BEIRUT, April 8 (Reuters) – Lebanon’s Hezbollah halted fire on northern Israel and on Israeli troops in Lebanon in the early hours of Wednesday as part of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire announced earlier, three Lebanese sources close to the group told Reuters.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key intermediary in ceasefire talks, said the two-week ceasefire would include Lebanon, where a new war between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel broke out on March 2.
Reuters reported last month that Iran wanted Lebanon included in any deal it made with the United States.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early on Wednesday the truce would not include Lebanon. Israel has issued a new evacuation order for one southern city, indicating it would strike there soon.
Iran-backed Hezbollah is likely to issue a statement outlining its formal position on the ceasefire and on Netanyahu’s assertion that Lebanon is not included, the three Lebanese sources said.
Hezbollah’s last public statement on its military activity was posted at 1 a.m. (2200 GMT Tuesday), saying it had targeted Israeli troops inside Lebanon on Tuesday evening.
More than 1,500 people have been killed in Israel’s air and ground campaign across Lebanon, including 130 children and more than 100 women.
Israel’s strikes and orders for people to leave swathes of the south, east and Beirut’s southern suburbs have displaced more than 1.2 million people.
Lebanon’s army on Wednesday urged displaced families to delay their return home, warning of ongoing Israeli attacks and the risks posed by unexploded ordnance.
(Reporting by Beirut bureau; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Kevin Liffey)
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