Israel and Hezbollah Agree to Ceasefire Amidst Escalating Hostilities

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire beginning at ​4 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Friday, a U.S. official said, after ​an escalation in hostilities in Lebanon sorely tested the U.S.-Iranian interim deal to end the wider Middle East conflict.

A ​senior Israeli official and two Hezbollah sources confirmed the ceasefire to Reuters.

“If Hezbollah does not attack us, then for us it is not a time of war,” the Israeli official said. Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon, the official added.

But nearly an hour after the truce was meant to take effect, a Reuters journalist in northern Israel said Israeli strikes could still ‌be seen taking place ⁠across the ⁠border in Lebanon. A plume of smoke rose from behind a Lebanese village near the frontier.

Israeli airstrikes had killed at least 47 people in Lebanon since midnight, the Lebanese health ministry reported. Israel reported ​four of its soldiers killed in south Lebanon in one of the deadliest Hezbollah attacks of the war.

The Iran deal requires the United States, Iran, and their allies to ​declare an immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon. Violence has picked up over the course of the week after initially abating when the agreement was first announced.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah earlier told Reuters that Iran had informed the group that talks with Washington could not continue without a ​comprehensive ceasefire.

The senior U.S. official told Reuters that the ceasefire was worked out by negotiators for the U.S. ⁠and Qataris ‌with help from Iran.

"Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire," the U.S. official said. “We understand that after the exchange of ​fire earlier today, Israel and ​Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire."

Israel, which was not consulted in the negotiations that led to this week's U.S. memorandum ⁠of understanding with Iran, has bristled at the apparent requirement that it halt its campaign in ​Lebanon, which it invaded after Hezbollah fired across the border in solidarity with Tehran on March 2.

The Israeli ​official said Israel had the freedom to act against emerging threats and threats to its forces and territory.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed to "extract a very heavy price" from Hezbollah for the killing of the four soldiers.

Israeli officials have voiced anger at the U.S.-Iran pact, saying it does not go far enough to address Israeli concerns over Iran's nuclear programme.

DEADLY AIRSTRIKES

Israel said it carried out strikes targeting Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure across several areas in response to repeated Hezbollah ceasefire violations.

Hezbollah denied it had violated the ceasefire, and accused Israel of repeatedly violating truce terms, including the terms of the U.S.-Iran agreement. A statement from the ‌group accused Israeli forces of carrying out attacks that killed civilians, destroying homes and infrastructure, and continuing its ground incursions.

FIGHTING FOR HIGH GROUND

Heavy fighting overnight was concentrated in an area north of the Litani River known as Ali al-Taher hill - high ground strategically important ​to Hezbollah where Israeli ​forces had sought to advance, a senior Lebanese ⁠security source said.

Hezbollah said its fighters ambushed an Israeli force advancing near the hill, destroying three Merkava tanks with guided missiles and targeting troops with rocket and artillery fire. Hezbollah said it later attacked Israeli forces that had sought to enter the area to retrieve casualties.

Israel has seized a self-declared security zone ​in the south, saying it aims to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attack. Its forces have been razing villages in the south where they say Hezbollah has embedded itself.

Hezbollah has continued to launch attacks on Israeli positions in the south this week, including with explosive drones that have killed and injured troops.

Lebanon's health ministry has recorded 3,912 people killed in Lebanon as a result of Israeli attacks since March 2, including 746 medics, women and children.

Israel's death toll from this round of hostilities with Hezbollah includes at least 32 soldiers and four Israeli civilians.