Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire set to begin at 4 p.m. local time on Friday, a senior US official told Reuters. “Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire,” the official said on background, adding that negotiators for the US and Qataris worked out the deal with help from Iran. “We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire.” President Joseph Aoun on Friday condemned the ongoing Israeli escalation of attacks in Lebanon, but said the military attacks would not deter effort to reach a comprehensive ceasefire as quickly as possible. “What we are witnessing today in the South and the Bekaa Valley in terms of the expansion of Israeli attacks and more killing and destruction constitutes a dangerous and condemned escalation, especially since it has affected dozens of innocents, including women and children, and practically targets all ongoing efforts to consolidate the ceasefire and end the war, particularly after the recent developments that occurred between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Lebanese presidency posted on social media. “However, this will not deter efforts to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire as quickly as possible, and this is what I instructed the Lebanese negotiating delegation to pursue in the next round in Washington.” Aoun added: “There can be no leniency on this matter, because a comprehensive ceasefire is the gateway to addressing other issues, the most important of which are the Israeli withdrawal, the deployment of the army, and the return of the prisoners.” Israel’s military said Friday that it had struck more than 80 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and killed dozens of its members in response to what it described as ceasefire violations. Fighting flared in Lebanon on Friday, with authorities reporting 18 killed in Israeli airstrikes across the south. The violence is the worst since the sealing of a US-Iran deal to halt the wider Middle East war, which was supposed to also pause the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Lebanese health ministry said the “intensive” strikes “resulted in a preliminary toll of 18 martyrs and 33 wounded” in at least 10 villages and towns. Israel’s military said it hit scores of targets overnight and into the morning.
Israel, Hezbollah agree to ceasefire, says US official
Published on: June 20, 2026 2:28 PM