Israeli airstrikes had killed at least 47 people in Lebanon by Friday, according to the country’s health ministry, when Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire. By then the fighting had already cost Washington and Tehran their first meeting on a lasting end to the war.
Vice President JD Vance cancelled his trip to Switzerland. Talks planned for the Bürgenstock resort in the Alps, with Qatar and Pakistan also due to take part, were put off. The Swiss foreign ministry said so early Friday and gave no new date. “Switzerland remains ready to facilitate these talks,” it said, adding that preparatory work at Bürgenstock was continuing.
A day of strikes
Israel said it hit Hezbollah across southern Lebanon overnight and early Friday, and later reported more than 150 strikes since midnight. Four Israeli soldiers died, one of them a senior commander, and five were wounded. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deaths “a blatant violation of the ceasefire” and ordered the military to hit Hezbollah “with force”. Israel will stay in its security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as needed to protect its northern communities, he added.
Hezbollah said its fighters destroyed three Israeli tanks and that clashes were ongoing. Israel had not confirmed any tank losses. A military spokesperson, Effie Defrin, said troops on the ground have “full operational freedom”. On Thursday, Israel published a map of an expanded control zone in southern Lebanon and did not rule out attacks beyond it.
The ceasefire
President Donald Trump told NBC News on Friday afternoon that he had spoken with Israel and asked it to agree to a ceasefire. “It’s a positive,” he said. “It’s a little icing on the cake.” He would not say whether he had spoken to Netanyahu directly. Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, said Israel was “firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” and had halted offensive operations.
A Hezbollah source said the group would abide by it, but that Israeli forces were still firing and trying to push deeper into Lebanese territory. Hezbollah has accused Israel of never honoring a ceasefire.
U.S. spy agencies believe Israel will probably keep attacking Hezbollah, a source familiar with the assessments told NBC. The reporting comes as a public rift grows between Netanyahu’s government and the Trump administration. Netanyahu and his officials have criticized the deal and said Israel is not bound by it.
What the deal says
A 14-point memorandum of understanding signed this week by the United States and Iran calls for an immediate end to “military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” and for “ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.” It also reopens the Strait of Hormuz after months of disruption and begins a 60-day window for talks on wider issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme. Washington commits to waive oil sanctions at once. Once a final nuclear agreement exists, the United States will help release a USD 300 billion reconstruction fund backed by regional nations.
Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said Thursday he had approved the accord despite holding a “different view”. Iran has warned it will not honor the agreement if Israel, which did not sign it, keeps up its campaign in Lebanon. The country’s army said it has its hand “on the trigger”. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said the Friday meeting was no longer urgent because the deal was already signed, and that another was planned within days.
Trump said the talks run on a clock. “It’s 60 days, they have to make a deal. Otherwise, we, we will do things that won’t make them happy, but I don’t think it’s going to get to that,” he told reporters. He expects Vance to travel to Switzerland later, with Steve Witkoff going separately. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a call with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, stressed the need to disarm Hezbollah, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. Israel-Lebanon talks are planned in Washington from Tuesday through Thursday next week.
Hormuz and oil
Ships are only starting to move. A handful left the Persian Gulf Thursday and Friday, including a Japanese crude tanker and vessels owned in China and Hong Kong that had been stuck since February. The authority Iran set up to manage the strait said it will charge no fees for 60 days, though transit requests must be filed 48 hours ahead. Brent crude steadied Friday but was still set for a weekly decline of more than 8%. U.S. forces lifted their naval blockade of Iranian ports on Thursday.
At home, Trump faces criticism. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy called the decision to end the war the “worst foreign policy blunder in decades”. Trump told Axios that more bombing would not open the strait and could cause “a worldwide depression”.
Sources
- Israel and Hezbollah agree to a ceasefire after intensified fighting threatens Iran talks
- Switzerland says US-Iran talks postponed; Israel strikes southern Lebanon in intense fighting
