Lebanese health ministry says 31 killed in strikes, Israel reports deaths of 4 soldiers
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Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday, a US official said, after an escalation in fighting there jeopardised the chances of an interim agreement on ending the war in Iran turning into a lasting Middle East peace deal.
The senior US official said shortly before 4pm Lebanon time (1300 GMT) that a ceasefire would come into effect then. “We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire,” the official said on background, saying that negotiators for the US and Qataris worked out the agreement with help from Iran.
The ceasefire announcement came after several Israeli attacks killed at least 31 people in Lebanon since early Friday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
US-Iran talks in Switzerland planned for Friday were cancelled as fighting flared in Lebanon, creating new uncertainty about the timing of negotiations vital to ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping.A senior Hezbollah lawmaker said Iran had told the group that talks with the US could not continue without a comprehensive ceasefire.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson did not mention the talks but said the US bore direct responsibility for Israeli attacks on Lebanon and that Tehran would take all necessary measures to protect its interests.
Lebanon says 31 killed in strikes, Israel reports deaths of 4 soldiers
Fighting flared in Lebanon on Friday, with authorities reporting 31 killed in Israeli airstrikes across the south and Israel announcing the deaths of four of its soldiers.
The violence is the worst since the sealing of a US-Iran deal to halt the wider Middle East war, which was supposed to also pause the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel’s military said it hit scores of targets overnight and into the morning. “The IDF (military) struck more than 80 command centres, terrorists, launch positions, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites in the area of Nabatieh and additional areas in southern Lebanon,” an army statement said.
“Furthermore, during the strikes, dozens of Hezbollah terrorists operating in the command centres were eliminated.”
Iran-backed Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it was attacking Israeli forces around the southern town of Nabatieh.
Other Israeli strikes targeted the Baalbek region in the east of the country, which had been largely spared since the start of the conflict on March 2.
Israel said its strikes in Baalbek and the Bekaa Valley were in response to “repeated violations of the ceasefire by Hezbollah”, which it said “continues to prepare and carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli soldiers”.
Earlier, its military announced that Lieutenant Colonel Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon had “fallen in combat” along with three other soldiers whom it did not immediately identify.
A military official said the incident involved an impact from “a suspicious target” on an Israeli tank, with Israeli military correspondents reporting it had been hit by “a suspected drone or anti-tank missile”.
In a separate statement the military also reported that a reserve officer was severely wounded “as a result of an explosive drone impact in southern Lebanon”, with four other soldiers lightly injured.
US officials, including President Donald Trump have expressed frustration at Israel’s campaign in Lebanon, which it has pursued in spite of Washington’s negotiations with Tehran and a separate ceasefire agreed in April that was meant to halt the fighting there.
Hezbollah said early Friday that it had targeted Israeli troops “with a barrage of rockets and mortar shells” near the Ali al-Taher hills, a strategic feature overlooking Nabatieh.
It had also reported attacking Israeli tanks, saying forces “consisting of an armoured platoon and an infantry platoon (tried) to infiltrate towards the northern side of the Ali al-Taher hills”. “The clashes are still ongoing,” it said.
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in early March by attacking Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the US-Israeli military campaign.
Israel retaliated with broad strikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south, which borders Israel and has long been under Hezbollah’s sway.
Iran condemns Israeli attacks on Lebanon
Iran strongly condemned Israel’s latest attacks on Lebanon and held the US directly responsible for the consequences of what it described as repeated violations of a ceasefire agreement, according to a statement shared Friday on Foreign Ministry spokesman’s Telegram channel.
