Israel and Hezbollah agree to renew ceasefire after flareup of violence | Lebanon
Israel and Hezbollah agreed on Friday to renew a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon after 24 hours of intense violence that early challenged a new deal between the United States and Iran to end the conflict.
A meeting scheduled for Friday between Washington and Tehran in Switzerland to discuss implementation of the new agreement was canceled after Hezbollah killed four Israeli soldiers and Israel carried out a wave of retaliatory airstrikes in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa valley that killed at least 47 people.
The talks were to begin in the Swiss village of Obbürgen two days after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that opened a 60-day window to reach a permanent agreement on Iran’s nuclear program while allowing oil traffic to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The MoU called for an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned on Friday against any violations of the agreement and threatened a “decisive response against the enemy.”
The flare-up of violence and diplomatic back-and-forth over the planned talks has raised uncertainty about whether there will be a definitive end to a regional war that has killed at least 7,000 people, sent energy prices soaring and threatened global economic chaos.
Donald Trump again defended the deal after criticism in Washington, including from some Republican allies in Congress who questioned whether he had conceded too much to end a war that most Americans disliked before November’s midterm elections.
“The war made Iran smaller!” he wrote in social media posts on Friday. “We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. THEY ARE DONE! We will play for 60 days. They don’t get paid, they don’t even get a dime!”
Lebanon has emerged as a flashpoint that could upend Trump’s efforts to pull the United States out of the war, disappointing the president, who has lashed out at Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The latest clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, which has close ties to Tehran, were the fiercest since the ceasefire was established. Hezbollah targeted Israeli forces near the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon with numerous rockets and drone salvoes throughout the night. After intermittent Israeli shelling throughout Thursday.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, Israel responded with a series of airstrikes on the city and surrounding towns that it said were Hezbollah targets; At least 18 people were killed and 33 were injured.
It seemed that the clashes ended in the evening. “If Hezbollah does not attack us, then it is not time for war for us,” an Israeli official said late Friday. Two Hezbollah sources confirmed to Reuters that a new ceasefire had been declared.
Many Israeli commentators believe that the deal Trump reached earlier this week will strengthen Iran and that the killing of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah has sparked anger.
Netanyahu, who promised that a joint US-Israeli war against Iran would lead to regime change in Tehran, faced harsh criticism domestically this week. His office issued a statement saying that Israel would not tolerate attacks on its soldiers or territory and that “Hezbollah will pay a very heavy price for these attacks.”
“Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon as long as necessary to protect communities in the north,” the statement said.
Netanyahu faces elections within months and is under pressure from political rivals. “The whole of Lebanon must burn,” said Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. “Out of respect for Americans, Israel must make clear to the world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are non-negotiable,” he said in a statement.
The cancellation of talks between Iran and the United States on Friday was so sudden that US vice president J.D. Vance’s staff and a small group of journalists gathered at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington in anticipation of the trip. Dozens of White House officials, advanced staff and media were already in Switzerland to prepare for Vance’s arrival.
Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday that he approved the Memorandum of Understanding despite reservations, while the United States officially lifted the blockade of Iranian ports.
Before the talks were called off, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said Iranian negotiators needed to see signs from the United States of implementation of the interim agreement before the next round of peace talks could begin, and that there was no confirmation that the Tehran delegation would go to Geneva.
Israel, which is not involved in the peace talks and has moved away from the US-Iran agreement, accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire, an accusation the group denied to Israel.
Clashes in Lebanon began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel. He said he was avenging the killing of Iran’s supreme leader by the United States and Israel in the opening wave of attacks of the last war. More than 3,900 people died as a result of Israel’s invasion and bombing campaign of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah killed at least 32 Israeli soldiers and three Israeli civilians in Lebanon.
On Thursday, Israel declared a “security zone” in southern Lebanon covering hundreds of square kilometers. Lebanese officials have demanded a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces, something Iran says is required by the Memorandum of Understanding.
Vance said Israel must respect the peace process.
The U.S. military said Thursday that U.S. forces have lifted a naval blockade of Iranian ports that prevented ships from entering or exiting the country, and that the warships “will remain in the general area.”
Activity remained quiet in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic bottleneck for energy shipments that Iran has blockaded during the conflict.
