Report: Beirut-Washington Contacts Produced Formula Halting Hezbollah Retaliation

A Lebanese diplomatic source said high level contacts between Beirut and Washington ended with a formula under which Israel suffices with the strikes it has already carried out, while Hezbollah refrains from responding to the killing of two of its senior commanders. The source said Lebanon's three presidencies then held intensive internal contacts that produced a commitment to calm. The IDF said Saturday's strike in Deir al-Zahrani killed Ali Muhammad Fakhr al-Din, a senior commander in Hezbollah's Badr regional division, in response to a Hezbollah explosive drone attack that seriously wounded three Israeli soldiers. No Israeli, American or Lebanese official has confirmed the reported understanding.