Lebanon says Hezbollah accepts US-backed halt to attacks on Israel
Lebanon says Hezbollah has accepted a US proposal for a mutual halt to attacks on Israel, in a development that could ease tensions after recent cross-border strikes. The Lebanese embassy in the US said it had received confirmation of Hezbollah's acceptance of the plan, which would see Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs stop in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from attacks on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the arrangement, but said strikes on Beirut could resume if Hezbollah continued to attack Israeli cities and civilians.
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The statements came late on Monday after US President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Netanyahu and Hezbollah representatives and that "they agreed that all shooting will stop". The Lebanese embassy said the proposed arrangement would also be extended to cover all Lebanese territory. Netanyahu said at the same time that the Israel Defense Forces would continue to operate in southern Lebanon as planned, indicating that the agreement did not amount to a full military withdrawal.
The announcement follows earlier Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, which were ordered in response to rocket and drone attacks attributed to the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Those strikes prompted warnings from Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who said the US-Iran truce was "unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon". He added that any violation on one front would amount to a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts, underlining the wider regional sensitivity of the fighting.
The proposed halt matters because it links the Lebanon front to broader regional diplomacy involving the US, Israel and Iran. It also suggests an attempt to contain the conflict around Beirut, where strikes on the capital's southern suburbs carry particular political and humanitarian significance. Any reduction in attacks could ease pressure on civilians and reduce the risk of further escalation across Lebanon, but the arrangement remains fragile given the continuing Israeli military activity in the south.
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Hezbollah's role in the confrontation reflects its position as an armed group with the ability to strike across the border and draw in outside powers. Israel has said its operations are aimed at what it calls terror targets, while Iranian officials have framed the issue as part of a wider ceasefire environment. The mention of possible indirect negotiations and warnings about other fronts, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait, shows how quickly the dispute can connect to wider regional security concerns.
What remains unclear is how durable the proposed halt will be, and whether it will hold if either side says the other has breached the terms. It is also not clear how the arrangement will be monitored, or what role the US will play in enforcing it. For now, the key question is whether the statements from Beirut, Washington and Jerusalem translate into a sustained reduction in attacks across Lebanon and northern Israel.
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