Israel Launches New Strikes in Southern Lebanon as Trump Pushes Hezbollah Ceasefire Talks

Lebanese and Israeli officials met in Washington for a new round of U.S.-mediated talks on ending the war in Lebanon on Tuesday, even as Israel launched new strikes in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah.

“Trump announced the development in a social media post following a call with Netanyahu, whose forces recently made their deepest incursion into Lebanon in more than a quarter-century”

Ahram Online

The New York Times reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah and said he had ordered attacks on an urban area that is a Hezbollah stronghold on the outskirts of Beirut before pausing that assault under pressure from President Trump.

Ahram Online

In southern Lebanon, the Israeli military issued a new evacuation order on Tuesday for Nabatieh, one of southern Lebanon’s largest cities, which has been heavily bombarded in recent days.

NBC News said Israel launched deadly new strikes in Lebanon on Tuesday after accusing Hezbollah of launching attacks overnight, despite Trump saying both sides had agreed to de-escalate.

NBC News also said the Lebanese Civil Defense reported six people were killed in an Israeli strike Monday night in the village of Marwaniyeh in southern Lebanon, and that Nabatieh had been subject to “direct targeting” as a result of a hostile Israeli airstrike.

Al Jazeera reported that Trump said Israel and Hezbollah agreed to halt attacks after indirect talks through intermediaries, with Trump writing on Truth Social that “all shooting will stop”.

Al Jazeera also said Netanyahu’s office stated Israel would reserve the right to strike Beirut if Hezbollah did not cease attacking Israel’s cities and citizens, quoting Netanyahu: “If Hezbollah does not cease attacking our cities and citizens … Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut,”.

Al Jazeera

The Guardian described Trump’s announcement as seemingly averting an Israeli strike on Beirut, quoting Trump’s post that “all shooting will stop”.

The Guardian added that Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said the group refused a partial truce offer to spare Beirut in exchange for an end to Hezbollah attacks on Israel, and it reported Netanyahu saying Israel would attack Beirut if Hezbollah did not stop attacking Israel and its citizens.

Al Jazeera further reported that Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said more than 3,412 people had been killed and 10,269 wounded in Israeli attacks on the country since March 2, while also saying the escalation had displaced more than one million people in Lebanon.

The New York Times tied the Lebanon talks to the broader U.S.-Iran effort, saying Iran has insisted that any peace deal must include Lebanon while Netanyahu voiced determination to press on in a war against Hezbollah that has killed thousands of Lebanese and battered the country’s already weak economy.

“Lebanon’s scene, at its political and on-the-ground levels, entered a new phase of caution and anticipation in the wake of U”

Al-Jazeera Net

NBC News reported that the Lebanese Embassy in Washington said Hezbollah had accepted the terms of a U.S. proposal for a “mutual cessation of attacks,” which would also block Israel from attacking Beirut, while Trump said on Monday there would be “no Troops going to Beirut”.

Al Jazeera reported that Iran stated one of its conditions for any agreement on ending the war with the U.S. is that Israel withdraw from Lebanon, and it said the ceasefire attempts between Israel and Lebanon had repeatedly collapsed, including a 10-day truce announced on April 22 and later extended by three weeks.

France 24 described the return of displaced people to the south after a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel announced on Thursday for ten days, but said what awaited them was “the rubble of homes, the ruins of destroyed buildings, and hard times.”

France 24 also reported that the Lebanese Health Ministry on Friday said at least 2,294 people were killed and 7,544 others injured in Israeli strikes since March 2, and that nearly a quarter of the Lebanese were forced to flee after evacuation orders from Israel destroyed villages and city neighborhoods.