What is the framework agreement signed by Israel and Lebanon?

At the signing ceremony for the framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon in Washington on Friday, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the deal as “the beginning of the beginning”. “There is a lot of work ahead,” Rubio said. “Today is the first step. The first step is sometimes the hardest one.” Recommended Stories list of 3 items end of list The US had brokered the direct talks, which began in April, and it is also a signatory to what is officially a trilateral agreement. But the wording of the agreement has not been officially published, and Israel continues to occupy a large area of southern Lebanon. Israel, meanwhile, also appears to be signalling that it will continue its attacks in the country if it deems them necessary. The country has been at war with the pro-Iranian Lebanese group Hezbollah since October 2023, with varying levels of intensity, and has killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon since March. What do we know about the contents of the agreement? Rubio said in a statement that the deal “establishes a clear and structured process to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty, disarm [Hezbollah] and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure, and enable Israel to return to its borders once that threat to its citizens is removed”. “It also creates a trilateral Military Coordination Group for Lebanon … allowing the two sides to implement this Framework,” he added. …