HEADLINES IN BRIEF

• Southern Lebanon continues to be bombarded by Israel just 24 hours after a conditional ceasefire was agreed, with seven killed in the city of Tyre.

• Millions are being pushed into hunger by the conflicts in the Middle East, the UN World Food Programme has warned in their latest report. READ MORE BELOW.

• An 18-year-old Palestinian man has been shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said on Friday. The Israeli military said they had killed an individual who was throwing firebombs at vehicles.

• The UN’s nuclear watchdog is unable to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities that were affected by Israeli and US strikes last June, according to a confidential report seen by The Associated Press. READ MORE BELOW.

• Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has denied reports of a drone attack at their Mina Al Fahal terminal. In a statement, the company confirmed that all operations were proceeding normally, despite anonymous sources alleging to Reuters that ​oil loading had been suspended ​following an explosion near its mooring berths. 

• At least 11 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded on Thursday as Israeli air strikes shook Gaza city. The Israeli military said that the strikes killed four senior Hamas members. Almost a thousand Palestinians have been killed since the US-broked Israel-Hamas ceasefire came into place in October 2025.

• The UN has doubled its appeal for aid towards Lebanon as a quarter of the country’s population require humanitarian assistance. READ MORE BELOW.

• Brent crude oil continues to hover around the $94 mark as hopes that the US and Iran reach a peace deal weigh down barrel prices; however the benchmark remains up by 4 percent compared to last week, as concrete results from negotiations prove to be elusive.

WFP's hunger warning

Just three months ago, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) announced that 45 million people were at risk of acute food insecurity, should oil prices stay at roughly $100 a barrel. With oil prices showing no signs of relenting as the conflict in Iran continues, the WFP’s latest report ‘Food Security Under Pressure: How the Middle East Crisis is Impacting Vulnerable Countries’ has identified a further 6.1 million people are at risk across Somalia, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

The fallout from the US-Israeli war in Iran and blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has exacerbated suffering in communities already struggling to meet basic food requirements. 

The disruption of global supplies of oil and energy sent prices of consumer goods including food and transport skyrocketing, reducing the purchasing power for families across the world. The subsequent trade disruptions have further curtailed the ability of already poor populations to cope with sudden changes in earnings, as they find themselves battling against higher basic goods prices alongside reduced incomes.

In Somalia, where ongoing conflict and soaring jet fuel prices continues to impede humanitarian relief efforts, particularly in hard to reach areas, almost 60 percent of all households cannot afford to purchase essential needs.

In Afghanistan, where the border closure with Pakistan further isolates the country, the extensive disruption to supply chains has been passed on to consumers, with transport costs “increasing by 2.5 to 5 times and delivery times going from 10 days up to as much as 75 days when using alternative corridors.” These escalations have added to the already 13.8 million who were food insecure prior to the crisis.

For Sri Lanka, where a baseline of 4.7 million were unable to meet their basic food needs in 2026, the high levels of reliance on the Middle East’s Gulf countries for remittances and tea exports have resulted in income shocks to millions of families across the country.

Brent crude oil is used as a benchmark for two-thirds of the world's internationally traded crude oil, and heavily influences the energy sector and global financial markets. Since the start of the conflict in Iran, Brent crude oil prices have surged from their pre-conflict trading price of around $73 per barrel, to peaks of $126 at the end of April.

Confidential nuclear report released

In a report seen by the Associated Press, the UN’s nuclear watchdog has yet been unable to inspect the Iranian nuclear sites that were targeted in US strikes last June.

In the report, the International Atomic Energy Agency warned that it was “unable to discharge its safeguards responsibilities” as it did not have “any information on the current size, composition or whereabouts of the stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran or whether Iran has suspended all enrichment-related activities.”

The revelation has sparked concerns surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, a key point of contention between Iran and the US-Israel, and the main justification for the strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities last year as well as the current 2026 conflict.

Before the strikes, the IAEA had calculated that Iran possessed approximately 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent. To make a nuclear bomb, an enrichment level of 90 percent is required.

IAEA head Rafael Grossi has called on Iran to “engage the agency constructively in order to facilitate the full and effective implementation of safeguards in Iran,” evoking the “utmost urgency”.

As talks between the US and Iran continue to show little progress, this latest announcement will likely add fuel to Israel’s position in the conflict, with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu having consistently asserted that the possession of nuclear weapons by Iran amounts to a direct threat to Israel’s existence.

Israel is one of the nine countries in the world to possess nuclear weapons, and is estimated to have a nuclear stockpile of approximately 90 warheads. Israel developed its nuclear arsenal secretly throughout the 1950s and 1960s, heavily aided by a covert alliance with France, and has an official policy of ambiguity with respect to nuclear weapons, neither confirming nor denying their existence.

UN doubles Lebanon aid appeal

Announcing that the “humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is severe and deteriorating”, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that $640 million is needed over the next six months to provide essential services and shelter for the 1.4 million estimated to need humanitarian assistance. Only $185 million had so far been received out of the initial appeal of $308 million that was made in March.

“Repeated displacements, insufficient shelter capacity and limited prospects for safe return are deepening vulnerability,” OCHA has said, warning that “affected people are rapidly exhausting their coping capacities, and essential services are under increasing strain”.

Nearly a quarter of Lebanon’s population has been displaced by continued Israeli campaigns against the country, with residents from southern regions particularly affected. Since March, over 3,500 people have been killed by Israeli forces according to Lebanese authorities, with a further 10,700 injured. The continued crippling of Lebanon’s health system has exacerbated the humanitarian help available to the population, with 62 medical facilities including hospitals having been forced to suspend operations.

The appeal comes just 24 hours after a new ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was agreed, which saw the creation of security zones inside Lebanon in which Hezbollah operatives would be banned. The negotiations also required Hezbollah to stop attacking Israel, part of a deal that the Iran-backed group rejected as “futile” and “humiliating”.

The deal came as the dust settled between US president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netayahu, with the American premier confirming an expletive-filled call earlier this week, following Israeli threats to resume the bombing of southern Beirut.

Despite the new ceasefire, southern Lebanon continues to face attacks by the Israeli military, with overnight strikes on the city of Tyre leaving seven dead and dozens injured.

_{Sources: AP, Reuters, AFP}