Lebanon | News

• Ceasefire talks loom as Lebanese death toll in war nears 1,900 • Air raid sirens wail across northern Israel amid fresh rocket barrage • UN warns of looming food crisis as conflict sends prices soaring BEIRUT: An Israeli stri­ke on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh killed at least 13 State Security personnel on Friday, a source from the government agency said, as fierce cross-border fighting raged despite plans for ceasefire talks between the two countries. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said “enemy warplanes laun­ched a series of heavy strikes” on Nabatiyeh. One of the strikes hit the State Security office in the vicinity of the government complex. An AFP photographer at the site saw extensive damage and a fire still burning hours later. The attack comes as the Lebanese government prepares for negotiations with Israel next week to end a war that has killed nearly 1,900 people in Lebanon since it began in early March. Lebanon’s presidency said on Friday that a meeting would be held with Isra...

Impact sites were reported in several Israeli Lebanon-border towns, as a school was hit, causing damage, and a fire broke out in a packaging facility ■ Lebanon says at least 13 security personnel were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh

• Vows to support US, Iran in reaching a peaceful settlement • PM, army chief review mediation efforts, arrangements for talks • Israeli strikes in Lebanon threaten to derail negotiations • Iran says it was ready to retaliate before Pakistan intervened • Warns continued attacks could make talks ‘meaningless’ ISLAMABAD: Field Marshal Asim Munir calls on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.—APP ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday vowed to support Iran and the United States in reaching a peaceful settlement as Israeli strikes in Lebanon continued to weigh on the prospects of the upcoming dialogue, with Islamabad stepping up diplomatic engagement to keep a two-week ceasefire between Tehran and Washington from collapsing. The commitment came during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, where they reviewed the progress of Pakistan’s mediatory efforts and finalised arrangements for the talks. “They expressed satisfaction over the de-escala...

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he had ordered his ministers to begin direct talks with Lebanon, pushing for Hezbollah’s disarmament amid mounting concern that its ongoing strikes could cause the fragile US-Iran truce to unravel. A Lebanese government official told AFP shortly after Netanyahu’s announcement that Beirut “wants a ceasefire” declared before starting any negotiations with Israel, a day after deadly strikes across the country. At least 300 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the bombardment on Wednesday, the Lebanese health ministry said, while Hezbollah said it was engaged in close-quarters combat against Israeli forces on the ground on Thursday in the south Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil. Netanyahu’s order for direct negotiations with Lebanon’s government was focused on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peace, according to a statement from his office, but he offered no immediate respite from the bombardment. “Lebanon wants a ceasefire before starting nego...

The world was relieved on Wednesday when Pakistan mounted an overnight diplomatic push to secure a temporary ceasefire and bring Washington and Tehran into direct negotiations. Things, however, were different for Lebanon. Israel launched its heaviest and most coordinated air assault on Lebanon since its conflict with Hezbollah began on March 2 amid the Middle East war hours after the US-Iran truce, killing more than 250 people. The assault proceeded even as the Hezbollah paused its own attacks, abiding by what sources close to the group said it understood to be an inclusive truce. On the other hand, Israel and the US insisted that Lebanon was not part of the temporary ceasefire. But Iranian officials rejected that interpretation, saying partial ceasefires were unacceptable and warning of a “decisive response” if violations continued. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now said he has instructed Israel to begin peace talks with Lebanon that would also include the disarmament of Hezbollah. Lebanese P...

After the Israeli military said it carried out its largest wave of strikes in Lebanon yet, following the U.S.-Iran truce, and amid conflicting accounts over whether Lebanon is included, Iran's top officials said any agreement must include Lebanon and that Israel's attacks violate the cease-fire

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam held a phone call with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday, in which he sought Pakistan’s support for bringing an immediate end to Israeli attacks on his country, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The statement said that during the call, PM Shehbaz strongly condemned Israel’s ongoing aggression against Lebanon and expressed condolences over the loss of thousands of precious lives in these hostilities. “The prime minister said that Pakistan was engaged in sincere efforts for regional peace and it was in this spirit that the peace talks between Iran and the US were being convened,” it said. “While thanking PM Shehbaz for his peace efforts, the prime minister of Lebanon sought Pakistan’s support for bringing an immediate end to the attacks targeting Lebanon and its people,” the statement said, adding that both leaders agreed to remain in contact. PM Shehbaz also posted on X about the phone call, saying, “Grateful to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam who expressed...

Spain's foreign minister accused Israel of violating international law and the cease-fire during Wednesday's strikes, which killed over 200 people. France and the U.K. said that Lebanon must be included in the agreement with Iran, which also insisted on Lebanon's inclusion

Civil defense services reported over a thousand were wounded in the IDF's largest coordinated strike campaign since the start of the war. The Tasnim news agency reported Iran would withdraw from its cease-fire agreement if Israeli attacks on Lebanon continued

Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since the conflict with Hezbollah broke out last month, even as the Iran-aligned group paused attacks on northern Israel and Israeli troops in Lebanon under a two-week US-Iran ceasefire. Consecutive explosions shook Beirut, sending smoke billowing across the capital, as Israel’s military said it had launched the largest coordinated strike of the war. More than 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites were targeted in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, it said. The strikes killed 182 people and wounded 890 across the country, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has declared Thursday a national day of mourning after Israeli strikes shook the country. In Beirut, Reuters reporters saw people on motorcycles picking up wounded and transporting them to hospitals because there were not enough ambulances to get them in time. A group of firefighters worked to put out flames in a car park after one strike left more tha...

Touvel Yosef Lifshiz, 20, was killed fighting in southern Lebanon. Another five soldiers were wounded in the clash. With his death, the number of soldiers killed in Lebanon in the current war rose to 12

Iran warned it could withdraw from the cease-fire if Israeli strikes in Lebanon persist, amid uncertainty over the implications of Hezbollah's exclusion from the deal. Lebanese officials said a cease-fire might not be fully implemented as long as Israeli forces remained deployed in southern Lebanon

The IDF issued evacuation orders across southern Lebanon and Beirut as northern Israeli municipal heads urged the government to 'take advantage' of the Iran cease-fire and 'declare Lebanon the main front'

The army fears that if the U.S. continues its war against Iran, Israel will find it difficult to end the campaign in Lebanon alone, with reserve forces already overstretched. For now, IDF forces have halted 10 kilometers south of the Litani, aiming to prevent anti-tank fire into northern Israel

The epicenter of the earthquake was off the coast of Sidon in southern Lebanon, and while no casualties or damage were reported, a recent State Comptroller's report says that Israel is not prepared for a major earthquake incident

Coalition lawmakers, in an effort led by an MK from Netanyahu's Likud party, called for the 'full occupation' of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River and urged the security cabinet to reject the IDF's plans to establish only a narrow security strip

• UN official says Israeli forces destroy 17 surveillance cameras linked agency’s office in Naqura • Indonesia receives bodies of three peacekeepers slain by Israel BEIRUT: Israel’s military renewed its strikes on the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Saturday, severely damaging buildings and a major hospital, as international tensions escalated over the safety of United Nations peacekeepers caught in the crossfire. As Indonesia received the bodies of three of its UN peacekeepers killed while deployed in Lebanon, a UN security official told AFP that Israeli forces destroyed 17 surveillance cameras linked to the UNIFIL main headquarters in Naqura. The bodies of the three Indonesian men arrived in Jakarta on Saturday. Their flag-draped coffins were carried into an airport hall on the shoulders of uniformed comrades for a ceremony attended by President Prabowo Subianto. Family members wept over the coffins, each fronted by a photograph of the dead soldier in a gold frame. The fatalities occurred in two separate ...

With Trump's deadline set to expire, the U.S. is preparing for action on Iran, Israel's influence over Washington is waning and Iran has its own targets, too. Meanwhile, a quagmire with no exit strategy is emerging in Lebanon

Guy Ludar, 21, was killed in a friendly fire incident while arresting an operative linked to Hezbollah in south Lebanon. Another soldier was seriously wounded. With his death, the number of soldiers killed in Lebanon in the current war rose to 11

The officials added that a potential cease-fire in Iran should not be linked to a halt in fighting in Lebanon, which is expected to persist. The IDF aims to ensure that Hezbollah doesn't return to border villages, and whether it plans to raze all homes in the area remains unclear