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Israel and Lebanon Reach Ceasefire Agreement
Confirmed
In Short: Israel and Lebanon agree to renew a ceasefire contingent on Hezbollah ceasing attacks and the Lebanese army taking control of southern areas.
Following a fourth round of peace talks, the governments of Israel and Lebanon have reached an agreement to renew the ceasefire, contingent on Hezbollah ceasing its attacks and the Lebanese army taking full control of areas south of the Litani River. The agreement, brokered by the US, aims to enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security accord, though Israeli forces continue to operate in the region.
Lebanon has been deeply affected by the ongoing conflict, with at least 3,516 people killed since the start of the war, according to the country's health ministry. Lebanese media reported Israeli strikes across the south of the country, including an Israeli air strike that killed a Lebanese soldier and injured two others on the road between Deir Zahrani and Nabatieh.
The Lebanese army denounced what it called 'a pattern of deliberate strikes targeting army personnel, vehicles, and positions' by Israeli forces. The strikes have also targeted ambulances and medical facilities, resulting in the deaths of at least 128 paramedics and healthcare workers over the past three months.
The agreement, while a step towards peace, is conditional on Hezbollah's cessation of attacks and the Lebanese army's control over southern areas. Israeli forces continue to operate in the region, with strikes reported as close as the coastal highway in the Khaldeh area, just south of Beirut.
Background
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- Lebanon was drawn into the war between the US, Israel and Iran on 2 March, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.
- A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon on 16 April failed to stop the fighting, and last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to intensify its strikes on Hezbollah and…
- At least 3,516 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the war, according to the country's health ministry.
- Lebanese media reported Israeli strikes across the south of the country on Wednesday.
- The ministry also said that two paramedics were killed and a third was seriously wounded when Israeli forces "directly targeted an ambulance" in the Chehour area, which is about 14km (9 miles) to the east.
- At least 128 paramedics and healthcare workers have been killed in Israeli attacks on ambulances and medical facilities over the past three months, according to the ministry.
- The Lebanese army, meanwhile, said that one of its soldiers was killed in an Israeli air strike on the road between Nabatieh and Kfar Tebnit, about 27km north-east of Tyre.
- Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that his motorbike was targeted by a drone.