Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreed, diplomatic push for US-Iran deal continues

HEADLINES

• A 10-day ceasefire agreed between neighboring states Israel and Lebanon took effect at midnight local time (2100 GMT Thursday). Hezbollah has not officially said if it will recognize the ceasefire but one of its lawmakers said the group would respect it if Israel stopped its attacks on its fighters. READ MORE BELOW

• Iran's foreign ministry welcomed the Israel-Lebanon truce, calling it part of the earlier two-week ceasefire deal struck between the Islamic republic and the United States to pause the Middle East war, state media reported. 

• Guo Jiakun, China's foreign ministry spokesperson said, "China welcomes all efforts that contribute to a ceasefire and an end to the war, and hopes that the relevant parties will maintain the momentum of the ceasefire and negotiations with a responsible attitude and resolve disputes through political and diplomatic channels."

• US President Donald Trump said that he hoped Hezbollah "acts nicely and well" during the 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, it would be a "GREAT moment for them if they do. No more killing. Must finally have PEACE!"

• Lebanon's army reported "several Israeli acts of aggression" that it said violated the ceasefire, in a post on X.

• A diplomatic source said the key Pakistani mediator, army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, has been holding talks in Tehran since Wednesday and has made a breakthrough on "sticky issues." READ MORE BELOW

• US President Trump said that Iran had agreed to hand over its store of enriched uranium and that the two sides were "close" to a peace deal ending six weeks of conflict.

• An Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Ghazieh has killed at least seven people and wounded 33, the health ministry said, hours before the ceasefire between the two countries went into effect.

• European countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands and France, have mine-clearing capabilities that could help secure shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, France's defense minister said. Reopening the strait is to be discussed in talks later today in Paris, she said.

• The International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol has warned that "the market is underestimating the consequences of a prolonged closure" of the Strait of Hormuz and that energy prices will rise.

• Armed Israeli settlers have set fire to two Palestinian-owned vehicles in the Majd al-Baa community, near Yatta in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency.

• Foreign ministers of Türkiye, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia will meet on the margins of a diplomacy forum in the southern Turkish province of Antalya to discuss regional issues including the Iran war, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

IN DETAIL 

Displaced Lebanese return to destroyed homes 

Celebratory gunfire rang out across parts of Beirut as the clock struck midnight on Thursday to mark the start of the truce.

Trump said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun and planned to invite them to the White House for "meaningful talks" that could happen over the next week or two.

Conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon was reignited by the US-Israeli war with Iran. 

Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran on March 2, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon that authorities say has killed 2,000 people, 15 months after their last major conflict.

Trump urged Hezbollah to respect the ceasefire.

People uprooted by war in Lebanon began returning home on Friday, checking whether their homes were still standing though some kept families away for now for fear the ceasefire could prove fragile.

Hills of rubble marked the spot where buildings once stood on a road into a Hezbollah-controlled area pummeled by Israel.

In the largely destroyed southern city of Nabatieh, some returning residents defiantly said they would stay. Others said there was nothing to come back to.

Pakistan leads backdoor diplomacy efforts to end war

A Pakistani source involved in mediating between the US and Iran said there was progress in backdoor diplomacy and that an upcoming meeting between the two sides could result in the signing of a memorandum of understanding followed by a comprehensive deal within 60 days.

"Both sides are agreeing in principle. And technical bits come later," the source said on condition of anonymity.

A diplomatic source said the key Pakistani mediator, army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, had been holding talks in Tehran since Wednesday and had made a breakthrough on "sticky issues".

Those had included Tehran's nuclear ambitions, with the US proposing at last weekend's talks a 20-year suspension of all Iranian nuclear activity. Tehran suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.

Iran has demanded international sanctions be lifted and Washington has pressed for any highly enriched uranium (HEU) to be removed from Iran. Two Iranian sources have said there were signs of a compromise on the HEU stockpile, with Tehran considering shipping part of it out of the country.