Israeli strikes on Lebanon test the new ceasefire as US-Iran talks resume in Switzerland
Israeli air strikes hit Lebanon’s Nabatieh district on Saturday, killing several people — including members of one family and a Lebanese soldier — only hours after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. Hezbollah said a truce “while the enemy continues its targeting and assassinations is meaningless,” signaling it could resume fire.
The strikes land directly on the diplomatic track meant to end the wider war. Under the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, ending the fighting in Lebanon is treated as part of a single ceasefire across all fronts, and Tehran has called the Lebanon truce essential to the process. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were heading to Switzerland for talks, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expected to attend, though Iran warned the continued strikes could “make or break” the negotiations.
The mechanism here is straightforward: because the Lebanon front is written into the same agreement as the Iran deal, each strike gives Tehran both a reason and a justification to slow-walk or walk away from Switzerland. The near-term question is whether Washington can hold the talks together while Israel keeps operating in Lebanon — and whether Hezbollah treats the strikes as grounds to abandon a ceasefire that is only hours old.