There will be no agreement with Lebanon, and Israeli forces will not leave southern Lebanon unless Hezbollah agrees to a ceasefire and disarms, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Thursday evening. Hezbollah struck down a US-brokered proposal agreed upon after talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington on Wednesday, which stipulated that Hezbollah fighters evacuate southern Lebanon and that the Lebanese Army extend its authority across the area. The proposal was intended to implement a ceasefire framework already reached in April.
The militant group's leader, Naim Qassem, slammed the Lebanese government for the arrangement and said Hezbollah would continue fighting Israeli forces occupying southern Lebanon . He also reiterated calls for Beirut to end direct negotiations with Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu told the security cabinet that no agreement had yet been reached because Hezbollah had rejected the proposal. The cabinet had been expected to vote on the ceasefire arrangement reached in Washington the previous day.
"There is currently no agreement [with Lebanon]. Hezbollah is refusing, which is why I have not presented the decision to you. If it agrees, I will bring it to you for approval," he said.
According to Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth , Netanyahu's remarks suggest Israel is waiting for Hezbollah's consent before proceeding with the deal.
There was opposition in Israel's far-right cabinet. Extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised the arrangement and argued against any ceasefire deal, calling for the army to bombard Beirut.
Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir attended only the opening portion of the meeting and reportedly spoke little. Economy Minister Eli Cohen urged Israel to "crush" Hezbollah, while Settlements Minister Orit Strook called for "changing the borders," saying Israel should pursue that goal.
During the session, ministers were informed of the death of an armoured corps officer in southern Lebanon, a development that reportedly strengthened opposition among some cabinet members to a ceasefire and prompted calls for further escalation.
Captain Eitan Shmuel Lemberg of the Israeli military's 7th Armoured Brigade's 75th Battalion was reportedly killed when Hezbollah operatives fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli tank operating in southern Lebanon.
Separately, Haaretz reported that Netanyahu told leaders of Israeli northern border communities that Israel has no plans to withdraw from southern Lebanon in the foreseeable future, saying such a move would only be considered once Hezbollah had been dismantled. Thousands of residents from these communities have refused to return home amid retaliatory rocket attacks by Hezbollah.
Since fighting resumed on 2 March, the Israeli military has captured and destroyed swathes of southern Lebanon, establishing a security zone along much of the border and crossing the Litani River. Clashes have raged around Beaufort Castle, which Israeli troops captured last week . No Israeli-Iranian willingness Commenting on the Israel-Lebanon talks and the arrangement agreed in Washington, Lebanese political analyst Karim Bitar said there were many reasons to remain sceptical.
He told The New Arab that entering direct talks with Israel was a double-edged sword.
"On the one hand it is symbolically significant to see Lebanon sitting around the negotiating table and not being on the menu as has been the case so often in its history, but on the other hand, the cold hard truth is that Iranians remain key decision makers," he said.
Iran is considered to wield significant influence over Hezbollah, which it has long backed with arms and funding. Commanders in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps are reported to have played a greater role in directing Hezbollah since much of the group's senior leadership has been killed since 2024.
On Thursday, the IRGC rejected the agreement reached between Israel and Lebanon and vowed continued support for Hezbollah. The commander of the Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, said backing Hezbollah remained a responsibility.
"For the ceasefire to be implemented, and for Hezbollah to be disarmed, this requires Israeli and Iranian buy-in, and at this stage I do not see any Israeli willingness to respect a genuine, complete ceasefire, and even less commitment to withdraw from all Lebanese territories," Bitar told TNA .
"I do not see either an Iranian willingness to rein in Hezbollah or accept to force its regional allies to play the game and enter into state-building and renounce armed struggle."
Bitar said Lebanon's government was doing what it could to preserve stability under intense US pressure.
"The US is not an honest broker—everybody acknowledges it in the region—therefore it will be important for Lebanon to progressively bring other actors into this diplomatic dialogue," he said.
He proposed that Lebanese allies such as Saudi Arabia, France, the Vatican and Egypt become more involved in the diplomatic process.
This, he argued, would help ensure Lebanon is not dependent exclusively "on Donald Trump's whims or Netanyahu's electoral strategy."
Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the all-out war resumed in March have killed more than 3,500 people. Thousands more have been killed since the conflict began between Hezbollah and Israel in October 2023.