Middle East crisis live: Israel to continue ground operation in southern Lebanon despite agreed ceasefire

Opening summary: Israel says fighting will continue in southern Lebanon despite new ceasefire agreement Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said the military will continue its ground operations in southern Lebanon, hours after Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a US-backed ceasefire to end hostilities. Katz said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will not withdraw from southern Lebanon , including Beaufort Castle, and the hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee their homes will not be able to return. “The IDF will, at this stage, continue its fire and ground operations, remain in the security zone in Lebanon up to the yellow line – including in the Beaufort area – and without the return of the population, while continuing to dismantle terrorist infrastructure on the ground,” he said in a statement. He added that the IDF retained the “freedom of action, with American backing, to strike in Beirut in response to fire on Israeli communities and territory”. The IDF also issued a warning this morning saying fighting will continue in southern Lebanon as it urged people to “refrain from heading south of the Zahrani River”. Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported several people were wounded in Israeli strikes in the southern Tyre and Nabatieh areas, which have seen repeated attacks in recent weeks. …