War in the South: Lebanon caught between competing ceasefire visions

Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Mariella Succar

Even as discussions continue about a ceasefire, southern Lebanon remains a place where events are still being written in fire.

An Israeli airstrike targeted a Lebanese Army vehicle on the Kfar Tebnit–Khardali road, killing a brigadier general, a captain and a soldier.

The Lebanese Army described the attack as a deliberate and brutal assault aimed at undermining efforts to stabilize the situation, secure a comprehensive ceasefire, and secure an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

Israel, meanwhile, justified the strike, saying its forces had identified a suspicious vehicle operating in what it described as an active combat zone, and alleging that Hezbollah is highly active in the area.

The strike came as the Lebanese Army Commander, General Rodolph Haykal, was traveling for talks with his Pakistani counterpart, amid broader diplomatic discussions extending well beyond the southern front.

From Washington, negotiations have reportedly produced a proposed ceasefire framework calling for Hezbollah to halt attacks first, followed by its withdrawal north of the Litani River, in exchange for a ceasefire arrangement and the establishment of temporary security zones in southern Lebanon to be overseen by the Lebanese Army. The proposal reportedly does not include an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah rejected the outcome of these negotiations. The secretary-general described the proposal as absurd, humiliating, and disgraceful, and said Israeli settlements would not be safe as long as Lebanese villages are being bombed, destroyed, and their residents killed.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun responded to Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem in remarks to CNN, emphasizing that Lebanon is not an appendage to Iranian-American negotiations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded, saying that Aoun’s comments suggested Iran was occupying a portion of Lebanon, displacing its population and bombing it daily. He added that if Lebanon were truly an Iranian bargaining chip, Tehran would have already reached an agreement with Washington.

Between Aoun’s remarks and Araghchi’s response lies a sensitive equation: Lebanon’s state leadership seeks to prevent the country from becoming a bargaining chip for Iran, while Iran argues that the core issue is Israeli occupation and strikes rather than Iranian influence.

Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a political ally of Hezbollah, has proposed a compromise formula calling for a full ceasefire on land, sea, and air, an Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas, and, in parallel, a Hezbollah withdrawal north of the Litani River.

The dispute, therefore, is not over the principle of a ceasefire, but over its sequencing and what follows. And amid all parties involved, Lebanese civilians remain caught in a ceasefire that does not yet stop the fighting.