Israeli strikes kill at least 16 in southern Lebanon despite reports of renewed ceasefire | Lebanon
At least 16 people were killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, local officials said, despite reports of a renewal of a ceasefire aimed at ending persistent violence that threatens the new deal between the United States and Iran.
Lebanon’s civil defense agency said its personnel transported “16 dead and 12 injured” to hospital, adding that they had been working in the Nabatieh area “since the early hours of the morning” in response to “ongoing attacks targeting the area”.
A new conflict broke out between Hezbollah and Israel on Friday, forcing mediators to cancel talks in Switzerland that were expected to begin the process of transforming the current interim agreement signed between the United States and Iran this week into a more detailed agreement that would cover Iran’s nuclear program.
The interim agreement calls for a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. He was roundly criticized by Israeli ministers, officials and commentators, who claimed he was preventing Israel from countering a threat from Hezbollah.
The Israeli military said it hit Hezbollah targets in response to missiles launched overnight by the Iran-allied Lebanese militant group.
One of Israel’s deadliest attacks on Saturday struck a three-storey residential building in the town of Barish in the southern Tire region, killing a father, mother and their two children, a local village official told Reuters.
The violence flared after four Israeli soldiers, including a senior officer, were killed when Hezbollah hit a tank on Friday; It was stated that this attack took place after Israel advanced and broke the previous ceasefire agreement.
Ensuing Israeli attacks killed 47 people in southern Lebanon and the Beka’a valley, local officials said.
The exact status of the new ceasefire, which was reported to have taken effect locally on Friday evening, is unclear. Hezbollah has said in public statements that it will comply with the ceasefire if Israel complies, but has not said that the ceasefire actually exists.
Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah member of parliament in Lebanon, said his group had the right to respond to Israeli attacks.
In his statement, Fadlallah said, “There is talk of a ceasefire. What concerns us is that the enemy does not attempt to attack our country and villages or does not try to occupy a new position.”
The latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel began just days after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28; Hezbollah fired rockets and drones at civilian communities in northern Israel, and Israel captured and occupied large areas of southern Lebanon to create a “buffer zone.”
The ongoing violence and diplomatic back-and-forth over planned talks between Iran and the United States have raised doubts that a definitive end can be found to a regional war that has killed at least 7,000 people, sent energy prices soaring and threatened global economic chaos.
The interim US-Iran agreement signed this week reopened the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies before the war but was closed to most shipping by Tehran shortly after the war began.
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah is signing the agreement, which calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and respect for the country’s sovereignty.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to keep Israeli forces in Southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to stop its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon, which Iran says is a condition of the deal.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Saturday that consultations were continuing through mediators on the next phase of negotiations to draft a final US-Iran agreement, adding that the talks in Switzerland were not urgent as the first agreement was signed digitally earlier this week. Baghaei said plans are being made to hold a meeting in the coming days.
The interim agreement gives negotiators 60 days to reach a nuclear deal, but that period could be extended. Many observers warn that it will be very difficult to reach an agreement on such a complex issue within two months. The 2015 nuclear deal, which US President Donald Trump canceled during his first term, took more than 18 months to negotiate.
The deal outlines lucrative incentives for Iran, including the eventual removal of all international sanctions and a $300 billion fund for post-war reconstruction.
Tehran has already obtained some economic concessions, and these concessions could bring some relief to Iran’s severe economic crisis. Following the signing of the interim agreement, the United States lifted the embargo on Iranian ports and allowed Iran to sell its oil freely.
