Israeli Strikes Kill 254 in Lebanon as U.S.-Iran Talks Prepare in Islamabad

Israeli military operations in Lebanon continued as the United States and Iran prepared for negotiations in Islamabad, with Euronews saying the Lebanese file remained among the principal challenges given ongoing Israeli raids and “the hundreds of casualties even during the ceasefire period.”

Euronews reported that on the first day of the ceasefire, Israeli strikes on Lebanese territory killed 254 people and injured 1,165 others, citing Lebanese Civil Defense data.

Al-Jadeed

In a separate account, Al Jazeera Net described tensions rising in Lebanon as Israeli operations continued and as there were “growing indications of Israeli attempts to separate the Lebanese front from the regional ceasefire track.”

Al Jazeera Net quoted military expert Col. Hassan Jouni saying Israel was seeking to detach the Lebanon arena from other fronts and disarm Hezbollah through “a dual path that combines military action and political pressure.”

Lebanon’s position was framed as conditional on Israeli actions, with Naharnet quoting a Lebanese official warning that continued Israeli escalation would jeopardize negotiations and saying: "The continued violations will either lead to us not participating in the negotiations or to our participation with the sole condition of a ceasefire."

The same Naharnet report said the official told Al-Jazeera that Lebanon had informed Washington that “a ceasefire is key to everything, and this situation cannot continue,” and urged the U.S. sponsor to impose a “decisive and comprehensive ceasefire.”

Al-Nahda News

Al Jazeera Net added that Nijar Mortazavi, a senior researcher at the Center for International Policy in Washington, said Iran would not accept any ceasefire agreement that does not include Lebanon and its allies.

Al Jazeera Net also quoted WikiStrat security and military strategy expert Richard Weitz saying the United States continues to treat the Lebanese file as separate and that any ceasefire is conditioned on disarming Hezbollah and strengthening the Lebanese state, including the army.

As negotiations loom, Lebanon’s officials signaled they were preparing mechanisms to monitor Israeli compliance, with Naharnet quoting the Lebanese official saying they wanted to activate the work of the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) to monitor Israeli violations.

Naharnet also reported the official saying the Lebanese Army would not create a unit dedicated to disarming Hezbollah and that Lebanon wanted a “joint Lebanese-American committee” to monitor the army’s implementation of commitments.

In parallel, Al Jazeera Net described a political and military dispute over whether Lebanon is included in any broader Iran-U.S. settlement, with it quoting Salim Zakhour saying Lebanese authorities were trying to consolidate sovereignty as the sole entity authorized to manage negotiations.

Al Jazeera Net further said Hezbollah had thought Lebanon was included in the ceasefire, prompting it to pause before resuming rocket fire after continued Israeli attacks, and it added that “Yesterday, Israel carried out 100 airstrikes in 10 minutes” in Lebanon, killing 303 people and injuring 1,150 others.