The United States–Iran memorandum of understanding that was meant to halt the Middle East war unravelled on Lebanon’s front within hours of its Friday afternoon declaration. By Saturday evening, five Israeli soldiers—four killed when an anti-tank munition struck their vehicle and a fifth in a separate Hezbollah-claimed attack—had died, pushing the Israeli military toll since 2 March to 36. Lebanese health authorities reported at least ten killed, including four members of a single family in the town of Bariish, as Israeli jets, drones and artillery struck targets across the south and the Bekaa Valley. The Israeli military said it had received “updated instructions” from the political leadership to cease fire and was operating “defensively inside the security zone”, yet acknowledged carrying out strikes on Hezbollah positions after more than fifty projectiles were launched at its forces overnight.

Viewed from Beirut, the escalation was depicted by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun as a “dangerous escalation aimed at sabotaging ceasefire efforts”. He made multiple calls to US and Qatari counterparts and instructed his negotiating team to proceed uncompromisingly to the fifth round of direct Israel–Lebanon talks set for Washington in three days. Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc stated that the group would not grant Israel “freedom of action” in what it called “occupied Lebanese territory” and asserted a “full right to respond” to any attack, even while claiming adherence to the truce. The group, which along with its Iranian patrons opposes the bilateral talks, sees a comprehensive ceasefire as a gateway to Israeli withdrawal, army deployment and prisoner exchanges, but fears it will also lead to demands for its disarmament.

In Jerusalem, Israeli officials framed the strikes as a legitimate response to Hezbollah’s volley of missiles and drones that left a battalion commander and three other soldiers dead on Friday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel would exact a “very heavy price” for any attack on its forces or territory and insisted that troops would remain in the southern Lebanon security zone for as long as necessary. Defence Minister Yisrael Katz called the casualties a “heavy blow”, while opposition figures urged the government to channel military gains into a diplomatic exit. The Israeli security cabinet was reported to be weighing expanded retaliation, including possible strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The truce, brokered by Washington, Doha and Tehran as part of a wider accord to halt regional hostilities, has been battered by a series of violations. Diplomatic sources in Western capitals note that each side’s insistence on a self-defined security zone undermines stabilisation. The US, according to a senior American official, pressed Israel to accept the ceasefire, with President Donald Trump publicly advising “you have to calm down and use your brain”. Yet the Lebanese army, which Washington supports as a future guarantor of border security, accused Israel of undermining its efforts after one of its soldiers was killed on Saturday on the Nabatieh road. The next round of negotiations is expected to test whether Washington and Doha can convert the fragile pause into a sustainable framework, as Aoun insists that no concessions can be made on a comprehensive ceasefire before discussions on withdrawal and state authority.