The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Saturday rejected a U.S.-brokered security agreement between Israel and Lebanon, describing it as a "surrender" to Israel just one day after the deal was signed.
Qassem declared the agreement "null and void," accusing the Lebanese government of making unilateral concessions that undermine the country's sovereignty. He criticized provisions linking Israel's phased withdrawal from southern Lebanon to Hezbollah's disarmament, saying they effectively legitimize Israel's military presence and cross "all red lines."
"We did not leave the battlefield in the most difficult circumstances, and we will not leave it," Qassem said, vowing that Hezbollah would continue its armed resistance.
The agreement, signed on Friday, calls for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon alongside the deployment of the Lebanese army. However, Israeli forces would be allowed to remain temporarily in an expanded security zone.
Despite repeated ceasefires and diplomatic efforts, hostilities continued on Saturday when Israel carried out a drone strike in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon's state news agency reported that the strike targeted the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, an area outside the security zone outlined in maps released by Israel. The Israeli military confirmed the operation, saying it used a drone to target an individual it claimed posed a threat to its forces. It did not provide further details or evidence.
The conflict has displaced more than one million people across Lebanon, while hundreds of thousands, mostly Shi'ite Muslims, remain unable to return to homes in areas occupied by Israeli forces.
Opposition to the agreement has spread beyond Hezbollah. Lebanon's Amal movement, led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, criticized the framework as unbalanced and said it would reinforce conditions favoring Israel.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz welcomed the agreement, saying it allows Israel to maintain control over a designated security zone in southern Lebanon while preventing displaced residents from returning to certain areas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also defended the framework, presenting a map showing two pilot zones that Israel has agreed to transfer to the Lebanese army in the future. One of the areas lies entirely outside current Israeli-controlled territory, while the second borders the expanded security zone announced by Israel last week.
Qassem argued that a memorandum of understanding reached earlier in 2026 between Iran and the United States, which he said guarantees Lebanon's territorial integrity, should instead serve as the foundation for ending the conflict rather than the Washington-brokered agreement signed on Friday.
