On Wednesday evening, it was announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a new ceasefire. Officials, of course, have been reporting that there has been a ceasefire between the two sides since mid-April, but several hundred people have been killed in the fighting that’s gone on during that “ceasefire.”
This latest deal was described as a very “minimalist” ceasefire. In effect, Israel and Lebanon agreed that Hezbollah would stop resisting the ongoing Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and withdraw their forces further north in the country. Hezbollah wasn’t involved in the talks and quickly rejected the terms.
The deal was controversial in Israel, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir denounced the very idea of a ceasefire, and pushed for more military operations in Lebanon. Those operations are continuing under the pretense of a ceasefire, of course, with Israel having killed at least four people since the deal was announced, all civilians. The Lebanese Health Ministry reported 10 killed, 59 wounded in the past 24 hours, though this included attacks in the hours immediately leading up to the announcement of the new ceasefire.
Rubble lies around damaged building at the site of an Israeli strike in Tyre, Lebanon, May 28, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Apparently the attacks that Israel carried out fell short of a major new ground offensive the IDF was advocating, and which Defense Minister Israeli Katz and Ben-Gvir reportedly endorsed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly balked at the plan because the US has been discouraging further escalation.
The plan seems to be for Israel to continue striking Lebanon at more or less the present level, which has killed several hundred Lebanese since mid-April, with some vague conditions that Hezbollah would stop opposing the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the group would not honor any deals so long as Israeli troops continue to occupy Lebanese territory, calling for a complete ceasefire that included an Israeli withdrawal from the south.
