ceasefire reports – Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least seven people, including two children, hours after reports circulated of a possible ceasefire. The renewed violence is complicating a fragile U.S.-Iran interim agreement aimed at winding down the Middle East w
When the day began with talk of a ceasefire, southern Lebanon quickly offered a harsher answer. Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least seven people, including two children, hours after reports emerged that an agreement to halt fighting might be in place.
The Lebanese National News Agency said the strikes hit the southern town of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages. It added that at least seven people remained trapped under rubble.
Mediators were trying to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah after a heavy exchange on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers. An Israeli military official said Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces overnight in southern Lebanon. prompting the military to begin targeting the militant group there. The official spoke anonymously in line with regulations.
The ceasefire chatter has become more dangerous precisely because of what it could disrupt: an interim agreement between the United States and Iran intended to end the Middle East war. Israel has said it is ready to accept an immediate ceasefire if Hezbollah honors an agreement and stops hostilities. On Friday. Israeli ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter posted on X that Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah does.
Hezbollah, for its part, has said it would abide by a ceasefire if Israel does. But it has not said that a ceasefire was actually in place. A Hezbollah official. speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. said Friday that efforts were underway by Qatar. the U.S. and Iran to broker an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, but stopped short of confirming a deal had been reached.
The violence in Lebanon began to flare just days after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Hezbollah fired rockets and drones at civilian communities in northern Israel, while Israel seized large swaths of southern Lebanon.
Even as the war in the region has been reshaped by the conflict. the U.S.-Iran interim agreement has already changed parts of the wider picture. It has reopened the Strait of Hormuz. which Iran had closed as the war unfolded—cutting off the global economy from significant supplies of oil and natural gas. The deal also envisages the relaunch of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, a core issue behind the wider conflict.
The agreement is not binding on Israel or Hezbollah, and neither group is a signatory. It calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and for Lebanon’s sovereignty to be respected. With fighting continuing, the accord is under threat.
Talks in Switzerland that were planned to start Friday have been delayed, with no new date announced. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon—a condition Iran says is part of the deal.
In southern villages, the human toll arrived early and directly. A strike on the village of Barish killed four members of a family—parents and two children. In Arab Salim village, a body was pulled from a destroyed house. In Doueir and Kfar Rumman, drone strikes killed a person on a motorcycle and a Lebanese soldier.
In Tyre, smoke rose over southern Lebanon and Israeli jets flew low over the coastal city Saturday. Residents said they were relieved Tyre had been spared in recent days. but the sound of aircraft reminded them the war was not over. Hussein Khoshman, a resident of Tyre, said, “Our entire lives would change if there’s a ceasefire.”.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately comment on the ceasefire efforts. On Friday. Netanyahu posted on X that. on his orders. the Israeli army had “struck powerfully” 150 Hezbollah targets. killing dozens of militants. Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Israeli forces were operating in a “forward defense zone” and would continue doing so.
The diplomatic pressure has already moved in parallel with the violence. Iranian officials did not travel as planned to Switzerland, insisting fighting in Lebanon must stop before the talks can take place. U.S. Vice President JD Vance also postponed his trip.
On Saturday. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told the semi-official ISNA news agency that Pakistan’s interior minister will arrive in Iran as part of continued negotiation efforts. Baghaei said earlier that consultations through mediators were ongoing regarding the next phase of negotiations to draft a final U.S.-Iran agreement. Because the initial deal was signed digitally earlier this week. he said. the talks in Switzerland were not urgent. and plans were underway to hold a meeting in the coming days.
What remains unclear now is whether diplomacy can outpace the battlefield. The Switzerland talks are expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran maintains its nuclear activity is for peaceful purposes. though it has a large stockpile of uranium enriched to higher levels that is a step short of weapons’ grade. That uranium could be used to build multiple atomic bombs. the International Atomic Energy Agency says. based on its assessment for the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Negotiating the nuclear track is expected to be difficult. The 2015 nuclear deal took more than 18 months to negotiate after President Donald Trump scrapped it during his first term.
Under the interim deal, negotiators have 60 days to come up with a nuclear agreement, with the possibility of extension. It includes incentives if Iran reaches a new agreement, including the eventual lifting of all international sanctions and a $300 billion fund for postwar reconstruction.
Iran has already received some concessions. Following the signing of the interim deal, the U.S. lifted its blockade of Iran’s ports and allowed Iran to sell its oil freely. The deal also calls for Iran’s assets to be unfrozen, though it is not clear how quickly.
For the people living along the Israel-Lebanon border, the central question is whether a ceasefire—discussed in messages and denied in the fine print—can survive the next round of strikes.
Lebanon Hezbollah Israel ceasefire U.S.-Iran interim agreement Switzerland talks Iran nuclear program Strait of Hormuz Tyre