Lebanese hope for inclusion in US-Iran ceasefire

Lebanese in Beirut expressed on Wednesday (April 8) hope for inclusion in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the truce would not include Lebanon.

"There will be pressure on him (referring to Netanyahu), and hopefully a ceasefire will happen, because Lebanon can’t take it anymore," said Ahmed Harb, a resident of Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Others said Iran won't "abandon" Lebanon.

Reuters reported last month that Iran wanted Lebanon included in any deal it made with the United States.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it continues combat and ground operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah. It issued an evacuation warning for seven neighbourhoods in Beirut's southern suburbs ahead of a possible attack.

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.

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.

-Mahmoud Hassano, Hamuda Hassan, Dina Sakr/Reuters