Iran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon a condition for any peace deal with Washington, and has suggested in recent days that it ‌could intervene directly in support of its proxy Hezbollah if Israel keeps up or escalates attacks there.

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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the ceasefire would come into force within 24 hours of all concerned parties approving it. However, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the Washington declaration, insisting "resistance will continue".

There was no immediate response from Israel, Lebanon or the U.S. to Qassem's remarks. Hezbollah is not a party to the U.S.-brokered agreement reached between Israel and the Lebanese government on Wednesday, but would be required to halt attacks.

Israel ​kept up strikes in southern Lebanon on Thursday and Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would not be withdrawing from the area or halting operations in the country, which they invaded in ​March in parallel with the war in Iran.


The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Quds Force — which established Hezbollah in 1982 — said "the minimum demand of the resistance" ⁠was Israel's withdrawal to positions it held before the war began.

"Our initial condition for accepting a ceasefire in the regional war was a ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon," a separate statement from the Guards said.

Israel must ​stop its attacks in Lebanon, evacuate the areas it occupies and retreat behind international borders, said the statement, carried by state media on Thursday.