Netanyahu Hails Israel-Lebanon Framework as ‘Historic Achievement,’ Says Deal Deals Blow to Iran and Hezbollah

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a new U.S.-brokered framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon a “historic accomplishment,” saying the understandings could move the two countries toward ending hostilities and eventually reaching a peace agreement while dealing a major setback to Iran and its proxy Hezbollah.

In a pre-recorded statement, Netanyahu told Israelis that the agreement followed direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon under U.S. mediation and marked a turning point in the conflict along Israel’s northern border.

“Yesterday before the start of the Sabbath, we achieved a historic accomplishment for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “Following direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, mediated by the U.S., we have reached a framework of understandings that allows us to move forward toward ending the conflict, and, God willing, eventually reaching a peace agreement between the two countries.”

Netanyahu said the United States and Lebanon had recognized Israel’s right to maintain a security zone inside southern Lebanon for as long as Israel deems necessary to protect its citizens.

“We will continue to hold it until Hezbollah and the rest of the terrorist organizations are disarmed, and until no further threat to Israel is posed from Lebanon,” he said.

The framework reportedly includes two pilot areas near the so-called Yellow Line, where the Lebanese Armed Forces would deploy and assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah and preventing the terror group from reestablishing positions near Israeli forces. Netanyahu said those areas were recommended by the Israel Defense Forces and are outside the main security zone Israel intends to hold until the threat from Hezbollah is removed.

“This is a massive blow to Iran and Hezbollah,” Netanyahu said, arguing that Tehran had sought to force Israel out of southern Lebanon through military pressure and diplomatic maneuvering.

The prime minister also thanked President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter, and Lebanese leaders who participated in the direct talks.

“Lebanon, Israel and the United States are essentially saying to Iran: This is none of your business,” Netanyahu said. “You have no status here. You have no involvement and no role—not you, not Hezbollah and not any terrorist organization.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz praised the agreement as “a historic event,” while stressing that Israel had not withdrawn from Lebanon and would preserve the IDF’s freedom of action against threats to Israeli soldiers and northern communities.

“The key principle established in the framework is that there will be no Israeli redeployment from southern Lebanon, no withdrawal whatsoever, as long as the Hezbollah terrorist organization has not been disarmed throughout Lebanon, and the safety of northern residents is guaranteed,” Katz said.

However, the agreement drew sharp criticism from National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who called it “a big mistake” and said he had asked Netanyahu to bring the matter to a cabinet vote.

Ben Gvir warned that Lebanon could not be trusted to disarm Hezbollah, noting the terror group’s influence inside the Lebanese political system. He argued that any agreement should come only after Hezbollah is “completely defeated,” saying the current framework could give the group “air to breathe” to recover and rearm.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the agreement in a statement aired Saturday, calling it “humiliating, shameful and a surrender of sovereignty” for Lebanon. He vowed to use international and Arab pressure to compel Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory.

Following Hezbollah’s rejection, Israeli security officials began preparing for the possibility of renewed fighting. Netanyahu said the framework preserves Israel’s “freedom of action” to respond to Hezbollah attacks.

On Sunday, the IDF said it carried out several strikes in southern Lebanon, killing Hezbollah terrorists armed with rocket-propelled grenades who were operating near Israeli soldiers. The military also said it struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher that posed a threat to Israeli forces.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told President Trump that Lebanon would “assume its responsibilities” under the agreement, while asking Washington to pressure Israel to withdraw from areas it controls in southern Lebanon so the Lebanese Army can deploy to the international border.

The framework comes after months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which resumed rocket and drone attacks from southern Lebanon following the broader regional war involving Iran and its proxies. Netanyahu said Israel’s military campaign had destroyed much of Hezbollah’s arsenal and severely weakened Iran’s ability to dictate events in Lebanon.

Before Hezbollah joined the war triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, Netanyahu said the group had roughly 150,000 missiles and rockets aimed at Israel. He claimed that the IDF destroyed about 90 percent of that arsenal during the fighting.

“We are breaking the Iranian axis of terror, but we are also breaking the Iranian diplomatic axis,” Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader vowed to keep control of strategic high ground in southern Lebanon, including the Beaufort Ridge, and said Israel would continue dismantling Hezbollah tunnels, bunkers, and terror infrastructure.