Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed at least a dozen people on Tuesday as Hezbollah claimed new attacks on Israeli troops, foiling hopes that President Donald Trump had negotiated a retreat.
Strikes resumed in southern Lebanon despite a phone call between Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which the two leaders were said to have agreed that Hezbollah and the Israeli army would stop “shooting at each other”.
The Lebanese embassy in Washington said Hezbollah had confirmed a “mutual halt of attacks” after a call between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
But there was little sign of any progress on the ground. A strike on Marwaniyeh killed six people and wounded four others. Two people were killed in a drone strike on their vehicle in Briqaa, and a Syrian man was killed in a strike near a hospital in the village of Toul.
In the Saida district, 40km south of Beirut, a man and his two children were killed as they were heading south from the children's exam centre.
At least four people were killed and 127 others were wounded, including 39 healthcare staff, in an Israeli strike near Jabal Amel Hospital in Tyre on Monday, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Two Lebanese soldiers were wounded in a strike on their vehicle in Nabatieh on Tuesday afternoon.
Hezbollah claimed four overnight attacks on Israeli tanks in the towns of Odaisseh, Al Balou and Al Bayyada.
The continued fighting in Lebanon has also emerged as a main obstacle to a wider US-Iran peace agreement. Top Iranian officials say the attacks constitute a breach of the broader ceasefire. The hint of an Israeli pause has also piled pressure on Mr Netanyahu at home.
After a deal had appeared close last week, Mr Rubiio on Tuesday said technical talks on nuclear issues could take months to finalise. He said Iran must commit to negotiating “severe and long-term” limitations on its nuclear programme as part of a long-term peace deal.
A new round of talks was taking place on Tuesday between Lebanese and Israeli delegations in Washington in an effort to reach a ceasefire between the two countries.
Hezbollah opposes the talks, which have so far failed to halt attacks on Lebanon. But Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said negotiations were "the least costly option for Lebanon and the Lebanese". He added: "Our path through them will be the shortest to ending the occupation and the return of our people in the south to their cities and villages, the more all efforts are unified under the umbrella of the state."
Panic as residents flee
In Tyre, the largest city in southern Lebanon, several strikes were reported, including one near Jabal Amel Hospital, which caused extensive damage to the medical centre on Monday evening. Four people were killed and 127 were wounded, according to a preliminary toll.
There were no reports of strikes on the capital Beirut. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military would strike “terrorist targets in the Dahieh district of Beirut” in response to Hezbollah’s “repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon”.
Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Avichay Adraee then issued a forced displacement order for Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold south of Beirut. It prompted large numbers of residents to flee towards the centre of the capital, causing severe traffic congestion and widespread panic.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military faced no restrictions on its operations in Lebanon and that the US would not prevent Israel from defending its northern communities. He adding that the military could strike “anywhere necessary” inside the country.
Mr Trump then called Mr Netanyahu in an effort to prevent the strikes, in what was described as “one of the worst calls since Mr Trump returned to office”, Axios reported, quoting a US official.
During the call, the US President reportedly called the Israeli leader “crazy” and accused him of ingratitude, saying he would “be in prison if it weren’t for me”, referring to his past public support during Mr Netanyahu’s corruption trial.
Lebanon was dragged into the war in early March after Hezbollah attacked Israel in solidarity with Iran. The Iranian leadership insists a broad peace deal with the US must also resolve the situation in Lebanon, making the fighting there a key sticking point in talks.
Speaking to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in his first testimony to politicians since January, Mr Rubio also said technical nuclear talks could take months to finalise. Under an initial understanding the US is pursuing with Iran, Tehran would agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Once that happens, a second phase of talks for a durable peace deal would start.
“Phase two is they [Iran] have to commit to very specific negotiations on [the] disposition of the highly enriched uranium that still is buried deep in a mountain somewhere,” Mr Rubio said. “They have to agree on negotiating severe and long-term limitations and, or, cancellation of enrichment in activity in the second phase of negotiations.”
He said such highly technical matters could not be worked out in a few days.“That would require a team of experts to meet over a 30, 60, 90-day period and work out the details, but they have to commit to their willingness to do that,” Mr Rubio said.
