Israel launched strikes in southern Lebanon Thursday and threatened further attacks on Beirut despite an announcement hours earlier that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to implement a conditional cease-fire, raising doubts about the durability of the truce.
Israeli and Lebanese envoys held a fourth round of talks in Washington Wednesday, agreeing to implement a cease-fire hinged on Iran-backed armed group, Hezbollah, halting its attacks.
But Hezbollah, which rejects the direct Israel-Lebanon talks, has not commented on the announcement, while Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said military operations would continue in south Lebanon.
Hezbollah joined the wider Middle East war to avenge the U.S.-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader on Feb. 28 and has vowed to keep fighting despite a push by the Lebanese government to disarm it.
Despite the agreement in Washington, Katz said Israeli forces retained the "freedom of action, with American backing, to strike in Beirut in response to fire on Israeli communities and territory."
