Lebanese army enters southern town as Israel withdraws amid shaky ceasefire

The Lebanese army began deploying in Debbine, in southern Lebanon's Marjayoun district, as Beirut moves to establish limited "pilot zones" where state forces would exercise exclusive control under a ceasefire framework agreed to in Washington on Wednesday.

A fourth round of political talks in Washington produced a ceasefire framework on Wednesday that calls for a full cessation of hostilities by Hezbollah and the establishment of limited areas in southern Lebanon where the Lebanese military would take control.

The ceasefire does not require an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, and Israel has said it will continue operating in the south of the country.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Thursday rejected the ceasefire, saying the group had “not given any commitment to refrain from resisting aggression and responding to it.”

Just hours after Qassem's statement, the Israeli military said Hezbollah fired two rockets toward Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon. The military said there were no casualties.

Israel continued carrying out airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Thursday. At least three people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Tyre district, while Lebanon's Public Health Ministry said the death toll from Israeli strikes on the country since March 2 had reached 3,526.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Thursday said there would be "no peace" in the region unless Israel withdraws from Lebanon.

Separately, as the status of talks between the US and Iran remained uncertain, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written statement on Thursday that Iran’s enemies, having been defeated on the battlefield, were now seeking to undermine public resilience and sow internal divisions.