WASHINGTON — Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire set to begin at 4 p.m. local time (13:00 GMT) on Friday, a senior US official told Reuters, even as Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon continued.“Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire,” the official said on background, adding that negotiators for the US and Qataris worked out the deal with help from Iran. “We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire.”It comes after at least 18 people were killed in southern Lebanon following a series of Israeli air strikes overnight, according to the country’s health ministry. Israel’s military says four of its soldiers were also killedTwo Hezbollah sources told Reuters that the group has implemented a ceasefire with Israel.The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has also confirmed that there is a ceasefire in place.”We are in a ceasefire. The IDF is prepared to continue fighting if called upon to do so,” IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a statement: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has denounced Israel’s latest attacks in Lebanon, saying Israel’s “continued war-making” would have “serious and immediate consequences”.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday slammed the far-right Israeli national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who called for Lebanon to “burn” after a night of intense fighting in southern Lebanon killed four soldiers.“This is not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic. It’s a public post by the national security minister of the Israeli regime,” Araghchi wrote on X.“The genocidal death cult headquartered in Tel Aviv is a threat to all of humanity. It threatens all humans. Its only interest is permanent war,” he added.Meanwhile, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee has said Israeli forces retain “full operational freedom” in Lebanon and will continue to act against what Israel describes as threats from Hezbollah.In a post on X, Adraee accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire “in an attempt to prevent our forces from completing the destruction of its capabilities”.It remains unclear if this refers to the ceasefire, reported by Reuters, which was due to take place at 4 pm Friday, or an earlier ceasefire agreement.Adraee said the Israeli military had attacked more than 150 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including in the Bekaa Valley and Nabatieh, and claimed that “dozens” were killed in the strikes since midnight on Thursday.
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