Israel and Lebanon signed a U.S.-brokered framework agreement in Washington on Friday that sets out a roadmap for advancing negotiations toward a broader peace and security arrangement, including the first limited Israeli military withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon since Israel expanded its buffer zone during its recent conflict with Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the agreement during a signing ceremony at the State Department, describing it as "a good day" while cautioning that "there is a lot of work ahead." He said the framework is intended to achieve "lasting peace and security" between Israel and Lebanon.

The agreement followed a fourth day of negotiations in the fifth round of U.S.-mediated talks after negotiators extended discussions beyond their planned Thursday conclusion to bridge remaining differences. According to Axios, Rubio held separate phone calls on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to resolve the final outstanding issues.

Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Mouawad, said the accord "is a first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, securing a permanent and final cessation of hostilities (and) enabling our people to go back to their land."

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said the ultimate objective remains "real peace" between Israel and Lebanon. Describing the agreement as "performance-based," he added: "Iran is out, Hezbollah is out and the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in."

According to a source familiar with the negotiations, the agreement provides for the Israeli military to begin a limited withdrawal from two areas inside the six-mile buffer zone Israel established in southern Lebanon. Israeli troops will be replaced by the Lebanese Armed Forces, marking the first Israeli withdrawal since the military expanded its presence during the war with Iran.

Two Israeli officials said one of the pilot areas lies north of the Litani River and the other south of it. U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios that American military officers will work alongside the Lebanese Army to verify that the areas are free of Hezbollah fighters and military infrastructure before Lebanese forces fully assume responsibility.

The areas selected for the initial withdrawal have already been cleared by Israeli forces of Hezbollah infrastructure, according to the source. In some locations, the Israeli military demolished entire border villages, arguing that Hezbollah had used them to plan and launch attacks against Israel.

An Israeli official said the withdrawal will remain highly limited, explaining that troops will pull back only from two areas captured beyond the original boundaries of the buffer zone established in April. In the following months, Israeli forces advanced farther north and expanded the zone. The agreement applies only to two of those newly occupied areas and does not include Beaufort Castle, which Israeli forces recaptured in May.

The strategic hilltop overlooking southern Lebanon became one of the symbols of Israel's previous 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon before Israel withdrew in 2000 after concluding the deployment no longer significantly enhanced security despite continued military casualties.

Throughout this week's negotiations, Israel insisted on maintaining the original boundaries of its buffer zone, arguing that the territory remains essential to preventing Hezbollah from threatening Israeli communities near the northern border.

Acoording to Axios, a senior Israeli official said after the signing that Israel would continue holding its security zone along the Yellow Line "until the day when Hezbollah and the other terrorist organizations in Lebanon are disarmed and there is no longer a threat from Lebanon to the territory of the State of Israel."

The official added that the Israeli military's "freedom of military action will be maintained throughout the security zone to eliminate threats of any kind."

The framework agreement outlines a pathway toward a future peace accord while introducing immediate confidence-building measures, including the launch of the two pilot projects that will test the phased transfer of territory from Israeli forces to the Lebanese Army under U.S. monitoring.

The negotiations unfolded against a backdrop of unusually high tensions after Washington signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran last week that included a ceasefire covering Lebanon.

According to sources familiar with the talks, both Israel and Lebanon entered the fifth negotiating round deeply dissatisfied with the U.S. decision, arguing that linking Lebanon to the U.S.-Iran understanding undermined the direct Israeli-Lebanese channel Washington established specifically to reduce Iran's influence over Hezbollah and Lebanese affairs.

The sources said Israel initially adopted a tougher negotiating position, sharply limiting the territory it was prepared to relinquish. Lebanon, meanwhile, hardened its own stance to counter perceptions that Tehran exercised greater influence over Lebanese affairs than Beirut itself.

As a result, Lebanese negotiators presented maps proposing a much broader Israeli withdrawal than Israel was prepared to accept. Israeli officials said domestic political pressures on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government also constrained its flexibility during the talks.

The framework is ultimately intended to end Israel's military presence in southern Lebanon and restore Lebanon's territorial integrity, although officials acknowledged that achieving those objectives will require further negotiations and implementation.