Day 113 | ‘Israel’ & Hezbollah agree ceasefire as US-Iran deal under strain

‘Israel’ and Hezbollah agreed a ceasefire on Friday, a US official said, after deadly exchanges between the two sides in Lebanon once again put a deal to end the Middle East war under strain, less than two days after it was signed.

Lebanese authorities reported 47 people were killed in ‘Israeli’ airstrikes and ‘Israel’ announced the deaths of four of its soldiers, the highest combined casualty count since the US and Iran struck their deal.

Talks that were scheduled to take place between the US and Iran in Switzerland to build on the deal and work towards a lasting settlement were postponed, with no new date announced, but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun held a call.

The deal signed this week by President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian aims to end a war that began on February 28 with US-‘Israeli’ strikes that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The agreement was also meant to halt the fighting in Lebanon, which Iran has always insisted should be covered under any accord, turning ‘Israel's’ ongoing campaign there into a source of frustration for Washington.

‘Israel's’ military said Friday that it had struck more than 80 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and killed dozens of members of the Iran-backed group.