ā¢ Donald Trump announced a major ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon while signaling progress toward a potential nuclear deal with Iran.
ā¢ The development represents a significant diplomatic initiative amid broader Middle East tensions and ongoing US-Iran negotiations.
ā¢ The ceasefire comes as regional dynamics continue to shift with multiple diplomatic channels active simultaneously.
AntĆ³nio Guterres welcomes truce and says through spokesperson he hopes halt in fighting will āpave the way for negotiationsāHello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.United Nations chief AntĆ³nio Guterres has welcomed the ceasefire announced on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon, urging āall actorsā to fully respect the truce.A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect, pausing fighting in a devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 2,100 Lebanese people and displaced more than 2.1 million. The agreement was announced earlier by Donald Trump, who said he had spoken with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, and invited both leaders āfor meaningful talksā at the White House. Both leaders welcomed the agreement. But how long the ceasefire will hold is the key question, as both Israel and Hezbollah have maintained their right to defend themselves if the truce is broken. Hereās our report.Netanyahu called it a āhistoricā opportunity for peace, though he refused to withdraw his troops from southern Lebanon during the pause in fighting. āWe are remaining in Lebanon in an expanded security zone,ā he said, due to the ādanger of an invasionā and to prevent fire into Israel. āThat is where we are, and we are not leaving.ā The Israeli prime minister maintained that his key demand was dismantling Hezbollah. He has previously declared his intention to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River ā about 30km from the border ā while Lebanon demands the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and for displaced residents to be able to return to their homes.Iranās foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei welcomed the ceasefire and stressed it was already part of the original Iran-US agreement brokered by Pakistan. Baghaei said Iran emphasised āfrom the outsetā the need for a āsimultaneous ceasefire throughout the region, including Lebanonā, and expressed his āsolidarityā with the people and government of Lebanon. He called for the return of displaced residents to their homes and emphasised the necessity of the ācomplete withdrawalā of Israeli forces from the south of the country ā which, as mentioned, Israel has refused to do.The Lebanese army urged residents to āexercise restraintā in returning to their villages and towns in southern Lebanon ahead of the ceasefire coming into effect. The army added that even then residents should avoid areas that remain occupied by Israeli forces. It was followed by a similar statement issued by Hezbollah, urging caution amid Israelās history of ābreaking covenants and agreementsā.The Israeli military issued an urgent warning to the people of southern Lebanon not to return south of the Litani River despite the ceasefire coming into force.In the hours before the truce took effect, Israel and Hezbollah continued to exchange fire. Just as the ceasefire came into force, the Israeli military said it had hit more than 380 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, including rocket launchers, headquarters and Hezbollah members themselves. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on Lebanese towns and villages killed dozens of people, including an attack on the town of Ghazieh which killed at least seven people and wounded 33, the health ministry said on Thursday. Continue reading...
Lebanese health ministry says killing of 91 healthcare workers shows ātotal disregardā for international lawMiddle East crisis ā live updatesWhen they received the call to respond to an Israeli airstrike in the city of Mayfadoun, in southern Lebanon, most of the paramedics held back, having previously seen colleagues killed by double-tap attacks targeting rescuers. But the medics from the Islamic Health Association (IHA) rushed to the scene.By the time the other emergency workers arrived at the site, they found the IHA medics had indeed been caught in a second strike. They started evacuating their wounded colleagues, only for their ambulances to be hit in two further attacks. Continue reading...
New meeting to come after rare direct talks between the countries mediated by US; Netanyahu earlier says Israel about to āoverwhelmā part of southern LebanonUS and Iran in indirect talks to extend two-week ceasefireHello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.Donald Trump says the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will hold talks on Thursday, after the countriesā first face-to-face diplomatic negotiations in decades.Pakistanās army chief met with Iranās foreign minister in Tehran on Wednesday in the latest diplomatic move to ease Middle East tensions and arrange a second round of US-Iran negotiations. Trump said earlier that the war was āvery close to overā.Leavitt said a second round of US-Iran talks would āvery likelyā take place in Islamabad again and that Pakistan was āthe only mediatorā in the discussions.Major Wall Street stock indices extended an upward climb on optimism about a US-Iran agreement.Israelās security cabinet met to discuss a ceasefire after the Israel-Lebanon talks mediated by the US in Washington on Tuesday. But the Israeli military continues to strike the country, with Netanyahu saying Israel was about to āoverwhelmā the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, calling it a Hezbollah stronghold.Four Lebanese rescue workers were killed in consecutive Israeli strikes in the southern Lebanon village of Mayfadoun on Wednesday, paramedic groups said. Six others were wounded.The US militaryās Middle East command Centcom said it stopped 10 vessels from sailing out of Iranian ports during the first 48 hours of the US naval blockade. But ship tracking data indicated at least three ships sailing from Iranian ports crossed the strait of Hormuz, though some vessels taking the route later turned back.The finance ministers of 11 countries including the UK and Japan called for ācoordinated emergency supportā from the IMF and World Bank to help countries hit by disruptions from the Middle East war. Continue reading...
Hezbollah says it will not abide by agreements that result from the Lebanon-Israel talks in the US; Trump claims Iran wants to make a dealUS starts naval blockade of Iranian ports after deadline passesThe Lebanese militant group Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may result from direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the US, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official has said.Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollahās political council, spoke on the eve of talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US.Trump said the blockade would be on all Iranian ports along the strait from Monday onward. About 20% of the global oil and gas supply moved through this waterway before the war. Seafarers as well as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations received advisories indicating Trumpās blockade would apply to all ship traffic, regardless of the vesselās flag.Trump claimed that Iran wanted to reach a deal. He insisted the US would not agree to any deal that would permit Iran to have a nuclear weapon. āWe canāt let a country blackmail or extort the world,ā he said at a last-minute press conference at the White House on Monday.After receiving a McDonaldās delivery at the beginning of the presser, Trump invoked bellicose language in discussing Iran. āIran will not have a nuclear weapon, and weāre going to get the dust back. Weāll get it back, either weāll get it back from them, or weāll take it,ā he said. At one point, when questioned about some sort of prior ultimatum regarding Iran, Trump said: āI donāt want to comment on that but it wonāt be pleasant.āTalks are expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US. It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, will meet face-to-face in direct talks. Lebanese officials are looking to broker a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.There were reports indicating that US officials were continuing talks with Tehran. One official told CNN: āThere is continued engagement between the US and Iran and forward motion on trying to get an agreement.ā Meanwhile, some administration officials were having internal talks about how a second sit-down with Iranian officials might look, should the opportunity arise, CNN reported.Trump blasted Pope Leo XIV on social media in response to the pontiffās call for an end to the war. The president claimed the pope was trying to appease the āradical leftā. The pope said he had āno intention to debateā Trump over Iran but would continue to advocate for peace. US vice-president JD Vance urged the Vatican to āstick to matters of moralityā. Continue reading...
PM tells Guardian Australia Hezbollah should cease reprisals and confirms Australiaās military surveillance aircraft will remain in regionGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustraliaās prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has urged Israel to stop its attacks on Lebanon and raised concern over its intensified military campaign on Beirut and the countryās south after the ceasefire in the Middle East.Albanese also called on Hezbollah to cease attacks on Israel, reiterating his governmentās belief that the Middle East ceasefire must include Lebanon. The prime minister also confirmed Australiaās military surveillance aircraft would remain in the region for at least another month beyond its initial deployment. Continue reading...
Call comes on same day former prime minister Tony Abbott said Australia should send troops to fight alongside US forces in the Middle EastFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Greens want the federal government to put direct pressure on Israel to stop its deadly strikes on Lebanon, including cancelling weapons contracts to protest against the ādisastrous, illegal, immoral warā.Prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, have insisted southern Lebanon should be included in the fledgling ceasefire agreement negotiated between the US and Iran in recent days. Continue reading...
In article for Guardian, PM also calls for Iran conflict to become watershed moment for future UK securityIsraelās continued attacks on Lebanon āshouldnāt be happeningā, Keir Starmer has said on his visit to the Middle East, as he called for the Iran conflict to become a watershed moment for the future security of the UK.In an article for the Guardian, the prime minister said the UKās response to the crisis must involve a fundamental reset in terms of making the country more resilient, including by boosting defence and having closer links to Europe. Continue reading...
ā¢ US President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on April 8, 2026, ending 38 days of intense conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran involving major military exchanges.
ā¢ Iran maintained leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy route, while the US pushed Iran to negotiations based on Tehran's 10-point framework against Washington's 15-point demands on nuclear activity and regional influence.
ā¢ Israel rejected parts of the ceasefire scope and continued operations in Lebanon, prompting Iran to warn of withdrawal if attacks persist, highlighting the truce's precarious nature amid high regional tensions.
Strikes that killed more than 200 people spark outrage amid global efforts to salvage truceMiddle East crisis ā live updatesIsraelās devastating bombardment of Lebanon in the hours after a US-Iranian ceasefire was announced has been widely condemned amid global efforts to salvage the truce.More than 200 people were killed by Israeli bombing including strikes with heavy munitions on densely populated areas, which drew outrage from the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international humanitarian organisations. Continue reading...
Israel claims attacks on densely populated residential areas that killed more than 200 people were aimed at Hezbollah membersMiddle East crisis ā live updatesWhat was the point of Israelās surprise mass strikes on Lebanon that killed more than 200 people and drew widespread international condemnation?Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials have claimed the largest strike against Hezbollah during the month-long war against Iran was carefully aimed at members of the armed group, but the attacks appeared to be as much a piece of violent spectacle to benefit Netanyahu as militarily useful. Continue reading...
Iran and mediator Pakistan assert ceasefire included Lebanon but Israel and US disagree. Plus, how Korean fried chicken took over the worldGood morning.The fate of the two-week ceasefire in the Iran conflict looked in peril as both sides gave divergent versions of what had been agreed, Israel intensified its bombing campaign in Lebanon and Iran halted the passage of oil tankers because of an alleged Israeli ceasefire breach.What has Iran said? In a sharply worded statement, Iranās parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Israel and the US had violated several clauses of the provisional ceasefire, and he decried Israelās aggressive bombing of Lebanon and a US demand that Iran should have no right to enrich its own uranium.This is a developing story. Follow our liveblog here.What was said in the video about Mamdani? The videos feature the organizationās founder, Yisrael Yaacob Ben Avraham, describing Mamdani as a āMuslim terroristā and a ācancerā, and his election as a āharbingerā of āa creeping Islamic takeover of Americaā. Continue reading...
As Israel attacks on Lebanon continue, Abbas Araghchi points to announcement that says ceasefire includes Lebanon while JD Vance says US never promised thatMiddle East ceasefire in serious doubt as Israel assaults Lebanon and Iran blocks oil tankersWill shipping in the strait of Hormuz ā and oil prices ā return to normal?Independent analysts say they have observed no change in traffic through the strait of Hormuz. Thatās despite claims from the White House on Wednesday there had been an uptick in the number of ships transiting the strategic waterway since a US-announced ceasefire with Iran.Windward, a maritime intelligence firm that tracks international shipping, said only 11 vessels transited the strait on Wednesday ā about the same number from prior days.Iran announced alternative routes for ships travelling through the strait of Hormuz, citing the risk of sea mines in the main zone of the vital waterway. The statement shared instructions for an alternative entry and exit route through the strait.The Trump administration on Wednesday stated Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire deal, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claiming āthat has been relayed to all partiesā.The US vice-president, JD Vance, also told reporters in Budapest that the US never promised to include Lebanon in the ceasefire, and that Iran may have been under that impression due to a āmisunderstandingā. Israel announced on Wednesday it did not consider Lebanon covered by the Iran-US truce.Karoline Leavitt also dismissed āmisreportingā that Trump is working from the original 10-point plan put forward by Tehran. She said the 10-point plan presented in public by Iran was āliterally thrown in the garbageā by Trump ā despite the fact Trump said on Truth Social that the US received a 10-point proposal from Iran that is believed to be a āworkable basis on which to negotiateā. Leavitt claimed Iran actually put forward a āmore reasonable and entirely different and condensed plan to the presidentā.French president Emmanuel Macron said he has urged his US and Iranian counterparts, Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian, to include Lebanon in the ceasefire reached with Iran. Australiaās foreign minister has urged the same.Donald Trump vented his frustration with Nato during a private meeting with its secretary-general, Mark Rutte, as relations in the alliance reached a crisis point. āHe is clearly disappointed with many Nato allies, and I can see his point,ā Rutte said on CNN, after spending more than two hours at the White House. āThis was a very frank, very open discussion, but also a discussion between two good friends.āSir Keir Starmer will continue his tour of the Middle East on Thursday after he met with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, as part of ongoing talks with allies to give shipping the āconfidenceā to pass through the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...
Inclusion of Lebanon is significant difference in interpretation of truce agreed at 11th hour on TuesdayMiddle East crisis ā live updatesThe fate of the two-week ceasefire in the Iran conflict looked uncertain on Wednesday as both sides gave divergent versions of what had been agreed, Israel intensified its bombing campaign in Lebanon and Iran halted the passage of oil tankers because of an Israeli ceasefire ābreachā.Iran and Pakistan, which brokered the 11th-hour truce, both asserted that the ceasefire included Lebanon. Israelās prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, disagreed and Israeli forces unleashed their heaviest attack of the war so far on more than 100 targets in Beirut and across the country. Continue reading...
Israeli military announces further action against Hezbollah, contradicting statements from Pakistan and IranMiddle East crisis ā live updatesIsrael said its military operations in Lebanon would continue despite Donald Trumpās ceasefire announcement, with Israeli forces carrying out strikes and telling civilians in the south of the country to leave the areas they are targeting.The office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that Trumpās two-week pause ādoes not include Lebanonā amid reports of continued artillery and drone strikes, directly contradicting statements made by Iran and Pakistan, which has been mediating in the conflict. Continue reading...
Pakistanās PM had said the ceasefire would cover Lebanon; Iran says passage through the strait of Hormuz will be allowed for the next 2 weeks. Follow the latest newsUS and Iran agree to provisional ceasefire with Tehran saying it will reopen strait of HormuzIran war ceasefire announcement ā what we know so farIsrael supports Donald Trumpās decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but said the ceasefire does not include Lebanon, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahuās office said on Wednesday.The office said Israel backed the US move, provided Tehran immediately opens the strait of Hormuz and stops attacks against the United States, Israel and countries in the region.Iranās Supreme National Security Council said it had conditionally accepted a two-week ceasefire if attacks agains Iran are halted.Iranās foreign minister said passage through the strait of Hormuz will be allowed for the next 2 weeks under Iranian military management.Iranian state media said negotiations with the US would be held in Islamabad to finalise details of an agreement, with the aim of āconfirming Iranās battlefield achievementsā. Talks will begin on Friday 10 April and may be extended, state media reported. State media also reported that talks with the US do not amount to the end of the war.Pakistani prime minister Shebaz Sharif announced that Iran, the US and their allies agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon. Sharif has been a key figure in attempting to reach a diplomatic solution between the two warring parties. In his statement, Sharif invited delegations to Islamabad on āFriday, 10th April 2026, to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputesā.Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli welcomed the ceasefire but said fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon was not part of it.Trump said Iran had proposed a āworkableā 10-point peace plan. According to Iranian state media, the ten-point proposal includes a number of conditions that the US has in the past rejected. Among them are controlled transit through strait of Hormuz coordinated with Iranian armed forces and withdrawal of all US forces from regional bases. The plan would also require the lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions, payment of full compensation to Iran and release of all frozen Iranian assets.Iranian state media also said the 10-point plan for securing an end to the war would require Washington to accept its uranium enrichment program, a previous red line for the Trump administration.Even as the ceasefire was proposed, missile alerts continued in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Israel. Continue reading...
Lebanese-French man Ali Cherri demands investigation into Beirut bombing as possible war crime against civiliansA Lebanese-French artist has filed a legal complaint in a Paris court about an Israeli bombing of his family home in Lebanon that killed his parents and a domestic worker, claiming the attack could constitute a war crime.The suit, filed with the French war crimes unit on Tuesday, is a rare instance of an individual pursuing war crimes charges for an Israeli bombing. It is also the first time a French court has taken a case over Israelās bombing of Lebanon. Continue reading...
Plans would prevent the return of hundreds of thousands of residentsMiddle East crisis live ā latest updatesIsrael said on Tuesday that it will occupy wide swathes of south Lebanon and destroy the homes along the border to prevent the return of some 600,000 residents, prompting concerns of long-term forced displacement.Israelās defence minister, Israel Katz, said that it will occupy the area under the Litani River, some 19 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border, as part of its so-called buffer zone inside southern Lebanon when fighting with Hezbollah ends. Continue reading...
Israeli military says primary target, killed in a missile strike far from the frontlines, was a Hezbollah āterroristāMiddle East crisis ā live updatesIsrael killed three journalists in south Lebanon on Saturday, their TV channels and authorities said, prompting condemnation from the Lebanese government who called the killings a āblatant war crimeā.Ali Shoeib, from the Hezbollah-owned al-Manar television station, Fatima Ftouni and her brother and cameraman Mohammed Ftouni from the pro-Hezbollah outlet al-Mayadeen, were killed in the strike targeting their car. Continue reading...
Human Rights Watch and others say they have documented use of weapon in civilian areas, which some argue is illegalWhen the M825-series 155mm artillery projectile airbursts, expelling its felt wedges containing white phosphorus, it leaves a distinctive knuckle-shaped plume. That is how Human Rights Watch (HRW) researchers said they were able to verify that Israel was again using the notorious weapon over south Lebanon, reigniting accusations that it is breaking the laws of war.The New York-based rights group said it had verified and geolocated eight images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions exploding over residential areas in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor in the opening days of Israelās assault during the war on Gaza. Continue reading...
Foreign minister reiterates condemnation of Iran over the strait of Hormuz, and says Australia does not want to see occupation of southern Lebanon by IsraelPenny Wong has told her Israeli counterpart that Australia supports Lebanonās sovereignty and does not want to see the southern part of the country occupied by Israel, after the Netanyahu government revealed plans to pursue a ādefensive bufferā against Iran-backed armed group, Hezbollah.It comes as Israel vowed to continue striking Iran, dimming hopes of de-escalation even as US president Donald Trump talked up the prospects of a deal to end the conflict. Continue reading...
Medics and officials say there is systematic use of double-tap strikes in campaign to make the south uninhabitableLebanese healthcare workers and officials say Israeli bombings have deliberately targeted medical workers and facilities in south Lebanon, including through the use of double-tap strikes, in what they describe as a systematic effort to make the area unlivable.Since the war began on 2 March, Israel has struck at least 128 medical facilities and ambulances across south Lebanon, killing 40 healthcare workers and wounding 107, according to the Lebanese ministry of health. The war started when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel, triggering an Israeli military campaign. Continue reading...
IDF is attempting to gain control of border towns, in particular the strategic hilltop city of KhiamMiddle East crisis live ā latest updatesIsrael and Hezbollah are engaged in intense ground clashes in at least three strategic areas in south Lebanon as Israel pushes on with its ground invasion of its neighbour, according to a Lebanese security source and residents of the affected towns.Much of the fighting was concentrated around the strategic hilltop city of Khiam, with the Israel Defense Forces carrying out an air and artillery campaign against Hezbollah fighters dug into the city. Fighting escalated there after days of clashes, with a Hezbollah spokesperson acknowledging there were āheightened clashesā on the eastern and northern outskirts of the city. Continue reading...
ā¢ Israel announces ground operations targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, escalating the multi-front conflict.
ā¢ Iran launches a new wave of drone and missile strikes across the Gulf, including damage to Iraq's Al-Rasheed Hotel and attacks on Kuwait and Qatar.
ā¢ U.S. President Trump receives regular options to end the Iran war, per sources, amid concerns of wider regional involvement.
Israeli defence minister says IDF instructed to destroy āterror infrastructureā in southern villagesIsraelās announcement on Monday of a ground campaign in new areas of southern Lebanon is fuelling fears of a prolonged occupation among hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese.Concerns intensified after Israelās defence minister, Israel Katz, drawing comparisons with Gaza, warned displaced Lebanese forced from their homes would not be allowed to return until the safety of Israelis near the border was guaranteed, remarks that appeared to suggest the presence of Israeli troops could become prolonged. Continue reading...
ā¢ The Israeli Defense Forces' 91st "Galilee" Division conducted raids in eastern southern Lebanon, killing several Hezbollah operatives as Israel prepares for potential ceasefire negotiations and discussions on Hezbollah's disarmament.
ā¢ Military operations are designed to reduce missile and drone fire toward Israel and continue systematic destruction of the Iranian regime's ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle infrastructure.
ā¢ The raids occur amid parallel diplomatic preparations for Lebanon ceasefire talks, signaling Israel's dual-track military and negotiation strategy in the broader regional conflict.
ā¢ Israel has expanded its ground operations in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah as the air campaign has already displaced more than one million people in the country.
ā¢ The escalating military operations mark a significant expansion of the conflict beyond direct Iran-Israel exchanges and represent humanitarian consequences of unprecedented scale in the region.
ā¢ The displacement crisis threatens to create a major humanitarian emergency while expanding the geographic scope of the conflict beyond the Iran-U.S. military confrontation.
The facility was attacked on Friday night, bringing the toll of medical staff to 31 killed in past 12 daysIsrael killed 12 medical workers in a strike on a medical centre in south Lebanon on Friday night, bringing the toll of healthcare staff killed in the country by Israel to 31 over the past 12 days.A primary healthcare facility in the town of Burj Qalaouiyah was struck by Israeli rockets late on Friday, setting it ablaze and causing the structure to collapse on top of the staff inside. The strike killed doctors, paramedics and nurses on duty, according to the Lebanese ministry of health, which said it āviolated all international humanitarian lawsā in a statement. Continue reading...
Lebanonās Health Ministry reported at least four people killed in an Israeli air strike on an apartment building in the southern city of Sidon on Saturday. The strike targeted areas amid ongoing operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. This contributes to Lebanon's worsening humanitarian crisis, with nearly 800 killed and 850,000 displaced since conflict intensified. Israel warns of continued strikes with no let-up expected.
Israel conducted air raids and sent ground troops into Lebanese border areas, breaching the 2024 ceasefire, in response to Hezbollah missile launches. Strikes targeted areas after the killing of Iranian leaders in prior US-Israeli actions. Hezbollah, backed by Iran, retaliated with missiles at Israel amid the broader regional war. The intensified conflict shows no signs of abating, with US Central Command confirming related operations.
