Israeli Airstrikes On 2 Lebanon Towns Despite Trump's Request To Netanyahu

Israeli jets carried out air strikes across at least two Lebanese towns, threatening the fragile ceasefire between Iran and the United States. The new attacks came after a brief pause after US President Donald Trump asked Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu to 'scale back' attacks on Lebanon.

Hezbollah, Iran's proxy in Lebanon, said it also targeted a northern Israeli town in response to what it describes as Israel's "violation" of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement. The militant and political group said it fired rockets at Kiryat Shmona, near the Israel-Lebanon border, on Friday, and Misgav Am in the Upper Galillee region of northern Israel.

"This response will continue until the Israeli-American aggression against our country and our people ceases," it said in the statement.

US-Iran Ceasefire

The fragile ceasefire between Iran and the United States is under mounting strain as military activity and regional tensions continue to escalate. Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948. But on Wednesday, Israel struck dense commercial and residential areas in central Beirut without warning, killing at least 300 people and wounding more than 1,000 others, hours after a ceasefire was announced in the United States-Israeli war on Iran.

Israel, which invaded Lebanon last month to root out Hezbollah in parallel with the war on Iran, said its actions there are not covered by the ceasefire announced late on Tuesday by President Donald Trump. Pakistan, which helped mediate the US-Iran talks, has said the truce would include Lebanon.

Tehran also insisted that its two-week ceasefire deal with the US included a halt to fighting in Lebanon as well. Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency, close to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, claimed that talks would "remain suspended" if the fighting does not cease in Lebanon soon.

Still, Vice President JD Vance is due to lead the US delegation on Saturday, joined by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The fresh strikes came hours after US President Trump told NBC News that Israel was "scaling back" strikes in Lebanon and that Netanyahu had assured him its attacks would become more "low-key".

Separately, Israel and Lebanon have also agreed to hold talks in Washington next week, a State Department official said, amid mounting international concern that Israel's bombing campaign could shatter the already fragile two-week US-Iran ceasefire.

But a Lebanese government official told news agency AFP that Beirut required a truce before entering any negotiations with Israel. Neither Israel nor Lebanon has publicly confirmed the US talks for next week so far.