TYRE, Lebanon — Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people Saturday, among them two children, just hours after reports surfaced of a ceasefire deal. The continued violence raised fresh concerns over a fragile interim agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the wider Middle East conflict.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the strikes targeted the southern town of Nabatiyeh and surrounding villages. The agency said at least seven people were still believed to be trapped beneath debris.
Diplomatic mediators were racing to stop the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah after a major exchange of fire Friday left at least 47 people dead in Lebanon and killed four Israeli soldiers.
An Israeli military official said Hezbollah launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, prompting Israel to resume strikes against the group in the area. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with military regulations. Israel’s military said it hit dozens of Hezbollah targets and fighters in southern Lebanon, including rocket-launch sites and command centers.
On Friday, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, wrote on X that Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah upholds the agreement and ends its attacks.
Hezbollah said Saturday it was committed to the ceasefire but accused Israel of repeatedly breaching it Friday night. In a statement, the group’s military wing said it would observe the truce while also responding to attacks by Israeli troops.
A conflict that could sink the US-Iran deal
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel erupted just days after the United States and Israel carried out strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Hezbollah then fired rockets and drones toward civilian communities in northern Israel, while Israeli forces took control of large areas of southern Lebanon.
The interim U.S.-Iran agreement signed this week has already led to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had shut as the war escalated, disrupting access to key global oil and natural gas supplies. The deal also calls for renewed negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, one of the central issues driving the conflict.
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 U.S.-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 U.S.-backed talks between the Lebanese government and Israel is expected to take place in Washington next week.
The fighting in the south, near the Israel-Lebanon border
A strike on the village of Barish killed four members of a family, parents and two children. In Arab Salim village, a body was pulled from a destroyed house, and in the villages of Doueir and Kfar Rumman, drone strikes killed a person on a motorcycle and a Lebanese soldier. Nine people were killed in strikes in the villages of Qannarit, Sohmor and Shehour.
Plumes of smoke rose into the sky over southern Lebanon Saturday and Israeli jets flew low over the coastal city of Tyre.
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The city’s residents told The Associated Press they were relieved that Tyre had been spared in recent days but the sounds of Israeli planes reminded them the war is not over. Many doubted a ceasefire – even if agreed on – would hold.
“Our entire lives would change if there’s a ceasefire,” said Hussein Khoshman, a Tyre resident.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately comment on the ceasefire efforts. On Friday, Netanyahu posted on X that, on his orders, the Israeli army had “struck powerfully” 150 Hezbollah targets, killing dozens of militants.
Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the Israeli forces were operating in a “forward defense zone” and would continue doing so.
Iranian and US officials cancel travel to Switzerland
Iranian officials did not travel as planned to Switzerland, insisting that the fighting in Lebanon must stop before the talks can take place. U.S. Vice President JD Vance also postponed his trip.
On Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told the semi-official ISNA news agency that Pakistan’s interior minister will arrive in Iran as part of continued negotiation efforts. Baghaei had said earlier that consultations through mediators were ongoing regarding the next phase of negotiations to draft a final U.S.-Iran agreement.
Because the initial deal was signed digitally earlier this week, the talks in Switzerland were not urgent, and plans were underway to hold a meeting in the coming days, he said.
Much still needs to be resolved
The talks in Switzerland were expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran maintains it’s for peaceful purposes only, though it has a large stockpile of uranium enriched to higher levels that are a step short of weapons’ grade. That uranium could be used to build multiple atomic bombs, should Tehran choose to do so, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Those talks are expected to be difficult. The 2015 nuclear deal, which U.S. President Donald Trump scrapped during his first term, took more than 18 months to negotiate.
The interim deal gives negotiators 60 days to come up with a nuclear agreement, but that can be extended. It outlines lucrative incentives if Iran does reach a new agreement, including the eventual lifting of all international sanctions and a $300 billion fund for postwar reconstruction.
Iran has already won some concessions. Following the signing of the interim deal, the U.S. lifted its blockade of Iran’s ports and is allowing it to sell its oil freely. The deal also calls for Iran’s assets to be unfrozen – though it’s not clear how quickly.
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Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
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