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US official says Israel, Hezbollah agree to ceasefire; 47 killed in Lebanon strikes
The Lebanon clashes had threatened the deal between Washington and Tehran to end the war
- PUBLISHED: Fri 19 Jun 2026, 6:49 PM
- By:
- AFP
[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog for the latest regional developments with the US-Iran MOU now signed.]
Israel and Hezbollah have agreed a ceasefire, a US official said Friday, after deadly new exchanges in Lebanon put the fragile deal to end the Middle East war under immediate strain.
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The truce that began at 4pm local time (1300 GMT) was brokered by US and Qatari mediators following talks with Israel and Iran, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
A Gulf diplomat also confirmed the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire to AFP. The Lebanon clashes had threatened the deal between Washington and Tehran to end the war, after the postponement of planned talks in Switzerland featuring US Vice President JD Vance.
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On the ground, the Lebanese health minisry said that Israeli airstrikes and bombardments killed at least 47 people and wounded 97 others in Lebanon on Friday. The dead included at least seven women and two children and the figures were released as a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was due to start.
US President Donald Trump and his administration have shown growing frustration recently with Israel, Washington's ally and partner in the Iran war.
Trump called on Thursday for a "complete ceasefire on all fronts" including from Israel. He has also been increasingly critical of the high death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
"When two drones are shot into the desert and drop harmlessly, you don’t have to knock down buildings in Beirut. They could behave better, and frankly they could do a better job," Trump said at the G7 summit in France on Wednesday.
Vance meanwhile issued an extraordinary rebuke of hardline ministers in the Israeli government on Thursday for criticizing the Iran deal, telling them to "wake up and smell the reality."
"Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time," Vance told a White House briefing.
"If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world."
Trump on Friday separately showed frustration with both Iran and critics at home who say the deal rewards Tehran without properly limiting its nuclear program.
"We didn't meet out of desperation, Iran did," Trump said on Truth Social, after Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday that Trump had "used all kinds of levers" to secure the deal "out of desperation".
Trump added that the United States would "play out the 60 days" during which Iran and the United States are meant to try to thrash out a long-term deal. "They get no money, not ten cents!"
Republican hawks and Democrats alike have criticized the deal for offering sanctions relief and a $300 reconstruction fund for Iran, but Trump said Iran was now "diminished". "How stupid can some people be???" he said in another social media post.