The days-old ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon appears to be largely holding, but some fighting is continuing.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said Monday that an Israeli strike killed one person in southern Lebanon, while the Lebanese military said another attack wounded a soldier in the eastern part of the country.
Israel said it has launched strikes against targets where it said militants were violating the truce.
On Monday, Hezbollah claimed its first attack since the truce took effect, targeting an Israeli position in Kfar Shouba, which is located in a disputed territory on the Lebanon-Israel border.
The Israeli army said Hezbollah launched two projectiles toward the area of Har Dov, Israel's term for the disputed Shebaa Farms.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed a "harsh response" to the Hezbollah rocket launch.
"We promised to act against any violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah — and that's exactly what we will do. Hezbollah's fire toward an [Israeli army] post on Mount Dov will be met with a harsh response," Katz said on X.
The latest fighting came days after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire, bringing a halt to 14 months of fighting that erupted following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hezbollah ally Hamas on Israel.
During its attack, Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. There are still about 100 hostages being held in Gaza, with about one-third believed to be dead.
Israeli officials announced Monday that Omer Neutra, an Israeli American soldier who was presumed captured in the 2023 attack, is now believed to have been killed.
The Israeli military did not detail what new information it may have to make the new determination.
In a statement, U.S. President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were “devastated and outraged” to learn of Neutra’s killing, saying he had visited with Neutra’s parents less than a month ago.
To the families of those still held hostage in Gaza, Biden said, “We see you. We are with you. And I will not stop working to bring your loved ones back home where they belong.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement that the country’s hearts are with Neutra’s family.
“We must fulfill the ultimate imperative: to return Omer and all our abducted men and women — the living to their families, and the fallen and murdered to be laid to rest,” Herzog said.
In its counteroffensive in Gaza, Israel has killed more than 44,400 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish in its death toll between civilians and combatants. Israel, without providing evidence, says it has killed more than 17,000 militants.
A top U.S. national security official said Sunday that a ceasefire in Gaza is now “more likely” following the ceasefire reached in Lebanon.
The U.S. and other negotiators “may have a chance” to end 14 months of fighting in Gaza, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” show but declined to make a prediction, “because we’ve come close before.”
Herzog said Sunday, "There are negotiations taking place behind the scenes, and it can be done.”
Sullivan told NBC’s “Meet the Press” show, “We are engaged deeply with the key players in the region, and there is activity even today. There will be further conversations and consultations, and our hope is that we can generate a ceasefire and hostage deal, but we're not there yet.”
Sullivan spoke after Hamas on Saturday released a videotape of one of the hostages, Israeli American Edan Alexander. Speaking under duress, Alexander blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, saying, "The prime minister is supposed to protect his soldiers and citizens, and you abandoned us.”
Sullivan said the video was “a cruel reminder of Hamas' brutality and of the fact that they are holding so many hostages from so many countries.”
Sullivan called the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire “a huge step forward in the Middle East … the opportunity for people to ultimately be able to return to their homes in Israel and in Lebanon.”
He said the United States, France and other allies “are going to work together with the Lebanese Armed Forces through a mechanism to ensure that the ceasefire is implemented effectively. Our goal is to get through these first few days, critical days, of a ceasefire when it's most fragile, have it take full hold, and then ultimately build on it so that it becomes the permanent ceasefire it's intended to be.”
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent much of the past year trying to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the remaining hostages. But the talks have been stalemated, with Israel rejecting Hamas' demand for a complete withdrawal from the territory, and Israel vowing that any vestige of Hamas control in the narrow territory along the Mediterranean Sea will be erased.
Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
