U.S President Donald Trump told NBC News in a phone call on Friday afternoon that Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire.
“It’s a positive,” said Trump “It’s a little icing on the cake.”
An official Hezbollah source told the outlet that the group would comply with the ceasefire but said Israeli forces were still firing and attempting a deeper incursion into Lebanese territory.
Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said Tel Aviv was “firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” and has suspended military operations in Lebanon.
However, a source with knowledge of intelligence assessments told NBC News that U.S spy agencies believe Israel may still continue to launch strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
There has been growing speculations about a rift between Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the handling of the Iran war and Tel Aviv’s onslaught on Lebanon.
Netanyahu and his cabinet ministers have criticised the latest peace agreement between the United States and Iran, and have insisted that Israel is not bound by the memorandum of understanding. He had also said his forces would remain in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza despite the peace deal.
U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Auon on Friday through a phone call, where he asserted the need to dismantle Hezbollah, according to a spokesman of the State Department Tommy Pigott. Pigott said the Rubio and Auon also discussed planned negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in Washington from Tuesday through Thursday next week.
The United States and Iran were scheduled to have talks in Switzerland on Friday to discuss the next stage of the agreement before it was called off due to fresh Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.
A key clause included in the MoU was a halt in hostilities in all fronts, including Lebanon.
