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Ceasefire strain in Lebanon
Iran said Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, citing ceasefire violations after Israel continued deadly strikes in southern Lebanon overnight, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy warned ships not to approach the waterway.
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Early Saturday, Israeli strikes killed at least 16 people, including two children, according to Lebanese civil defense and media, and Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said a previous wave of strikes on Friday killed 83 people.
The Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah breached the ceasefire and “launched more than 50 projectiles toward IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon” overnight, while Hezbollah said it had “adhered to the ceasefire since Friday evening” and accused Israel of “sabotage the agreement” between Iran and the U.S.
In Lebanon, the army said a soldier was killed between Kfar Rumman and Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, and Lebanese news agency NNA reported an airstrike on Arabsalim killed three people and a drone strike on Deir al-Zahrani killed one person.
The NBC News account also said the continued military bombardment has threatened to derail the fragile U.S. peace talks with Iran, with Vice President JD Vance telling Fox News that the situation in Lebanon had “calmed down.”
Competing claims and threats
Hezbollah accused Israel of making false claims to justify its attacks in an effort to “sabotage the agreement” between Iran and the U.S., while the Israel Defense Forces said it was “committed to the ceasefire agreement” and attacked what it described as Hezbollah targets in response.
In a statement sent to reporters by the Prime Minister’s Office, Israel’s military official said Netanyahu instructed the IDF to “hold its fire” in Lebanon after “coordination between the political echelon and the United States,” according to Channel 12 news.
The Times of Israel reported that in response to Hezbollah’s attacks, the IDF struck 300 terror targets and eliminated approximately 100 terrorists, and it also quoted Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter writing on X that “Hezbollah broke the ceasefire, not Israel.”
At the same time, the Hill reported that Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted on X that “All of Lebanon must burn,” and the article quoted his warning that “With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens’ security are not forfeit.”
Diplomacy at risk
The Washington Post said a continued fighting briefly seemed to imperil the U.S.-Iran peace deal signed earlier this week, but by late afternoon officials said Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a renewed ceasefire after mediation efforts by the United States, Iran and Qatar.
“Dozens of people were killed in air strikes carried out by Israel against southern Lebanon, with at least 47 dead, most of them in the south”
The Guardian described the renewed ceasefire as a fragile one in Lebanon on Friday after 24 hours of intense violence, and it said the meeting scheduled in Switzerland between Washington and Tehran was cancelled when Hezbollah killed four Israeli soldiers and Israel carried out retaliatory airstrikes that killed at least 47 people.
In Lebanon, President Joseph Aoun told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a comprehensive ceasefire must be secured for talks with Israel to progress, and the BBC reported that Trump said he had spoken with Israel and asked them to agree to a ceasefire.
The BBC also said the truce went into effect on Friday afternoon and that the U.S. and Qatar brokered it after talks with Israel and Iran, while it noted that a new round of direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran had been postponed on Friday.
Looking ahead, the NBC News account said Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced “technical-level talks” will take place Sunday with U.S. and Iranian representatives joined by mediators from Qatar and Pakistan, and it quoted Esmail Baghaei saying the trip was a “mission to demand the fulfillment of the other side’s obligations.”
