The escalation between Israel and Hezbollah continues despite the new ceasefire
Washington announces a ceasefire between Tel Aviv and the Shiite group, which becomes mere scrap paper again, while talks in Switzerland are postponed
BeirutAfter hours of Israeli bombings this Friday over southern Lebanon and the Baalbek region, which left at least 47 dead and 97 injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the United States announced that Israel and Hezbollah have accepted a new truce negotiated with the mediation of Qatar and Iran. However, even after the agreement came into effect, Israeli attacks continued to be registered around Nabatieh, while Hezbollah claimed to have begun to respect the cessation of hostilities from the moment the agreement with Tel Aviv was announced.
Friday's violence not only caused one of the deadliest days since the agreement reached this week between Washington and Tehran. It also threatened to derail the diplomatic process that was to follow this understanding. From early morning, the roads connecting southern Lebanon with Sidon and Beirut were once again filled with vehicles. Entire families were abandoning towns hit by bombings around Nabatieh and the Zahrani region. Again, mattresses tied to car roofs, makeshift suitcases, and children peeking out of windows made up an image repeated too many times.
The escalation began in the early morning and intensified throughout the morning. The deaths of four Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, including a battalion commander, provoked a forceful Israeli military response. Dozens of attacks hit towns in the Nabatieh district and various areas of the Bekaa Valley. The Israeli army claimed to have attacked more than eighty targets linked to Hezbollah and accused the Shiite movement of repeatedly violating the ceasefire in effect until then.
The bombings left a trail of civilian casualties. In several southern towns, rescue teams continued to search for survivors under the rubble throughout the day. As the attacks multiplied, so did political pressure. From Israel, ministers from the hardest wing of the right demanded an even more forceful response. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir even stated that "all of Lebanon must burn," while other leaders demanded an expansion of military operations after the deaths of the Israeli soldiers.
US-Iran talks, postponed
The escalation has set off alarms far beyond the Lebanese border. The talks scheduled for this Friday in Switzerland between Iranian and American representatives have been postponed after Tehran demanded guarantees on the implementation of the agreement reached this week with Washington. Although the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has subsequently assured that the meeting could be held in the coming days, the political message has been clear: the progress of the process depends on what happens on the ground in Lebanon.
In this same context, Iran has insisted that maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues normally. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the passage of commercial ships is guaranteed and that the Iranian forces have adopted the necessary measures to ensure navigation, in an attempt to convey an image of control amidst the regional escalation.
Concern about the situation in Lebanon has also spread to other capitals. The Foreign Ministers of Iran and Pakistan have held a telephone conversation in which both expressed their "grave concern" over the ceasefire violations attributed to Israel. Islamabad has also underlined its support for the agreement reached on Wednesday between Washington and Tehran, and has expressed its desire for the next phase of negotiations to advance without obstacles.
Throughout the day, Iranian officials have insisted that any future negotiations will have to respect the "red lines" of the Islamic Republic. The President of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has reiterated that Tehran will respond if it considers its interests to be ignored. More direct has been the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Baghaei, who has blamed the United States for the Israeli attacks and recalled that the end of hostilities in Lebanon is part of the commitments included in the agreement signed this week.
The same position has been conveyed by Hezbollah. Deputy Hassan Fadlallah has stated that the continuity of talks between Iran and the United States depends on the effective implementation of a comprehensive ceasefire that explicitly includes Lebanon. For Tehran, the situation in southern Lebanon has become the first concrete proof of the commitments announced after months of war.
Israel continues to attack
Israel has maintained that it will keep its troops deployed in southern Lebanon and will retain freedom of action in the face of any threat. Hezbollah, for its part, has assured that it has begun to respect the ceasefire from the moment it came into effect, although it has warned that it reserves the right to respond if Israeli attacks continue.
The tension on the ground has been accompanied by a hardening of political discourse. In a televised message, Hezbollah's secretary-general, Naim Qassem, stated that the movement is going through "the most dangerous phase in Lebanon's history" and denounced the existence of an American and Israeli plan aimed at ending the "resistance." "As long as we can stand firm, why should we capitulate?" he asked. The Shiite leader assured that the losses suffered during the war are minor compared to the consequences of surrender and accused Washington of using military, financial, and political pressure to weaken Hezbollah.
As evening fell, the day's toll summarized the fragility of the moment. Dozens of dead, nearly a hundred injured, new displaced families, and diplomatic talks postponed due to violence on the ground. The ceasefire had been announced, but its implementation is only an illusion.