Hezbollah rejects Lebanon-Israel ceasefire deal

Hezbollah has officially rejected a ceasefire deal that had been provisionally agreed upon by Lebanon and Israel.

The leader of the Iran-backed group — which was not part of the talks the day before in Washington — said in a statement the negotiations between Lebanon and Israel were "absurd, humiliating and insulting."

The two countries had agreed to a ceasefire that stipulated that Hezbollah, but not Israel, stop attacks.

The agreement also called for a de-militarized zone in parts of southern Lebanon now occupied by Israeli forces, to be administered by the Lebanese national army, which is not involved in the conflict.

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said the demand for its fighters to leave southern Lebanon while under attack would mean "surrender, defeat and achieving the enemy's goals."

Just hours after the tentative agreement was announced, Israel launched fresh attacks and Hezbollah said it rejected any ceasefire that did not start with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory.

The fresh fighting, and Hezbollah's outright rejection of the proposal, poured cold water on any immediate prospects of a wider ceasefire between the United States and Iran. Iran has said it will not agree to a ceasefire with the U.S. and Israel unless there is one in Lebanon.

UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping operation for Lebanon, announced Thursday that one of its peacekeepers, a soldier from Serbia, had been killed and others, from El Salvador and Spain, were wounded when mortars hit their position near Marjayoun in southeastern Lebanon late Wednesday. The death brings the number of UNIFIL peacekeepers killed since the war started up again in March to seven.

A U.N. source said the mortars appeared to have come from Hezbollah. The person asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. Hezbollah has been targeting Israeli army installations in the vicinity.

Hezbollah denied that it had hit a peacekeeping base and expressed its "unwavering commitment" to UNIFIL's role in Lebanon.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Esmail Qaani was quoted by Iranian state media Thursday saying that Israel must withdraw to pre-war positions as the first step in a ceasefire with Lebanon. Before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Israel held five positions across the border in Lebanon. It now occupies large parts of the south of the country.

The U.S. does not speak directly to Hezbollah, which it classifies as a terrorist organization.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Thursday that the ceasefire would come into force within 24 hours of all concerned parties approving it, especially Hezbollah.

A Hezbollah official told NPR that Hezbollah had already officially informed the Lebanese president that it would not accept any ceasefire that did not begin with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon. The official asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was demanding the creation of what it called a demilitarized zone within Lebanon while being able to continue attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah. He said Israel would not be withdrawing from the south.

Jawad Rizkallah contributed reporting from Beirut.