Fighting persists in Lebanon as US-Iran deal is under threat

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement.

The persistent fighting threatened an interim agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war in West Asia.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said the strikes hit the southern town of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages. At least seven people remained trapped under the rubble, it said.  Mediators were scrambling to halt the fighting between Israel and the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group, after a heavy exchange on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.

An Israeli military official said Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, prompting the military to start targeting the militant group there.

The official spoke anonymously in line with regulations. The army said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets and militants in southern Lebanon, including rocket-launching positions and Hezbollah command centers.

On Friday, Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, said on X that Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases hostilities.

On Saturday, Hezbollah said it had committed to the ceasefire but blamed Israel for violating it several times on Friday night. A statement issued by the group’s military wing said it would abide by the ceasefire but would also repel attacks by Israeli troops.

A conflict that could sink the US-Iran deal

 Hezbollah and Israel went to war just days after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at civilian communities in northern Israel and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon.

The interim US-Iran agreement signed this week has already reopened the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had closed as the war unfolded - cutting off the global economy from significant supplies of oil and natural gas. The deal also envisages the relaunch of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, a core issue in the war.

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal, which calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and for the country’s sovereignty to be respected. With the fighting continuing, the accord is under threat and US-Iran talks in Switzerland, planned to start Friday, have been delayed, with no new date announced. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon, which Iran says is also a condition of the deal.

A new round of US-backed talks between the Lebanese government and Israel is expected to take place in Washington next week.

A strike on the village of Barish killed four members of a family, parents and two children. In Arab Salim village, a body was pulled from a destroyed house, and in the villages of Doueir and Kfar Rumman, drone strikes killed a person on a motorcycle and a Lebanese soldier. Nine people were killed in strikes in the villages of Qannarit, Sohmor and Shehour.

Plumes of smoke rose into the sky over southern Lebanon Saturday and Israeli jets flew low over the coastal city of Tyre.  The city’s residents told The Associated Press they were relieved that Tyre had been spared in recent days but the sounds of Israeli planes reminded them the war is not over. Many doubted a ceasefire - even if agreed on — would hold.

“Our entire lives would change if there’s a ceasefire,” said Hussein Khoshman, a Tyre resident.

Netanyahu’s office did not immediately comment on the ceasefire efforts. On Friday, Netanyahu posted on X that, on his orders, the Israeli army had “struck powerfully” 150 Hezbollah targets, killing dozens of militants. Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the Israeli forces were operating in a “forward defense zone” and would continue doing so.

Iranian, US officials cancel travel

 Iranian officials did not travel as planned to Switzerland, insisting that the fighting in Lebanon must stop before the talks can take place. US Vice President JD Vance also postponed his trip.

On Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told the semi-official ISNA news agency that Pakistan’s interior minister will arrive in Iran as part of continued negotiation efforts. Baghaei had said earlier that consultations through mediators were ongoing regarding the next phase of negotiations to draft a final US-Iran agreement.

Because the initial deal was signed digitally earlier this week, the talks in Switzerland were not urgent, and plans were underway to hold a meeting in the coming days, he said.

Israeli strike hits Gaza City apartment, killing 2 children, say health officials

Deir Al-Balah: An Israeli strike early Saturday killed at least two children in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials said. Despite an October ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas, the enclave has seen near-daily Israeli attacks that have killed over 1,007 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Saturday’s strike hit an apartment in Gaza City around 2 am local time, according to the ministry, with the death toll expected to rise as rescue teams work on recovering more bodies.

There was no immediate information on the number of the wounded. At the site of the attack, an Associated Press reporter saw scattered rubble and chunks of concrete stained with blood.

The bodies of the two sisters, 4-year-old Zina and 14-year-old Lana, were sent to Shifa Hospital’s morgue, where they lay shrouded in white hospital bags, surrounded by family members. “I was sitting at home. The rocket fell on us without a warning,” said their cousin, Mohammad Safadi, who had a forehead wound. He said both he and his wife were wounded in the attack. “This ceasefire, the occupation and the negotiation team speak of … is this really a ceasefire? We are civilians. I never held a weapon,” Safadi added. The Israeli military didn’t immediately issue a statement, but said it was looking into the incident. Israel says it is targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the truce. The war erupted when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages on October 7, 2023. Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in the Gaza Strip has since killed 73,018 Palestinians, including those slain since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday.