At the end of another round of talks that concluded on Wednesday between Israeli and Lebanese representatives in Washington, the US State Department said in a joint statement that, as a result of the US led negotiations, the two countries had agreed on the implementation of a ceasefire.
The ceasefire, the statement read, was conditional on a complete halt to Hezbollah fire, and the evacuation of all its operatives from the area south of the Litani.
It was further stated that the two sides had agreed to establishing "pilot zones" in which the Lebanese army will have exclusive control over the area, with no presence of any non-state actor.
These steps, the State Department announced, would "enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement.”
"All parties condemned Iran’s attacks on countries in the region, and ongoing activities that undermine stability throughout the Middle East, whether through support for proxies and all other acts of aggression," the statement read.
Iran has said it will not agree to a deal to end the conflict with the United States and Israel launched in late February unless a ceasefire also covers Lebanon.
Lebanon and Israel agreed to further direct negotiations to build confidence and resolve other outstanding issues, the statement said on Wednesday.
Lebanese, Israeli delegations meet for negotiations
Delegations from both Lebanon and Israel had met at the US State Department on Tuesday to begin a scheduled two-day resumption of negotiations.
During the talks on Tuesday, senior members of the Israeli delegation said that Hezbollah did not stop fighting, despite promising US President Donald Trump to do so on Monday.
Members of the Israeli delegation also said that Hezbollah publicly rejected the equation of a ceasefire in southern Lebanon in exchange for a ceasefire in northern Israel.
This is a developing story.
Danya Saperstein and Amichai Stein contributed to this report.