The fragile US-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon is teetering on the brink of collapse tonight after Iran issued a stark warning that it would walk away from the deal if Israeli airstrikes continued. The threat comes as Israeli jets pounded targets in southern Beirut and the Bekaa Valley for a third consecutive day, killing at least 14 people, including two children, according to Lebanese officials.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, told state media that Tehran viewed the escalation as a deliberate provocation intended to sabotage the ceasefire. “If the aggression does not stop immediately, we will no longer consider ourselves bound by any agreement,” he said. The warning sent a shiver through diplomatic circles in Washington and Tel Aviv, where officials had hoped the deal would de-escalate the region’s most volatile front since the 2006 war.
The ceasefire, announced just two weeks ago, had raised hopes of a lasting calm. It required Hezbollah to withdraw heavy weapons north of the Litani River and Israeli forces to halt overflights and ground incursions. But Israel has accused Hezbollah of violating the terms by rebuilding military infrastructure, and has responded with what the army calls “precision strikes” on weapons caches and command posts.
On the ground, the human cost is mounting. In the southern suburb of Dahieh, a stronghold of Hezbollah, rescuers dug through rubble of a collapsed apartment block. “We have nothing left. No home, no hope,” said Fatima, a mother of three who gave only her first name. “The Americans promised peace, but all we hear is bombs.”
The escalation has also drawn in regional powers. Saudi Arabia and Egypt called for restraint, while Qatar and Turkey condemned Israel’s strikes as disproportionate. For working families in Beirut, the crisis is a cruel déjà vu. The Lebanese pound has plunged to new lows, and bread prices have doubled in a week. “Ordinary people are trapped between rockets and inflation,” said Rami Khouri, a labour economist at the American University of Beirut. “The ceasefire was their only lifeline. Now it’s gone.”
The White House has so far remained silent on Iran’s threat, but sources say the Biden administration is scrambling to salvage the deal. A senior US official told reporters that “all options are on the table” to prevent a wider war. But with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under pressure from hardliners at home, the path to peace looks narrower than ever.
In the industrial towns of northern England, where many families have roots in Lebanon, the news is met with anxiety. “My cousin’s family are sheltering in a school in Tyre,” said Ahmed, a taxi driver in Bradford. “Every time the phone rings, I fear it’s the worst. The West doesn’t care about our lives. They just want to sell weapons.”
Tonight, as the bombs fall and the diplomats scramble, the question remains: can the ceasefire be saved? Or has the region lurched back into the abyss? For the millions of ordinary people caught in the crossfire, the answer will come in the sound of sirens or silence.
