Ceasefire on paper: Israel bombs Lebanon, Hezbollah…

Ceasefire on paper: Israel bombs Lebanon, Hezbollah responds with rockets, and Hormuz shuts down again

09.04.2026 13:00 HotInfo

The two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, agreed on Wednesday, is facing collapse. While both sides were still negotiating the terms, Israel launched one of the largest military operations of the war — this time in Lebanon. Refresher.sk ↗

A series of coordinated strikes hit Beirut, including residential neighborhoods, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon. According to Lebanon's Ministry of Health, the attacks claimed, depending on the source, between 89 and over 250 victims and hundreds of wounded. The Israeli army claims that one of the strikes in Beirut killed the personal secretary of Hezbollah's leader. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened on Thursday to continue the attacks. Aktuality.sk ↗ HNonline.sk ↗

Hezbollah, which had initially suspended attacks after the ceasefire was declared, responded on Thursday morning with a barrage of rockets on northern Israel. "We upheld the peace, the enemy did not," the movement said in a statement. Hezbollah described its fire as retaliation and reserved the right to further attacks. Aktuality.sk ↗

The core of the problem lies in the interpretation of the agreement. US Vice President J. D. Vance said that "the US never promised that Lebanon would be part of the deal" and that there had been a misunderstanding. Trump described the attacks on Lebanon as a "separate skirmish" outside the framework of the ceasefire. Israel is thus continuing its operations without formally violating the agreement with Iran. TASR ↗

Iran and its allies see it differently. The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ghalibaf, declared that three agreed-upon points had been violated since the ceasefire was concluded. In response to the Israeli attacks, Iran once again closed the Strait of Hormuz — the critical maritime route through which a fifth of the world's oil flows. The American side denied the closure, but according to shipping data, the strait remains practically impassable. SITA ↗ Startitup.sk ↗

There are thus three parallel interpretations of the situation. The US and Israel claim that Lebanon was not part of the agreement. Iran and Hezbollah claim that Israel is violating the terms. The international community is trying to prevent a collapse. UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the Israeli attacks as a serious risk to the entire peace process. SITA ↗

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the Israeli strikes and called for the ceasefire to also apply to Lebanon. Britain joined in — British ministers are pushing for a lasting peace that includes Beirut and a safe Strait of Hormuz. The EU's chief diplomat warned that the Israeli strikes are jeopardizing the entire ceasefire between the US and Iran. Aktuality.sk ↗ Aktuality.sk ↗

Lebanon has declared a day of mourning. The Red Cross expressed outrage at the scale of the casualties, and the UN is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe. The situation reveals the limits of an agreement that does not include all parties to the conflict — Iran agreed to the ceasefire, but its main ally, Hezbollah, and its main adversary, Israel, continue to attack each other. Aktuality.sk ↗ SITA ↗