WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that have agreed to dial back fighting after he talked with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with through mediators.
Trump announced the development in a social media post following a call with Netanyahu. Israeli forces recently made their into Lebanon in more than a quarter century. Trump said there would be no Israeli troops 鈥済oing to Beirut鈥� and that those on their way “have already been turned back.鈥�
He said Hezbollah had “agreed that all shooting will stop 鈥� That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.鈥�
Netanyahu confirmed the conversation but cast it less as restraint and more as a warning, saying he told Trump that Israel would strike targets in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, if Hezbollah鈥檚 attacks do not stop. The Israeli military will continue 鈥渢o operate as planned鈥� in southern Lebanon, Netanyahu added.
There was no immediate word from Hezbollah.
The two sides have been under a ceasefire since mid-April, but Hezbollah resumed attacks after Israeli strikes in Lebanon that Israel characterized as self-defense. The fighting also presents a major obstacle in to extend the ceasefire in the . Tehran wants any agreement to include Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities secured Hezbollah鈥檚 approval of a proposal by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Israel would not strike Beirut’s southern suburbs, and Hezbollah would not attack northern Israel, according to a statement issued by the Lebanese Embassy to the U.S.
Moments after Trump鈥檚 message, Israel detected missile launches from Lebanon and warned Israelis in part of northern Israel to take cover.
Talks between Israel and Lebanon are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, where Lebanese negotiators hope to widen the scope of areas that will not be attacked in the country as they seek a complete ceasefire.
Israel orders strikes on Beirut suburbs
Trump’s comments emerged after Israel鈥檚 government ordered strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut and as Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, including the outskirts of the coastal city of Haifa.
A joint statement by Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the orders followed what they called repeated violations of the by Hezbollah and 鈥渁ttacks against our cities and citizens.鈥�
The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesman later posted on X that residents should leave the suburbs, adding that if Hezbollah continues attacking Israeli communities, Israel will launch attacks on the Beirut area of Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah enjoys wide support.
After Monday’s warning, large numbers of people were seen fleeing Dahiyeh, jamming roads leading out of the area.
Mohammed Farhat, 23, fled with his brother and parents from Beirut鈥檚 southern suburb of Haret Hreik and was heading with his mother on a motorcycle to stay with relatives in another neighborhood.
鈥淲e are worried. I am used to it but left for my parents,鈥� the university student said.
Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire overnight
Israeli airstrikes overnight on southern Lebanon left six people dead, including a Syrian citizen in a village near the city of Nabatiyeh, the state-run National 海角社区app Agency said. Israel struck other towns and villages near the major city, close to the strategic Beaufort Castle and other towns the Israeli military captured in recent days.
An airstrike Monday afternoon in the port city of Tyre caused heavy damage to the Jabal Amel Hospital, the Health Ministry said. A video released by the ministry showed shaken women and children inside the hospital, where windows were blown out.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, said its air force had intercepted two projectiles launched from Lebanon toward Israeli territory, as well as a suspicious aerial target in the area where Israeli soldiers operate in southern Lebanon. No injuries were reported, the military said.
Hezbollah said early Monday that it attacked Israeli troops in Zawtar al-Sharqieh, just north of the Litani River, and struck what they said was Israeli military infrastructure in Tiberius, a few dozen miles south of the border.
Israel and Lebanon set to hold talks in Washington
The latest attacks happened just before the next round of direct Israel-Lebanon talks in the U.S. capital. Hezbollah has rejected direct talks, counting on pressure from Iran, which has demanded an end to the war in Lebanon in its talks with the United States.
The in Washington were the first in more than three decades between the countries, which have no formal diplomatic relations.
Beirut is still committed to holding talks to end the conflict despite the boiling tensions, said a Lebanese diplomatic official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted Monday that any ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran is a 鈥渃easefire on all fronts, including Lebanon.”
鈥淚ts violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts,” Iran’s top diplomat said in a post on X.
The Lebanese capital has been mostly spared since the ceasefire
Beirut has been mostly spared from airstrikes since the ceasefire went into effect, apart from two targeted attacks on the city’s southern suburbs in May.
Saudi Arabia condemned Israel鈥檚 attacks on Lebanon, saying it 鈥渃ategorically rejects鈥� Israel鈥檚 movement into the small Mediterranean nation. The Saudi Foreign Ministry called on the international community to prevent Israel from going deeper into Lebanon.
Lebanese parliament chief Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally, said in a statement Sunday that he could guarantee the militant group鈥檚 鈥渇ull, comprehensive and immediate commitment to a ceasefire.鈥� Berri added: 鈥淏ut who will force Israel to stop its aggression?鈥�
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that his government continues work to end 鈥渢he suffering of the Lebanese in general and the southerners in particular.鈥� Later, he issued a statement reiterating Beirut’s commitment to negotiations, saying they are 鈥渟afer鈥� than war.”
At the United Nations, Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that Israel鈥檚 push into Lebanon violates Lebanon鈥檚 territorial integrity and the 2006 council resolution requiring Israel to withdraw to south of the U.N.-drawn border with Lebanon.
She also accused Hezbollah of violating the resolution that requires the militant group to disarm.
U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz said a deescalation and peace will come quickly 鈥渋f Hezbollah immediately ceases its attacks, as apparently it鈥檚 promised, and the government of Lebanon asserts its fully sovereignty, rebuilds, and brings its people home.鈥�
Lebanon’s U.N. Ambassador Ahmad Arafa commended the Trump administration for 鈥渃onstructive efforts aimed at giving diplomacy a chance鈥� and Trump’s latest push.
The latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has killed 3,433 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million people.
Israel鈥檚 military said a soldier was killed in southern Lebanon overnight in a drone attack by Hezbollah. Hezbollah鈥檚 use of hard-to-detect fiber-optic drones has been deadly for the Israeli military, which is struggling to respond.
According to Netanyahu鈥檚 office, at least 26 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon. Two civilians have also been killed in northern Israel.
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Mroue and Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Melzer reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
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