Hezbollah rejected a ceasefire in Lebanon on Thursday shortly after it was announced, denting hopes for peace in the region.
Israel pounded southern Lebanon with strikes just before the truce — which was brokered by the US following Israel-Lebanon talks a day earlier — took effect, leading to a “grimly familiar” reality on the ground, The New York Times wrote.
A Beirut-based Carnegie expert called it a “performative ceasefire” with “all the packaging for a great declaration, but no commitment.” The fighting threatens to further imperil the US’ talks with Iran, which has pegged a peace deal to a ceasefire in Lebanon.