IDF Told to Limit Fire in Lebanon as Iran Threat Looms

An Israeli military source said on Saturday evening that the IDF has been instructed to significantly reduce its use of fire and the scope of its activity in Lebanon, amid Iranian threats to launch missiles at Israel overnight and after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Under the instruction, troops may open fire only to remove an immediate threat, although forces remain in their positions for now.

The order came after the IDF struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in response to more than 50 launches fired overnight at Israeli forces. The army said the launches were “a repeated violation of the ceasefire agreement by Hezbollah” and added, “We will not accept harm to Israeli civilians or our forces and we will respond with force.” Hezbollah replied that Israel was using false pretexts to justify breaking the ceasefire.

According to Lebanese media reports, at least 16 people were killed in the Israeli strikes, including a soldier from the Lebanese army. Hezbollah also said its fighters “confronted during the night IDF forces that tried to infiltrate toward strategic hills overlooking the city of Nabatieh,” and in an official statement said that despite its commitment to the ceasefire, it “will not allow the enemy freedom of action in Lebanon.”

At the same time, diplomatic efforts toward Tehran continued. Iran’s ISNA news agency reported that Pakistan’s interior minister arrived in Tehran for a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Sources told the Saudi newspaper Al-Hadath that the minister is trying to persuade the Iranians not to walk away from talks with the United States, after they threatened to quit them because of the fighting in Lebanon.