Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire and renewed strikes strain US‑Iran nuclear talks

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on Friday at 4 p.m. local time, but Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon continued, killing at least 20 people in one attack and up to 47 in a later bout. The strikes hit residential areas, a Bank of Lebanon branch in Nabatieh and multiple villages, prompting Hezbollah to say it would not allow Israeli freedom of movement.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said troops remain free to act against threats, while prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a halt to further strikes without withdrawing Israeli forces from the Lebanon “security zone.”

The violence jeopardised a newly‑signed US‑Iran memorandum of understanding that required a halt to hostilities in Lebanon as a condition for restarting nuclear‑negotiations. Israeli attacks forced the postponement of the first round of US‑Iran talks scheduled at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, prompting Tehran to demand guarantees that Lebanese fighting would end.

The United Nations reiterated the need for freedom of movement for its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, warning that restrictions could undermine monitoring of the fragile cease‑fire.