Hezbollah confirms ceasefire in war with Israel to take effect at midnight

A Lebanese parliamentarian from the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc says Iran’s ambassador in Beirut has informed Lebanese officials that a ceasefire will begin Thursday night, describing the agreement as the result of Iranian diplomatic efforts.

Hassan Fadlallah, a member of the Lebanese parliament, said Iranian authorities will monitor US compliance with its commitments under the agreement. He added that the resumption of Iran-US negotiations is contingent upon the implementation of these commitments.

Fadlallah also stressed that Hezbollah’s adherence to the ceasefire depends on a complete halt to all hostile actions.

US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire during a White House address, saying the truce would take effect at midnight Lebanon time.

He added that he would invite Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for what he described as "the first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983".

Outraged Israeli political figures cried foul after the announcement of the Lebanon ceasefire and Iran’s role in securing it.

Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, called the ceasefire a "betrayal” of the settlers of northern Israeli occupied territories.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it was not the first time that all of his regime’s promises had collapsed.

Itan Davidi, head of the illegal settlement of Margaliot, told Israel’s Channel 12 that the agreement was not a victory but "a disgrace and a complete surrender to Iran and the United States."

The ceasefire comes after Israel and pro-Western government in Washington agreed on Tuesday to begin direct talks following a meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States.

Israel’s ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said after direct talks with Lebanese representatives that Beirut and Tel Aviv were “on the same side” against Hezbollah.

Israeli officials have pressed for the full disarmament of Hezbollah, a condition that Lebanon’s pro-Western political factions have appeared willing to entertain in exchange for Western financial and political support.

The talks have sparked anger among many Lebanese who view the terms as a capitulation to US and Israeli demands at the expense of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Critics say allowing Israeli oversight of Lebanese territory and accepting US-brokered terms that favor Israeli interests comes at a dangerous cost to Lebanon’s independence.

Concerns have been raised that the deal effectively grants Israel freedom of action inside Lebanon, a provision that Lebanese officials have previously rejected as a violation of national sovereignty.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Hajj Hassan told AFP on Thursday that the Lebanese government's decision to hold direct negotiations with Israel was a "grave error", urging Beirut to stop making concessions to Israel and the United States.

The talks followed Beirut’s rejection of Iranian efforts to include Lebanon in the two-week ceasefire announced by the US and Iran on April 8.

That day, Israel launched its largest attacks on the Lebanese capital since 1983, killing over 300 in a series of nationwide airstrikes focusing heavily on Beirut.

Since those massacres, the Israeli army has halted attacks on the Lebanese capital due to Iranian pressure exerted ahead of the recent talks in Islamabad. Yet it has continued brutal attacks on the south, where Hezbollah is fiercely confronting an Israeli ground invasion.

Washington had initially accepted Tehran’s 10-point plan that included a Lebanon ceasefire, before backtracking following lobbying from Israel.

Iran threatened to boycott the Islamabad talks if attacks on Lebanon were not scaled back, prompting the US to press Israel on the matter, according to multiple reports.  

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