Photo: Alamy
There may be a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran, but for those living in Lebanon, the war is raging more intensely than ever.
On Wednesday, Israel unleashed a massive barrage of strikes against Beirut, Beqaa, and south Lebanon, targeting, they said, hotspots of Hezbollah activity.
According to the IDF, they struck more than 100 targets in just 10 minutes in a campaign focused on intelligence command centers, infrastructure, and assets of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force and Aerial Unit.
The reports coming out of the region are obfuscated through the fog of warfare, but one thing is certain: this was Israel’s most brutal attack yet, and it came after a ceasefire agreement was announced between the U.S. and Iran.
As reported by RSBN, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key mediator in this conflict, originally announced in his statement that Lebanon was included in the ceasefire agreement.
However, the Trump administration later said that Lebanon was never included in the agreement.
“I think this comes from a legitimate misunderstanding,” said Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday. “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t. We never made that promise; we never indicated that was gonna be the case. What we said is that the ceasefire would be focused on Iran and the ceasefire would be focused on America’s allies, both Israel and the Gulf Arab states.”
PBS’s Liz Landers spoke with President Trump on Wednesday about Lebanon and the continued bombings by the IDF. She asked him why Lebanon was not included in the ceasefire agreement.
“Because of Hezbollah,” he told her. “They were not included in the deal. That’ll get taken care of too. It’s alright.”
The president also noted that he was okay with Israel hitting Lebanon, arguing conversely that it was “part of the deal” and that it was a “separate skirmish.”
It’s unclear why Prime Minister Sharif initially stated that Lebanon was specifically included in the ceasefire agreement.
Regardless, the IDF’s campaign against Lebanon, Operation Eternal Darkness, has drawn criticism for the intensity of its strikes. According to The Guardian, it has been a mass casualty event in Lebanon, resulting in at least 254 deaths, with more expected as bodies are uncovered from the rubble. French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed, after speaking with Lebanese President Joseph Auon and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, that many of these deaths were civilian casualties.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid widespread scrutiny over the severity of the attacks, announced that his government was negotiating with the Lebanese.
“The negotiations will focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishing of peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates the call made today by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarize Beirut,” he said.
And, as of Thursday afternoon, journalist Neria Kraus had a fresh conversation with President Trump about Lebanon, in which the president said PM Netanyahu was “on board with the agreement.” Presumably, he was referring to the ceasefire.
As for the situation in Lebanon, President Trump added, “Netanyahu is gonna be fine. He’s gonna low key a little bit. He’s got a problem with hezbollah. He’s gonna low key a little bit but he’s gonna be absolutely fine” [sic].
