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Ceasefire deal meets Lebanon fighting
The US-Iran ceasefire framework has collided with renewed fighting in Lebanon, where Israel said it was preparing for incoming Iranian missiles before plans for a more permanent ceasefire were announced, and where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s “struggle is not over” while pledging to remain in “security zones” in Lebanon.
“Iran war updates: Donald Trump denies reports of US payout to Iran, Hezbollah launches rockets at Israeli troops — as it happened US President Donald Trump has rejected reports that Iran could have access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund, calling it "fake news" in a post on Truth Social”
NBC News reported that Netanyahu said, “We will remain in these security zones for as long as necessary to defend our country,” and added that he told a news conference, “With an agreement or without an agreement — Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”
In the same reporting, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF would not withdraw from “the multiple theaters of war where it is deployed,” and he said in a statement that he and Netanyahu were “leading a clear policy that determines that the IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza.”
The Times of Israel said fighting between Israel and Hezbollah eased but did not halt entirely on Monday after the US signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran, and it reported that the IDF said Hezbollah fired several rockets at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
The Times of Israel also reported that Lebanon’s National News Agency said a car was targeted in Kfar Tebnit, resulting in the death of the driver, as Hezbollah claimed it blocked an Israeli force near Kfar Tebnit with rockets and drones.
Hezbollah, Israel, and US pressure
As the US-Iran memorandum of understanding took effect, Hezbollah said it welcomed the US-Iran deal as producing a comprehensive ceasefire including in Lebanon, while also rejecting any situation in which Israel could keep up its strikes on Lebanon.
In a Reuters-linked account carried by CBC, a Hezbollah official told Reuters that the group’s position on the ceasefire was linked to Israel adhering to it, and the official added that Hezbollah rejects Israeli “freedom of movement” in Lebanon.
CBC also reported that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Monday his troops would remain in southern Lebanon “as long as needed,” saying Iran had demanded a withdrawal but that he “stood firm.”
In a separate account, The Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu saying, “Iran wanted us to withdraw from there. That did not happen,” and it reported that he said, “Among other reasons, because I stood very, very firm.”
The Times of Israel further said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric reported fewer clashes between Israel and Hezbollah on Monday, with UNIFIL observing a decrease in violence and exchanges of fire from midnight until 4 p.m. local time.
Displacement and what comes next
Even as fighting eased, CBC reported that municipal councils in south Lebanon called on residents to hold off on returning home, and it said Israel’s air force has heavily bombed some towns there over the last three months while others closer to the frontier are still occupied by Israeli troops.
“(CNN) — The Israeli army launched new strikes on the city of Tyre this morning and issued a rare order to evacuate the Christian neighborhood in the historic city located in southern Lebanon”
CBC said nearly 3,800 people were killed and some 1.2 million people uprooted by an Israeli offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group that opened fire on Israel in support of Tehran on March 2, and it described displaced residents such as Mona Mazeh in Beirut’s Hamra district saying, “Frankly, we are hesitant; Israel cannot be trusted.”
In the same reporting, Pakistan was described as a key mediator, and it said Pakistan announced a deal calling for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
CNN Arabic reported that the Israeli army launched new strikes on the city of Tyre and issued a rare order to evacuate the Christian neighborhood in the historic city, with the IDF spokesman Avichai Adraee warning on X that, “in light of Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire and its targeting of the Israeli home front, the IDF is forced to move against them with force.”
L’Orient Today said at least four people were killed in strikes on Mayfadoun and surrounding areas, and it reported that rescue teams recovered around 70 bodies from under the rubble in two villages in the Bint Jbeil District, with 52 bodies found in Kafra and surrounding areas and 18 retrieved from Hadatha.
