Israel and Lebanon sign agreement with US in ‘first step’ towards peace – Rubio

US secretary of State Marco Rubio along with Israel and Lebanon’s ambassadors announced a framework agreement on Friday that was described as a first step towards peace following months of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The officials did not share details on the agreement that was signed by Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the US, and Nada Hamadeh, ambassador of Lebanon to the US.

Ms Hamadeh said the framework “is a first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, securing a permanent and final cessation of hostilities, enabling our people to go back to their land and allowing all Lebanese to live in peace, security, and prosperity”.

Mr Leiter said the final destination of the framework is peace between the two countries.

“Real peace, where both countries will live in security, where Israel’s and Lebanon’s sovereignty will be respected, honoured, and protected,” Mr Leiter said.

“In this performance-based trilateral framework agreement, Iran is out. Hezbollah is out. And the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in.”