The Israeli government announced on Thursday that negotiations with Lebanon in Washington had achieved what it described as an "unprecedented accomplishment," noting that they removed Hezbollah from the equation.

Israel's government added that the negotiations were still ongoing with the aim of reaching a "permanent ceasefire."

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Thursday that the army would begin deploying in "pilot zones" in the country's south, a day after Israel and Lebanon agreed in Washington to implement a ceasefire.

"The next step is practical and tangible: the deployment of the Lebanese army in pilot zones as a first phase," Salam said, according to remarks read out by Information Minister Paul Morcos after a cabinet meeting, adding that "this does not prejudice our right to a full (Israeli) withdrawal, but brings us closer to it."

Hezbollah on Thursday rejected the latest ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and the Lebanese government, demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem, in a written statement read on TV, said the agreement's demand that Hezbollah fighters leave southern Lebanon under fire would mean "surrender, defeat and achieving the enemy's goals."

Hezbollah resumed its rocket fire days after Israel and the United States launched their surprise attack on Iran on Feb. 28. Before then, Israel had regularly carried out strikes in Lebanon against what it said were militant targets, often killing civilians, despite an earlier truce reached in 2024.

In the southern city of Sidon, many residents reacted to the ceasefire announcement with skepticism, saying previous agreements had failed to stop the violence.

An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed a paramedic, the state-run National News Agency reported late Wednesday after three other strikes targeted paramedics in south Lebanon in the same day.

The strike on a team from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee in Zebdine killed a paramedic and wounded another.

The Israeli army carried out airstrikes in south Lebanon on Thursday, hours after Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a ceasefire.

An Israeli airstrike targeted a vehicle on the Zefta road, while other strikes targeted Kfartebnit, Shehour, Bestat, Kfar Remman, Tebnine, Maaroub, Zawtar, Shoukin, Kafra, Zebdine, Baraashit, Srifa, Harees, Qana, Toul, Harouf, Mayfadoun, Dweir, Deir al-Zahrani, Beit Yahoun, Maarakeh, Adshit, Kfarjoz and al-Mansouri.

Lebanon and Israel agreed early Thursday to "the implementation of a ceasefire."

Below is the full text of a joint statement issued by the U.S., Lebanon and Israel after two days of talks in Washington:

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday that any attack on Lebanese capital Beirut would trigger a "full-scale resumption" of the Middle East war, as Israel pressed its campaign against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

"Any attack on Beirut will have grave consequences and will lead to a full-scale resumption of the war," the Tasnim news agency quoted Araghchi as telling Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV. "Our armed forces are ready to strike Israel if it attacks Beirut."

U.S. Secretary of State said Wednesday that he hopes the latest round of high-level political talks between Israel and Lebanon will result in a joint statement on ending hostilities.

In testimony before lawmakers that started Wednesday shortly after the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the U.S. began meeting at the State Department for a second day of negotiations, Rubio said the aim of the talks is to "produce a joint statement and an action plan on a track for security in that country, independent from Hezbollah, independent from nefarious influence."

A Lebanese official confirmed to Al-Jazeera on Wednesday that Lebanese-Israeli discussions in the Washington round of negotiations are progressing well and that there is "U.S. understanding of the Lebanese approach."

The source added that the Lebanese delegation is pushing for a comprehensive solution that addresses both the Israeli withdrawal and the extension of state authority in parallel.