New Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon left around fifteen dead this Saturday, despite a ceasefire announced the day before in the wake of the memorandum of understanding signed by Tehran and Washington to end the war in the Middle East. An Israeli strike on the village of Qannarit, near Saida, in southern Lebanon, killed “seven people and injured 13 others, according to a preliminary report”, also specified the National Information Agency (ANI).
In response to these attacks in Lebanon, the central command of the Iranian army announced on Saturday that it had once again closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz. “It is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to maritime traffic […] This first measure is a response to the violation of commitments by the enemy,” declared the central staff Khatam-al Anbiya, in a press release broadcast by state television. “If the aggression continues, other measures will be planned and implemented to force the enemy to respect its obligations,” he added.
If the intensity of violence had initially dropped drastically between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, partly occupied by the Israeli army, it has resumed in the last two days and is endangering the Iranian-American text announced on Monday. This intends to end three months of war in the Middle East and provides for an end to hostilities “on all fronts, including in Lebanon” – a point on which Tehran, ally of the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah, had insisted.
According to the Lebanese national information agency ANI, around twenty bombings were recorded on Saturday in eastern and southern Lebanon.
De représailles en représailles
According to Civil Defense, 16 people were killed in the Nabatiyé region. The Lebanese army had earlier announced the death of one of its soldiers. Israel said it was targeting Hezbollah positions in retaliation for attacks on its soldiers deployed in the south. According to the Israeli army, “more than 50 projectiles” were fired by the Shiite organization against its soldiers during the night from Friday to Saturday.
Hezbollah announced this Saturday that it had “blocked” an Israeli force which was “trying to infiltrate” on a strategic height overlooking the town of Nabatiyé, in southern Lebanon. “While committed to the ceasefire, [le Hezbollah] will show no tolerance in the face of any Israeli attempt (…) to extend its occupation,” the pro-Iranian movement affirmed in a press release. Hassan Fadlallah, a deputy from the movement, estimated the day before that the Shiite militia had “fully the right to face” Israel “when it attacks us, because it is the aggressor and the occupier”. “There is talk of a ceasefire. For us, what matters is that the enemy fully and totally respects this ceasefire, and that it does not attempt to attack our country and our villages, nor to occupy new positions,” declared the MP.
Emergency services on site in the village of Qannarit after the Israeli strike. Photo Sipa/Mohammed Zaatari
Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the war in the Middle East in early March by firing rockets at Israel to avenge the death of the Iranian supreme leader, killed during American-Israeli strikes on Tehran. The announcement of a new truce followed that of April 17, which had no effect. The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, assured Friday that Israel was committed to respecting the ceasefire, provided that Hezbollah did the same.
Uncertain talks
An American official on condition of anonymity said this new ceasefire had been negotiated by American and Qatari mediators, after discussions with Israel and Iran. Before his announcement, which he has still not commented on, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Friday that Israeli troops would remain in southern Lebanon “as long as necessary”, adding that his country would make Hezbollah “pay a very heavy price”.
As for the Iranian-American talks, initially scheduled for Friday in Switzerland and supposed to launch a 60-day process to resolve the central subject of nuclear power and lead to a final agreement, no new date has been announced. American Vice President JD Vance, who was due to go to Switzerland, canceled his trip, but envoy Steve Witkoff is on his way, according to American media. Trump’s envoy, Jared Kushner, is also expected there, Axios and CNN media outlets said, both citing American officials. The Minister of the Interior of Pakistan, the mediator country, arrived in Iran on Saturday as part of the negotiations.
