A U.S. official confirmed on Friday that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. The truce follows a sudden escalation in hostilities that threatened to unravel a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement less than 48 hours after its signing.
The recent outbreak of violence led to the sudden postponement of high-level diplomatic talks in Switzerland between the United States and Iran. These discussions were intended to finalize the subsequent phases of the broader peace accord. A rescheduled date for the summit has not yet been determined.
Expressing Iran’s stance, Tehran’s chief negotiator declared that the government would refuse to compromise on its core “red lines.” He warned that the nation’s finger remains “on the trigger,” despite maritime traffic reportedly resuming in the Strait of Hormuz—a vital global energy corridor that had faced severe disruptions throughout the conflict.
The regional war originally erupted on February 28, initiated by joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The recent groundbreaking agreement, signed earlier this week by U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, was crafted to definitively end the war.
A core component of the Trump-Pezeshkian accord mandates a halt to hostilities within Lebanon, a condition Iran intensely lobbied to include. Consequently, Israel’s persistent military operations on Lebanese soil have become a significant point of diplomatic friction for Washington.
On Friday, the Israeli military reported launching airstrikes against more than 80 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, claiming to have killed dozens of fighters belonging to the Iran-backed group.
In response to the bombardments, Lebanese authorities announced that 21 individuals were killed in strikes across the southern region. Concurrently, the Israeli military confirmed the combat deaths of four of its soldiers, an outcome that sparked severe domestic political blowback within Israel.
A U.S. official told AFP that U.S. and Qatari mediators successfully brokered the new truce after rapid, close consultations with both Israeli and Iranian leaders. A Gulf diplomat independently confirmed the activation of the ceasefire.
The durability of this truce remains highly uncertain, as a previous ceasefire brokered in April failed to halt the fighting. Prior to the announcement on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Israeli forces would occupy portions of Lebanon “as long as necessary,” promising that Hezbollah would pay a “heavy price” for its provocations.
Taking an even more aggressive position following the deaths of the four Israeli soldiers, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir publicly demanded that “all of Lebanon must burn.”
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the rhetoric and military actions from Jerusalem, accusing Israel of intentionally pursuing a state of “permanent war.”