Israel strikes Lebanon after ceasefire announcement

Israel struck south Lebanon on Thursday and threatened new attacks on Beirut despite an announcement hours earlier that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to implement a conditional ceasefire.

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Israeli and Lebanese envoys held a fourth round of talks in Washington on Wednesday, agreeing to implement a ceasefire hinged on Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah halting its attacks.

But Hezbollah, which rejects the direct Israel-Lebanon talks, has not commented on the announcement, while Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said military operations would continue in south Lebanon.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war to avenge the killing in US-Israeli strikes of Iran’s supreme leader on February 28, and has vowed to keep fighting despite a push by the Lebanese government to disarm it.

Despite the agreement in Washington, Katz said Israeli forces retained the “freedom of action, with American backing, to strike in Beirut in response to fire on Israeli communities and territory”.