BEIRUT — Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports of a ceasefire agreement emerged.Lebanon’s National News Agency said the strikes hit the city of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages, adding that at least seven people remained trapped under the rubble.The renewed violence threatened efforts to preserve the interim agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the regional conflict.Mediators have been working to halt fighting between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group after a heavy exchange of fire on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.An Israeli military official said Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, prompting retaliatory strikes. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with military regulations.The Israeli military said it targeted dozens of Hezbollah positions and operatives, including rocket-launching sites and command centers.Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, said on Friday that Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah adheres to the agreement and ends hostilities.Hezbollah said on Saturday that it remained committed to the ceasefire but accused Israel of violating the agreement several times overnight. The group said it would abide by the truce while responding to attacks by Israeli forces.The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted shortly after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, with Hezbollah opening a front against Israel by firing rockets and drones into northern Israeli communities.The interim US-Iran agreement signed this week has already led to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and envisages renewed negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.Neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a party to the agreement, although it calls for an end to military operations in Lebanon and respect for the country’s sovereignty. Continued fighting has complicated implementation of the deal, and planned US-Iran talks in Switzerland have been postponed.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until threats against Israel are eliminated, while Hezbollah has said it will not stop attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanese territory.A new round of US-backed talks between Lebanon and Israel is expected to take place in Washington next week.Among Saturday’s casualties, four members of the same family — parents and two children — were killed in the village of Barish. Additional strikes in Arab Salim, Doueir, Kfar Rumman, Qannarit, Sohmor and Shehour left several others dead, including a Lebanese soldier.Plumes of smoke rose over southern Lebanon as Israeli warplanes flew low over the coastal city of Tyre.Residents said they welcomed the relative calm in Tyre in recent days but remained skeptical that any ceasefire would hold.“Our entire lives would change if there’s a ceasefire,” Tyre resident Hussein Khoshman said.Iranian officials did not travel to Switzerland as originally planned, insisting that fighting in Lebanon must cease before negotiations can proceed. US Vice President JD Vance also postponed his trip.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said mediation efforts were continuing and that Pakistan’s interior minister would travel to Tehran as part of ongoing consultations.He said the digital signing of the initial agreement meant the Switzerland talks were not urgent and that a meeting could take place in the coming days.Future negotiations are expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran maintains that its program is peaceful, although the International Atomic Energy Agency has said Iran possesses enough highly enriched uranium to potentially produce multiple nuclear weapons if it chooses to do so.The interim agreement gives negotiators 60 days, with the possibility of an extension, to reach a broader nuclear accord. It also offers incentives including the eventual lifting of international sanctions and a proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund.Following the signing of the interim deal, the United States lifted restrictions on Iranian ports and allowed Tehran to resume oil exports, while plans to release frozen Iranian assets remain under discussion.
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