Israel, Hezbollah agree to ceasefire
Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire that had come into force at 4:00 p.m. local time on Friday, Qazinform News Agency reports.
A senior U.S. official confirmed the agreement to Anadolu Agency. No further details have been disclosed so far.
The announcement came after another escalation in southern Lebanon. According to media reports, at least 47 people were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon since midnight. Meanwhile, four Israeli soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah attack.
Diplomatic efforts intensified following the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding by U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday. The agreement aims to end the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran, as well as halt Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department announced a new round of Israel-Lebanon talks scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., on June 23 and 25.
According to the department, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the upcoming meetings with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
Israel and Lebanon resumed direct talks earlier this year for the first time since 1993. Following rounds of talks held in April and June, the two sides had already managed to agree on temporary pauses in fighting.
However, Hezbollah is not participating in the negotiations, a factor that continues to complicate prospects for a comprehensive settlement.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported the first round of negotiations on implementing a newly signed memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, which was scheduled to take place in Switzerland on Friday, had been postponed.
