Full story
Strike in Southern Lebanon
The Israeli military said it killed Hezbollah commander Ali Musa Daqduq in a "precise strike in southern Lebanon," and IDF officials said Daqduq was killed south of the Litani River on Friday.
“The Hezbollah commander, Ali Musa Daqduq, was killed in an airstrike”
ABC News reported that the IDF said Daqduq held a series of senior positions within Hezbollah and served "as a source of knowledge with extensive operational experience," while Israeli and Hezbollah forces continued to exchange fire in Lebanon.
The IDF also said it conducted a new strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut, targeting what it called Hezbollah "infrastructure" in the southern Dahiyeh area of the city, and it issued new evacuation warnings for residents of 13 towns and villages in southern Lebanon ahead of airstrikes.
In the early hours of Sunday, Hezbollah claimed to have launched a drone attack on Israeli forces operating in the southern Lebanese town of Houla, and ABC News said the IDF reported several "hostile aircraft" incursions along the northern border with Israel overnight and into Sunday, with no damage or casualties reported.
Ceasefire Deal Under Pressure
As the U.S.-Iran ceasefire framework neared an electronic signing, Pakistan said the United States and Iran had reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, and it added that "Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon," according to PBS.
Trump warned Israel and Iran not to "blow it" as strikes threatened the emerging deal, writing on Truth Social that "There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel."
PBS said the signing was to be Friday in Switzerland, while it reported that full details of the deal were not immediately available and that it was not clear how quickly the strait might reopen to all traffic.
The Hill reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told CBS’s "Face the Nation" that strikes traded between Hezbollah and Israel won’t impact the U.S.-Iran peace deal, saying, "From all I know, we are on track. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when."
What Lebanon Stands to Lose
The dispute over Lebanon is tied to the broader U.S.-Iran negotiations, with AP saying a fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 7 and that Israel has been fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon since early March.
AP reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian state TV on Friday that both sides were working toward signing an initial agreement declaring an end to the war "on all fronts, including Lebanon," and it said Israel is not a party to the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
In Lebanon, the stakes are immediate because the IDF said it struck a "Hezbollah command center" in Beirut after Hezbollah launched aerial attacks "against Israeli civilians & IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon," and it said it was preparing for more strikes aimed at Israeli territory.
CNBC framed the risk as the deal hanging in the balance as Israel and Tehran-backed Hezbollah traded strikes Sunday, and it reported that Trump said the Israeli attacks on Beirut "should not have happened" on a day when he said the parties were "so close to a Peace Deal with Iran."
