Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire from 4pm (1000 GMT) on Friday, a senior US official and two Hezbollah sources told Reuters, after hostilities between them sharply intensified overnight in Lebanon.
“Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire,” the U.S. source said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that U.S. and Qatari negotiators worked out the deal with Iran’s help. “We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire.”
The intensification of violence in Lebanon has strained the interim agreement between the United States and Iran, signed on Wednesday, to end the war in the Middle East.
A Hezbollah lawmaker told Reuters earlier that Iran had informed the group that negotiations with Washington could not proceed without implementing a comprehensive ceasefire.
Overnight, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 18 people in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, while four Israeli soldiers were killed in the south of the country in one of Hezbollah’s deadliest attacks in this war.
The Iran deal requires the United States, Iran and their allies to declare an immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon. Violence decreased significantly earlier this week but has since increased again.
