Lebanon seeks international pressure on Israel over framework agreement implementation
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome to urge international pressure on Israel to implement their US-brokered framework agreement. The June 26 agreement links Israeli withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament, but Israel has vacated only two pilot zones while continuing daily strikes. Meanwhile, planning is underway for a successor security force to replace UNIFIL when its mandate expires in December 2026, amid warnings of a security vacuum.
Aoun seeks international pressure
▪Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to pressure Israel to comply with the implementation of the US-brokered framework agreement.
▪Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on August 21, 2026, to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional security.
▪Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Pope Leo XIV on August 20, 2026, to request Vatican diplomatic support in ending the Israeli occupation and attacks.
▪Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella during his two-day visit to Rome to discuss Lebanese-Italian relations and regional developments.
Israeli occupation of Lebanon
▪An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on August 15, 2026, killed 11 people, including senior Hezbollah commander Abu Hassan Alaa.
▪Israeli military forces continue to occupy approximately six percent of Lebanese territory, including areas held for decades and lands seized during the 2023-2024 conflict.
▪Israeli military strikes in Lebanon since March 2, 2026, have killed 4,348 people and injured more than 12,000, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Hezbollah armed resistance strategy
▪Hezbollah has denounced the US-backed framework agreement, claiming it fails to guarantee a full Israeli withdrawal or the return of displaced residents.
▪Hezbollah official Nawaf Moussawi rejected domestic and international pressure to disarm, warning that any internal armed confrontation against the resistance would destroy Lebanon.
▪Senior Hezbollah official Nawaf Moussawi stated that the group will continue armed resistance, asserting that only force can compel Israel to withdraw from Lebanon.
Post-UNIFIL security force planning
▪The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is scheduled to withdraw from southern Lebanon by December 31, 2026, following a final mandate renewal in 2025.
▪Italy and France are planning to establish a post-UNIFIL security force backed by NATO, which Lebanese President Joseph Aoun supports alongside the Lebanese Armed Forces.
▪The United States and Israel oppose the European-led security proposal, advocating instead for a US-led force to assume security responsibilities in southern Lebanon.
Lebanese-Israeli direct negotiations
▪The US-brokered framework agreement signed on June 26, 2026, links Hezbollah's disarmament to Israeli military withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces.
▪Israel has withdrawn from only two of the designated 'pilot zones' established under the framework agreement, while continuing daily military strikes in southern Lebanon.
▪Lebanon and Israel have held seven rounds of direct negotiations since April 14, 2026, with five rounds in Washington and two rounds in Rome.
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