Trump Says Israel and Hezbollah Agreed to Dial Back Fighting After Talks

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to dial back fighting after he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with Hezbollah through mediators.

“Israel PM orders strikes on Beirut suburbs as Hezbollah conflict escalates Israel's prime minister has ordered attacks on the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, as its conflict with the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah escalates”

BBC

Trump said there would be no Israeli troops “going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back,” and added that Hezbollah had “agreed that all shooting will stop — That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.”

BBC

Moments after Trump’s message, Israel detected missile launches from Lebanon and warned Israelis in part of northern Israel to take cover in protected spaces.

The agreement came as Israel ordered strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut and Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, including the outskirts of the coastal city of Haifa, according to a joint statement by Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Lebanese authorities secured Hezbollah’s approval of a proposal by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Israel would not strike Beirut’s southern suburbs, and Hezbollah would not attack northern Israel, the Lebanese Embassy to the U.S. said.

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu ordered attacks on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, as the conflict with Hezbollah escalated, saying “terror targets” in Dahieh would be struck in response to rocket and drone attacks on Israeli civilians and other violations of a ceasefire announced in April that failed to end the fighting.

In a joint statement released on Monday morning, Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said they had ordered strikes on Dahieh “following the Hezbollah terrorist organisation's repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon and its attacks against our civilians and cities.”

Breakingthenews.net

Traffic jams formed on roads out of the suburbs as thousands tried to flee, and the BBC described families squeezed onto a single scooter and vehicles packed with several generations.

The BBC also reported that in southern Lebanon on Monday, two men were killed in an Israeli air strike in the village of Zebdine, and another five people were killed in a strike in the nearby town of Kfar Sir overnight.

The BBC said at least 3,433 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the war, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, and that Israel says 24 of its soldiers and four Israeli civilians have been killed over the same period.

The latest attacks came just before the next round of direct Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, with Lebanese negotiators hoping to widen the scope of areas that will not be attacked in the country as they seek a complete ceasefire.

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Haaretz

The AP-linked report said Lebanese officials were scrambling in diplomatic calls, including with Washington, to push back Israel’s military escalation after Netanyahu’s announcement, while Beirut remained committed to holding talks to end the conflict.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted Monday that any ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran is a “ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon,” adding that “Its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts.”

Lebanon’s health ministry figures cited by Middle East Eye said at least 3,433 people have been killed and 10,395 wounded in Israeli attacks since fighting resumed on 2 March.

A Reuters-linked report described how the fighting also presented a major obstacle in the emerging deal to extend the ceasefire in the Iran war, with Tehran wanting any agreement to include Lebanon.