-Iran negotiations; Iran had warned that any regional deal must include Lebanon. On Wednesday, Trump said he wanted to separate the two tracks entirely. The architecture of peace was still being built, even as the ground kept shaking.
On a Wednesday in early June, Israeli warplanes struck southern Lebanon at least nine times. Two paramedics died when their ambulance was hit near the town of Chehour. A car exploded just south of Beirut. The same day, Hezbollah fired rockets and a drone across the border into northern Israel. The partial ceasefire that had been announced just three days earlier was already cracking.
Yet by that evening, the United States announced a new agreement. Israel and Lebanon would renew their truce, this time with teeth: the creation of "pilot" security zones in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah fighters would be banned entirely. The Lebanese Armed Forces would take exclusive control of these areas. The whole arrangement hinged on one condition—that Hezbollah stop attacking Israel completely and withdraw all its operatives from the territory between the Litani River and the border. The US State Department framed it as a joint rejection of "any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon's future hostage."
This was the fourth round of talks brokered by the Americans in Washington. The two countries would meet again on June 22 to work toward a fuller agreement. But there was a problem no one could quite solve: Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group at the center of the whole conflict, had not agreed to any of this. A member of Hezbollah's political council, Mahmoud Qamati, told the BBC that his organization rejected the negotiations outright. "We think these negotiations do not concern us, nor do we recognise their findings or decisions, because we have rejected them on principle," he said. Hezbollah had not even officially commented on the new ceasefire announcement.
The war itself had been grinding on since early March, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iran's supreme leader. Israel responded with an air campaign across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south. An earlier ceasefire brokered by the Americans on April 16 had failed to hold. Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to intensify strikes and push deeper into Lebanese territory. The human toll had become staggering: at least 3,516 people killed in Lebanon according to the health ministry, over one million registered as displaced, and Israeli evacuation orders covering more than an eighth of the country. In just the past three months, 128 paramedics and healthcare workers had been killed in attacks on ambulances and medical facilities.
On Wednesday, when the ambulance was struck in Chehour, the two paramedics inside belonged to the Risala Scouts Association, affiliated with Amal, an ally of Hezbollah. Lebanon's health ministry accused the Israeli military of "demonstrating contempt for international humanitarian law." Israel's military offered no immediate comment, though in the past it has claimed ambulances are sometimes used for military purposes without providing evidence. The Lebanese army reported that one of its soldiers was killed in a separate drone strike on a road northeast of Tyre, and two others were wounded. The army denounced what it called "a pattern of deliberate strikes targeting army personnel, vehicles and positions."
At Beirut's waterfront, where thousands of displaced people were living in tents with limited access to food, clean water, and bathrooms, a 23-year-old student named Mariam Hessa spoke to the BBC about what she wanted from a ceasefire. "I don't think it's fair, because always the south is being bombed, and the houses are being damaged, destroyed, people are dying," she said. "I want the ceasefire to be for all Lebanon, not just for an area like Dahieh or even the south. No, it's for all Lebanon. We need this."
The partial ceasefire announced Monday had been brokered after an unusual moment between two allies. President Trump told the New York Post that he had called Netanyahu "crazy" in an expletive-laden conversation, frustrated by the prime minister's order to bomb Beirut. "I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon," Trump said. "At some point, I said: 'Bibi, we've got to stop this.'" Netanyahu agreed to hold off from striking the capital but insisted the military would continue operating in the south. When asked about the call, Netanyahu said: "Sometimes, like the best families, we have these tactical disagreements. We always find a way to resolve them."
Trump appeared concerned that further escalation could derail a wider deal to end the war between the US, Israel, and Iran. Iran had warned that any regional ceasefire must include Lebanon. On Wednesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that if Israeli aggression against Beirut continued, Iranian armed forces were "fully prepared" to resume the war. But later that same day, Trump said he wanted to separate the US-Iran talks from the Israel-Hezbollah negotiations. "I'd like to separate it, I'd like to have a separate thing, because it is separate," he told reporters. The architecture of peace was still being built, even as the ground kept shaking.
Citas Notables
We think these negotiations do not concern us, nor do we recognise their findings or decisions, because we have rejected them on principle.— Mahmoud Qamati, Hezbollah political council member
I want the ceasefire to be for all Lebanon, not just for an area like Dahieh or even the south. We need this.— Mariam Hessa, 23-year-old displaced student
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Hezbollah's refusal to recognize these talks matter if Israel and Lebanon have already agreed?
Because Hezbollah is the armed group that would have to actually stop fighting. An agreement between two governments means nothing if the militia doesn't recognize it. Qamati was clear: they rejected the whole process on principle.
So the ceasefire could collapse again just like the one from April?
It already is collapsing. The Wednesday strikes and rocket fire happened while the partial ceasefire was supposedly in effect. This new agreement is conditional on Hezbollah stopping—but Hezbollah says it doesn't accept the conditions.
What about the pilot security zones? How would those actually work?
The US said the Lebanese Armed Forces would take exclusive control, but the details weren't given. The real question is enforcement. Who stops Hezbollah from operating there if they don't recognize the agreement?
Trump's call to Netanyahu—was that just about Lebanon, or something bigger?
It was about Lebanon specifically, but Trump's worried the whole thing could blow up into a wider US-Iran war. He wants to compartmentalize, keep the Lebanon talks separate from Iran negotiations. But Iran says any ceasefire has to include Lebanon.
What do the displaced people want?
Mariam Hessa said it plainly: a ceasefire for all of Lebanon, not just certain areas. She's tired of the south being bombed while other parts get protection. That's the real fracture—the agreement protects Beirut and creates zones, but leaves the south exposed.
Is there any chance this actually holds?
Not unless Hezbollah changes its position fundamentally. And there's no sign of that. They've rejected the negotiations, rejected the findings. The next talks are June 22. By then, there could be more strikes, more deaths, more displacement.