Israel Destroys Hezbollah’s Drone Fortress after Leader Rejects US-Brokered Agreement

Militant Group - Hezbollah's leader Naim Qassem rejected a US-brokered security agreement between Lebanon and Israel as ”surrender" to Israel on Saturday, declaring the framework "null and void", a day before the Israeli military destroyed a 200-metre underground tunnel network used by the militant group in southern Lebanon.

The tunnel, located in the village of Majdal Zoun, was more than 200 metres long and over 25 metres deep. Inside, Israeli forces found hundreds of weapons, dozens of dismantled drones, aircraft components, warheads and explosives, along with four launch shafts aimed at Israeli territory.

According to statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The site was describe as Hezbollah's "drone fortress" by the military making it one of the group's major preparedness sites in the western sector, built over years with Iranian investment and technology.

The operation, named "Sof Pasuk" (Closing Verse), was carried out by the IDF's 551st Brigade Combat Team and Yahalom combat engineering unit. Israel notified the United States and the American representative in Lebanon in advance of the demolition.

Hezbollah Rejects Framework Agreement

The security framework, brokered by Washington and signed on Friday by Lebanese and Israeli envoys, provided for a phased Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon alongside the deployment of the Lebanese army. However, it also allowed Israeli forces to remain temporarily in an expanded security zone.

Qassem accused the Lebanese government of making unilateral concessions and said the agreement effectively legitimised Israel's continued military presence in southern Lebanon. He criticised provisions linking Israel's withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament, saying they crossed "all red lines".

"We did not leave the battlefield in the most difficult circumstances, and we will not leave it," Qassem said.

The backlash extended beyond Hezbollah. The Amal movement, led by parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, denounced the agreement as unbalanced.

Qassem argued that the Iran-US memorandum of understanding reached earlier this month – which he said guarantees Lebanon's territorial integrity – should serve as the basis for ending the conflict rather than Friday's Washington agreement.

Wider Context and Ongoing Hostilities

More than one million Lebanese have been driven from their homes by the conflict, which has run in parallel with the wider Iran war. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese, most of them Shi'ite Muslims, remain unable to return to homes in areas still occupied by Israeli forces.

Despite the new agreement, hostilities continued. Lebanon's state news agency reported that an Israeli drone struck Nabatieh al-Fawqa on Saturday, an area outside the security zone marked on Israeli maps. The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out the strike, targeting an individual who posed a threat to its forces.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that the military would remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon and "continue to destroy terror infrastructure, remove threats to northern communities and safeguard the security of Israel's citizens".