Middle East crisis live: Netanyahu confirms Israel has agreed to 10-day ceasefire with Lebanon

And Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally confirmed that he has agreed to the 10-day cease-fire with Lebanon to try to advance a peace accord with between the two countries.

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“We have the opportunity to make a historic deal with Lebanon,” Netanyahu said.

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The Israeli leader maintained that his key demand is that Hezbollah must be dismantled.

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We’ll bring you more on this as we get it.

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A senior Hezbollah source has told Al Jazeera Arabic that any ceasefire must not allow Israeli forces unrestricted movement in Lebanon – and that as long as Israeli forces remain on Lebanese territory, the country retains the right to resist.

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A ceasefire cannot include any freedom of movement for the enemy that would take us back to before March 2.

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As long as the occupation remains on our land, Lebanon and its people have the right to resist by all means to force it to withdraw.

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Donald Trump has said Israel and Lebanon will begin a 10-day ceasefire. In a post on Truth Social, he said he had spoken to the leaders of both countries today and claimed this would be the “tenth war” he has “solved”. Israel reportedly has no plans to withdraw its military from southern Lebanon during the ceasefire, it has been reported.

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In today’s edition of The Latest podcast, Lucy Hough speaks to senior international correspondent Julian Borger.

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We’ve yet to hear from Israel on the ceasefire announcement, after Donald Trump basically demanded a halt to fighting from Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Shortly before the ceasefire was announced by the US president, though, Netanyahu convened his security cabinet for an urgent discussion on the ceasefire, Reuters reported citing a cabinet source. Some reports suggest those on the call had only five minutes’ notice.

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I’ll bring you more on that – and any official comment from Israel on the ceasefire – as I get it.

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Meanwhile, as we reported earlier, Israeli military sources have indicated that Israel has no intention of withdrawing its troops from southern Lebanon, where it has destroyed civilian infrastructure and announced plans to occupy, during any pause in fighting.

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Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam has welcomed the ten-day ceasefire agreement with Israel, which he notes Lebanon has demanded since the outbreak of the war.

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Salam said the agreement was Lebanon’s “primary goal” in talks between Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors in Washington on Tuesday.

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He praised international efforts to secure the ceasefire, and said he hopes it will mean that Lebanon’s (1.2 million) displaced civilians will be able to return to their homes as soon as possible.

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  US president Donald Trump said on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to begin a 10-day ceasefire at 5pm EST, signalling a pause in Israel’s conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah that has raged in parallel to the war with Iran. Trump’s statement, posted on Truth Social, did not specify which day the ceasefire would begin but a US official said it would start on Thursday.

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  Israel has no plans to withdraw its military from southern Lebanon during the announced ten day ceasefire, it has been reported. An Israeli security official confirmed the position, according to Reuters.

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  Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the group had been briefed on a possible short-term ceasefire to start on Thursday night by Iran’s ambassador to Beirut. Fadlallah spoke to Reuters minutes before US president Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire would start at 5pm US eastern time.

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  Iran wants to hold the US and Israel accountable for the assassination of its leaders, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Ismail Baghaei, told Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency. “We must do this. And I believe that it is not only Iran, but the entire international community that is calling for those responsible to be held to account,” he said.

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  European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen welcomed on a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, announced by US president Donald Trump, and reiterated that Europe would continue to call for the respect of Lebanon’s territorial integrity. “I welcome the announced 10 day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, mediated by President Trump. This is a relief, as this conflict has already claimed far too many lives,” wrote von der Leyen on X.

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  German chancellor Friedrich Merz said he intends to discuss US participation in any potential mission to secure the strait of Hormuz in talks co-hosted by France and Britain. The video conference is scheduled for Friday, and the French president’s office has said it aims to bring together “non-belligerent countries” ready to contribute to a “purely defensive mission”.

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  More than 10,000 American troops are helping enforce the blockade on Iranian ports, and while no ships have yet been boarded, the US military said Thursday that it is warning Iran-linked ships that it could fire warning shots or escalate to other force if they try to outrun the Navy. Thirteen vessels have turned around rather than confront a naval blockade that began earlier this week, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon.

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  The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, has warned Iran to choose “between a bridge to the future and an abyss of isolation and destruction”, saying his country could strike harder if threats persist. Speaking at a memorial ceremony, Katz said targets not yet hit by Israel would be “even more painful”, according to Israeli media reports.

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  An Israeli airstrike has destroyed the last bridge connecting southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency. The Israeli military struck the Qasmiyeh Bridge over the Litani river, destroying it completely, the news agency reported.

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  Pope Leo XIV has said the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” who spend billions on war, in comments that will be seen as another sharp escalation in his almost week-long feud with the White House over the US-Israel war on Iran. The first American-born pontiff did not mention Donald Trump by name, but used his speech in Cameroon on Thursday to denounce world leaders who invoke religion to justify violence against other nations.

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Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the group had been briefed on a possible short-term ceasefire to start on Thursday night by Iran’s ambassador to Beirut.

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Fadlallah spoke to Reuters minutes before US president Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire would start at 5pm US eastern time.

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When asked whether Hezbollah would abide by a possible truce, Fadlallah said everything depended on Israel halting all forms of hostilities.

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US president Donald Trump has said Israel and Lebanon will begin a ten day ceasefire from 5pm EST.

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In a post on Truth Social, he said he had spoken to the leaders of both countries today and claimed this would be the “tenth war” he has “solved”.

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He wrote:

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I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel. These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST.

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On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin’ Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a Lasting PEACE.

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It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let’s, GET IT DONE!

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A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is expected to begin at 7pm local time today, according to IDF officials.

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High-ranking IDF commanders have been given orders to prepare forces currently deployed in southern Lebanon for the truce, Haaretz reports.

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They have been informed that the ceasefire would begin some time between 7pm and midnight.

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Hegseth says that the US is reloading “with more power than before” and says it is giving Iran the choice of doing things “the easy way or the hard way”.

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He says Iran’s energy industry is not destroyed “yet” and that threatening to shoot at commercial ships “is not control, it’s piracy”.

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The Pentagon chief adds:

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For as long as it takes, we will maintain the blockade.

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He is now attacking the “legacy, Trump-hating press” for not being patriotic enough for his liking…

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Hegseth and Dan Caine hold a briefing on the Iran war at the Pentagon”,”caption”:”Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine hold a briefing on the Iran war at the Pentagon”,”credit”:”Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1776341316000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”08.08 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1776343585000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”08.46 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1776341530000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”08.12 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”08.12″,”title”:”US to maintain blockade ‘for as long as it takes’, says Hegseth”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 16 Apr 2026 14.01 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Thu 16 Apr 2026 01.19 EDT”},{“id”:”69e0d0658f08259d93962a8b”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is speaking in DC this morning, warning Iran’s leadership that the US is “watching you”.

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“While you are digging out of bomb-hit facilities, we are only getting stronger,” he says. “You only have what you have – you know that and we know that.”

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Addressing the Iranian regime directly, he says they can “move things around” but that is exposing theirselves to the American’s “watchful eye”.

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“You like to say publicly, Iran, that you control the strait of Hormuz but you don’t have a navy,” Hegseth adds.

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The Lebanese presidency said Jospeh Aoun held a call with US secretary of state Marco Rubio.

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In a statement posted on social media, it said the Lebanese president thanked Rubio “for the efforts Washington is undertaking to reach a ceasefire and its support at all levels”.

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In turn, Rubio “affirmed his continuation of the ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire as a prelude to establishing peace, security, and stability in Lebanon”.

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The statement made no mention of any possible talks between Aoun and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, despite comments by Donald Trump that the leaders of Lebanon and Israel would speak today.

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Amid a feud with Donald Trump over the US’s war on Iran, Pope Leo has used a speech in Cameroon to decry leaders who use religion to justify wars.

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“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” said the pope, who is on a four-country tour of Africa.

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He made similar remarks last month when he said God ignores the prayers of leaders who wage war and have “hands full of blood”, which was widely interpreted as a veiled swipe at US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, who has used religious language and urged prayer in Jesus’s name for violence against enemies.

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On Sunday, Donald Trump took aim at the pope and called him “weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy” in a post on Truth Social. The US president’s comments have been widely condemned by Catholics and the international community, including Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni.

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In Cameroon, Pope Leo also criticised leaders who spend billions on wars. “They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.”

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The president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, has stressed the importance of a ceasefire before any direct negotiations with Israel but did not confirm reports of a possible talks with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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“The ceasefire that Lebanon is calling for with Israel will be the natural starting point for direct negotiations between the two countries,” he said in a statement posted on social media.

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“Lebanon is keen to de-escalate the situation in the south and across all Lebanese regions, so that the targeting of innocent and defenceless people—women, men and children—comes to an end, and the destruction of homes in Lebanese villages and towns ceases.”

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He added that negotiations would be conducted “solely by the Lebanese authorities”, the implication being that the Iran-backed Hezbollah group would not be involved.

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Aoun said the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory “is an essential step towards consolidating the ceasefire” and that it would enable the Lebanese army to redeploy to the two countries’ shared border.

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An Israeli airstrike has destroyed the last bridge connecting southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency.

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The Israeli military struck the Qasmiyeh Bridge over the Litani river, destroying it completely, the news agency reported.

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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not immediately commented on the report, but it targeted the bridge on 23 March after accusing Hezbollah of using it to move fighters and weapons into the country’s south.

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The IDF has issued repeated warnings in recent weeks to people in southern Lebanon to flee their homes and head north of the Zahrani river, which is located about 10 miles north of the Litani.

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men stood near a bridge destroyed in an airstrike.”,”caption”:”Members of the media at the site after an Israeli strike on the last remaining bridge in Qasmiyeh linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1776335502000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”06.31 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1776337009000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”06.56 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1776337010000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”06.56 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”06.56″,”title”:”Israel destroys last bridge connecting southern Lebanon to rest of country – report”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 16 Apr 2026 14.01 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Thu 16 Apr 2026 01.19 EDT”},{“id”:”69e0b0b38f08fbc58317e16e”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Lebanese TV channel Al Jadeed has reported that efforts are under way to arrange a call between Israel, Lebanon and the US.

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Citing diplomatic sources, Al Jadeed reported that mediators are attempting contact between Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, with US secretary of state Marco Rubio to also join the discussion. Rubio hosted the first talks in decades between Israeli and Lebanese officials in Washington on Tuesday.

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There has been no official confirmation of talks, although an Israeli minister told local media this morning that Netanyahu will speak to Aoun today. Lebanese officials however, have said privately that they were unaware of any such call.

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In a statement shared on social media, Aoun said the ceasefire that Lebanon is “demanding with Israel” will serve as a “natural entry point for direct negotiations between the two countries”. He did not address reports about a call with the Israeli prime minister.

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A member of Israel’s security cabinet, Galia Gamliel, said the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will speak to the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, today, according to Israeli media.

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The conversation will take place “after so many years of a total disconnect in the dialogue between the two states, and this move will hopefully, in the end, lead to prosperity”, she told the Israeli Army Radio, the Times of Israel reported.

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Several media outlets, however, have reported Lebanese officials as saying they were unaware of any contact or meeting with Israel.

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The military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader warned that Tehran would sink American ships in the strait of Hormuz if the US decided to “police” the narrow waterway.

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Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who was named as a military adviser by Mojtaba Khamenei last month, also threatened to take American soldiers hostage if they came ashore and “demand one billion dollars for each captive”.

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“[Donald] Trump wants to become the police of the strait of Hormuz, but we will under no circumstances back down from our ten conditions in the short negotiations over a maritime blockade,” he told state TV last night, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

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“Extending the ceasefire is not in our favour at all; this is my personal opinion. The pressures must be intensified, Our launchers are now locked onto the ships and we will sink them all.

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“A ceasefire will only have meaning when all our agreements and rights have been met and a statement has been submitted to the security council [of Iran].”

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The US blockade of ships using Iranian ports in the Gulf came into effect on Monday evening as a counter to Iran’s near-total closure of the strait of Hormuz since the start of the war. The US Central Command (Centcom) said it stopped 10 vessels from sailing out of Iranian ports during the first 48 hours of the blockade, but ship tracking data indicated at least three ships sailing from Iranian ports crossed the strait of Hormuz, though some vessels later turned back.

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Some news outlets have reported Lebanese officials as saying they were unaware of any contact or meeting with Israel, after Donald Trump said on social media that Israeli and Lebanese leaders would speak to each other today.

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AFP news agency reported an official source in Lebanon saying: “We are not aware of any planned contact with the Israeli side, and we have not been informed of any through official channels.”

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Al Jazeera also reported an official source in Lebanon saying “there is no information” about a possible phone conversation between Lebanese and Israeli leaders or a second meeting between their ambassadors in Washington following Tuesday’s talks.

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In a Truth Social post, the US president said Israeli and Lebanese leaders will hold talks, but he did not provide any other details and it was not clear if he meant the countries’ heads of state or other officials. There has been no official confirmation of a meeting from Israel or Lebanon.

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This morning the Israeli military issued another order telling people in southern Lebanon to flee the area due to “ongoing” airstrikes against what it described as Hezbollah targets, in its second such warning in 24 hours.

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Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic language spokesperson, have told people south of the Zahrani river to flee their homes, saying: The airstrikes are ongoing as the IDF operates with great force in the area.”

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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.

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Donald Trump says the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will hold talks on Thursday, after the countries’ first face-to-face diplomatic negotiations in decades.

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“Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon,” the US president posted on Truth Social on Wednesday. “It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow.”

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Trump did not say who would be involved or give more detail. The Financial Times said a ceasefire could be announced soon, citing Lebanese officials.

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Reports earlier said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was weighing a possible truce with Lebanon after pressure from Washington.

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Meanwhile, the White House denied reports the US had requested an extension to its ceasefire with Iran, set to expire next week. Talks between them were “productive and ongoing”, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, and the US “feels good about the prospects of a deal”.

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The US also announced it was tightening sanctions against Iran’s oil industry. Oil transport infrastructure would be targeted with sanctions on more than two dozen people, companies and ships that operated within the network of petroleum shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the Treasury department said.

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army vehicles and bulldozers operate in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.”,”caption”:”Israeli army vehicles and bulldozers operate in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

In other developments:

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  Pakistan’s army chief met with Iran’s 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 “very close to over”.

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  Leavitt said a second round of US-Iran talks would “very likely” take place in Islamabad again and that Pakistan was “the only mediator” in the discussions.

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  Major Wall Street stock indices extended an upward climb on optimism about a US-Iran agreement.

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  Israel’s 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 “overwhelm” the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, calling it a Hezbollah stronghold.

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  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.

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  The US military’s 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.

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  The finance ministers of 11 countries including the UK and Japan called for “coordinated emergency support” from the IMF and World Bank to help countries hit by disruptions from the Middle East war.

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