Netanyahu withholds Lebanon cease-fire from cabinet; Israel advances on Ghandourieh | LIVE

Trump says Hezbollah contacted US to request halt to war

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday evening that Hezbollah had contacted Washington to request an end to hostilities in Lebanon.

“They [Hezbollah] called us, and they said, ‘ How about stopping.’ And I think you’re going to see things happen over there,” he told the press.

Describing the Lebanese file as “different” but “linked to Iran,” Trump said he hoped Lebanon would finally see peace. “It would be very nice if Lebanon could have some peace. Lebanon has been under attack for so many years, always like an underdog, it would be very nice if it could end,” he said.

Residents flee Anqoun after Israeli threats

Residents of Anqoun, where around 2,500 displaced people are currently hosted, began fleeing the village toward Saida following Israeli threats, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon, Mountasser Abdallah.

After threats targeting Aarnaba, a Christian neighborhood east of Maghdousheh, the head of the municipality, Raef Younan, told our correspondent he did not believe Maghdousheh was under threat and said coordination was ongoing with the relevant authorities.

In Anqoun, further east, traffic was reported to be heavy as evacuations continued. The municipality organized departures, urging displaced residents to head to the Ghazieh vehicle inspection center south of Saida, while local residents were directed toward Zita and Tanbourit. According to our information, more than 2,500 displaced people from the south are currently hosted in Anqoun.

Separately, our correspondent reported strikes on Jibsheet (Nabatieh) and Kfar Dounin (Bint Jbeil).

At least 7 killed in Israeli strikes on Sour overnight, according to Civil Defense

Israeli airstrikes on the city of Sour in southern Lebanon killed at least seven people, a Civil Defense source told AFP on Friday morning.

Three strikes targeting a building near Jabal Amel Hospital killed four people and wounded seven others, according to the source. Another attack killed three people and injured five, including two children, it added.

This brings the total number of people killed overnight in Israeli strikes to 11. Two others were killed in Habboush, one in Doueir in the Nabatieh district, and another in Burj Qalaway, according to our correspondent.

Hezbollah claims 2 new attacks on Israeli soldiers near Beaufort Castle

Hezbollah reported new attacks carried out overnight against Israeli troops positioned near Beaufort Castle, a strategic site south of the city of Nabatieh.

The group said it fired, at around 11:30 p.m., a barrage of “advanced rockets” at Israeli vehicles and soldiers near the medieval fortress. About an hour later, Hezbollah fighters launched a “precision missile” against the same target, according to statements published on the group’s “war media” Telegram channel.

Netanyahu did not submit Lebanon cease-fire to security cabinet after Hezbollah rejection

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not submit the proposed Lebanon cease-fire to his security cabinet for approval following Hezbollah's rejection of the deal, Yedioth Ahronoth reported after a security cabinet meeting on Thursday night.

"There is currently no agreement. Hezbollah opposes it and, consequently, I am making no decision," Netanyahu reportedly told ministers during the meeting. Several ministers also voiced opposition to a truce, particularly after the announcement that another Israeli soldier had been killed in southern Lebanon.

"If Hezbollah agrees, I will submit the cease-fire to you for approval," the Israeli prime minister reportedly added.

Among the most outspoken opponents during the cabinet meeting were far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir, who urged Netanyahu to travel to Washington and advocate for the continuation of military operations, and Orit Strook, who argued that the border should be "modified."

New Israeli attempt to advance toward Ghandourieh

According to our correspondent in southern Lebanon, Israeli troops again attempted to expand their ground incursion toward the village of Ghandourieh (Bint Jbeil district), where Hezbollah fighters ambushed them, reportedly forcing them to retreat.

Hezbollah targeted Israeli forces with rocket fire and explosive devices, which prompted them to withdraw under heavy artillery fire, white phosphorus shelling and smoke screens.

The clashes took place at around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, according to a statement published on Hezbollah's "war media" Telegram channel claiming responsibility for the ambush. The party also said it fired another barrage of rockets at Israeli armored vehicles positioned in the neighboring village of Qantara (Marjayoun district), across the strategic Wadi Houjeir valley, which the Israeli army has been trying to cross for several weeks.

Airstrikes were subsequently carried out on nearby villages to cover the retreat and evacuation of Israeli casualties, including in Burj Qalaway, where one person was killed and another wounded. An Israeli combat helicopter also fired a missile toward Ghandourieh.

Israeli army orders evacuation of 3 villages in the Saida and Nabatieh districts

The Israeli army on Friday morning ordered the evacuation of three additional villages in southern Lebanon — Aarnaya and Anqoun in the Saida district, and Kfar Fila in the Nabatieh district — ahead of planned strikes. Arabic-language military spokesperson Avichay Adraee ordered residents to move at least one kilometer away from these localities before attacks "against Hezbollah."

Aarnaya is a neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of the Christian village of Maghdoucheh. The two villages in the Saida district lie north of the Zahrani River and therefore outside the area south of the river that the Israeli army last Sunday designated a "combat zone."

Major new demolition operation in Bint Jbeil; fresh strike near Sour's Jabal Amel Hospital

At around 4:30 a.m., Israeli troops carried out another large-scale demolition operation in the town of Bint Jbeil, the 19th such operation targeting the predominantly Shiite town since the theoretical cease-fire took effect on April 19.

Israeli airstrikes also targeted the Sour district. An Israeli drone first targeted Zrarieh, wounding two people, before three airstrikes hit a building near Jabal Amel Hospital in Sour.

Rescuers from the Civil Defense of the Islamic Health Committee evacuated a total of 14 wounded people from the rubble. The building was completely destroyed, according to our correspondent, while the nearby Audi Bank branch sustained heavy damage.

According to our correspondent's count, Israeli warplanes carried out no fewer than 86 strikes on 41 different localities across southern Lebanon on Thursday, while drones targeted 38 sites in 18 localities. Twenty localities also came under intensive artillery fire, including two struck with white phosphorus shells.

At least 3 killed in southern Lebanon as Israeli strikes continue across Nabatieh region

Israeli strike on Nabatieh Fawqa (Credit: Mohammad Yassine / L'Orient-Le Jour)

In southern Lebanon, Israeli drones carried out several deadly strikes overnight and this morning, in addition to ongoing air and artillery bombardments reaching deep into Lebanese territory, particularly in the Nabatieh district, according to our correspondent in the region, Mountasser Abdallah.

Israeli drone strikes targeted two people who were killed in Habboush while riding a motorcycle shortly after 6 a.m.

Another Israeli airstrike targeted a house opposite the Doueir gendarmerie station which killed a third person and wounded another. A similar attack also wounded one person in Ebba, who was transferred to a hospital. In the same area, another drone strike targeted the village of Harouf at around 7 a.m.

Israeli warplanes also bombed localities on the outskirts of Nabatieh, including Nabatieh Fawqa, Mayfadoun — which was hit by three successive strikes — as well as the areas around Shoukin and Kfar Tibnit, also in the Nabatieh region.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of developments in Lebanon, where Israel continues to bombard the South and the Bekaa despite a conditional “cease-fire” announced Thursday which was rejected by Hezbollah and has yet to be approved in Israel.

Catch up on yesterday's live coverage here, and with the Morning Brief here.