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Israel agreed to halt airstrikes on Iran upon a request from US President Donald Trump, but will continue its offensive in Lebanon “at full force,” a senior Israeli official said Monday, Anadolu reports.
“At Trump’s request, we are halting strikes on Iran,” the official said in statements carried by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
“We are continuing in Lebanon at full force according to the equation that if they fire toward the settlements – we will strike in Dahieh” in Beirut.
The official said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conversion with Trump over the phone “was overall good.”
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, citing an unnamed Israeli official, also said the army “will cease fire in Iran, but not in southern Lebanon.”
Iran’s military said early Monday it was halting attacks on Israel, warning of a “crushing” response if Israeli attacks against Lebanon continued.
READ: Netanyahu meets US legal delegation amid growing international scrutiny of Israel
Tensions escalated on Sunday, when Israel bombed the Lebanese capital Beirut, despite an ongoing ceasefire, prompting Iran to launch missiles at northern Israel in retaliation, with Israel launching several waves of airstrikes against Iran.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 3,600 people, injured over 11,000 others and displaced more than 1.6 million since March 2, according to Lebanese officials.
In a post on his Truth Social platform early Monday, Trump called on Israel and Iran to stop fighting “immediately” in the wake of their tit-for-tat airstrikes.
The region has been on edge since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran in late February, triggering Iranian retaliation on Israel and other regional countries hosting US assets.
A temporary ceasefire was reached on April 8, but negotiations later stalled amid disputes over its implementation and subsequent regional developments.
READ: Trump urges Tel Aviv, Tehran to halt fighting
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