Sovereignty clause and the role of Hezbollah: the 6 points of the agreement for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon

The agreement was announced by Trump on his Truth Social network. The president of the United States will host negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, which will take place in the coming days and may even include a joint visit to the White House.

The severity of the conflict between Israel and Lebanon had increased just after the truce between Israel and the United States, on the one hand, and Iran. It happens that after this ceasefire came into effect, the Israeli authorities continued to attack southern Lebanon, in maneuvers that they announced as against Hezbollah infrastructure.

These attacks strained the US-Iran negotiations, since the Persian regime – through its foreign minister – stressed that the ceasefire with the Americans and the Israelis included other allied countries in the region, such as Lebanon.

Finally, this Thursday Trump announced the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. It is expected to work in tandem with the US-Iran truce, which in principle concludes on Tuesday the 22nd.

Following the announcement made by the American president on social networks, the US State Department issued a statement to confirm the agreement and by that means also detailed the six points contemplated in the commitment between Israel and Lebanon.

“Israel and Lebanon affirm that the two countries are not at war and are committed to engaging in direct negotiations in good faith, facilitated by the United States, with the goal of reaching a comprehensive agreement that guarantees lasting security, stability and peace between both countries,” the statement said.

Israel and Lebanon will implement a cessation of hostilities effective April 16, 2026 at 17:00 EST, for an initial period of ten days, as a gesture of goodwill by the Government of Israel, in order to facilitate good faith negotiations to reach a permanent peace and security agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

The first point echoes the echoes of Israel’s attacks after the truce between Iran and the United States. Not only did it provoke reactions from the Persian regime, but it deepened the confrontation between Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV.

This initial period may be extended by mutual agreement between Lebanon and Israel if progress is demonstrated in the negotiations and if Lebanon effectively demonstrates its ability to assert its sovereignty.

The second point introduces the relationship between Beirut and terrorist organizations operating in its territory. The most important of them is Hezbollah, which was born after Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

Known as the “Party of God”, it had the support of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards from the beginning. Israel abandoned the occupied areas in Lebanon in 2000. Hezbollah consolidated and even engaged in a 33-day war with the Israelis in 2006. The UN stipulates that only the Lebanese army and UN blue helmets should be deployed in southern Lebanon.

Israel will retain its right to take all necessary measures in self-defence, at any time, against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks. This right will not be impeded by the cessation of hostilities. Furthermore, it will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military and other state targets, in Lebanese territory by land, sea and air.

The third point returns to the threats that loom over Israel, which was attacked by Hezbollah until the last minute before the ceasefire, with the launch of a dozen missiles from Lebanon. The Israeli Army also carried out maneuvers this Thursday on the other side of the border.

Starting April 16, 2026 at 17:00 EST, and with international support, the Government of Lebanon will take significant measures to prevent Hezbollah and all other dissident non-state armed groups in the territory of Lebanon from carrying out hostile attacks, operations or activities against Israeli targets.

Es the clause against Hezbollah. It makes explicit Lebanon’s commitment to stopping the terrorist organization’s attacks. For its entry into force, it contemplated the same date and time as the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire.

It is also the point of uncertainty regarding the feasibility of cessation of hostilities in the next ten days.

“They will have to closely follow what is happening on the ground. If we feel threatened, we will react. We are not going anywhere. We maintain our positions,” warned Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, Danny Danon.

All parties recognize that Lebanese security forces have sole responsibility for the country’s sovereignty and national defense; No other country or group can claim to be the guarantor of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

On the one hand, this point of the memorandum attempts to limit Hezbollah’s influence over the southern Lebanese territories. But it also leaves under attention the claims of the president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun.

“The withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory is a fundamental step to consolidate the ceasefire and allow the deployment of the Lebanese Army to the international borders, fully extending the authority of the State and ending any armed presence,” Aoun said this Thursday, before the agreement announcement that Trump made on the networks.

Benjamin Netanyahu has already warned that he will maintain the presence of Israeli military in a 10-kilometer security zone. “Much stronger, much more powerful, much more controllable and much more solid than what we had before. This is where we are and we will not leave,” said the Israeli prime minister.

Lebanon has already asked the residents of the south of the country to wait for the agreement to come into effect before returning to their homes.

Israel and Lebanon call on the United States to facilitate new direct negotiations between both countries with the aim of resolving all outstanding issues, including the demarcation of the international land border, with a view to concluding a comprehensive agreement that ensures lasting security, stability and peace between the two countries.

It establishes the starting point of the negotiations that both countries will carry out in the United States.