TEL AVIV — Israel said Friday that it had struck Hezbollah targets across southern and eastern Lebanon in response to the killing of four Israeli soldiers, including a battalion commander in an attack on a tank in the Lebanese village of Kfar Tebnit.
The continued fighting briefly seemed to imperil the U.S.-Iran peace deal signed earlier this week, but by late afternoon, officials said that Israel and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group had agreed to a renewed ceasefire after mediation efforts by the United States, Iran and Qatar.
“A ceasefire has entered into effect,” an Israeli official told The Washington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic and security matters. “We are remaining in the security zone, and if we are attacked — we will respond.”
Another diplomat with knowledge of the mediation efforts, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said: “Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to halt hostilities.”
As clashes continued earlier in the day, U.S. and Iranian officials postponed negotiations they had planned in Switzerland on Friday, and Vice President JD Vance delayed a trip in which he was to lead a U.S. delegation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that his country would “exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah,” for the deaths of the four soldiers adding that the Israel Defense Forces would maintain its buffer zone along the border with Lebanon “for as long as required.”
The buffer zone extends some six miles into Lebanon along the length of the countries’ shared border, and the continued Israeli military operation is a major point of contention.
The tank ambush by Hezbollah was the most deadly incident for Israeli soldiers since Israel and Lebanon agreed to renew their own fragile ceasefire earlier this month.
The fighting in Lebanon defied President Donald Trump’s call on Israel and Hezbollah, just hours earlier, to maintain a ceasefire to allow the negotiations between the United States and Iran to proceed.
At least 47 people were killed and another 97 injured as a result of the Israel strikes, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said in a statement, adding that it expected the toll to rise.
On Friday afternoon, roads in south Lebanon were once again jammed with Lebanese fleeing to safer areas. Days earlier, that traffic flowed in the opposite direction after those displaced by the fighting returned home following the announcement that Iran and the U.S. had reached a deal.
The continuing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have been a significant obstacle to efforts by the U.S. and Iran to bring their conflict to an end. Israeli officials have denounced Trump’s peace deal, saying it leaves Iran as a threat. Vance has pushed back hard on the criticism, warning Israel that it is politically isolated.
The fighting on Friday began overnight after a “suspicious target impacted an IDF tank” near the Lebanese village of Tebnit, an Israel Defense Forces official told The Washington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
“Following the incident, the IDF struck numerous Hezbollah infrastructure sites in Nabatieh and additional areas,” the official said.
After the deaths of the four soldiers, ministers in Netanyahu’s government called for intensifying strikes across Lebanon.
“Time to open the gates of hell,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted on X.
“The whole of Lebanon must burn,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said. “With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that our sons’ blood and our citizens’ security are not up for abandonment.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli strikes, but said they would not impede efforts to achieve a full truce in Lebanon.
Since March, at least 34 IDF soldiers and four civilians have been killed in attacks by Hezbollah.
Fighting has also killed nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The memorandum of understanding laying out the framework for the peace deal initially requires far more from the U.S. than from Iran, calling on Washington to lift sanctions and release billions in Iranian frozen assets while demanding that Tehran only open the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passageway for global energy supplies.
Trump had called attention to the situation on Lebanon in a social media posting on Thursday, saying: “We expect a complete Ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel.”
El Chamaa and Haidamous reported from Beirut.
correctionA previous version of this article incorrectly said that the deaths of the four Israeli soldiers were the first since the latest Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. The attack was the deadliest incident since then.
The post After 4 Israeli soldiers’ deaths, Israel and Hezbollah agree to renew ceasefire appeared first on Washington Post.
