Washington, United States. Lebanon announced a partial ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on Monday, in what would amount to a limited de-escalation of a conflict that has killed thousands of people and intensified the broader U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Ceasefire terms
According to Lebanon’s embassy in Washington, the agreement would not end the conflict in the country. It calls for Israel to refrain from strikes on Beirut and its suburbs controlled by Hezbollah, while the Iran-aligned group would halt its attacks on Israel.
Continued fighting
Hostilities in southern Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March, continued on Monday evening. Early on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it intercepted two projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into northern Israel, and said no injuries were reported.
Trump and Netanyahu statements
U.S. President Donald Trump, who first announced the agreement, said Hezbollah, through intermediaries, had pledged not to attack Israel. No U.S. president has ever spoken with Hezbollah, with or without intermediaries. The U.S. has designated the group as a terrorist organization.
Trump also said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to pull back any troops preparing to attack Beirut.
After Trump’s announcement, Netanyahu said Israel would continue military operations in southern Lebanon, where ground forces are pushing toward the Zaharani River, their deepest incursion in Lebanon in 25 years.
Lebanon seeks wider talks
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the militia would support a full ceasefire across all Lebanon as a precursor to the withdrawal of Israeli troops. He did not say whether the group would stop its strikes on Israeli territory.
Lebanon said it would seek to expand the ceasefire in talks with Israel in Washington on Wednesday.
That could clear the way for renewed efforts to end the three-month-old war that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. The process has remained stalled for weeks under a fragile ceasefire as negotiators have been unable to agree on an initial framework for peace talks.
The Israel-Hezbollah war erupted on March 2 as an offshoot of the broader conflict and has been tied to it ever since.
