Israel continues Lebanon strikes despite fresh ceasefire

Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon on Saturday morning killed at least 16 people, including two children, according to Lebanese civil defense and media, one day after the U.S. said Israel and Hezbollah had implemented a fresh ceasefire at President Donald Trump’s request. A series of towns across Lebanon’s south were hit early Saturday, Lebanese news agency NNA reported. An airstrike on the town of Arabsalim reportedly killed 3 people, the agency reported, and a drone strike on the town of Deir al-Zahrani reportedly killed one person. At least seven people remain trapped under the rubble, it said. Lebanon’s army said that a soldier was killed between Kfar Rumman and Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. A statement from the Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah had breached the ceasefire and “launched more than 50 projectiles toward IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon” overnight, and that Israel had attacked what it described as Hezbollah targets in response. “The IDF remains committed to the ceasefire agreement,” the statement said. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, said it had “adhered to the ceasefire since Friday evening,” accusing Israel of making “false claims to justify its violation of the ceasefire.” The fresh attacks come as Israel’s continued military bombardment threatens to derail the fragile U.S. peace talks with Iran, and just one day after President Donald Trump said he had asked Israel to halt its strikes on Lebanon and Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. said his country would cease “offensive operations.” On Saturday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, was in Tehran on Saturday to meet with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency. Baghaei had earlier said that talks with the mediator, Pakistan, were ongoing as part of the next phase of negotiations. Officials from Tehran and Washington were set to meet in Switzerland on Friday to begin 60 days of negotiations on a “final” deal, but those talks were postponed. The negotiations are meant to resolve some of the thorniest issues in the deal that are yet to be agreed upon, including Iran’s nuclear program. The memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S. and Iran this week committed to an immediate end to all fighting, including in Lebanon. Though Israel was not a direct party to that deal, Iran has warned that it would consider Israeli strikes a violation of the terms. U.S. spy agencies believe that Israel will likely continue to launch attacks against the militant group in Lebanon, potentially jeopardizing the tentative peace deal, according to a source with knowledge of the intelligence assessments. Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon come amid a widening rift between the Trump administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who have criticized the deal as not in Israel’s interest and agitated for an increase in strikes on Lebanon. Netanyahu is also facing a crucial election in October and will likely need the support of the Israeli far-right to stay in power. “Netanyahu is in a challenging political spot,” Jonathan Panikoff, a former career intelligence officer now at the Atlantic Council think tank, told NBC News in an email. “When combined with the broad view that Iran has emerged strategically stronger, Netanyahu finds himself trapped.” Netanyahu’s vow to occupy southern Lebanon and Israel’s decision to strike both Iran and Lebanon while an initial deal was being hammered out repeatedly delayed talks, fueling frustration among U.S. officials. Vice President J.D. Vance hit out at Israeli officials on Thursday, saying that Israel does not appreciate American support. Despite the rising tensions over Lebanon, there has been a steady flow of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz since the deal was signed. Industry experts have, however, warned that it could take weeks for the shipping traffic to fully normalize, given that the threat of mines still needs to be cleared. IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Friday that Israeli forces will continue to operate in southern Lebanon and “do whatever is necessary to protect our civilians.”