Key Takeaways

• Hezbollah rejects ceasefire: Leader Naim Kassem called the U.S.-brokered Lebanon-Israel agreement “absurd, humiliating, and insulting.”
• Full Israeli withdrawal demanded: Kassem said Hezbollah will not halt attacks until Israel completely withdraws from Lebanon.
• Devastating rhetoric: The Hezbollah leader described the agreement as “a road map for the annihilation of a section of the Lebanese people and the enslavement of the rest.”
• Iran peace deal threatened: Tehran has made a Lebanon ceasefire a key precondition for any broader peace agreement with Washington.
• Israel continues operations: Defense Minister Israel Katz said operations to raze militant infrastructure in southern Lebanon would continue.
• Lebanese troops deploy: Lebanese forces moved into areas of intense fighting in southern Lebanon, per state media.
• Trump-Netanyahu rift reported: The WSJ says Trump and Israel’s PM are at odds over Israel’s push to strike Hezbollah positions in Beirut.
• Iran’s red line: Tehran threatened to abandon peace talks with Washington should Israel strike the Lebanese capital.
• Israel-Lebanon ceasefire status unclear: The actual state of the truce is mired in uncertainty given the conflicting actions on the ground.
• Brent eases Friday but weekly gain locked in: Oil is on pace for its first weekly gain in three weeks, supported by the Strait of Hormuz’s continued closure.
• Hormuz still choked: The strategic waterway has been effectively closed to tanker traffic for months, crimping global energy supply.

The Hezbollah militia rebuffed a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, casting fresh doubt around the possibility of an imminent U.S.-Iran peace deal.

Tehran — which is aligned with Hezbollah militants — has made a cessation of fighting in Lebanon a key demand in peace negotiations with Washington. The United States and Israel launched a joint assault on Iran in late February that has since spread to include other areas of the Middle East, including Lebanon.

Hezbollah’s Fiery Rejection

In a statement, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem described the U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel and Lebanon earlier this week as “absurd, humiliating, and insulting,” adding that Israel must fully withdraw from Lebanon before Hezbollah would halt its attacks, according to the Associated Press.

Kassem argued that the Israel-Lebanon agreement — which the U.S. State Department said was contingent upon Hezbollah stopping strikes on Israeli forces and withdrawing soldiers from the contested area of southern Lebanon — was a “road map for the annihilation of a section of the Lebanese people and the enslavement of the rest,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the AP, the Hezbollah announcement came as Israeli attacks killed at least four people. Lebanese troops moved into areas of southern Lebanon on Thursday that have been the scene of intense fighting for months, the AP said, citing state media.

Israel Presses On

Still, Israel has said it would carry on its offensive in southern Lebanon, with Defense Minister Israel Katz saying operations to raze what it describes as militant infrastructure would continue, the WSJ reported.

Trump and Netanyahu at Odds

All of these developments have left the actual status of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire mired in uncertainty. U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly been at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s push to attack Hezbollah positions in Beirut, the WSJ said. Iran has threatened to put a stop to peace discussions with Washington should Israel strike the Lebanese capital.

Oil Holds Weekly Gains

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, inched lower on Friday, but were on pace for their first weekly gain in three weeks. Oil prices have gained since the start of the Iran conflict, due largely to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic for months — crimping global energy supply flows.