Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least seven, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement. Lebanon's National News Agency said the strikes hit the town of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages, per the AP. At least seven remained trapped under the rubble, it said. Mediators were scrambling to halt the fighting between Israel and the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group, after a heavy exchange on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers. An Israeli military official said Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, prompting the military to start targeting the militant group.
On Friday, Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to Washington, wrote on X that Israel "remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire" if Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases hostilities. In public statements, Hezbollah has said it will honor a ceasefire if Israel does, but it hasn't said a ceasefire was actually in place. A Hezbollah official said on Friday after reports of a ceasefire emerged that efforts were underway by Qatar, the US, and Iran to broker an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire but stopped short of confirming a deal was reached.
Hezbollah and Israel went to war just days after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at civilian communities in northern Israel, and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon. The interim US-Iran agreement signed this week has already reopened the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had closed as the war unfolded, cutting off the global economy from significant supplies of oil and natural gas. The deal also envisages relaunched talks on Iran's nuclear program, a core issue in the war. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal, which calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and for the country's sovereignty to be respected.
With the fighting continuing, the accord is now under threat, and US-Iran talks in Switzerland, which had originally been set for Friday, have been delayed, with no new date announced. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. On Friday, Netanyahu posted on X that, on his orders, the Israeli army had "struck powerfully" 150 Hezbollah targets, killing dozens of militants. The news comes on the heels of a warning from the US intelligence community that Netanyahu will likely try to undermine a US-Iran peace deal, per the Washington Post. More here.
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