Israel continues attacks on Lebanon despite agreeing to ceasefire

Israel has continued to onslaught Lebanon aft the caller ceasefire with Hezbollah was reported, raising fears that Tel Aviv is trying to wreck the fragile statement tied to wider efforts to extremity Middle East hostilities.

On Friday, officials and diplomats from the United States and the Gulf separately told quality agencies that the 2 sides agreed that a ceasefire would commencement astatine 4pm section clip (13:00 GMT).

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Despite the ceasefire, astatine slightest 12 Israeli aerial raids and continual artillery shelling deed confederate Lebanon aft the deadline, according to reports from the ground. Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported an Israeli drone onslaught killed 2 radical travelling connected a motorcycle successful confederate Lebanon aft the ceasefire had taken hold.

Israel and Hezbollah reportedly “agreed to halt hostilities” aft Qatar, the United States and Iran brokered the ceasefire, a Gulf diplomat told the AFP quality agency, requesting anonymity to sermon delicate matters. He said the ceasefire aimed to halt the escalation successful Lebanon from derailing a broader propulsion to crook the interim US-Iran statement into a lasting determination bid deal.

The Israeli subject killed astatine slightest 47 people and wounded 97 successful attacks connected Lebanon that began astatine midnight and continued done Friday, according to the Lebanese wellness ministry.

Shortly earlier the ceasefire began, a elder US authoritative said that the statement had been reached done US and Qatari mediation, with Iran’s help. “We recognize that aft the speech of occurrence earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are present successful a ceasefire,” the authoritative told the Reuters quality agency.

A Hezbollah authoritative told Al Jazeera that the ceasefire would clasp if Israel abided by it. Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, besides said connected X: “Israel remains firmly committed to an contiguous ceasefire. If Hezbollah honours the statement and ceases its hostilities, they volition beryllium met with quiet.”

But Israel’s attacks continued astir immediately, leaving residents successful confederate Lebanon questioning whether the ceasefire had immoderate meaning.

“It doesn’t consciousness overmuch similar a ceasefire,” said Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Tyre successful Lebanon aft the Israeli attacks.

“Instead, determination is simply a consciousness of deja vu. Each clip a ceasefire is announced, we spot a renewed burst of subject enactment connected the ground.

“That has near galore radical present questioning what a ceasefire really means,” added Pett.

Israel-Lebanon talks

The adjacent circular of Lebanese-Israeli talks are owed successful Washington from June 23 to 25, the US authorities section said connected Friday.

The announcement came aft US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun spoke by phone.

Aoun said a “comprehensive ceasefire” indispensable service arsenic a “fundamental basis” for immoderate nonstop negotiations with Israel. The Lebanese president besides thanked Rubio for “the enactment of the United States for Lebanon”, according to his office.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem struck a defiant code earlier connected Friday, denouncing “the transgression Israeli warfare connected Lebanon, which disregards each rules successful sidesplitting civilians and children, destroying spot and committing each imaginable atrocity, each successful an effort to unit the absorption to its knees.”

Qassem said the “project to destruct Hezbollah and consolidate the concern has failed, and the Israeli volition permission each past inch of our land”.

He besides accused Israel and the US of walking backmost a ceasefire-type statement aft the autumn of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, believing the equilibrium of powerfulness had shifted successful their favour.

At the UN, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric welcomed reports of a ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hezbollah.

“Turning to Lebanon, I tin archer you that we are, of course, alert of the reports indicating that Israel and Hezbollah person agreed to a ceasefire, and we invited specified developments,” Dujarric said.

“We proceed to telephone connected the parties to cease hostilities, respect existing ceasefire arrangements, and prosecute dialog arsenic the lone viable way to a semipermanent information and stableness connected some sides of the Blue Line,” helium added.

Talks connected US-Iran MoU

Separately, Pakistan and Iran said they were earnestly acrophobic astir Lebanon, including reported ceasefire violations. Pakistan’s overseas ministry said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, discussed the concern with Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, successful a telephone call.

According to the Iranian overseas ministry, Araghchi stressed that the US bears work for ending the warfare connected each fronts, including Lebanon, informing that immoderate usurpation of the commitments outlined successful the memorandum of knowing (MoU) signed this week would autumn connected Washington and could person consequences.

Talks betwixt the US and Iran to sermon the MoU were called disconnected connected Friday aft aggravated warring betwixt Israel and Hezbollah successful confederate Lebanon, officials said.

Iranian officials did not question arsenic planned to Switzerland, insisting that the warring successful Lebanon indispensable halt earlier talks tin happen, 3 determination officials and a 4th idiosyncratic acquainted with the substance who spoke connected information of anonymity told the Associated Press.

US Vice President JD Vance besides postponed his trip.

Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said connected Friday that the indispensable consultations are being carried retired done mediators, and that if the conditions for starting negotiations are met, an authoritative announcement volition beryllium made.

Israel seeking ‘permanent war’

Earlier successful the day, Araghchi, said Israel’s lone involvement is “permanent war”.

He was responding connected X to far-right Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who called for Lebanon to beryllium “burned” aft 4 Israeli soldiers were killed successful confederate Lebanon.

Araghchi said Ben-Gvir’s comments were “not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic” but “a nationalist station by the nationalist information curate of the Israeli regime”.

“The genocidal decease cult headquartered successful Tel Aviv is simply a menace to each of humanity,” Araghchi wrote. “It threatens each humans. Its lone involvement is imperishable war.”

Ben-Gvir urged a monolithic escalation aft the Israeli service announced the deaths of 4 soldiers successful combat.

“With each owed respect to the Americans, Israel indispensable marque it wide to the full satellite that the humor of our sons and the information of our citizens are not forfeit. All of Lebanon indispensable burn,” Ben-Gvir wrote connected X earlier successful the day.

He added that helium told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “even successful our backstage meetings” that “for each teardrop of an Israeli mother, a 1000 Lebanese mothers indispensable weep”.

“Enough with the ping-pong. In the Middle East, you don’t triumph with measured responses and restraint – you request to spell berserk. To obliterate. To crush the terror,” Ben-Gvir said.