Israeli jets carried out air strikes across at least two Lebanese towns, threatening the fragile ceasefire between Iran and the United States. The new attacks came after a brief pause after US President Donald Trump asked Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu to ‘scale back’ attacks on Lebanon.
Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, said it also targeted a northern Israeli town in response to what it describes as Israel’s “violation” of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement. The militant and political group said it fired rockets at Kiryat Shmona, near the Israel-Lebanon border, on Friday, and Misgav Am in the Upper Galillee region of northern Israel.
“This response will continue until the Israeli-American aggression against our country and our people ceases,” it said in the statement.
Us-Iran Ceasefire
The fragile ceasefire between Iran and the United States is under mounting strain as military activity and regional tensions continue to escalate. Tehran has insisted that its two-week ceasefire deal with the US includes a halt to fighting in Lebanon, a claim disputed by Israel and later the US as well.
The semiofficial Tasnim news agency, close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, claimed that talks would “remain suspended” if the fighting does not cease in Lebanon soon.
Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Netanyahu later stressed that there was no ceasefire between them. But on Wednesday, Israel’s heaviest strikes on Lebanon since Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in early March killed hundreds, rattling the uneasy ceasefire between Washington and Tehran less than 48 hours after it came into force.