US Says Hizbullah and Israel Agree to Ceasefire

A senior United States official has said that Israel and the Lebanon-based Shia group Hizbullah have agreed to a ceasefire, set to begin on Friday at 16:00 local time (20:00 WIB). However, the official did not provide further details regarding the agreement. The ceasefire was reached after at least 47 people were killed and several others injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon since Friday morning. Four Israeli military personnel were also killed in a Hizbullah attack in southern Lebanon. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian electronically signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding to end the war between the US and Israel and Iran, and to halt Israeli attacks on Lebanon. In a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump stated that he had spoken with Israeli authorities on Friday to get them to agree to a ceasefire with Hizbullah. “The result was positive,” Trump said, as quoted by an NBC reporter on social media platform X. Despite ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hizbullah, Trump told NBC News that he still feels fine about Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. “You just need to calm down a little and use your brain,” Trump said. According to official statistics, Israeli military attacks on Lebanon since 2 March have killed 3,912 people, injured 11,873, and forced more than 1 million residents to flee. Israel continues to occupy various points in southern Lebanon, with some areas held for decades and others occupied after the recent resurgence of conflict. In the latest attack on Lebanon, Israeli forces breached the border and advanced up to 10 kilometres into the country.