Israel and Hezbollah agree to ceasefire

“After today’s fighting, Israel and Hezbollah have now ceased fire,” a US official told Reuters June 19, adding that the effective date of the agreement is about 4:00 p.m. (20:00 Hanoi time).

AFP quoting a Gulf official confirming that Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire thanks to the mediation efforts of Qatar, the US and Iran.

A senior Israeli official said Tel Aviv would implement a ceasefire as long as Hezbollah did not attack the country. The Israeli army will continue to be present in the area it controls in southern Lebanon.

A Hezbollah political official said Iran had told the armed group that Tehran could not continue negotiations with Washington without an effective ceasefire.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei did not comment on the content of this exchange, only warning that the US is directly responsible for Israel’s attacks in Lebanon. He noted that Tehran will use all necessary measures to protect its interests, security and allies.

The Israeli army today announced that it had attacked more than 80 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and killed dozens of members of this Iranian-backed armed group.

Lebanese officials said 21 people were killed in Israeli air strikes in the south. The Israeli army recorded four soldiers, including a battalion commander, killed after a tank was attacked by Hezbollah.

This is the first time the IDF has suffered loss of life since the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding, which stated that Israel must end the campaign in Lebanon.

Lebanon has been dragged into the Middle East conflict since March 2, when the armed group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli territory in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a US-Israel airstrike campaign. Israel responded by launching air strikes across Lebanon and sending troops into the south of the neighboring country. Meanwhile, Hezbollah affirmed that it will continue to fight until Israeli forces leave Lebanon.

The two sides reached a ceasefire on April 17 and June 3, but fighting continued afterward.