Israel and Lebanon agree conditional ceasefire in US-led talks

Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to implement a conditional ceasefire that would require a "complete cessation" of fire by Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to a joint statement issued US-led talks in Washington.

The joint statement said the ceasefire was "contingent on a complete cessation" of fire by Hezbollah as well as evacuation of the group's operatives from southern Lebanon.

Wednesday's talks in Washington were the fourth round of direct talks by Lebanese and Israeli diplomats since fighting erupted on 2 March, when Hezbollah renewed attacks against Israel in support of Iran.

The two sides, which do not have formal diplomatic relations, also agreed to create "pilot zones" in which the Lebanese armed forces "will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors".

The ceasefire comes as Israel has recently escalated its attacks and is staging its deepest ground offensive into Lebanon in two decades.

Trump wants separate talks on Lebanon

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said he wanted to separate talks on the conflict in Lebanon and those on the war with Iran.

Tehran, however, insists the conflicts are linked, and its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that any attack on Beirut would trigger a "full-scale resumption" of war.

A truce to halt the fighting in Lebanon was meant to take hold on 17 April but has never been observed, with both sides justifying their ongoing attacks by the other's alleged violations.

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati said on Tuesday that the group would "not accept a partial ceasefire".

Both sides will meet for more talks the week of 22 June, "with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement", Wednesday's statement said,

Hostilities continue in Lebanon

On Wednesday, fighting continued in cross-border attacks, with Hezbollah saying it targeted Israeli troops and Israeli strikes killing at least nine people in southern Lebanon.

Among the Israeli strikes on Wednesday was one targeting a car on the main highway out of the capital, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA).

The agency also reported strikes on more than 20 locations in the south, some after Israel's military warned residents of several villages to evacuate.

The health ministry said an Israeli attack on Al-Hawsh near the city of Tyre killed four Syrians and two Palestinians. But an Israeli military spokesperson denied responsibility, saying that "we are not aware of any such attack having occurred in the area".

According to the Lebanese health ministry, an Israeli strike elsewhere in the south targeted an ambulance, killing two paramedics from the Risala Scouts Association, which is affiliated with Hezbollah's ally the Amal movement.

The ministry circulated images of a badly damaged ambulance, with medical masks spilling out of the vehicle and scattered on the road.

At least 130 emergency and health workers have been killed since the fighting began.