Hezbollah says it will comply with ceasefire as Israel keeps forces in south Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon — BEIRUT — Hezbollah announced it would abide by the ceasefire that took effect at 13:00 GMT (16:00 local time), according to Reuters. The group's sources said its side was implementing the agreement. The Israeli military said it retained "freedom of operation" against threats and that troops deployed in a buffer zone in southern Lebanon would remain in the area as long as Israelis faced a Hezbollah threat. An army spokesman told reporters the military would respect the agreements and act in line with Israeli command directives, including on questions about a possible strike on Beirut. Despite the truce, the Israeli military carried out airstrikes around Kfar Tebnit, bombed the Tuffah area and hit Nabatieh el-Fauka in the south, outside Israel's security zone, according to the same report. A senior U.S. official told Reuters that Israel and Hezbollah had reached agreement on a ceasefire in Lebanon as of 16:00 local time.