New Delhi, June 20 -- Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement agreed to a ceasefire on Friday, according to a US official, after a surge in violence in Lebanon put significant strain on the interim US-Iran agreement aimed at ending the broader conflict in the Middle East.

A senior Israeli official and two Hezbollah sources also confirmed the truce to Reuters. The US official said the ceasefire was scheduled to take effect at 4 pm (1300 GMT).

(This is a developing story. More to come)

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from MINT....