US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces in Washington that Israel and Lebanon have signed a US-brokered framework aimed at a cessation of hostilities after four days of negotiations.The accord, signed by Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad, excludes Iran and Hezbollah and does not bind Hezbollah as a party, leaving compliance uncertain.The framework creates pilot security zones in southern Lebanon to be controlled by the Lebanese Armed Forces and requires the withdrawal of non-state operatives as a condition for further progress.The agreement follows earlier failed ceasefires and comes after fighting since March that has killed more than 4,000 people in
Lebanon and at least 37 Israeli soldiers; the
US State Department has not released the full text.