Israel strikes Lebanon after US-Iran accord tests Netanyahu

Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under pressure from Washington just as the United States tries to hold together a new memorandum of understanding with Iran. The agreement matters for Israel because it commits the US and its allies to end military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera.

Netanyahu has avoided a public confrontation with US President Donald Trump over the deal, Al Jazeera reported. But Israeli political reactions and military action in Lebanon point to anger and concern in Israel over an accord reached without any apparent Israeli role.

Under the memorandum, the US would also back a $300bn reconstruction plan for Iran, according to Al Jazeera. The agreement says Washington and “its allies” will carry out an immediate and permanent halt to military operations, including in Lebanon.

Israel responded by striking Lebanon on Friday, killing at least 47 people, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health. Hezbollah killed four Israeli soldiers overnight, Al Jazeera reported, prompting far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to say that “all of Lebanon must burn.”

By Friday evening, a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was reported to have been agreed, likely after US pressure, according to Al Jazeera. The report said the US-Iran deal risked falling apart if the fighting continued.

Washington warning

US Vice President JD Vance publicly defended the deal on Thursday and directed unusually blunt remarks at Israeli critics, including figures in Netanyahu’s cabinet. “Donald J Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time,” Vance said, referring to Israel’s growing international isolation over the war in Gaza and attacks on neighboring countries.

Vance also appeared to address Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” he said.

Yossi Mekelberg of Chatham House told Al Jazeera he could not recall a US president or vice president speaking so openly and critically about Israel in such terms. Mekelberg also referred to Trump’s direct criticism of Netanyahu and Israel’s Lebanon strikes during the G7 meeting on Wednesday.

Netanyahu’s difficulty, Mekelberg said, is that he cannot afford a serious break with the US but may need to look as if he is resisting Washington to protect his domestic standing. Mekelberg said Netanyahu may try to delay a reckoning until after elections, while facing the risk that Hezbollah could exploit his vulnerability in northern Israel.

Israeli discontent

A television poll published Thursday found that only a small minority of Israelis believe the country won the war against Iran, according to Al Jazeera. Pollster and political analyst Dahlia Scheindlin said disappointment over the US-Iran memorandum is “very real and deep.”

Scheindlin told Al Jazeera that Israelis understand Netanyahu did not achieve the goals he had promised. She said many Israelis believe the war ended too soon, see Trump as acting in US interests and blame Netanyahu for becoming too dependent on him.

Ofer Cassif, a member of Israel’s parliament from the left-wing Hadash party, told Al Jazeera it was unclear whether Smotrich and Ben-Gvir were breaking from Netanyahu or reflecting his position. Cassif accused Netanyahu’s government of trying to obstruct the agreement while presenting its actions as security policy.

Netanyahu has used the threat from Iran as a central political theme since the 1990s, when he first argued that Tehran was close to building a nuclear weapon, according to Al Jazeera. Hezbollah’s rocket fire into northern Israel after the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, also became a major front for his government.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.