Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire effective 4 p.m. local time on Friday, a senior US official told Reuters, after a day of cross-border strikes that killed four Israeli soldiers and at least 18 people in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The deal was mediated by American and Qatari negotiators with the assistance of Iran, the official said, and was announced hours after Israeli forces struck more than 80 targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, which the Israel Defense Forces described as a response to repeated ceasefire violations by Hezbollah.

From Washington, the ceasefire is framed as a restoration of the broader US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed on Wednesday, which requires an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, had earlier instructed the military to strike Hezbollah "with full force" and vowed to exact a "very heavy price," while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on social media that "all Lebanon must burn." Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of seeking "permanent war," and Tehran had demanded guarantees that hostilities in Lebanon would end before resuming nuclear negotiations with the United States in Switzerland; those talks were subsequently suspended.

The ceasefire directly tests the viability of the US-Iran framework, which envisages a 60-day pause in regional fighting to allow negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme. Israel's publication of a map delineating a security zone up to 10 kilometres inside Lebanese territory, and Netanyahu's statement that troops will remain "for as long as required to protect the settlements in the north," contradict the accord's commitment to Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Viewed from Beirut, the truce is met with deep caution: previous ceasefires have repeatedly broken down amid mutual accusations of violation, and residents will judge the agreement by the concrete halt of strikes and the return of displaced families.

The Lebanon front opened on 2 March when Hezbollah began attacks in solidarity with Iran after the broader Middle East war erupted on 28 February. The US-Iran deal, reached after months of direct talks, was designed to de-escalate all theatres, but Israel has resisted US pressure to withdraw, with President Donald Trump reportedly calling Netanyahu "crazy" and suggesting Syria should handle Hezbollah. The Swiss talks were cancelled after the latest round of fighting, but mediators are working to resolve the impasse. The ceasefire's durability now depends on whether both sides observe the truce from the appointed hour, with the next concrete step being the potential reconvening of US-Iran negotiations.