Israeli military chief claims commitment to Lebanon deal even as strikes continue

Israel’s military chief, Eyal Zamir, has claimed that Tel Aviv would honor a recently reached US-mediated framework agreement with Lebanon, even as the regime continued carrying out strikes on Lebanese territory.

Zamir described the agreement as “historic” and said the Israeli military would work to ensure its success.

“The operational strength and military achievements recorded by the [military] in recent months are what laid the groundwork for this agreement,” he said.

The military chief added that “the real test now is how both sides behave on the ground, and the coming period will determine the course of the next phase.”

The remarks came on the same day as Israel resumed air strikes on southern Lebanon, only two days after signing the US-brokered agreement with the Lebanese government.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported a series of attacks in the south on Sunday, a day after the Lebanese Ministry of Health said one person was killed in an Israeli attack there, the first death since the deal was signed on Friday.

The agreement outlines a “sequenced process” under which the Lebanese army would restore “effective sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory,” pending the verified disarmament of “non-state armed groups.”

Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah has rejected the agreement as “a humiliation and disgrace” that compromises Lebanese sovereignty.

Hezbollah chief says Lebanon-Israel deal ‘null and void’ as it legalizes occupation

Sheikh Qassem says the Lebanese government has backstabbed the country by agreeing to a deal with Israel.

Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah warned earlier that the agreement “will never see the light of day and will not be implemented.”

Fadlallah said the Lebanese authorities were attempting to push the country into chaos by shifting the conflict from one with Israel to an internal Lebanese confrontation.

Hezbollah has already rejected any linkage between Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of the resistance movement.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem also described the US-brokered agreement as “a gratuitous concession” to Israel and “a stab in the back of the resistance.”

He called instead for the implementation of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States, which, among other provisions, calls for a permanent end to hostilities across all fronts, including Lebanon.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Sunday that Tehran is actively pursuing an end to the Lebanon war and safeguarding its territorial integrity.

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