Hezbollah rejects ceasefire deal between Lebanon and Israel

An Israeli air strike lands in front of Beaufort Castle as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, Thursday, June 04, 2026. Fighting across southern Lebanon has intensified this week, even after President Donald Trump on Monday announced that Israel and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed armed group, had renewed their truce. (Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times)

By EUAN WARD, EPHRAT LIVNI and MAX BEARAK

Hezbollah on Thursday flatly rejected a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government just hours after it was announced, saying that abiding by it would amount to a surrender to Israel.

The agreement had little, if any, effect on the ground in Lebanon. Israel pounded southern Lebanon with strikes and Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli forces.

Lebanon’s government has little control over Hezbollah, which is a significant political force in Lebanese society and relies largely on Iran for material support. And Israel has been reluctant to stop fighting, but has been pushed to do so by the Trump administration.

The agreement announced Wednesday demanded a unilateral cessation of attacks by Hezbollah but did not explicitly require immediate concessions from Israel, such as a withdrawal of its forces from southern Lebanon.

The apparent failure of the agreement left the region much as it was 24 hours earlier, when fears were growing that the fighting in Lebanon would intensify — and torpedo the broader negotiations to end the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Iran has insisted that Lebanon be included in any peace agreement but under terms that are antithetical to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push to completely disarm Hezbollah.Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Kassem, called the ceasefire agreement “illusory” and said it amounted to “surrender, defeat and the realization of the enemy’s objectives” because it called for Hezbollah not only to stop firing but to pull out of southern Lebanon, leaving Israel’s troops fully in control of that area.

Israeli troops have occupied much of southern Lebanon since early March, when Hezbollah began launching missiles into northern Israel in response to the U.S.-Israeli bombardment of its ally Iran.

Netanyahu has ramped up the offensive against Hezbollah in recent weeks, even as truce talks were taking place.

Kassem said any ceasefire must end Israel’s offensive and require its military to withdraw from Lebanon.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

— Peacekeepers attacked: A U.N. peacekeeper from Serbia was killed and two other peacekeepers were wounded when mortar shells struck their base in southern Lebanon overnight, hours before the agreement was reached in Washington. It was not clear where the mortars were fired from, and the United Nations said it was investigating.

— U.S.-Iran negotiations: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the war in Iran was “not a big thing” for the United States, claiming it was going better than he expected. The United States and Israel launched the war Feb. 28, more than three months ago.

— Gaza strikes: Health authorities in the Gaza Strip said Thursday that Israeli military strikes had killed 11 people in the past 24 hours and wounded more than 30. Israeli strikes overnight targeted Hamas operatives, an Israeli military spokesperson said, without providing more details.