Trump pushes Israel to hold back its assault on southern Lebanon
The US is again leaning on Israel to keep its attacks in southern Lebanon from wrecking peace talks, a story that's bad for Lebanese civilians and shaky for the ceasefire.
- A fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah is barely holding, with Israel still running near-daily strikes and demolitions inside Lebanon.
- After a hidden bomb killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded four, Israel hit a cemetery prayer room, killing one and wounding 11.
- The US stepped in to cap Israel's response and keep the talks in Rome from falling apart.
- Critics say the deal is one-sided — Hezbollah must stop firing while Israel keeps bombing — and that Israel never truly honored the truce.
Outlook: Expect more Israeli strikes and repeated US pressure to keep the Rome negotiations alive, but no real end to the fighting soon.