Israel strikes Lebanon day after peace deal; Hezbollah rejects pact

Israeli forces carried out drone and air strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, hitting targets in Nabatieh al-Fawqa and killing at least one person and wounding two, according to Lebanon's state news agency. The strikes, which also involved drones hitting a town square and a neighborhood, targeted suspected Hezbollah members, the Israeli military claimed. An Israeli military spokeswoman stated the strike targeted "suspected terrorists who posed a threat to IDF soldiers."

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If Iran tries to attack Israel to prevent the implementation of the agreement, we will act against it with great force.

Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, vowed to respond with "great force" if Iran attempted to attack Israel to prevent the implementation of the new peace agreement with Lebanon. He described the agreement as a "strategic blow to the Iranian axis" and announced that Israeli forces were ordered to prepare for an extended stay in a security zone up to 10 kilometers inside Lebanese territory.

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The framework agreement in Washington is humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty. This agreement is null and void, and the provisions of the Iranian-American [Islamabad] memorandum of understanding must be implemented.

However, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem condemned the US-Israel-Lebanon framework agreement, calling it a "humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty." He declared the agreement "null and void" and insisted that an Iran-US memorandum of understanding should be implemented instead. Qassem accused Lebanese authorities of "legitimizing" Israeli occupation through this "grave blunder."

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The prime minister and I have instructed the IDF to prepare for an extended stay in the security zone.

The US-brokered agreement, signed Friday in Washington, aims to establish a framework for the Lebanese Armed Forces to restore sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory, pending the verified disarmament of non-state armed groups, particularly Hezbollah. It includes a pilot effort for Lebanese soldiers to control areas currently occupied by Israel.

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The agreement with Lebanon had dealt a 'strategic blow to the Iranian axis'.