Israel on Wednesday said it would support and abide by the two-week truce declared with Iran by US President Donald Trump, but vowed to push ahead with its offensive against the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

Following the announcement, opposition leaders assailed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that he had failed to secure Israel’s stated strategic goals as part of the ceasefire. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu was responsible for Israel’s worst-ever “diplomatic disaster,” and that the strategic damage would take years to correct.

Trump had threatened that the US would strike key civilian infrastructure and “a whole civilization will die” in Iran if the Islamic Republic failed to open the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday evening. Some 90 minutes before the deadline, Trump said that, following conversations with Pakistani leaders, he had agreed “to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran” for two weeks if Iran immediately reopens the strait.

Ten minutes before the deadline, which fell at 3 a.m. on Wednesday in Israel, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.”

Some three hours later, in a statement released only in English, Netanyahu’s office said: “Israel supports President Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the US, Israel and countries in the region.”

“Israel also supports the US effort to ensure that Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors and the world,” the statement continued. “The United States has told Israel that it is committed to achieving these goals, shared by the US, Israel and Israel’s regional allies, in the upcoming negotiations.”

“The two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon,” said the statement.

On Wednesday morning, the IDF confirmed that it had halted strikes on Iran, and also said it was continuing to hit Hezbollah, even as three Lebanese sources close to Hezbollah told Reuters that the Iran-backed terror group had halted its fire on northern Israel and IDF troops as part of the accord.

“In accordance with directives from the political echelon, the IDF has ceased fire in the campaign against Iran and remains on high alert in defense, ready to respond to any violation,” the military........

© The Times of Israel