Israel carried out deadly strikes in south Lebanon on Saturday, hours after the US announced a renewed ceasefire in fighting that had strained a fledgling deal with Iran. US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian this week signed a preliminary agreement to halt the Middle East war on all fronts, including Lebanon -- a key demand of Tehran's. But follow-up talks scheduled for Friday in Switzerland were indefinitely postponed as Israel launched a wave of strikes in Lebanon that left dozens of people dead after four of its soldiers were killed in combat, sparking a furious reaction at home. On Friday afternoon, a US official announced a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by US and Qatari mediators, with Israel's ambassador to Washington saying it would respect the truce if Hezbollah did. But on Saturday an Israeli military official said it was conducting fresh attacks against the Iran-backed movement, which it accused of having "launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon" overnight. Lebanese state media reported Israeli air raids on around 20 locations, with the country's civil defense agency saying 16 people were killed in the Nabatieh area. The Lebanese army said an Israeli strike killed a soldier on the Kfarrumman-Nabatieh road and accused Israel of undermining efforts to restore stability. Israel's Arabic-language military spokesperson said calm could be achieved if Hezbollah halted what she described as hostile activity and violations of agreements, adding Israel's presence in a security zone aimed to remove threats and dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure, not harm civilians. The US-Iran understanding announced this week calls for an immediate, permanent end to military operations by the parties and their allies across multiple fronts, including Lebanon. Israel, which was not part of those negotiations, has opposed provisions it says could constrain its campaign in Lebanon.
