HEADLINES

• Lebanon's civil defense agency said ongoing Israeli strikes on the Nabatieh district in the country's south had killed 16 people. Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike on a village near the southern city of Sidon killed at least seven people. READ MORE BELOW

• An Israeli army spokesperson has said Lebanon itself is not Israel's enemy, but rather the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

• Mediators in the US-Iran conflict, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, are due to gather for talks in Egypt on Sunday, Cairo and Islamabad said. READ MORE BELOW

• Pakistan's interior minister arrived in Iran after planned talks between Iran and the United States in Switzerland were postponed, Iranian media reported. US envoy Steve Witkoff was headed to Switzerland for talks, American media outlets reported. 

• Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz rose to its busiest in two months after a deal to halt the US-Iranwar, maritime trackers said. READ MORE BELOW

• Global shipping groups warned this week that plans to resume traffic through the strait were still not clear and it was not thought safe to start exiting the Gulf.

• More than 500 commercial vessels and about 11,000 seafarers are still stuck in the Gulf, according to the IMO. It says 20,000 seafarers in the region have been affected by the war overall.

• Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least five people and injured 43 over the past 48 hours, despite the "ceasefire" announced last October, according to the enclave's Health Ministry.

• The Gaza Government Media Office says Israel has violated the ceasefire in the Strip 3,338 times since it entered into force 251 days ago, killing 1,012 people and wounding 3,208.

• The chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Force, Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, warns Israel that fighters in Gaza might launch major operations against it, in remarks quoted by Iran's official IRNA news agency.

IN DETAIL

Israel continues strikes in southern Lebanon

Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike on a village near the southern city of Sidon killed at least seven people on Saturday.

Lebanon's civil defense agency also said ongoing Israeli strikes on the Nabatieh district in the country's south had killed 16 people, a day after the latest Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire announcement.

Civil defence personnel have transported "16 dead and 12 wounded" to hospital, a statement said, adding that the personnel were working "since the early morning hours" in the Nabatieh district in response to "ongoing attacks targeting the area".

Israel carried out deadly strikes in south Lebanon and Hezbollah maintained it had the right to respond, hours after the United States announced a renewed ceasefire in fighting that had strained a fledgling deal with Iran.

Lebanese authorities reported 47 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Friday, the highest toll since the US and Iran struck their deal to stop the wider regional war. 

US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian this week signed a preliminary agreement to halt the Middle East war on all fronts, including Lebanon – a key demand of Tehran's.

But Israel launched a wave of strikes in Lebanon that left dozens of people dead after four of its soldiers were killed in combat, sparking a furious reaction at home.

On Friday afternoon, a US official announced a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by US and Qatari mediators, with Israel's ambassador to Washington saying it would respect the truce if Hezbollah did.

But on Saturday an Israeli military official said it was conducting fresh attacks against the Iran-backed movement, which it accused of having "launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon" overnight.

Hezbollah has not officially claimed any attacks on Israel or its troops in Lebanon since the ceasefire was announced.

Mediators to discuss US-Iran conflict in Egypt

Mediators in the US-Iran conflict, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, are due to gather for talks in Egypt on Sunday, Cairo and Islamabad said.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said that the four-way meeting would bring together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt to "discuss regional developments and exchange views on issues related to peace, security and stability."

Egypt's foreign ministry said that the meeting would be followed by expanded talks and a joint news conference.

The ministry initially said the meeting would be held in the Egyptian resort of El Alamein, before updating the location to Cairo.

The four foreign ministers last met in April on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in the Turkish resort city of Antalya.

The Cairo meeting comes after US-Iran talks scheduled in Switzerland for Friday, aimed at following up on the agreement to end the war, were postponed, according to the Swiss foreign ministry.

The deal, signed this week by President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, aims to end a conflict that began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

It also provides for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the launch of a 60-day negotiation period on broader issues, including Tehran's nuclear program.

Hormuz shipping traffic resumes amid sea mine warning

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz rose to its busiest in two months after a deal to halt the US-Iran war, maritime trackers said.

A total of 25 commercial vessels crossed the newly reopened strait on Thursday, the highest number since mid-April, according to data from tracking firm AXSMarine – more than three times the average of just over seven a day since early March.

In a sign of traffic picking up in the region, empty trucks queued for up to three kilometers outside the UAE port of Korfakkan just south of the strait, as at least four container ships unloaded there, an eyewitness told reporters.

Other ships could be seen on the hazy horizon, apparently waiting their turn to dock and unload, the eyewitness said, requesting anonymity.

The number of crossings on Thursday may be higher, as some ships turned off or manipulated their AIS transponder signals to avoid detection, AXSMarine said in a news release.

Meanwhile, global shipping groups warned this week that plans to resume traffic through the strait were still not clear and it was not thought safe to start exiting the Gulf.

The Pakistani navy published an alert warning that a mine had been sighted in the strait off Oman.

"All vessels transiting through the area are advised to navigate with extreme caution," it said.

Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority published new rules for transits during the 60-day period covered by the war agreement.

In a post on X it said all ships seeking to cross the Strait of Hormuz should submit a transit request "48 hours in advance."

It said it would waive payments of "tariffs" and "Iranian insurances" for ships passing during the 60 days.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) chief Arsenio Dominguez said in April that the body was working on a plan to ensure safe transit for ships out of the Gulf.