Israel’s military said Friday it struck several Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon after the Iran-backed group fired rockets into Israel, despite President Trump’s announcement that an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire had been extended by three weeks.
The lengthening of the temporary truce in Lebanon was announced at the White House on Thursday, where ambassadors from both countries met for high-level negotiations. Hezbollah was not involved in the talks.
Hezbollah reacted with contempt to President Donald Trump’s announcement of a three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, calling the truce “meaningless”.
Any Israeli operations in Lebanon give Hezbollah the right “to respond proportionately,” Ali Fayyad, a member of the Hezbollah faction in Lebanon’s parliament, said in a statement carried Friday by Hezbollah’s TV station Al Manar, adding that any deal that does not include an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory affirms the Lebanese people’s “right to resist the occupation.”
The talks have been a tough sell for Lebanese leaders, with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meeting Friday with a Hezbollah ally, Speaker Nabih Berri, in what appeared to be an effort to garner support for the negotiations. The group has long opposed direct talks with Israel, with supporters gathering outside government headquarters on the eve of the first round of talks in mid-April calling for Salam’s ouster. But after the initial ceasefire, Hezbollah’s anger toward the Lebanese government seemed to die down as many of its supporters returned to their homes after six weeks of displacement.
Israeli defence forces later issued an evacuation warning for the southern town of Deir Amas.
Israel has said its sporadic bombing attacks are “self-defense” permitted under the ceasefire, and IDF troops occupying southern Lebanon have continued attacks against alleged militants and their infrastructure.