Had Milo been harmed, let alone killed, it would have been viewed as a strategic victory for Hezbollah, since he would have been the highest-ranked Israeli commander killed during the war.

By Steven Scheer, Maya Gebeily and Ahmed Elimam JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, June 4 (Reuters) - Israel will continue to strike Lebanon for the time being and won't be withdrawing from the south, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday,

The Lebanese militant group’s attacks have caught Israelis off guard, forcing its political and military leaders to scramble for solutions.

BBC correspondent John Sudworth reports from the Beirut stronghold of Hezbollah support, Dahieh.

Israel and the powerful Iranian-backed militant group have continued to trade attacks since an initial ceasefire deal in April. Hezbollah has not commented on the latest agreement.

Lebanon's president has said ‌a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreed the previous ​evening between the country and Israel could come into force within ​24 hours, according to local media, but militant group Hezbollah has not signed on as Israel's military vows to continue striking in the south of Lebanon.

In a joint statement released after a fourth round of U.S.-mediated talks at the State Department, the two sides said the ceasefire “is contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from areas south of the Litani River,

President Donald Trump said he "was a little bit perturbed" by Israel's frequent fighting with Lebanon.

The IDF says the mortars that struck a UN position in southern Lebanon, killing a peacekeeper, were launched by Hezbollah. Overnight, the IDF says, it identified several mortar launches “from the Qotrani area,