Israel says IDF was told to hold fire in Lebanon after Iranian threat

Hezbollah said 111 people were killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the weekend, following a tank disaster in which a battalion commander and three fighters were killed. On Sunday afternoon, amid Iran’s dramatic announcement that it would close the Strait of Hormuz, an Israeli source said the IDF had been instructed to stop firing in Lebanon.

"There are instructions for the IDF to hold fire. The moment Hezbollah attacked, we responded with force, and that will continue," the source said. A senior Israeli official said policy in Lebanon has not changed. According to the official, "The IDF is free to act to remove threats and operates against any Hezbollah violation. If Hezbollah violates, the IDF will respond forcefully," adding that this had already been demonstrated in the previous two days.

The official said more than 300 targets had been struck and about 100 Hezbollah militants killed during those two days. He also said the IDF is holding the security buffer zone and is operating freely inside the Yellow Line to clear the area of terrorist infrastructure.

After the announcement on closing Hormuz "because of the continuous violations in Lebanon," Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened to fire missiles at Israel if "the aggression in Lebanon" continues.