(Al Jazeera Media Network) Israel has continued to attack Lebanon after the new ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect, raising fears that Tel Aviv is trying to wreck the fragile agreement tied to wider efforts to end Middle East hostilities.
On Friday, officials and diplomats from the United States and the Gulf separately told news agencies that the two sides agreed that a ceasefire would start at 4 pm local time (1300 GMT).
Despite the ceasefire, at least 12 Israeli air raids and continual artillery shelling hit southern Lebanon after the deadline, according to reports from the ground.
Israel and Hezbollah reportedly “agreed to halt hostilities” after Qatar, the United States and Iran brokered the ceasefire, a Gulf diplomat told the AFP news agency, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. He said the ceasefire aimed to stop the escalation in Lebanon from derailing a broader push to turn the interim US-Iran agreement into a lasting regional peace deal.
The Gulf diplomat told AFP the deal followed a dangerous surge in fighting that threatened negotiations over ending the war with Iran and reopening the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping.
