US extends waiver allowing countries to buy Russian oil โ as it happened
This blog is now closed โ follow live coverage on our new blog
In case youโre just joining us, here are the latest developments in the Middle East to bring you up to speed. Itโs 9am in Beirut and Jerusalem, 9.30am in Tehran and 2am in Washington DC.
A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect, pausing fighting 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 โfor meaningful talksโ at the White House. Both leaders welcomed the agreement.
Israel and Hezbollah both maintained their right to defend themselves if the truce is broken โ hereโs our full report.
Netanyahu called the ceasefire a โhistoricโ opportunity for peace but refused to withdraw his troops from southern Lebanon during the pause in fighting. โWe are remaining in Lebanon in an expanded security zone,โ he said, due to the โdanger of an invasionโ and to prevent fire into Israel. โThat is where we are, and we are not leaving.โ
UN chief Antรณnio Guterres welcomed the ceasefire, which took effect at midnight on Thursday (2100 GMT) in Lebanon, and urged โall actorsโ to fully respect it. He hoped the halt in fighting would โpave the way for negotiationsโ.
The Lebanese army warned people displaced from southern Lebanon about returning home because of intermittent shelling that was reported after the ceasefire came into effect.
The Israeli military warned residents of southern Lebanon not to return south of the Litani River despite the truce.
Iranโs foreign ministry spokesperson welcomed the ceasefire and stressed it was already part of the original Iran-US agreement brokered by Pakistan.
Israel and Hezbollah continued to exchange fire in the hours before the truce took effect.
Continue reading...
ยฉ Photograph: Mohammed Aty/Reuters

ยฉ Photograph: Mohammed Aty/Reuters

ยฉ Photograph: Mohammed Aty/Reuters