The Trump administration has announced that Israel and the Lebanese government have agreed to a new US-mediated ceasefire. However, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted that military operations in Lebanon would continue, casting immediate doubt on the agreement's viability.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the ceasefire would take effect within 24 hours of approval by all parties, but Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem dismissed the deal as a "surrender and defeat," signaling the group's rejection.

The announcement comes weeks after a previous cessation of hostilities supposedly reached on April 16 failed to halt violence, with over 600 people killed in Israeli strikes since then. Israel has expanded its occupation of southern Lebanon to about one-fifth of the country.

The new agreement calls for a "complete cessation" of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of its fighters from south of the Litani River, along with the creation of "pilot zones" under exclusive control of the Lebanese Armed Forces. Notably, the text does not mention Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Lebanese analyst Souhayb Jawhar told Al Jazeera that the agreement focuses on Hezbollah's obligations while ignoring Israeli commitments, fueling skepticism within Hezbollah's political environment. He noted that the deal's fate may depend more on US-Iran negotiations than on Lebanon-Israel talks.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes continued across southern Lebanon on Thursday, killing at least one person and wounding others. More than 3,000 people have been killed and over one million displaced since Israel renewed its assault on Lebanon in early March.

Source: www.aljazeera.com