Israel Says Iran Ceasefire Doesn’t Include Lebanon. Mediators Say It Does

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Israel has continued striking Lebanon today, despite mediators saying the country was included in the US-Iran temporary ceasefire deal.

The Israel Defense Forces have announced that they will halt attacks on Iran following the deal agreed today between US president Donald Trump and Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei. However, Israel has said it will continue “combat and ground operations” in Lebanon. 

Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, one of the ceasefire mediators, stated early this morning that the US and its allies had agreed to “an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, effective immediately”.

The Israeli government has offered a conflicting account of the deal, saying Lebanon was not included in it. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said there had “never been such a political disaster” that Netanyahu wasn’t present at ceasefire negotiations. 

Soon after the ceasefire was agreed, the Israel Defense Forces continued attacks in southern Lebanon, bombing the town of Srifa on Wednesday morning. 

The Lebanese army has urged evacuated civilians not to return to their homes in the south, in case of further attacks. 

Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have yet to publicly react to the US-Iran two-week ceasefire, which will see Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

The 10-point plan devised by Iran also includes the withdrawal of US forces from the region, compensation to Iran for damages it has incurred and lifting of sanctions against the country.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed 1,530 people since 2 March, according to the Lebanese ministry of health. In Iran, over 2,000 people have been killed by the US and Israel.

Sophia Sheera is a journalist in Novara Media’s social media team.