Israel, another key player in the Iran conflict, has finally expressed its agreement to the two-week ceasefire negotiated between the United States and Iran. However, Israel said the Lebanon front involving Hezbollah, the pro-Iran militant group, "is not included in the ceasefire," keeping the flames of attack alive.
On Thursday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a statement in English on X (formerly Twitter), saying, "Israel supports President Donald Trump's decision to halt attacks on Iran for two weeks, on the condition that Iran immediately opens the straits and ceases all attacks on the United States, Israel, and regional countries."
"Israel supports America's efforts to ensure that Iran no longer poses nuclear, missile, and terror threats to the United States, Israel, neighboring Arab states, and the world," the statement added. "The United States has told Israel that it will work to achieve these goals in future negotiations."
However, the Prime Minister's Office stated that "Lebanon is not included in the two-week ceasefire," signaling that attacks on Hezbollah will continue. This directly contradicts earlier remarks by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who led the ceasefire negotiations and posted on X that he was "pleased to announce that Iran, the United States, and their allies have agreed to a ceasefire in all regions, including Lebanon." Sharif had emphasized that the ceasefire would take effect immediately.
As a result, whether to include Hezbollah in the ceasefire could become a point of contention during negotiations scheduled for Saturday in Islamabad, Pakistan. Iran is likely to push for this issue, as its 10-point peace proposal to the United States and Israel includes demands for a ceasefire on all fronts, including the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Al Jazeera analyzed that "the conflict expanded as Hezbollah joined the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, dragging Israel into a quagmire on multiple fronts," adding that "Hezbollah calculates that its political leverage will increase when participating in negotiations with Iran."
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Israel's offensive in Lebanon has killed at least 1,500 people and displaced more than 1.2 million. Hezbollah joined the conflict by attacking Israel starting on the third day of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.