Lebanon

Israel carried out deadly strikes in south Lebanon on Saturday and Hezbollah maintained it had the right to respond, hours after the United States announced a renewed ceasefire in fighting that had strained a fledgling deal with Iran.

The United States provided details of the 14-point memorandum of understanding it reached with Iran on Wednesday. Neither has released a physical copy, but a US official read out the text during a call with reporters on Wednesday. Iranian officials have yet to confirm the US version of the text.

The United Nations has again called for freedom of movement for its peacekeepers in Lebanon who continue to closely monitor developments in the south of the country, including in the wake of the recent provisional agreement signed by the United States and Iran.

Hezbollah on Tuesday urged Lebanese authorities to mend their relationship with the group’s backer Iran and benefit from Tehran’s support, days after Iran struck Israel in response to bombardment on south Beirut. Last week, Lebanon’s president and prime minister issued pointed calls for Tehran to stop interfering in their country’s affairs, after Hezbollah rejected a conditional ceasefire with Israel.

The UN in Lebanon appealed for an additional $331.5 million on Friday to help 1.4 million people in crisis as already massive needs continue to grow, three months since deadly violence erupted between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces. 

After two days of talks in Washington, Israel made the halting of its operations contingent on Hezbollah's disarmament. Nonetheless, the joint statement provides for a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has written to U.N. Security Council members stressing the need ​for a continued uniformed U.N. presence in Lebanon after the mandate of the U.N. Interim ‌Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expires at the year-end. Guterres outlined three options to replace the 7,500-strong UNIFIL in a letter to the 15 members of the Security Council dated Monday and seen by Reuters. They ranged from a light presence with limited capabilities to ​a more robust force with broader monitoring and de-escalation capabilities, and from around 1,980 to ​5,525 uniformed personnel.

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of "pilot" security zones inside Lebanon in which Hezbollah operatives would be banned, the US state department has announced. A joint statement said the agreement was "contingent on a complete cessation" of attacks by the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, among other conditions.

Monday’s hastily convened meeting of the UN Security Council at the request of France in response to escalating violence in Lebanon between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants has underlined deepening international concern as the conflict intensifies, despite ongoing US mediation efforts.

Under pressure from Washington not to attack Beirut – where, according to Israel, the bulk of Hezbollah's military capabilities are located – the Israeli army is instead intensifying its operations in southern Lebanon.