Lebanon attacks continue to rage despite Donald Trump's so-called Iran war peace deal

Lebanon attacks continue to rage despite Donald Trump's so-called Iran war peace deal As the Strait of Hormuz continues to be risky for foreign shipping, firefights break out in southern Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israeli troops in the latest hammer blows to Iran peace The killing in Lebanon has continued despite a US-Iran ceasefire, as Hezbollah’s leader issued a defiant outburst demanding Israeli troops leave his country. At least seven died in Israeli strikes on Hezbollah operatives and four Israeli soldiers, including two officers have been injured in attacks by the militants. Violence inside Lebanon contravenes US President Donald Trump’s memorandum of understanding which sets out a 60-day of peaceful negotiation. It also broke out as the Israeli Defence Force stormed the Ali Taher ridge, where a 30-strong force of Hezbollah fighters is holed up in an enormous tunnel complex. The IDF said it will “not allow Hezbollah terrorists to exit the underground tunnel network or operate in the area of the ridge”. Iran-backed Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem declared: “Iran was able to withstand the pressure and reach a memorandum of understanding - an official declaration of the defeat of America and Israel. “Israel has no option but to withdraw completely from every inch of our Lebanese land and stop the aggression. Israel must unconditionally.” It happened as Trump received repeated blows to his so-called Iran peace-deal, which has been riddled with chaos since talks began. The memorandum of understanding signed last week was supposed to include no-fighting in Lebanon after Iran insisted it was included in a bid to protect its Hezbollah proxy. But Israel claimed it must retain the right to defend itself against the threat from Hezbollah, and needed to keep a large ground force of troops in Lebanon. This was to create a buffer between Israel’s northern border communities and Hezbollah forces who have been driven miles inside the frontier. The United Nations paused the evacuation of about 11,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran attacked a cargo ship. The flare-up on Thursday from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) happened after they warned attempts to cross the strait along a route designated by the UN’s International Maritime Organisation would be "unacceptable and completely dangerous.” Singapore-flagged ship the Ever Lovely carried on, despite being hit by a missile and no injuries to the crew were reported. A number of vessels including eight South Korean ships have exited the maritime chokepoint the Strait of Hormuz because of the US-Iran ceasefire announced last week. So far between 40 and 60 ships in recent days have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway between Iran and Oman. Pre-war figures reveal about 140 ships were passing through until Trump started his war, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But in a statement carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, naval officials said the route was established without notice or coordination with Iran. It even warned: “The only authorised route for passing through the strait of Hormuz is the one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited. Violators will be dealt with.”