Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill 47 as Israel says four soldiers killed by Hezbollah

At least 47 people have been killed in Lebanon following a series of Israeli air strikes, the country's health ministry has said - while the Israeli military says four of its soldiers were also killed. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had struck 80 targets linked to the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah and killed "dozens" of its members. The strikes come a day after the US and Iran signed a deal aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East, including a permanent cessation of hostilities in Lebanon. Both Israel and Hezbollah have carried out strikes against each other since the deal was announced, but on Friday afternoon a US official confirmed an immediate ceasefire between the two had been agreed. Prior to the news of the ceasefire, Israel had said it had no intention of withdrawing its forces from Lebanon and had insisted that its conflict with Hezbollah was separate from the war on Iran. But the IDF also confirmed that a ceasefire was in effect on Friday afternoon. Prior to that, Lebanon's health ministry said that as well as the 47 people killed in the country, 97 people had also been wounded by Israeli air strikes. In the Nabatieh district, in south Lebanon, nine pe