Hezbollah called on the Lebanese authorities to withdraw from direct negotiations with Israel. This came shortly after a direct negotiation session was held between Beirut and Tel Aviv in Washington on Thursday, after which US President Donald Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire for three weeks. The truce remains extremely fragile, as the Israeli army announced on Friday that it had killed six Hezbollah fighters during a clash in the southern town of Bint Jbeil. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon reported on Friday that one of its Indonesian soldiers had died from wounds he sustained on March 29 in the south.

Published on: 04/24/2026 - 18:44 Last updated: 04/24/2026 - 19:19

Two people were killed in an Israeli raid in southern Lebanon on Friday morning. This came shortly after US President Donald Trump announced an extension of the truce in the country for three weeks. While Hezbollah urged the Lebanese authorities to stop direct negotiations with Israel.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah remains very fragile, as the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that two people were killed on Friday as a result of an Israeli raid on the town of Toulin in southern Lebanon. Later, the Israeli army announced that it had eliminated six Hezbollah fighters in the southern town of Bint Jbeil, during a clash that included an exchange of fire.

Read also: Extending the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, and Iran maintains its control over the Strait of Hormuz

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Netanyahu accuses Hezbollah of trying to "undermine" peace efforts

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of trying to "undermine" efforts to reach a peace agreement with Lebanon.

Netanyahu said on Friday, in his first statement after extending the ceasefire with Lebanon: “We have begun a path to reach a historic peace between Israel and Lebanon, and it is clear to us that Hezbollah is trying to undermine that.”

Hezbollah declares that it reserves the right to respond

Hezbollah announced on Friday that it reserves the right to respond, and called on the Lebanese authorities to withdraw from direct negotiations with Israel. On Friday, the Lebanese organization considered extending the truce “meaningless” in light of the ongoing “hostilities.”

Hezbollah representative in Parliament, Ali Fayyad, said in a statement that “every Israeli attack against any Lebanese target, whatever its nature, gives the resistance the right to respond proportionately.”

Likewise, the head of the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc, Muhammad Raad, called on the Lebanese authority to withdraw from direct negotiations with Israel. Raad said in a statement distributed by the party, "The authority should be ashamed of its people and withdraw from what were called direct negotiations with the Zionist enemy."

The first evacuation warning after the extension of the truce

Israel is working to establish a "security zone" at the expense of destroying villages and bombing in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced targeting operations against Israeli soldiers and drones “in response to the Israeli enemy’s violation of the ceasefire and its invasion of Lebanese airspace.”

On Friday, the Israeli army issued a warning to evacuate the village of Deir Amas in southern Lebanon and move away from it at least 1,000 meters. The village is located north of the "yellow line" that the Israeli army announced to establish in the south of the country.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced on Friday the death of one of its Indonesian peacekeepers from wounds he sustained on March 29 in the south.

The developments on the ground came despite Trump expressing his optimism that a peace agreement would be reached within a year between the two countries, which have officially been at war since 1948.

France 24/AFP

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