Key Points:

The conditional ceasefire that was supposed to halt the ongoing war between US and Iran turned out to be a moment of fragile peace. Hours after the deal, on 8th April, Israel launched its largest coordinated assault of the current war, striking more than 100 targets in under 10 minutes across Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon. The situation has since escalated, with Israel engaging in more regional attacks continuing in the early hours of thursday, 9th april.

Recent updates according to Lebanon's Civil Defense say that at least 254 people were killed and 1,165 others were wounded in air strikes that targeted areas in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, Mount Lebanon, Sidon, and several villages in southern Lebanon.

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The strikes raise serious concerns about efforts to mitigate the peace efforts in the region.

The ceasefire deal was brokered between the two nations yesterday on 8th April, with Pakistan acting as the mediator. The two-week deal involved halting the US and Israel backed military actions and the temporary re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran. However, the war has once again been reignited. After the Israeli strikes, Iran has once again closed the key shipping channel in retaliation.

A disagreement has arisen upon the supposed terms of the ceasefire deal. Iran had put forth a 10-point plan, detailing the terms of the ceasefire agreement. The agreement outlined that the USA and Israel were to end all attacks on Iran and its allies. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said a ceasefire in Lebanon was an essential condition of his country's agreement with the U.S. Also, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shared a post by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying that Lebanon was part of the agreement. However the US and Israel have taken an opposed stance and maintained that the ceasefire deal does not include Lebanon.

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Speaking to Al Jazeera, a senior Iranian official has strongly condemned the attack, emphasizing that Israel would be ‘punished’ for its ‘war’ crimes in Lebanon and the violation of the ceasefire deal. The official stated that the ceasefire applies to the wider region and accused Israel of repeatedly breaking commitments, adding that it would only be deterred by force.

Additionally, according to Iran’s Fars news agency, an unnamed military source has remarked that Tehran is well underway in preparing a response to Israel’s ‘breach of the ceasefire.’

In retaliation to the Israeli Airstrikes, militant group Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel. This was their first attack on Israel since the United States announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The Iran-backed group said in a statement that the rocket attacks were a response to Israel violating the ceasefire.

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