The US State Department announced on the night of June 4 that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a ceasefire. The terms of the truce included a complete cessation of hostilities by Hezbollah and the withdrawal of its militants from the southern regions of Lebanon beyond the Litani River. The agreement was reached after a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese officials in Washington this week for negotiations. The parties agreed to create pilot zones where the Lebanese army will have exclusive control over the territory, excluding all "non-state actors." There should be no Israeli military or Hezbollah militants in the territory. "These steps will advance a comprehensive agreement on peace and security," the State Department said in a statement. Discussions on political and security issues will continue on June 22. What the agreement announced by the administration of US President Donald Trump actually means, and how it will affect the situation in the region, is discussed in the article by "Novaya Gazeta Europe." Smoke rises over the village of Nabatiyeh el-Fauqa after an Israeli airstrike, Lebanon, June 4, 2026. Photo: Abbas Fakih / AFP / Scanpix / LETA. Hostilities Continued An Israeli government representative refused to provide further details on the terms of the agreement, stating only that "negotiations between Israel and Lebanon on a ceasefire are progressing. This is based on a mutual understanding of the need to disarm Hezbollah and demilitarize southern Lebanon," writes The Times of Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet publicly commented on the agreement, but convened a security cabinet meeting on the evening of June 4. Israeli ministers, according to Ynet, criticized the truce and demanded it be put to a vote in the cabinet before Israel accepts its terms. However, Netanyahu told ministers that he would not put the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon to a vote until Hezbollah accepts its terms. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the agreement "the last chance" to achieve a comprehensive truce. "The results of the fourth round of negotiations and the statement published following it, containing very important arguments in favor of Lebanon, represent the last chance to conclude a final, comprehensive ceasefire agreement. Each side bears responsibility if it does not respond positively," the statement from Aoun's office said. Hezbollah rejected the ceasefire agreement, demanding the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon. According to the group's leader, Naim Qassem, fulfilling the demand for Hezbollah fighters to leave southern Lebanon would mean "capitulation, defeat, and the achievement of the enemy's goals." "We have made no promises to either side to cease resistance as long as the occupation continues," he added. Sirens warning of drone infiltration sounded in the border areas of northern Israel on the afternoon of June 4. Approximately 30 minutes earlier, Netanyahu was in the northern town of Shlomi. Spanish UN peacekeepers by the roadside in the village of Dibbin, southeastern Lebanon, June 5, 2026. Photo: Hussein Malla / AP / Scanpix / LETA. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the army will continue operations in southern Lebanon despite the ceasefire agreement. The day before, the Israeli army reported destroying dozens of weapons in southern Lebanon. Katz said the Israeli army will maintain its presence in the "security zone" it created in southern Lebanon, including the Beaufort Castle area captured by Israeli forces on Saturday. According to him, Israel will continue strikes and ground operations against Hezbollah infrastructure in the near future. Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah continue, despite several ceasefires announced since April. According to Reuters, since the beginning of this phase of the war, more than 1.2 million Lebanese have been forced to leave their homes due to Israeli strikes and evacuation orders. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated on June 3 that "there will be no peace in the region" if Israel does not withdraw its troops from Lebanon. In an interview with CNN, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun responded: "Interfering in our country's affairs is not your business. I completely reject this statement because our people are being killed, our homes are being destroyed." As reported by the Associated Press, on June 4, the President and Prime Minister of Lebanon again criticized Iran for opposing the ceasefire. The publication notes that the statement came amid Israeli army strikes on several areas of southern Lebanon and warnings of evacuation for residents of nine villages. Nine people were killed in strikes in six districts of southern Lebanon, reported the Lebanese state news agency. On May 30, the Israel Home Front Command reported stricter instructions for northern settlements in the country: activities were banned in the border zone, and in other places, they were to take place only in protected spaces. According to the UN mission (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)) and the Serbian Ministry of Defense, one Serbian peacekeeper was killed and two more were injured as a result of a mortar shell hitting their position near Marjayoun, a city with a Christian majority population where fierce fighting is taking place. It is unclear who fired the mortar. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say Hezbollah fired the shells. The Lebanese state agency National News Agency reported that a motorcyclist was killed and four others were injured in a drone strike in the village of Ma'roub. According to the agency, three people were killed and several others were injured in airstrikes on the village of Sohmor in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. The agency also reported strikes on other areas in the south of the country. The Israeli army, in turn, reported that alarm signals were activated in several areas in the north of the country. On June 5, the IDF reported the killing of Hezbollah engineering unit commander Abed Harb after he "attempted to harm" Israeli soldiers. Supporters of the Hezbollah movement during a rally in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, May 25, 2026. Photo: Wael Hamzeh / EPA. On Friday morning, two officers were injured in a firefight between soldiers of the reconnaissance unit of the Givati Brigade and Hezbollah militants in the town of Zawtar el-Sharquiye, the IDF reported. In the latest hostilities, Israeli forces have advanced into southern Lebanon further than ever since the end of the Israeli occupation in 1982-2000, according to the Associated Press. The army now occupies about one-fifth of the country. In Lebanon, according to the local Ministry of Health, more than 3,500 people have been killed in hostilities. On the Israeli side, 27 Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed. Threat to bomb Beirut This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to bomb Beirut, but then retracted the threat after Iran announced it was ending negotiations with Washington and completely blocking the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump announced that the parties had reached an agreement. "I spoke with President Trump tonight and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and citizens, Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut," Netanyahu said. Trump, meanwhile, wrote on Truth Social that he persuaded the Israeli prime minister to stop the attack on Beirut and redirect the troops heading there. According to Axios, the US president even criticized Netanyahu by phone for intending to attack Beirut. "You are a fucking crazy man. You would be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your ass. Now everyone hates you. Everyone hates Israel because of this," Trump reportedly told him, according to sources. Fragile Ceasefire The ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel is very conditional because hostilities continue, notes Marianna Belenkaya, an Arabist and author of the Telegram channel "Falafelnaya," in a comment for "Nova-Europe." According to her, the main achievement of this agreement - at least temporary - is that Israel is not massively attacking Beirut, and Hezbollah is limiting operations in northern Israel. "Although some drone infiltration attempts have still been recorded in recent days, and Israel has attacked targets near Beirut. Not to mention that Israel continues its operation in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah continues to attack Israeli forces in the same southern Lebanon. Israeli forces are not going anywhere from Lebanon yet," says Belenkaya. This, she continues, is one of the main problems: Hezbollah officially does not participate in negotiations and opposes any direct contacts between Beirut and Jerusalem. However, through intermediaries, the group has indicated that it is generally ready to show "some restraint" - that is, to reduce the intensity of shelling of northern Israel. "In recent days, after Trump announced the ceasefire, the alarm signals have indeed decreased significantly. But this does not mean that it will continue for long," the expert notes. According to Belenkaya, Hezbollah largely acts under the influence of Iran, so the further fate of the truce will also depend on how the negotiations between the US and Iran develop. The very emergence of this agreement, she believes, shows Washington's interest in continuing dialogue with Tehran. "One can say that, on the one hand, Iran won: the US pressured Israel, and Israel refrained from striking Beirut. On the other hand, Israel, the US, and the Lebanese government pretend that Iran and Hezbollah do not exist; they are conducting independent conversations," says Belenkaya. At the same time, in her opinion, it is impossible to talk about winners in this situation: each side has only achieved a reduction in the intensity of hostilities. "So, no strikes on Beirut - the Lebanese government achieved this, and, in general, it is in Hezbollah's interest. At the moment, Israel has achieved that there are practically no shellings from the north or they are minimal. But again, everything is very, very fragile," she adds. Destroyed buildings after an Israeli airstrike on the city of Tyre, Lebanon, June 2, 2026. Photo: Wael Hamzeh / EPA. The question remains whether the agreement makes sense if Hezbollah is not directly involved. According to Belenkaya, in such a situation, a "certain maneuver" arises: formally, the group can say that it did not participate in the negotiations and did not undertake any obligations. "But again, if Hezbollah had not stopped the shelling, had not reduced the intensity, nothing would have happened, and everything would have continued," the expert says. Iran can mainly influence Hezbollah, she says. At the same time, the group is also under pressure from the internal situation in Lebanon: Hezbollah would not want to alienate a significant part of Lebanese society completely. But even this factor, Belenkaya emphasizes, does not guarantee restraint. "Everyone assumed that Hezbollah would not attack Israel precisely because there is pressure on it from within Lebanon, but nevertheless it entered the war on Iran's side when it began to attack Israel on March 1," she recalls. Predicting further developments is extremely difficult, according to Belenkaya: the situation remains too fragile, and Israel, judging by the statements, does not intend to leave Lebanon. The so-called pilot zones - areas where neither Hezbollah nor the Israeli army should be, and the Lebanese army should exercise control - are of particular importance in the new agreement, the expert believes. "Let's see how this will be implemented, if at all. That is, it is a zone where there is neither Hezbollah nor the Israeli army, and the Lebanese army controls the situation. This is interesting, but it is unclear whether it will be able to exist in the long term," Belenkaya concludes. Echoes of the War in Iran On March 1, the day after US and Israeli strikes on Iran began, Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on northern Israel. In response, Israeli forces shelled the group's strongholds in and around Beirut, and advanced deeper into southern Lebanon, where they have held positions since the beginning of the 2024 war. Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have complicated negotiations on ending the US-Israeli war in Iran. Tehran called for Lebanon's participation in any peace agreement. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem recently stated that he welcomes an agreement between Iran and the United States that would include a truce in Lebanon, but rejects direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon. As reported by the Associated Press, ongoing hostilities in Lebanon threaten efforts to end the war with Iran and resume operation of the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for oil and gas, the closure of which has shaken the global economy. Iran demanded that any long-term truce extend to Lebanon. Netanyahu, on the other hand, states that Israel will continue its offensive until Hezbollah ceases to pose a threat. In April, a ceasefire agreement mediated by the US came into force in Lebanon, but mutual attacks between Israel and Hezbollah continued. Moreover, the escalation only intensified.