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Israel has continued to attack Lebanon after the new ceasefire with Hezbollah was reported, raising fears that Tel Aviv is trying to wreck the fragile agreement tied to wider efforts to end Middle East hostilities.<\/p>\n
On Friday, officials and diplomats from the United States and the Gulf separately told news agencies that the two sides agreed that a ceasefire would start at 4pm local time (13:00 GMT).<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Despite the ceasefire, at least 12 Israeli air raids and continual artillery shelling hit southern Lebanon after the deadline, according to reports from the ground.<\/p>\n Israel and Hezbollah reportedly \u201cagreed to halt hostilities\u201d after Qatar, the United States and Iran brokered the ceasefire, a Gulf diplomat told the AFP news agency, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. He said the ceasefire aimed to stop the escalation in Lebanon from derailing a broader push to turn the interim US-Iran agreement into a lasting regional peace deal.<\/p>\n The Israeli military killed at least 47 people<\/a> and wounded 97 in attacks on Lebanon that began at midnight and continued through Friday, according to the Lebanese health ministry.<\/p>\n Shortly before the ceasefire began, a senior US official said that the agreement had been reached through US and Qatari mediation, with Iran\u2019s help. \u201cWe understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire,\u201d the official told the Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n A Hezbollah official told Al Jazeera that the ceasefire would hold if Israel abided by it. Israel\u2019s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, also said on X: \u201cIsrael remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire. If Hezbollah honours the agreement and ceases its hostilities, they will be met with quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n But Israel\u2019s attacks continued almost immediately, leaving residents in southern Lebanon questioning whether the ceasefire had any meaning.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel much like a ceasefire,\u201d said Al Jazeera\u2019s Heidi Pett, reporting from Tyre in Lebanon after the Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead, there is a sense of deja vu. Each time a ceasefire is announced, we see a renewed burst of military activity on the ground.<\/p>\n \u201cThat has left many people here questioning what a ceasefire actually means,\u201d added Pett.<\/p>\n The next round of Lebanese-Israeli talks are due in Washington from June 23 to 25, the US state department said on Friday.<\/p>\n The announcement came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun spoke by phone.<\/p>\n Aoun said a \u201ccomprehensive ceasefire\u201d must serve as a \u201cfundamental basis\u201d for any direct negotiations with Israel. The Lebanese president also thanked Rubio for \u201cthe support of the United States for Lebanon\u201d, according to his office.<\/p>\n Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem struck a defiant tone earlier on Friday, denouncing \u201cthe criminal Israeli war on Lebanon, which disregards all rules in killing civilians and children, destroying property and committing every imaginable atrocity, all in an attempt to force the resistance to its knees.\u201d<\/p>\n Qassem said the \u201cproject to eliminate Hezbollah and consolidate the occupation has failed, and the Israeli will leave every last inch of our land\u201d.<\/p>\n He also accused Israel and the US of walking back a ceasefire-type agreement after the fall of Syria\u2019s Bashar al-Assad, believing the balance of power had shifted in their favour.<\/p>\n At the UN, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric welcomed reports of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.<\/p>\n \u201cTurning to Lebanon, I can tell you that we are, of course, aware of the reports indicating that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire, and we welcome such developments,\u201d Dujarric said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe continue to call on the parties to cease hostilities, respect existing ceasefire arrangements, and pursue dialogue as the only viable path to a long-term security and stability on both sides of the Blue Line,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Separately, Pakistan and Iran said they were seriously concerned about Lebanon, including reported ceasefire violations. Pakistan\u2019s foreign ministry said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, discussed the situation with Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, in a phone call.<\/p>\n According to the Iranian foreign ministry, Araghchi stressed that the US bears responsibility for ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, warning that any violation of the commitments outlined in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed this week would fall on Washington and could have consequences.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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