U.S. Says Israel Will Not Escalate Lebanon Strikes as Ceasefire Takes Effect

A White House official told Reuters on Friday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire set to begin at 4:00 p.m., though no details were released. The announcement came hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a heavy price against the terror group following the killing of four fighters, including the commander of the 52nd Armored Battalion, in overnight Hezbollah fire.

CNN reported that the United States separately conveyed to Iran that Israel would not broaden its military response in Lebanon, in an effort by the Trump administration to get stalled nuclear talks back on track after the northern escalation. According to a source familiar with the matter, Washington’s message to Tehran was that Israel had agreed not to expand its response to Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire. "Hezbollah violated the ceasefire. Israel agreed to hold back, and that message was passed to the Iranians. Now it is up to Hezbollah," the source said.

The message followed Netanyahu’s warning that Israel would exact a "very heavy price" from Hezbollah for the deaths of four IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon. The Times of Israel, citing CNN, reported that Iran had demanded guarantees that the fighting in Lebanon would stop before resuming talks with the United States in Switzerland. A diplomatic source said the talks planned for Friday were temporarily postponed because of the Israeli strikes in Lebanon, while mediators were working to resolve the crisis.

Reuters also said the intense exchanges in southern Lebanon included extensive Israeli strikes after Hezbollah killed the four soldiers in one of the most serious incidents in the area. The reported interim understanding between Washington and Tehran also requires an end to military activity on all fronts, including Lebanon. The immediate goal of the U.S. message is to prevent Hezbollah from resuming fire and to reassure Tehran so it does not use the Lebanese front to freeze the nuclear talks.