Israeli strikes kill 16 in Lebanon after truce, prospect of US-Iran talks unclear
Reuters reports:
By Humeyra Pamuk, Jana Choukeir and Steve Holland
ZURICH/DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes killed 16 people in Lebanon on Saturday, hours after a truce took effect, with Israel saying it was responding to attacks from Hezbollah and the Iran-backed group saying it would not allow Israel "freedom of movement" in Lebanon.
A halt to fighting in Lebanon is a condition for starting 60 days of U.S.-Iranian talks on Tehran's nuclear program and other issues key to forging a more durable deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and stabilize global oil supplies. It was not clear when those talks might begin.
Wednesday's interim U.S.-Iran deal requires both countries and their allies to stop military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
But Israel, left out of the talks, says it is not party to the deal, and will keep its forces in the Lebanese territory it occupies.
A U.S. official had said the truce took effect at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Friday, and Israeli and Hezbollah sources confirmed the agreement to Reuters.
My comments:
Bolded emphasis mine.
By Humeyra Pamuk, Jana Choukeir and Steve Holland
ZURICH/DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes killed 16 people in Lebanon on Saturday, hours after a truce took effect, with Israel saying it was responding to attacks from Hezbollah and the Iran-backed group saying it would not allow Israel "freedom of movement" in Lebanon.
A halt to fighting in Lebanon is a condition for starting 60 days of U.S.-Iranian talks on Tehran's nuclear program and other issues key to forging a more durable deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and stabilize global oil supplies. It was not clear when those talks might begin.
Wednesday's interim U.S.-Iran deal requires both countries and their allies to stop military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
But Israel, left out of the talks, says it is not party to the deal, and will keep its forces in the Lebanese territory it occupies.
A U.S. official had said the truce took effect at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Friday, and Israeli and Hezbollah sources confirmed the agreement to Reuters.
My comments:
Bolded emphasis mine.
