Israel

Israel, Hezbollah exchange strikes despite ceasefire extension with Lebanon

The Israel Defence Forces said it carried out strikes on Hezbollah rocket launchers in the southern Lebanese towns of Yater and Kafra

Trump asks Iran to stop supporting Hezbollah; Israel, Lebanon hail US talks

US President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to "shoot and kill" Iranian small boats choking the Strait of Hormuz. In a social media post Thursday morning, he said the military is intensifying its mine clearing efforts in the critical waterway. The move intensified the U.S.-Iran standoff in the Persian Gulf and raised questions about efforts to end the war. Later Thursday, Trump said Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting Thursday was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries since last week. The initial 10-day ceasefire, which took effect last Friday, had been due to expire Monday. Meanwhile, the U.S. military said it seized another tanker Thursday associated with smuggling Iranian oil, the Majestic X, in the Indian Ocean, deepening confusion over efforts to end the war. The seizure comes after a day after Iran attacked three cargo ships in the Strait of ...

Israel and Lebanon agree to extend ceasefire by 3 weeks, says Trump

President Donald Trump says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday. Trump says the meeting between Israel's and Lebanon's ambassadors to the United States went "very well." The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries since last week. The initial 10-day ceasefire, which took effect last Friday, had been due to expire Monday.

Lebanon, Israel to resume direct talks in Washington to extend ceasefire

Lebanon and Israel were set to begin a second session of direct talks in Washington on Thursday to discuss the possibility of extending a truce between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and plans for future negotiations between the two neighbours with a long history of hostile relations. The meeting between Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad and her Israeli counterpart Yechiel Leiter is the second between the two diplomats, days after they held the first such direct talks between the two countries in three decades. Lebanon President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday that contacts are ongoing to extend the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect Friday. Hamadeh will put forward an extension of the ceasefire during the meeting and ask for an end to ongoing Israeli home demolitions in villages and towns occupied by Israel after the latest war broke out on March 2, Aoun said in comments released by his office. Preparations are ongoing for ...

Negotiations not weakness, country reclaimed its sovereignty: Lebanese prez

President Joseph Aoun on Friday struck a defiant tone in his first address since a US-brokered ceasefire took hold, saying he wants Lebanon to chart its own course after weeks of war between Israel and Hezbollah. The president said he wants to see Lebanon "flourishing, not committing suicide". He condemned Hezbollah's rocket fire into northern Israel that triggered the latest round of fighting, and criticised Iran's role in arming and backing the group. He framed both as violations of Lebanese sovereignty, and again vowed to disarm non-state groups, including Hezbollah. In a pointed response to Hezbollah's criticism of Lebanon's direct talks with Israel and claims that Beirut lacks leverage, Aoun said the country will make its own decisions and stand by demands shared across Lebanese society, not ones dictated by Iran or its allies. "There will be no concessions to any principle, no infringement of the sovereignty of this country," he said. Aoun also reiterated calls for Israel t

'Enough is enough': Trump says Israel barred from bombing Lebanon

"Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!" Trump said in a social media post

Trump yielded to Iran pressure, forced Netanyahu: Lebanese MP on ceasefire

Hassan, a member of the Loyalty to the Resistance, affiliated with Hezbollah, made these remarks while speaking in the Lebanese Parliament, according to Iranian state media Press TV

West Asia war: Trump may extend ceasefire with Iran amid Hormuz blockade

Donald Trump says Iran ceasefire may be extended as talks continue; he signals progress in negotiations and said he could visit Islamabad if a peace deal is signed

Lebanese army accuses Israel of violating ceasefire, urges caution in south

In a statement posted on X, the Lebanese army said several violations had been recorded since the ceasefire came into effect, warning civilians to remain cautious

10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire takes effect amid Hezbollah opposition

A 10-day ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump and agreed on by Lebanon and Israel started at midnight Thursday local time. The two neighbouring countries held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington after more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group. The truce, if it holds, could boost attempts to extend the ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel after weeks of devastating war that killed thousands of people and upended global markets by disrupting the flow of oil. Hezbollah started firing on Israel right after the start of the Iran war. It kept up attacks focused on northern Israel communities through Thursday night, with at least eight people injured including two seriously, according to Israel's emergency services. Air raid sirens were sounding in a few northern Israeli communities just minutes before the ceasefire was going into effect. Israel's military also said la

'Agreed to ceasefire to advance peace efforts with Lebanon': Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said he has agreed to a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon. In a video statement, Netanyahu said he was taking the step in an attempt "to advance" peace efforts with Lebanon. Israel and Lebanon opened negotiations this week in Washington aimed at forging a peace agreement. The Hezbollah militant group, which has been fighting Israel for six weeks, has said it opposes the dialogue. "We have an opportunity to make a historic peace agreement with Lebanon," Netanyahu said. Israel has staged a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, where its forces have been engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah in the border area. Hezbollah added that "Israeli occupation on our land grants Lebanon and its people the right to resist it, and this matter will be determined based on how developments unfold," a stance that could complicate the ceasefire. Netanyahu said Israeli troops will stay in an expanded security zone in southern Lebanon "much stronger,

Bid to ease tensions: Trump announces Israel-Lebanon talks, first in 34 yrs

The announcement signals a potential diplomatic breakthrough in a region marked by an increase in hostility and intermittent conflict between Israel and Lebanon

Hezbollah launches 39 military ops against Israeli targets in 24 hours

In a separate incident, at least four paramedics were killed, and six others were injured in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon's Mayfadoun

Israeli strikes kill 4 Lebanese medics as war with Hezbollah grinds on

The Israeli military on Wednesday killed four Lebanese rescue workers and wounded six others in three consecutive, targeted strikes, paramedic groups said, a stark illustration of the human cost of the Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon a day after it the two countries held historic talks in Washington. The back-to-back Israeli attacks on the southern village of Mayfadoun, near the bigger town of Nabatiyeh, hit the first group of medics responding to a distress call from wounded civilians, a second group trying to assist their wounded colleagues and a third group rushing to aid the first two teams that had been targeted. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strikes beyond saying it was "looking into" what happened. It has previously accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of using ambulances as cover for militant activities, without offering evidence. The Lebanese Health Ministry condemned the attacks as a "blatan

Children killed in Lebanon as Israeli-Hezbollah strikes hit homes

Jawad Younes, 11, and his cousins were playing soccer in the lot between their houses, as they often did. His little brother, 4-year-old Mehdi, had joined them but grew tired, so Jawad took him home and handed him off to their mother before returning to the game. Minutes later, an Israeli strike came. The target was Jawad's uncle's home. The blast shook neighbouring buildings and threw Jawad's siblings at home to the ground. As their mother, Malak Meslmani, scrambled to help them up, she could think only of Jawad. "I was pulling my children off the floor in the house, but as I was running to pick them up, I screamed, Jawad,'" she said. "My heart told me." Her son was instantly killed in the March 27 Israeli strike in Saksakieh. So was one of his cousins - so close they were more like brothers. Several other children were wounded. Jawad's uncle also was killed. He was an interior design engineer; Jawad wanted to be an engineer like him. Meslmani called him a civilian. But like many

First Israel-Lebanon talks productive, aim to start formal negotiations: US

The State Department says the first high-level meeting between Israel and Lebanon in decades was "productive" and will continue with the aim of launching direct negotiations. In a statement released after the two-hour session in Washington between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon to the United States, the department said, "All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue." Israel has been fighting Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and demands that the group, which opposed the talks and was not represented, be disarmed.

West Asia crisis: EAM Jaishankar speaks to Israeli, Australian counterparts

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday spoke to his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar and discussed various aspects of the West Asia crisis amid a US naval blockade of Iran's ports. The external affairs minister also held a phone conversation with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and exchanged views on the situation arising out of the war between Iran and the US-Israel combine. After his call with Jaishankar, Sa'ar said Iran's action harming freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz requires "action". "Had a telecon this afternoon with Israel FM @gidonsaar. Our discussion covered different aspects of the West Asia situation," Jaishankar said on social media. The phone conversation between the two foreign ministers came amid reports of efforts by the US and Iran to hold a fresh round of negotiations after the collapse of the initial dialogue in Islamabad. "We discussed Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and Lebanon. I said that the firm American stance in the ...

Lebanon, Israel hold first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington

Lebanon and Israel opened their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a "historic opportunity" and made it clear no breakthrough agreement was immediately expected. Rubio said the Trump administration is "very happy" to be facilitating the discussions, while noting that "we understand we're working against decades of history and complexities" that will not be quickly resolved. Hezbollah opposes the direct talks and was not represented, and the group appeared to step up its fire on northern Israel as the talks began. "But we can begin to move forward with a framework where something can happen, something very positive, something very permanent, so that the people of Lebanon can have the kind of future they deserve, and so that the people of Israel can live without fear," Rubio said. Rubio and US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike

US State Secy Marco Rubio likely to join Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington

The negotiations, set to take place at the United States Department of State, will also include US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and State Department counsellor Michael Needham

Daring rescue inside Iran: How the US brought a downed airman home | US-Iran war | Trump | Israel

A US fighter jet shot down over Iran. One airman rescued fast. The other vanished into the mountains. For over 24 hours, he stayed hidden - injured, alone, and being hunted.