Middle East crisis live: Red Cross ‘outraged’ as Israeli strikes on Lebanon kill 254; Trump says US military to remain in region
Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran.
Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran.
The fragile two-week truce between the US and Iran was hanging in the balance on Thursday, with Tehran threatening to resume hostilities as Israel launched a major bombardment of Lebanon, killing at least 254 people, according to Lebanon’s Civil Defence.
As a result, the conditional opening of the strait of Hormuz is precariously placed. Iran is threatening to lock up the chokepoint if Israel keeps striking Lebanon. Just before 4am on Thursday, Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at northern Israel over “ceasefire violations”, reports said.
Washington and Tehran have both claimed victory in agreeing the ceasefire, but fractures emerged quickly as Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon – including in central Beirut – since Hezbollah joined the war in early March.
The UN rights chief, Volker Turk, called the scale of killing “horrific”, as Israeli bombarded Beirut without warning, triggering scenes of horror and panic. The Red Cross said it was “outraged by the devastating death and destruction” in densely populated areas across Lebanon.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned they would “fulfil our duty and deliver a response” if Israel did not cease its strikes there, while Hezbollah said it had a “right” to respond.
Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the country remained prepared to confront Iran if necessary, as it still had “objectives to complete”, with the military saying it continued to pursue the goal of “disarming” Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, also vowed that US forces remained at the ready if the conflict flared up again.
The belligerent rhetoric came ahead of high-stakes talks in Pakistan expected on Friday, where the reopening of the strait of Hormuz will be a main talking point.
Iran announced alternative routes for ships travelling through the strait of Hormuz, citing the risk of sea mines in the main zone of the vital waterway. The statement shared instructions for an alternative entry and exit route through the strait.
The Trump administration on Wednesday stated Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire deal, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claiming “that has been relayed to all parties”.
The US vice-president, JD Vance, also told reporters in Budapest that the US never promised to include Lebanon in the ceasefire, and that Iran may have been under that impression due to a “misunderstanding”. Israel announced on Wednesday it did not consider Lebanon covered by the Iran-US truce.
Karoline Leavitt also dismissed “misreporting” that Trump is working from the original 10-point plan put forward by Tehran. She said the 10-point plan presented in public by Iran was “literally thrown in the garbage” by Trump – despite the fact Trump said on Truth Social that the US received a 10-point proposal from Iran that is believed to be a “workable basis on which to negotiate”. Leavitt claimed Iran actually put forward a “more reasonable and entirely different and condensed plan to the president”.
French president Emmanuel Macron said he has urged his US and Iranian counterparts, Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian, to include Lebanon in the ceasefire reached with Iran. Australia’s foreign minister has urged the same.
Donald Trump vented his frustration with Nato during a private meeting with its secretary-general, Mark Rutte, as relations in the alliance reached a crisis point. “He is clearly disappointed with many Nato allies, and I can see his point,” Rutte said on CNN, after spending more than two hours at the White House. “This was a very frank, very open discussion, but also a discussion between two good friends.”
Sir Keir Starmer will continue his tour of the Middle East on Thursday after he met with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, as part of ongoing talks with allies to give shipping the “confidence” to pass through the strait of Hormuz.
Here are the latest images coming from Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon.
In case you’re just joining us, here’s the latest developments. It is now 9.30am in Tehran, 9am in Jerusalem and 2am in Washington DC.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it fired rockets at northern Israel in its first attack against Israel since the US reached a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran. Hezbollah said in a statement that its attack came in response to what it described as Israeli ceasefire violations.
Israel’s strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday killed at least 254 people and wounded over 1,100 others, the country’s civil defence service said.
The Israeli strikes raised questions about regional truce efforts, with Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, saying a ceasefire in Lebanon was an essential condition of Iran’s agreement with the US.
Fears that the ceasefire could fall apart saw West Texas Intermediate oil jump around 3% Thursday, having plunged more than 16% the day before. The price of Brent was up more than 2% following a 13% drop.
Iran announced alternative routes for ships travelling through the strait of Hormuz, citing the risk of sea mines in the main zone of the vital waterway. The statement shared instructions for an alternative entry and exit route through the strait.
Donald Trump said US ships, aircraft and soldiers will remain around Iran and threatened that the US will start “shooting” again unless Tehran fully complies with the deal reached with Washington. “If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the “Shootin’ Starts,” bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before,” Trump wrote in a late night Truth Social post.
UN secretary-general António Guterres condemned yesterday’s deadly Israeli strikes on Lebanon, saying they pose “a grave risk to the ceasefire and the efforts toward a lasting and comprehensive peace in the region,” Guterres’s spokesperson said in a statement.
If you’re wondering how Pakistan brokered the two-week ceasefire deal and the looming US-Iran talks in Islamabad, Hannah Ellis-Peterson and Shah Meer Baloch have laid out the details for you in this fascinating piece.
An Iranian delegation will arrive in Islamabad on Thursday night for talks to resolve conflict with the US and Israel, Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan said on Thursday.
“Despite skepticism of Iranian public opinion due to repeated ceasefire violations by Israeli regime ... Iranian delegation arrives tonight in Islamabad for serious talks based on 10 points proposed by Iran,” ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam said in a post on X.
A little earlier (close to midnight in Washington DC), Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that US forces would remain stationed in the region until a “real agreement” is reached.
