Israel strikes south Lebanon despite truce announced with Hezbollah

BEIRUT: Israel carried out deadly strikes in south Lebanon on Saturday and Hezbollah maintained it had the right to respond, hours after the United States announced a renewed ceasefire in fighting that had strained a fledgling deal with Iran.

US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian this week signed a preliminary agreement to halt the Middle East war on all fronts, including Lebanon — a key demand of Tehran’s.

But follow-up talks scheduled for Friday in Switzerland were indefinitely postponed as Israel launched a wave of strikes in Lebanon that left dozens of people dead after four of its soldiers were killed in combat, sparking a furious reaction at home.

On Friday afternoon, a US official announced a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by US and Qatari mediators, with Israel’s ambassador to Washington saying it would respect the truce if Hezbollah did.

But on Saturday an Israeli military official said it was conducting fresh attacks against the Iran-backed movement, which it accused of having “launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon” overnight.

Hezbollah has not officially claimed any attacks on Israel or its troops in Lebanon since the ceasefire was announced.

Lebanese state media reported Israeli air raids on around 20 locations, with the country’s civil defence agency saying 16 people were killed in the Nabatieh area, where an AFP photographer saw smoke rising over the city after strikes.

Another AFP journalist on the Israeli side of the border also reported multiple explosions in Lebanon, with smoke billowing behind the historic Beaufort Castle, a strategic position not far from Nabatieh that Israel captured last month.

Right to confront

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Saturday that his group insisted “that the enemy fully and comprehensively respects the ceasefire”.

“The resistance has the full right to confront this enemy when it attacks us, as it is the aggressor and the occupier,” he added.

An Israeli military official cited by public broadcaster Kan, meanwhile, similarly described his country’s approach to the truce as being “on the basis of fire being answered with fire”.

Lebanese authorities reported 47 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Friday, the highest toll since the US and Iran struck their deal to stop the wider regional war.

Hezbollah had pulled Lebanon into the conflict in early March when it fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.

A previous ceasefire meant to take effect in Lebanon in April was never honoured, with both sides justifying their ongoing attacks by the other’s violations.

In a call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed “the need for Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory to cease”, his office said.

Rubio, according to the State Department, insisted on the importance of Lebanon carrying through on its efforts to disarm Hezbollah and “re-establish control over all Lebanese territory”.

Switzerland talks

Israel and Lebanon, which have no official diplomatic ties, have held multiple rounds of US-mediated direct talks in Washington, with another scheduled next week, according to Rubio.

Meanwhile, talks that were scheduled to take place between the US and Iran in Switzerland to build on the preliminary deal and work towards a lasting settlement in the wider Middle East war were postponed Friday, with no new date announced.

Vice President JD Vance had been expected to represent the American side, but put off his trip.

Instead, US envoy Steve Witkoff headed to Switzerland to get the talks back on track, American media outlets reported, with fellow Trump emissary Jared Kushner also expected there.

In parallel, mediator Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Iran on Saturday for meetings with officials including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei had said the visit was “part of Pakistan’s efforts regarding the Iran-US negotiations”.

The talks in Switzerland were due to kick off a two-month period of negotiations to discuss outstanding issues not covered by the initial deal, notably Iran’s nuclear programme.

Switzerland’s foreign ministry confirmed the discussions had been postponed but said it “remains ready to facilitate these talks”.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Friday that there was “no urgency to hold the meeting”, but that it was planned “in the coming days”.