Iran truce excludes Lebanon, strikes on Hezbollah to continue: Netanyahu

Netanyahu said a ceasefire with Iran does not apply to Hezbollah, indicating that Israeli military operations against the group would continue despite the truce

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said a ceasefire with Iran does not apply to Hezbollah, adding that Israeli military operations against the group would continue.

 

“A ceasefire with Iran will not include Hezbollah. We are continuing to hit them,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israeli forces had struck locations the group believed were safe. 

The remarks came as Israeli strikes across Lebanon killed at least 254 people and injured more than 1,165, according to Lebanon’s civil defence service. The highest number of casualties was reported in Beirut, where 91 people were killed.

 

Israeli bombardment continued into the evening, with additional strikes reported in densely populated areas of the capital.

 

 

In a televised address, Netanyahu said the US-Iran ceasefire was reached “in full cooperation” with Israel and that the country had achieved several of its objectives in the conflict.

 

He said Israel remained prepared to resume military action if required. “We have our finger on the trigger,” he said, adding that operations could restart “at any moment.”

 

The White House has also said Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire arrangement. However, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in a statement, warned of a response against “aggressors in the region” if attacks in Lebanon do not stop.

 

Hezbollah condemned the strikes, calling them “barbaric aggression,” and said it had adhered to the ceasefire understanding.

 

Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim al-Moussawi told Reuters that the group had been informed it was part of the ceasefire but accused Israel of violating it. Another lawmaker, Hassan Fadlallah, said the strikes were “a grave violation of the ceasefire” and warned of repercussions if attacks continued, as reported by Reuters. 

 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a post on X, said the terms of the Iran–US ceasefire were “clear,” adding that Washington must choose between a ceasefire and "continuing the war" through Israel, and that “the world is watching.”