Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire on Friday, declared after fierce clashes between the two sides in Lebanon, according to a US official. The truce came as fresh strain emerged in the peace process built around the US-Iran agreement signed only two days earlier. Lebanese authorities said 47 people were killed in Israeli air strikes.
Israel, for its part, said four of its soldiers had been killed.
It was the deadliest single episode since the US-Iran agreement.
Talks scheduled between the United States and Iran in Switzerland to advance the peace agreement toward a lasting settlement have been postponed. No new date has been announced.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun did, however, speak by telephone.
The Lebanese presidency said Aoun thanked Rubio for US assistance and stressed: ‘Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory must stop and a full ceasefire must be secured.’
According to the US State Department, Rubio described efforts to disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon as important.
A spokesperson said the two had discussed the next round of talks, due to be held in Washington from June 23 to 25, where the two sovereign governments would try to make progress toward a lasting peace.
The spokesperson added that Rubio had again stressed that Hezbollah must be disarmed and the government’s full control restored across all Lebanese territory.
Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said in a social-media post that Israel favoured an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, but that Hezbollah must first halt its attacks under the terms of the agreement.
The US-Iran agreement signed this week was reached between President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The agreement was aimed at ending the war that began on February 28.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the US-Israeli strikes.
Another aim of the agreement was to end the war in Lebanon. Iran has consistently insisted that this conflict must be brought within the scope of any deal.
Israel’s continuing operations there have become complicated and uncomfortable for Washington.
The Israeli military said it struck more than 80 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Friday and killed many members of the group.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report