Israel continued its strikes on southern Lebanon on Sunday, even as a ceasefire with Hezbollah is set to be part of any potential US-Iran deal.
The deal, which was agreed in principle on Sunday, is reported to have a 60-day truce for further negotiations and to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Uncertainty remains over whether Israel could attempt to undermine any ceasefire by continuing its war on Lebanon. A truce deal was meant to stop the fighting between the two as part of a wider US-Iran ceasefire in April, but has seen daily violations by Israel since it began.
David Wood, Senior Analyst for Lebanon at the International Crisis Group, told The New Arab that in the face of Israel's desire for continued strikes against Hezbollah, "President Trump may need to personally pressure Israel to observe the truce fully."
Wood cautioned that some in Israel's leadership may hope to use Lebanon to force Iran to come to the aid of Hezbollah, due to Israeli attacks, and that the Israeli establishment is likely to make the case to the US for separating the wars in Lebanon and Israel to continue its strikes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already done so publicly, saying in a statement on X, that during a call with Trump, the president "also reaffirmed Israel's right to defend itself against threats on every front, including Lebanon."
Wood, however, said that "US leaders should remember that, on top of the war's dire humanitarian consequences, a continued, active conflict in Lebanon will always threaten to destabilise the wider region all over again."
Despite Netanyahu's statement, Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah MP, was quoted by Lebanon's National News Agency as saying that Iran has tied Lebanon into a deal, meaning that "the war will not stop only in Iran, but across the whole region, especially in Lebanon."
He reaffirmed that Iran stood with Hezbollah, and that the group endured "15 months of bloodshed and aggression." Continued fighting in the south despite a ceasefire Amid the statements about whether Lebanon is included in a potential deal, the NNA reported continued fighting in the south, with Israeli strikes targeting the village of Sajad, the town of al-Abbasiya, and the town of Tebnine, where two people were killed. Artillery shelling also struck Mansouri.
Strikes were also reported in the Bekaa, with the outskirts of Sohmur and the town of Labbaya targeted.
The Israeli military ordered the displacement of around a dozen villages in the south ahead of further airstrikes, following earlier displacement orders made throughout the week.
A strike on the town of Sir al-Gharbiyeh in Nabatiyeh on Saturday killed 11 people, including a child, and wounded another nine, Lebanon's health ministry announced on Sunday.
Hezbollah itself released a statement of its own military action against Israeli forces, saying it targeted Israeli vehicles near the Deir Siryan River with artillery and rocket fire.
Israeli soldiers in the town of Rshaf were also targeted in a rocket barrage, the group added.
Late on Saturday, Israel announced that a Hezbollah drone killed one Israeli soldier and wounded two others.
Since the start of the war on 2 March, Israel has killed at least 3,111 people and wounded 9,432 others, according to Lebanon's health ministry.