Tyre (Lebanon), June 20: Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement.
The persistent fighting threatened an interim agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war in the Middle East.
Lebanon’s National News Agency said the strikes hit the southern town of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages. At least seven people remained trapped under the rubble, it said.
Mediators were scrambling to halt the fighting between Israel and the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group, after a heavy exchange on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.
An Israeli military official said Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, prompting the military to start targeting the militant group there.
The official spoke anonymously in line with regulations. The army said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets and militants in southern Lebanon, including rocket-launching positions and Hezbollah command centres.
On Friday, Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, said on X that Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah honours the agreement and ceases hostilities.
On Saturday, Hezbollah said it had committed to the ceasefire but blamed Israel for violating it several times on Friday night.
A statement issued by the group’s military wing said it would abide by the ceasefire but would also repel attacks by Israeli troops.
Strait of Hormuz closed again: Iran
Iran’s joint military command said Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz has been closed again, citing Israeli attacks in Lebanon and US “bad faith” and “its clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war.
The statement on state television also warned that “if the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned.”
Ships had begun transiting the strait after the interim US-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week.
Conflict could sink deal
Hezbollah and Israel went to war just days after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at civilian communities in northern Israel and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon.
The interim US-Iran agreement signed this week has already reopened the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had closed as the war unfolded – cutting off the global economy from significant supplies of oil and natural gas. The deal also envisages the relaunch of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, a core issue in the war.
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal, which calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and for the country’s sovereignty to be respected.
With the fighting continuing, the accord is under threat and US-Iran talks in Switzerland, planned to start Friday, have been delayed, with no new date announced.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated.
Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon, which Iran says is also a condition of the deal.
A new round of US-backed talks between the Lebanese government and Israel is expected to take place in Washington next week.
Iranian officials heading to Switzerland for talks
Iranian state television says the country’s negotiating team is going to Switzerland for talks with the United States over their interim deal on the war.
The broadcaster cited a foreign ministry spokesperson in its report on Saturday. The trip was originally planned for Friday but was cancelled.
The new announcement came shortly after Iran’s joint military command said the Strait of Hormuz had closed again, citing continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Witkoff, Kushner in Switzerland: Vance
US Vice President J D Vance said on Saturday the peace talks with Iran were on and negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were already in Switzerland. Vance said he also planned to join the talks in Switzerland in the next few days, contending that the US has all the cards. “We’ll plan the talks when the principals from the Iranian government, also the Qatari and the Pakistani governments arrive. That may happen as soon as tomorrow, but these things are always a little bit in flux,” he said.
“Jared and Steve have been on the ground now for a few hours, dealing with some of the technical elements of this negotiation,” Vance added. (Agencies)
