Sharon Zhang
Truthout / April 17, 2026
The Lebanese military has also already reported violations of the ceasefire by Israel.
In the hours leading up to the start of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel on Friday at midnight local time, Israeli forces unleashed intense bombardments that killed nearly 100 people and injured hundreds more, health officials said.
At least 98 people were killed by Israeli strikes on Thursday, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, before the ceasefire went into effect. The deal for a 10-day pause in strikes was announced by President Donald Trump that same day. Trump said that he is dispatching Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to broker a deal between Israel and Lebanon for a “Lasting PEACE.”
This brings the total death toll from Israel’s latest escalation, which began March 2, to 2,294, including 177 children, according to the Lebanese health ministry — roughly 50 people per day. Israeli attacks have also wounded 7,185 people, the ministry said on Friday.
The Lebanon deal is key to the U.S. and Iran’s ceasefire negotiations, with the current two-week pause in that war ending on April 22. Iranian officials have said that the inclusion of Lebanon and other Middle East states in a ceasefire is a key demand for them.
Trump, aware of this stance, drew a line on Lebanon on Friday. “Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A.,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
However, reports said that Trump had, himself, agreed to including Lebanon in the original ceasefire agreement with Iran, but later lied about its inclusion when Israel launched intense bombardments on the country just after the pause went into effect. Those strikes killed more than 300 people in a flurry of bombs dropped over the course of just 10 minutes.
Israel is notorious for violating ceasefire deals, as it is currently doing on a daily basis in Gaza. Indeed, the Lebanese military reported on Friday that it had already recorded several violations by Israeli forces, and has warned residents attempting to return to their homes in southern Lebanon to “exercise caution.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, pledged that Israeli troops will remain in a “security zone” in southern Lebanon despite the ceasefire, entrenching military occupation there as fears grow that Israel is planning for another permanent military occupation of the region.
The deal also appears to grant Israel wide latitude to resume attacks whenever officials deem it necessary. According to the agreement, which was posted online by the U.S. Department of State, the agreement says that Israel “shall preserve its right to take all necessary measures in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”
“This shall not be impeded by the cessation of hostilities,” the agreement says.
Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering international affairs, politics, and labour
