Israel to continue ceasefire talks amid intensifying conflict with Hezbollah, says Netanyahu

Israel will proceed with discussions on ceasefire proposals for Lebanon in the coming days, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday.

Netanyahu stated that Israeli teams met on Thursday to discuss the U.S.-backed ceasefire proposals and will continue the talks. “Our teams met to discuss the U.S. initiative and how we can advance the shared goal of returning people safely to their homes. We will continue those discussions in the coming days,” he said in a statement.

As air raids continue in Lebanon, the country’s Health Minister Firass Abiad reported that 25 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Friday alone. In one incident, nine members of a family, including four children, were killed in the border town of Shebaa, according to the town’s mayor, Mohammad Saab. The total number of casualties in Lebanon has surpassed 600 since Monday, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

“The shops behind us were hit,” said 13-year-old Syrian Abdallah Tawfik Al-Hamid, who was lying in a hospital bed in southern Lebanon after an airstrike. “The young boy who was with me was martyred, and I’m still alive.”

Hezbollah retaliated on Friday by launching rockets into Israel, targeting Kiryat Ata near Haifa and the city of Tiberias, claiming it was a response to Israeli strikes on Lebanese villages, cities, and civilians.

While Israel’s air defense systems have intercepted many of the rockets, Hezbollah’s attacks have disrupted daily life across northern Israel as more areas come under threat.

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the severest in over 18 years, is part of a broader regional spillover resulting from the war in Gaza.