By Ryan Morgan
Contributing Writer
A U.S. official said Friday that Israel had agreed to a ceasefire with terrorist group Hezbollah, following an intense flare-up in fighting overnight in Lebanon.
An Israeli military spokesman has since indicated that Israel’s combat operations in southern Lebanon would continue until it received further instructions.
The U.S. official indicated that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to the ceasefire following mediation efforts by Qatar and the United States. The official said the truce took effect at 4 p.m. local time.
Israeli forces had launched dozens of strikes across southern Lebanon before the ceasefire announcement on Friday. Those strikes came after four Israeli soldiers were killed amid operations in the Beaufort and Ali a-Tayr Ridge areas to uproot underground Hezbollah weapons caches and fighting positions.
During a press briefing following the ceasefire announcement, Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Israeli forces have since struck more than 100 targets across southern Lebanon.
Lebanese health officials reported at least 18 people killed and 33 wounded amid the Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Friday.
After the ceasefire was to have gone into effect, Reuters published footage purporting to show smoke billowing from positions in southern Lebanon.
“We have attacked with force so far. The attacks will continue as long as necessary,” Defrin said during his press briefing.
When asked about the ceasefire, Defrin indicated new instructions had yet to filter down to Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon.
“Everything related to the agreements is at the political echelon level,” Defrin said. “As long as we have not received other instructions, we will continue to act according to the instructions that the chief of staff issued to the forces on the ground.”
The Israeli military also reported the infiltration of a hostile aircraft on the Israeli side of the border, but subsequently said the incident was resolved “with no unusual findings” and no injuries to report.
Vice President JD Vance had planned to depart to Switzerland overnight for ongoing technical talks to advance peace with Iran. He postponed the visit as the fighting intensified in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has closely aligned with the Shia Muslim leadership in Iran, and Iranian leaders have insisted that ongoing peace efforts should include a halt to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
Tom Ozimek and Evgenia Filimianova contributed to this report.
