Lebanon

Hezbollah rejects US-brokered Israel-Lebanon security deal as 'surrender'

In the latest example of ongoing hostilities despite repeated ceasefires and agreements, Israel launched a drone strike in Lebanon's south on Saturday

Israel, Lebanon reach framework deal to end conflict, advance peace talks

Israel will maintain a "security zone" along the boundaries of the yellow line, which marks a seized territory that stretches some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) into Lebanon from the Israeli border

Israel, Lebanon sign framework deal with US in 'first step' toward peace

Secretary of State Marco Rubio along with Israel and Lebanon's ambassadors announced a framework agreement Friday that was described as a first step toward peace following months of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The officials did not share details on the agreement that was signed by Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, and Nada Hamadeh, ambassador of Lebanon to the United States.

Israel insists on troops in Lebanon; Rubio defends Iran deal in W Asia

Israel says troops will stay in southern Lebanon despite US-backed talks, complicating Iran-US peace efforts as disputes over nuclear inspections persist

Israel, Lebanon discuss plan for transfer of some land to Lebanese army

The Israeli officials said the Lebanese troops involved would undergo US training and vetting to ensure they are not linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah

US, Iran want a deal but uncertainty persists over Israeli intentions

Early progress in US-Iran talks offers hope for a deal, but tensions involving Israel, Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz could still derail negotiations

Trump threatens Iran with fresh strikes as Vance leads peace talks

Trump warned Iran of tougher US strikes if it fails to rein in Hezbollah, even as Washington pursues diplomatic talks with Tehran

US-Iran talks due Sunday, but Tehran closes Hormuz over Israeli strikes

Iran's joint military command said on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz has been closed again, citing Israeli attacks in Lebanon and US "bad faith" and "its clear breach of its commitments" by failing to end the war. The statement on state television also warned that "if the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned." Ships had begun transiting the strait after the interim US-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week. Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement. The persistent fighting threatened an interim agreement between the US and Iran to end the war in the Middle East.

At least five killed in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon despite ceasefire

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to the ceasefire on Friday following an escalation in hostilities in Lebanon

Trump says he urged Israel to back Hezbollah ceasefire, hails US-Iran MoU

Trump said he had been in contact with Israel earlier in the day and encouraged its leadership to support the ceasefire effort

Israeli military strikes southern Lebanon, killing at least 16 people

Israel's military said Friday its forces struck targets throughout southern Lebanon overnight as Hezbollah reported intense fighting in the area. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported at least 16 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes. The attacks came as planned talks in Switzerland between Iran and the United States over their efforts to reach a permanent end to the Iran war were delayed. Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon and its continued attacks on the Iranian-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah has been a key issue in the talks. Israel maintains it must continue to hold the territory and have a free hand to battle Hezbollah as it has been launching attacks into northern Israel. The talks being postponed trip comes after Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab satellite channel that is politically allied with Hezbollah, reported that Iran was delaying sending its delegation to Switzerland over ongoing Israel's military campaign in Lebanon.

End of war includes end of Israel's occupation of Lebanon: Iran foreign min

Iran's top diplomat said Tuesday that the deal ending the war with the United States would also require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, raising questions about the still-unpublished agreement and whether disagreement over its terms could prolong conflict. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told diplomats from other countries that Israel's continued occupation of southern Lebanon would violate the memorandum of understanding reached between the United States and Iran, in comments aired on Iranian state television. "The end of the war in Lebanon is an inseparable part of the complete end of the war," Araghchi said. "Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end." Araghchi said further Israeli attacks on Lebanon "will be considered by us a violation of the Memorandum of Understanding." The United States has not said whether Lebanon was part of the final agreement. But Araghchi's description clashes with

Israel will keep forces in Lebanon, despite US-Iran deal: Netanyahu

'The struggle has not ended,' a defiant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelis

Lebanon's sovereignty, security integral to ending war, says Iran

According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Baghaei, on Monday (local time) said that Iran's position on Lebanon has remained consistent throughout the negotiations

Won't withdraw from land seized in Lebanon, Gaza: Israeli defence min

Israel's defence minister said Monday that Israel won't withdraw from land seized in Lebanon as the interim deal between Iran and the United States is pending. Israel Katz's remarks were the first official Israeli comments after the announcement of the interim deal. The two sides plan to meet Friday in Geneva to sign it, Pakistan has said. Katz said Israel plans to stay "indefinitely" in lands it holds in Lebanon, as well as Syria and the Gaza Strip. Iran has tied the interim deal over the war to halting Israel's attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Katz also threatened that if Iran attacks Israel over Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Israel will strike Iran with "great force." Over the past two and a half years, Israel has taken control of areas in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria amounting to 1,000 square kilometres of territory - an area that is slightly smaller than New York City.

Israel strikes Beirut suburbs in the lead-up to anticipated US-Iran deal

The Israeli military said it launched strikes on Beirut on Sunday targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, despite ongoing efforts to negotiate an end to the US-Iran war. Smoke could be seen rising over the Lebanese capital. The strikes threatened to hamper negotiations over a deal, which in its current form is a deep disappointment to Israel's government. The last time Israel struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, it set off the most serious escalation of fighting between Iran and Israel since the tenuous ceasefire took hold April 7. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were in response to Hezbollah attacks on the north of the country. Israel's military said earlier in the day that Hezbollah had launched three projectiles into northern Israel, releasing footage where an audible boom was followed by a column of smoke rising above the tree line. An Associated Press photographer at the scene in Beirut said the building struck was a five-story apartment .

'Get back to table, make a deal': Trump asks Netanyahu not to strike Iran

Iran launched missiles at Israel on Monday, marking the first Iranian missile attack since the April 8 ceasefire

Israel strikes Beirut despite truce, Iranian lawmker threatens to retaliate

Israel's strike on Beirut's outskirts and Iran's retaliation threat have raised fresh doubts over efforts to secure a broader US-Iran peace agreement

Israeli airstrike kills Lebanese soldiers days after ceasefire deal

An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon Saturday killed several members of the Lebanese military, including a senior officer, the Lebanese army said, days after the two sides reached a new ceasefire deal. The airstrike on the road linking the city of Nabatiyeh with the town of Marjayoun occurred in the morning. The army did not give further details or release the names or ranks of the troops killed. Local TV stations reported that two members of the military were killed in the airstrike, including a brigadier general. The latest declared ceasefire came about through US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon's government, which accuses Hezbollah of dragging the country into war and had made efforts to disarm it before the latest hostilities. The Lebanese militant group has refused the truce. The war began on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, two days after Israel and the US began their attacks on Iran. Israel has since launched a ground invasion of Lebanon

Iran declares support for Hezbollah with wider peace deal in doubt

Tehran links any US-brokered peace deal to a Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, complicating regional truce efforts