Israel and Hezbollah Agree Ceasefire After Lebanon Airstrikes Killed 47

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire after a morning flareup in Lebanon, with DW reporting that heavy fighting in Lebanon put the wider Iran ceasefire under pressure.

“The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation: Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon on the Washington talks table Following the publication by the Israeli army of a map showing its occupation of a strip up to 10 kilometers deep inside Lebanon, with its insistence on remaining in the area it calls a security zone”

Anadolu Ajansı

DW said the announced Israel–Lebanon ceasefire came as Lebanon's health minister reported at least 47 fatalities since midnight from Israeli airstrikes, and it also reported that Israel said four of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon before the latest ceasefire was announced.

Anadolu Ajansı

In a call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said a comprehensive ceasefire must be secured for talks with Israel to progress, stressing "the need for Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory to cease through the achievement of a comprehensive ceasefire."

The US State Department said Rubio "reiterated the need to disarm Hezbollah" and reaffirmed US support for Lebanon's efforts to create "a fully sovereign Lebanese state that is at peace with all its neighbors," while the next round of Lebanese-Israeli talks was set for June 23 to 25 in Washington.

DW also reported that Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed Friday peace talks were postponed, with no new date given, as US Vice President JD Vance skipped a planned trip to meet Iranian negotiators in Switzerland.

NBC News reported that President Donald Trump told NBC News in a phone call Friday afternoon that he spoke with Israel and asked them to agree to a ceasefire, saying "It’s a positive" and adding: "It’s a little icing on the cake."

NBC News also quoted an official Hezbollah source saying the group would abide by the ceasefire but that "the Israelis are still firing and trying to move deeper into Lebanese territory," while Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said Israel was "firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire" and has halted offensive operations.

Asharq Al-Awsat English

In a phone call with Aoun, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Rubio underscored that Lebanon’s bilateral negotiations with Israel represent the only feasible path to reconstruction and ending recurrent cycles of violence, and Pigott said Rubio reiterated the need to disarm Hezbollah.

The BBC reported that Hezbollah’s secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said: "The project to eliminate Hezbollah has failed," and it quoted Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin saying Israel would "continue to remove immediate threats" and respond to Hezbollah's violations.

The BBC also described scepticism among displaced Lebanese people, including one man telling Reuters: "The agreement is good, and we all want an agreement, but the Israelis don't abide by it."

The next round of Lebanese-Israeli talks is scheduled for June 23 to 25 in Washington, after a call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, according to the Jerusalem Post and France 24.

“Israel and Hezbollah agree ceasefire, US says, as more Lebanon strikes reported Israel and Hezbollah have agreed a ceasefire, a US official says, following intense Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon that killed 47 people”

BBC

The Jerusalem Post reported that Rubio "reiterated the need to disarm" Hezbollah and reaffirmed US support for "a fully sovereign Lebanese state that is at peace with all its neighbors," while it said Israel’s ambassador Yechiel Leiter stated that Israel "remains fully committed to an immediate ceasefire."

France 24 reported that Aoun told Rubio that a comprehensive ceasefire was essential, quoting the Lebanese presidency that there was "the need for Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory to cease through the achievement of a comprehensive ceasefire," which Lebanon considers a "fundamental basis" for advancing the Washington negotiations.

The BBC said the ceasefire agreement followed concerns that continued clashes, including Hezbollah killing four Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, would undermine the deal to end the war between the US and Iran, and it reported that the memorandum of understanding declared a ceasefire in Lebanon as well as between the US and Iran.

Anadolu Ajansı reported that since March 2 Israel has been waging a broad aggression against Lebanon that left 3,912 killed and 11,873 wounded, in addition to more than one million displaced, citing official Lebanese data, as the ceasefire and talks face immediate tests on the ground.