Celebrations have been reported in Lebanon, where a 10-day ceasefire has been announced to allow for negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese officials on a permanent security and peace agreement between the two countries, the US State Department said.
United States President Donald Trump has again said that a deal to end the war on Iran is “very close”, adding that talks may resume with Tehran in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad as early as this weekend.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has welcomed news of the ceasefire in Lebanon, according to Iranian state media, framing the truce as part of a broader agreement with the US to pause the regional conflict.
A Hezbollah official tells Al Jazeera Arabic that the group will approach the ceasefire with “caution and vigilance”.
Israeli forces pounded southern Lebanon in the hours leading up to the implementation of the ceasefire on Thursday night, killing three people in a village in the Sidon district and eight people in the Zahrani area, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.—Al Jazeera
