Hezbollah launches rockets at Israel, testing US-mediated truce

The Israeli military said it had intercepted rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel on Wednesday, while Lebanese security sources said an Israeli strike hit a car near Beirut, testing a US-mediated deal that aims to get the sides to curb attacks.

Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement it had fired a rocket salvo at an Israeli troop position in northern Israel, the first time it had announced a cross-border missile attack since Monday.

Lebanon has emerged as a focal point of the regional crisis this week, with the risk of further escalation looming over efforts to seal a deal between Iran and the United States. Tehran insists Israel halt Lebanon attacks under any agreement.

Hostilities have continued in southern Lebanon since the US-mediated agreement was announced on Monday, when President Donald Trump said he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to carry out a major raid on Beirut, and that Hezbollah, through intermediaries, had pledged not to attack Israel.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Israel would strike the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut if northern Israel was attacked.

The Israeli military said it had intercepted two rockets that crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon.

"Only the successful interception by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) prevented what could have been a deadly attack on civilians, including children," said Michael Leiter, Israel's ambassador to Washington, in a post on X.

He said Israel agreed to refrain from striking Beirut on condition that Hezbollah stopped attacking Israel and that Wednesday's attack had been a "blatant violation of that understanding".

However, Netanyahu later said Israel was checking if Hezbollah had fired into Israeli territory. "If that happens, we will obviously respond," he told CNBC.

Earlier, the Israeli military said it had intercepted a hostile aircraft that crossed into Israel, which a spokesperson said was likely a drone fired by Hezbollah.

Drone strikes

Lebanese security sources said Israeli drone strikes hit at least 10 vehicles on Wednesday, including one that hit a car on the main coastal highway in the Khalde area, several km (miles) south of Beirut, wounding two people.

It marked the closest attack to Beirut since Trump asked Israel not to hit the Lebanese capital.

Another Israeli strike, on the road near the coastal city of Tyre, killed six people, the Lebanese health ministry said, identifying them as four Syrians and two Palestinians.

An Israeli strike on an ambulance killed two medics in the town of Chehour, the health ministry said.

The Lebanese army said an Israeli airstrike killed a soldier as he travelled on a road in the south.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli military to Reuters' questions about the strikes.

Averting further escalation

Trump's diplomatic moves on Monday aimed to avert further escalation of the war that has raged since March 2, when Hezbollah opened fire in solidarity with Iran, which was under US-Israeli attack.

Iran has demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of any agreement with the US to end the wider war, and has suggested in recent days that it could intervene directly in support of Hezbollah if Israel keeps up or escalates attacks in Lebanon.

Iran's military on Monday warned residents of northern Israel they should flee if Israel attacked Beirut.

Israel pounded Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, early in the war but has carried out only two strikes there since Trump declared a Lebanon ceasefire in April.

Hezbollah said it had carried out 13 operations against Israeli forces on Tuesday in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops are occupying a self-declared security zone.

The Israeli military issued new warnings to residents of six villages and towns in southern Lebanon, telling them to leave their homes because it intended to act against Hezbollah.

More than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli attacks since March 2, including a total of 711 women, children and medics, Lebanon's health ministry says. Its data does not specify how many combatants are among the dead.

Israel says 26 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks since March.

Lebanese and Israeli government representatives met in Washington on Wednesday for a second consecutive day of talks, their fourth face-to-face encounter facilitated by the US since the war began.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday he hoped the meeting would "produce a joint statement and an action plan on a track for security in that country, independent from Hezbollah, independent from nefarious influence".

The Lebanese government is attending despite Hezbollah objections.