A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force at 4 p.m. Beirut time on Friday, according to a US official cited by Reuters, following a day of intense cross-border violence that killed four Israeli soldiers and at least 18 people in Lebanon. The truce was mediated by the United States and Qatar with the assistance of Iran, the official said, and was designed to halt an escalation triggered by a Hezbollah attack on an Israeli armoured unit overnight. Israeli warplanes subsequently struck what the military described as more than 80 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, while Lebanese health authorities reported dozens of casualties.

Even as the ceasefire was announced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz issued statements insisting that Israeli forces would remain in what they termed a “security zone” in southern Lebanon, stretching from the Mediterranean coast to the Beaufort Castle heights, for as long as necessary to protect northern Israeli communities. Netanyahu declared that Israel “will not tolerate attacks on its soldiers or its territory” and would exact a “very heavy price” from Hezbollah. An Israeli army spokesman said the security zone extends up to 10 kilometres inside Lebanese territory and that troop reinforcements would continue.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, while condemning the Israeli strikes, stressed that a comprehensive ceasefire was the essential first step toward addressing outstanding issues, including an Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army. He instructed the Lebanese negotiating team to adhere to this position in upcoming talks in Washington. Hezbollah, for its part, accused Israel of never having honoured previous ceasefire agreements and of continuing raids and incursions. According to CNN, the US informed Iran that Israel would not escalate further in Lebanon and had previously agreed to overlook certain violations, placing the onus on Hezbollah to halt its attacks.

The agreement emerged amid intensive US diplomatic efforts to preserve broader regional understandings between Washington and Tehran. Iranian officials had made a comprehensive ceasefire in Lebanon a precondition for resuming US-Iran talks that were postponed earlier this week. The truce, if it holds, could clear the way for those negotiations to restart. However, with Israeli forces still positioned inside Lebanese territory and both sides trading accusations of past violations, the ceasefire remains fragile. The Lebanese delegation’s next round of talks in Washington is expected to focus on securing an Israeli pullback and consolidating the cessation of hostilities.