Spotlight
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday the United States had "prohibited" Israel from bombing Lebanon following a ceasefire deal, adding that Washington would work with Lebanon to "deal with" Hezbollah.
"Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!" Trump said on his Truth Social network, a day after announcing the 10-day truce.
Full Story
Israel has not yet finished dealing with Hezbollah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday, vowing to press on with the Lebanese militant group's "dismantling" just hours after a 10-day ceasefire came into effect.
Full Story
Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri stressed Friday that "national unity and civil peace are red lines that will not be crossed under any circumstances."
Full Story
U.S. President Donald Trump said overnight that he hopes Hezbollah "acts nicely and well during this important period of time," shortly after he announced a ten-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel.
Full Story
A 10-day ceasefire agreement came after a meeting between Israel's and Lebanon’s ambassadors in Washington and a flurry of subsequent phone calls from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official.
They were the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades. Hezbollah had opposed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.
Full Story
Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah praised Friday Iran as he spoke to reporters in the battered Beirut southern suburb of Haret Hreik.
“Yesterday, before the ceasefire, Hezbollah’s leadership was formally informed around 4am from the Iranian ambassador that there will be a ceasefire at night,” he said. “We were informed from the Islamic Republic that the calls they took with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were encouraging and facilitating for a ceasefire as first step.”
Full Story
Tilak Pokharel, a spokesperson for the U.S. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon known as UNIFIL, said peacekeepers have not observed any airstrikes since midnight, when a 10-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
He said, however, that they had observed “artillery shelling in several areas in south Lebanon” up until 6 a.m. and “continue to observe IDF airspace violation in their area of operations,” referring to the Israeli military.
Full Story
President Joseph Aoun said on Friday that direct negotiations with Israel were crucial, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel and an upcoming meeting between their leaders.
"Direct negotiations are crucial... and a ceasefire is the gateway to proceeding with negotiations," Aoun said in a statement shared by the presidency, reiterating that Beirut's goal was to "consolidate a ceasefire, secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied southern territories, recover prisoners, and address outstanding border disputes".
Full Story
Moscow on Friday backed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon and said it hoped the pause in fighting could pave the way for a longer-term agreement, as the fragile 10-day truce took hold.
"We certainly welcome the decision on a truce and hope that in these few days it will indeed be possible to reach agreements that will prevent a repeat of the military clashes," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, in response to a question by AFP.
Full Story
Israel's defense minister said on Friday that the campaign against the militant group Hezbollah was not yet complete, just hours after a 10-day ceasefire came into force in Lebanon.
"The ground maneuver into Lebanon and the strikes on Hezbollah have achieved many gains, but they are still not complete," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a broadcast statement.
Full Story






