Israel continues Lebanon strikes despite US-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah rejects deal

Ceasefire announced in Washington

Israel and Lebanon agreed late Wednesday to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire aimed at ending months of hostilities, according to a joint statement released by the State Department. The deal requires a "complete cessation" of military activities by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and the withdrawal of its fighters from the area between the border and the Litani River. It also envisions "pilot zones" where the Lebanese Armed Forces would take exclusive control, to the exclusion of all non-state actors. Notably, the statement made no mention of an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, where Israel has carved out a self-declared security zone.

Israel presses on with strikes

Despite the announcement, Israel’s military continued to strike targets in Lebanon on Thursday. A drone hit a motorbike in southern Lebanon, killing one person and wounding another. Additional strikes in eastern Lebanon killed five people, while an attack near the city of Tyre killed three more, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, which said eight others were wounded, including three children and two women. Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would remain in the security zone, including the Beaufort castle area, "without the return of the population" and that the military would "continue its fire and operations on the ground" for the time being. The war, reignited on March 2 when Hezbollah fired on Israel in solidarity with Iran, has displaced some 1.2 million people in Lebanon, most of them Shi’ite Muslims.

Israeli forces would remain in the security zone, including the area of Beaufort castle, and without the return of the population. Israel will, for the time being, continue its fire and operations on the ground.

Hezbollah rejects deal as casualties mount

Hezbollah, which was not a direct party to the Washington talks, immediately dismissed the ceasefire. The group called the agreement a "surrender" and vowed to continue attacks as long as Israeli forces occupied Lebanese territory. Its rejection underlines the fragility of an accord that U.S. officials had sought to detach from parallel negotiations to end the Washington-Tehran standoff. Iran, Hezbollah’s principal backer, has insisted on linking the two conflicts and said this week it had suspended back-channel talks with the U.S. over Israel’s expanded bombing campaign in Lebanon.

International response and UNIFIL killing

Italy, which currently commands the UNIFIL mission, welcomed the ceasefire announcement and urged Hezbollah to end all military activities. "The Italian government reaffirms its support for Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, continuing its commitment to peace and stability in the region," Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office said. The statement condemned an attack in southern Lebanon that killed a Serbian UNIFIL peacekeeper, an episode that underscores the risks to the international force.

Italy welcomes the announcement of the renewed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, hoping for a lasting end to hostilities through strict adherence to the commitments made, including the cessation of all military activities by Hezbollah.

US House rebuffs anti-war push

A day after the House voted to constrain President Trump’s ability to wage war on Iran, lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected a resolution by Representative Rashida Tlaib that would have directed the president to remove all U.S. armed forces from Lebanon within seven days. The measure failed 92–324, with 117 Democrats opposing it and 91 supporting it. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team came out against it, arguing "there are no U.S. service-members involved in combat operations or hostilities in Lebanon." The vote exposed lingering divisions among Democrats on Middle East policy.

There are no U.S. service-members involved in combat operations or hostilities in Lebanon.