Apr 09, 2026
3 min read
On the first day of a US-Iran truce on Wednesday, Israel carried out its biggest bombing barrage against Lebanon since the start of the war, killing at least 182 people.It was a decision that threatens to derail an already fragile deal.
On the first day of a cease-fire between the United States and Iran on Wednesday, Israel launched its biggest bombing campaign against Lebanon since the start of the war, killing at least 182 people, a decision that threatens an already fragile accord.
Iran says the ceasefire includes Lebanon, a position supported by Pakistan, which helped broker the deal. However, Israel and the United States say it does not.
Delegation from the United StatesAnd Iran is expected to begin talks in Islamabad later this week.And the question of whether Lebanon is protected by a ceasefire remains to be seen.It is considered a factor that may be unpredictable.
"The Lebanese front could end up undermining efforts to maintain the ceasefire," said Danny Citrinovich, senior fellow at the Iran-Shia Axis Program at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSSS) in Tel Aviv.From Tehran's point of view, continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon "may justify a new Israeli response," he added.
This is what you need to know.
Why is Israel attacking Lebanon?
Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite Islamic movement that is one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East, has been at odds with Israel for decades from its base in neighboring Lebanon.
Israel launched an all-out war against Hezbollah after the group fired on Israeli-controlled territory in support of Hamas following the group's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
In November 2024, Israel accepted a ceasefire agreement that required it to withdraw from Lebanon.But Israeli forces continued to hold positions beyond the deadline and conduct almost daily operations, citing alleged violations by Hezbollah.
After Israel killed Iran's religious leader Ali Khamenei in an airstrike at the end of February, Hezbollah started firing on Israel.
The Israeli military responded by launching a wave of heavy airstrikes against what it said were Hezbollah positions and sending troops into Lebanese territory, aiming to establish a "defence zone" in the south of the country.
More than a million people have been displaced from Lebanon since March as a result of Israeli actions.At least 1,530 people have died and 4,812 have been injured as of Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Health.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli army wants to destroy villages in southern Lebanon and will prevent the 600,000 Lebanese who fled from returning home "until the security of the people of northern Israel is guaranteed."
Katz said the destruction "will follow the pattern of Rafah and Khan Yunus in Gaza," referring to two Palestinian towns heavily bombed by Israel during the Gaza war.
Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich proposed annexing southern Lebanon last month.
"The current campaign in Lebanon must end with a fundamental change: Litani must become our new border with the state of Lebanon," he said, referring to the river that separates southern Lebanon from the rest of the country.
Human rights experts have warned that the massive evacuation orders and new buffer zones imposed by Israel are "potential war crimes".
Is Lebanon part of the ceasefire agreement with Iran?
In the past 48 hours, officials involved in the negotiations have made conflicting statements about whether Lebanon is covered by the ceasefire.
Unlike most ceasefire agreements, there are no publicly available documents to support them.Most of what is known about the agreement comes from social media posts by Trump, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Sharif said in a post on X on Wednesday that Iran and the United States had agreed to an "immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon."
Israel later contradicted Sharif's words.
"Fighting continues in Lebanon and the ceasefire does not include Lebanon," Israeli military spokesman Avichai Adlai said on Wednesday, issuing an evacuation order for large areas of southern Lebanon.The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement.
Both US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have also denied that Lebanon was part of the ceasefire agreement in the war with Iran.
Lebanon on Wednesday suffered the most intense series of attacks across the country since the war between the United States and Israel began in late February.
Large explosions were heard and smoke was seen along the border between Israel and Lebanon early Wednesday, and residents told CNN it was unsafe to walk.
According to the Israeli military, more than 100 Hezbollah command centers and military facilities were attacked simultaneously across the country.According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the operation resulted in more than 180 deaths and 890 wounded.
Why did Israel's attacks in Lebanon destroy the ceasefire agreement?
Following Netanyahu's claim that the ceasefire did not include that country, Araghchi called for an end to the "massacres in Lebanon" and other Iranian officials warned that the attacks constituted a violation of the agreement.
"The terms of the Iran-US ceasefire are clear and unambiguous: the US.
A choice must be made: End or continue the war through Israel."You can't have it both ways," he wrote
On Wednesday, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned the United States and Israel that it would give what it called a "regretful response" if the attack on Lebanon continued.
The IRGC claimed that navigation through the Strait of Hormuz slowed dramatically and then stopped due to Israeli attacks.
Experts say only Trump's intervention can take Israel.
Citrinowicz said Netanyahu's commitments to keep the population of northern Israel safe and broad political views could stop the fire in Lebanon.
"This fact complicates any attempt to expand the rebellion on the Lebanese front," he said."President Trump has to get involved and make policy decisions."
Continued Israeli attacks could drag it into a new war with Iran and potentially affect Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels, slowing any de-escalation efforts, experts say.
Israel may try to "torpedo" the US-Iran truce, said Fawaz Goerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, as Netanyahu tries to "save what's left of his political career in Israel."
With information from CNN's Tal Shalev, Charbel Mallow and Eugenia Yosef.
