Hezbollah rejects Israel-Lebanon deal, casting doubt on ceasefire roadmap

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem on Saturday criticised the framework agreement signed by Israel and Lebanon a day earlier to end months of conflict, raising fresh doubts about whether the deal can work. Lebanon and Israel signed the agreement in Washington without Hezbollah, and the deal links an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon to the Iran-backed group's disarmament, which Hezbollah has rejected.

The agreement comes despite a record of earlier ceasefire arrangements between Lebanon and Israel not being carried out on the ground since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began. Soon after the announcement, Hezbollah supporters protested on the streets of Beirut, while Lebanon's state news agency reported an Israeli drone strike near the southern city of Nabatiyeh.

In a statement, Kassem said Hezbollah would keep fighting until Israel was forced to leave Lebanon. From Hezbollah's point of view, the deal is nonexistent, he said. He called the agreement a "humiliation" and said linking Israel's withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament was a "very dangerous suggestion".