US Says Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Takes Effect as IDF Keeps Striking in Lebanon

A senior American official told Reuters on Friday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire that took effect at 4:00 p.m. Israel did not issue any official response, and neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Defense Minister Israel Katz commented publicly at the time. Israeli officials said the arrangement still leaves the IDF in southern Lebanon with full freedom to act against emerging threats.

One senior Israeli source said the ceasefire changes nothing operationally, explaining, “If Hezbollah does not attack, the IDF will not attack, and if Hezbollah attacks, the IDF will respond.” The same source said the agreement allows the army to keep destroying infrastructure and operating against threats. The announcement came only hours after Netanyahu vowed that Hezbollah would pay a heavy price, following the killing of four IDF soldiers overnight, including Lt. Col. Dor Gedaliah Ben Shimhon, commander of Battalion 52 in the Armored Corps.

Before the American announcement, the IDF had already carried out more than 150 strikes across Lebanon since midnight, according to the military. The army said some of the attacks hit the Bekaa Valley deep inside the country, but most were concentrated in the south. After the ceasefire took effect, Hezbollah-linked Al Mayadeen reported airstrikes in Nabatieh, and a Hezbollah command source told Qatar’s Al Araby that the group had been briefed on contacts between Tehran and Washington. He said, “We are committed to the ceasefire if Israel adheres to it, and we reserve the right to respond.”

IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said four soldiers had fallen in fighting in southern Lebanon, including Ben Shimhon, who had taken command only about two months earlier. Defrin said the IDF had struck more than 100 Hezbollah targets since last night in the Bekaa, Nabatieh and other areas, killing dozens of militants. He said the army is still destroying terrorist infrastructure and underground routes, including Hezbollah’s command and control center in the Beaufort area, and stressed that operational freedom and Northern Command instructions have not changed. “The IDF will continue to operate in the security zone in southern Lebanon, ready for an immediate return to intense fighting in any arena if needed,” he said.