Israel Bombs Beirut Citing Hezbollah Drones As US-Iran Deal Close | Today’s news

Israel bombed Lebanon’s capital in what it said was retaliation for drone strikes by Hezbollah, escalating tensions as the US and the militia’s patron Iran moved closer to an interim peace deal.

At least one person was killed and four wounded in an airstrike in a southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. Israel’s military said it targeted Hezbollah’s command center when it earlier accused the Lebanese group of sending three drones into Israel.

The strike came as the US and Iran were still locked in talks on a pact to end the war Washington and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic more than three months ago. Tehran is demanding that any permanent cessation of hostilities also extend to Lebanon – a condition Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will not accept until Hezbollah is disarmed and stops firing on Israel.

US President Donald Trump suggested an interim peace deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be signed as early as Sunday, although the Islamic Republic has disputed that.

In parallel with the joint offensive against Iran, Israel invaded Lebanon with the stated goal of pushing Hezbollah far from its borders. Its troops and tanks now occupy a zone up to 10 kilometers deep, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Over the weekend, the Israeli military said it carried out a wave of strikes against Hezbollah targets in the area.

“The IDF is not going to withdraw,” Miri Regev, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told Galey Israel radio. “We don’t allow connections between operating rooms.”

With help from Sara Gharaibeh.

This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.