President Donald Trump signed the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding on Wednesday evening, immediately opening the Strait of Hormuz to the free flow of oil and setting the stage for a final peace deal with Tehran.While the markets responded positively, there was a great deal of consternation both in the U.S. and in Israel about the terms of the deal, particularly the provisions requiring money for Iran’s reconstruction and the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”‘For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep.’The fragile peace has been undermined by more than just criticism on the sidelines.Disregarding the demands for a cessation of hostilities, Hezbollah and Israel engaged in a brutal exchange on Thursday and Friday that has claimed multiple lives and delayed the permanent peace talks. This bloodletting has, however, since been put on pause, owing to a truce reportedly brokered by the United States and regional actors.The Israel Defense Forces announced late on Thursday that an explosive Hezbollah drone had detonated near Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, injuring four soldiers. Another terrorist drone reportedly detonated several minutes later, injuring another Israeli soldier.RELATED: Exclusive: JD Vance minces no words with BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey about Israeli influence, Iran deal Jalaa MAREY/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Hezbollah strikes turned deadly early Friday morning when a suspected anti-tank missile struck a tank belonging to the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion in Lebanon’s Kfar Tebnit area, killing all four crew members, reported the Times of Israel.Israel, in turn, launched numerous strikes — over 150 by early Friday — against alleged terrorist targets in Southern and Eastern Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had instructed the IDF to “strike Hezbollah with full force” and reiterated that “Israel will remain in the security zone in Southern Lebanon for as long as required to protect the settlements in the north.”The Lebanese health ministry claimed that the Israeli strikes killed at least 47 people — at least 18 of whom were reportedly civilians — and wounded nearly 100 others since midnight.That toll was evidently not nearly enough for Israel National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who stated, “For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. All of Lebanon must burn!””With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not forfeit. All of Lebanon must burn,” continued Ben-Gvir, one of the most outspoken critics of Trump’s deal with Iran. “In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and restraint — you need to go berserk. To obliterate. To crush the terror..”Three regional officials told the Associated Press that the U.S., Qatar, and Iran brokered a truce between Lebanon and Israel — a truce that a senior U.S. official told Reuters was set to begin Friday at 4 p.m. local time.”Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire,” said the American official on background. “We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire.”A Hezbollah leader said in a statement to CNN that while the group’s fighters will respect the ceasefire, the movement and actions of Israeli forces in Lebanon will receive “a suitable response.”The IDF said that it will continue its operations in Lebanon.”These attacks by Hezbollah are violations of the ceasefire. They prove that Hezbollah’s goals remain the same: to remain on Israel’s borders and to plan and carry out attacks on our civilians,” said an IDF spokesman. “This is not a reality we can accept, and this is exactly why the IDF continues to operate in Southern Lebanon.”Earlier this week, Trump bemoaned the loss of life in Lebanon — where the health authority reports that 3,980 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2 — saying that “the Lebanon piece is something we’ll have to work on a little bit.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
