Here's the latest
• Fragile ceasefire: Hours after a 10-day truce in Lebanon began, the Lebanese army accused Israel of violating the ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said Israeli forces would not withdraw from positions in southern Lebanon, and Iran-backed Hezbollah warned it would only cease fire if Israeli attacks stopped.
• Diplomacy push: US President Donald Trump said a White House meeting between Israel and Lebanon could take place within two weeks. The conflict with Hezbollah has been a key sticking point in negotiations on the war with Iran. Trump also voiced confidence that a deal with Tehran will come soon, saying talks could happen this weekend.
• Strait of Hormuz: The leaders of Britain and France will host a virtual meeting of world leaders from 40 countries today to discuss efforts to reopen the vital trade chokepoint.
Pakistan's prime minister welcomes ceasefire
Pakistan’s prime minister welcomed the ceasefire in Lebanon and pledged to keep supporting peace efforts.
“Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon, and will continue to support all efforts aimed at lasting peace in the region,” Shehbaz Sharif said Friday on X.
Sharif also praised the “sagacious diplomatic efforts” led by US President Donald Trump and expressed hope it will “pave the way for sustainable peace.”
US and Iran must be on board, says think tank director as world leaders to meet on Strait of Hormuz
Today’s British and French-led virtual meeting of world leaders to discuss efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is not likely to bear immediate results, Grégoire Roos, Director for Europe, Russia and Eurasia at Chatham House told CNN.
Leaders from 40 countries are expected to discuss supporting the fragile Iran ceasefire and securing shipping lanes through the strait. A statement from the British prime minister’s office said world leaders would establish an international mission to reopen the strait. The strictly defensive mission would involve deploying a combined military effort as soon as conditions allow, according to the statement.
For the mission to be successful, it must satisfy three conditions, Roos said. The US must endorse it, even if indirectly; the shipping industry and the Gulf states must buy into it; and Iran must not contest it.
“If Iran were to say ‘sorry, but this won’t happen,’ it won’t happen simply because they’ve shown that they’ve managed to keep the US at bay and block the strait,” he told CNN’s Kim Brunhuber.
“So you really have three groups of stakeholders here that you need to get on board.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to arrive in Paris on Friday morning to host the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will also travel to Paris on Friday for the summit, according to a German government official.
The US is not among the countries attending the summit.
French president backs ceasefire but expresses concern
French President Emmanuel Macron said he fully supports the ceasefire that that could halt six weeks of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
However, Macron also raised concerns that the agreement “may already be weakened by the continuation of military operations,” in an X post on Friday.
The Lebanese army said it recorded multiple ceasefire violations by Israel after the truce went into effect at midnight local time on Friday.
It accused Israel of committing “a number of acts of aggression,” saying intermittent shelling has impacted several villages in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah said it will abide by the ceasefire if Israel does.
CNN’s Martin Goillandeau and Michael Rios contributed reporting.
Celebrations across Lebanon as ceasefire takes effect
Across Lebanon, people took to the streets with fireworks and celebratory gunfire as a 10-day truce took effect, aimed at putting a halt to the fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
People took to the streets with fireworks and celebratory gunfire across Lebanon as a 10-day truce took effect, aimed at putting a halt to the fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Agreement with Lebanon is in Israel's interest but "devil is in the details," says former IDF official
Israel would benefit from an agreement with Lebanon but “the devil is in the details,” according to a former spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces.
And the “only, most important factor” that will influence peace and stability in both countries is whether or not Hezbollah is disarmed, Jonathan Conricus told CNN.
“If Hezbollah isn’t disarmed, that means future war and fighting and rockets and suffering — and it all boils down to whether or not the Lebanese government will actually be able to do what they have said and committed to doing but have so far not been able or willing to do.”
In January, Lebanon said it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah and other militant groups in the country’s south but Israel said that progress was “far from sufficient.”
Two months later, Lebanon’s government declared Hezbollah’s military activities illegal, adding that it did not have the force required to effectively disarm Hezbollah on its own.
Asked whether Lebanon’s armed forces is capable of disarming Hezbollah today, Conricus said: “When you look at the balance of power between the two organizations, Hezbollah still needs to be weakened significantly, militarily speaking.”
Israel’s unprecedented attacks have devastated Lebanon
The ceasefire grants Lebanon a moment of reprieve, though the impact of the devastation will take time to recover from.
The Israeli government has said it is targeting fighters and infrastructure belonging to the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant and political group Hezbollah, which has engaged in decades of conflict with Israel. The aim, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is to secure his country’s northern border region. But across Lebanon, civilians are bearing the brunt of the conflict that flared up again when Hezbollah began firing at Israel at the start of the war with Iran.
The Lebanese government, which includes political representatives from Hezbollah, has also moved to put pressure on the group, outlawing its paramilitary wing and ordering the country’s security forces to rid the capital, Beirut, of all non-state arms. Hezbollah officials, however, argue that it, rather than a weak national military, is the only force capable of defending Lebanon against Israeli attacks and a potential occupation in the south.
The Lebanese Health Ministry says more than 2,000 people have been killed — including at least 172 children and 91 healthcare workers — and 7,000 wounded in the space of just six weeks. Israel’s airstrikes have killed and wounded civilians in their homes, at work and even while sheltering at makeshift displacement camps.
Iran welcomes Lebanon ceasefire: foreign ministry spokesperson
Iran welcomes the ceasefire in Lebanon, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said, according to state media Tasnim.
The spokesperson reiterated that Lebanon is part of the truce negotiated between Iran and the US, Tasnim reported. The US has insisted that Lebanon was not covered by that agreement, with Vice President JD Vance saying there was a “misunderstanding.”
Iran has emphasized from the beginning “the necessity of establishing a simultaneous ceasefire across the entire region, including Lebanon, and has continued to pursue this matter seriously after the Islamabad negotiations,” the spokesperson said, according to Tasnim.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf earlier said the ceasefire in Lebanon was the result of Hezbollah’s “extraordinary steadfastness,” but he warned that Tehran will approach it “with caution.”
Trump suggested an Iran deal is close. Here's the latest on the war
President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that developments toward a deal with Iran could be imminent, and that a second round of negotiations could happen as soon as this weekend.
“We’re going to have victory. Very shortly,” Trump said. He claimed Tehran is willing to do things it wasn’t two months ago, citing an agreement that the country would not have a nuclear weapon and would hand over its “nuclear dust.”
The diplomatic push comes ahead of the expiration of the ceasefire with Iran next week, raising hopes that the war’s disruption of the global economy will ease.
Here are the latest headlines about the war with Iran:
- Ceasefire in Lebanon: The Lebanese army accused Israel of violating the ceasefire just hours after the 10-day truce went into effect. Hezbollah said it will abide by the ceasefire if Israel does.
- Trump touts US economy: Trump celebrated the economy under his leadership even as gas prices in Las Vegas, where he spoke at a campaign event, hovered around $5 per gallon as the war chokes global fuel supplies.
- Attack drones: Iran still retains “thousands of missiles” and one-way attack drones capable of threatening US and allied forces in the region, despite the US-Israeli bombardment of Tehran’s military assets, a senior US military official told lawmakers.
- Essential goods: A senior Iranian official said there was no concern about the supply of essential goods in Iran and the government is working “around the clock” to prevent disruptions to daily life. The war’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has threatened the global supply of oil, food, fertilizer and other essential goods.
- Virtual meeting: The leaders of Britain and France will host a virtual meeting Friday to discuss efforts to reopen the strait. World leaders from 40 countries are expected to discuss supporting the ceasefire with Iran and the reopening and security of shipping routes through the strait.
CNN’s Tori B Powell, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Hira Humayun, Sean Lyngaas, Alejandra Jaramillo, Kit Maher and Sebastian Shukla contributed reporting.
Here's why the ceasefire in Lebanon is a major step toward an Iran deal
President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon could mark a major step in advancing a peace deal with Iran.
After the two-week truce between Iran and the US was announced on April 7, Israel maintained its bombing campaign against Iranian proxy groups in Lebanon — a move Tehran argued was violating the ceasefire and threatened the fragile truce with the US.
The US and Israel insisted Lebanon was never part of the Iran ceasefire, claiming there was a “misunderstanding” on the part of Tehran. But behind the scenes, Trump officials had been working to get Israel to back off its offensive, concerned that it could undermine their peace efforts with Iran.
Trump himself had pushed for the two sides to talk, posting late Wednesday, “Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken.”
After announcing the ceasefire, Trump said he’d invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for peace talks, which would mark the first time leaders of the countries have spoken directly in decades.
What to know about the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon
Fireworks and celebratory gunfire rang out in the Lebanese capital Beirut as a 10-day ceasefire went into effect at midnight local time. But just hours later, the Lebanese army had accused Israel of violating the ceasefire by firing on several villages in the south.
The agreement to pause hostilities followed days of pressure by the US on Israel, as the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed paramilitary group, threatened to derail the shaky ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Hezbollah will abide by the truce if Israel does, leading Hezbollah legislator Ibrahim Moussawi told CNN. Trump urged Hezbollah to “act nicely” and embrace peace.
Here’s what else to know about the fragile truce:
- Trump invites leaders to DC: Trump said Thursday he invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for more peace talks. He told reporters the meeting — which would be the first between Israeli and Lebanese heads of state in nearly 44 years — could take place “over the next week or two.”
- Israel warns residents: Israel’s military warned residents of southern Lebanon not to move south of the Litani River for their “safety.” Prior to the ceasefire, Israel demolished the final crossing over the river, , cutting off tens of thousands of residents in the south from crucial aid links, Lebanese state media reported. Netanyahu said Israeli forces will not withdraw from positions in southern Lebanon during the truce.
- Vance’s role: Vice President JD Vance played a role in brokering the ceasefire, a senior administration official told CNN. Vance “pushed the Israelis for days to be more careful in Lebanon,” the official said, adding that the vice president believed an end to the loss of life in Lebanon could calm regional tensions.
- Israel retains right to self-defense: Israel reserves the right “to take all necessary measures in self-defense,” according to a six-point statement on the truce released by the State Department. It describes the initial ceasefire as “as a gesture of goodwill” by Israel and said it is “intended to enable good-faith negotiations toward a permanent security and peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon.”
CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Jennifer Hansler, Tamara Qiblawi, Michael Rios, Dalia Abdelwahab, Hira Humayun, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Adam Cancryn contributed reporting.
Chicago cardinal responds to Trump's criticism of Pope Leo
Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich talks with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour about Pope Leo’s comments after President Donald Trump attacked the pontiff for his stance on the war with Iran.
Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich talks with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour about Pope Leo’s comments after President Donald Trump attacked the pontiff for his stance on the war with Iran.
These were the past strikes between Israel and Hezbollah as ceasefire takes effect
A 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon, putting a pause on hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed paramilitary group Hezbollah is in effect.
Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon intensified in recent days, and the US-Iran war has increased the pressure on regional leaders to resolve the conflict, but the most recent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah stems back to 2023.
Here are the details on Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon since early March.
Here's how the ceasefire in Lebanon was agreed, according to the White House
The White House on Thursday laid out how the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel came together, starting with a meeting Secretary of State Marco Rubio held with ambassadors from Israel and Lebanon on Tuesday.
According to a White House official, Lebanon acknowledged during this meeting that Hezbollah is a “mutual problem.”
Wednesday evening: President Donald Trump held a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Netanyahu agreed to the ceasefire “with certain terms,” though the White House official did not offer specifics on those terms.
The president then directed Rubio to call the Lebanon President Joseph Aoun. During that conversation, which took place overnight Wednesday, Rubio was able to secure an agreement to the ceasefire from Lebanon.
Thursday morning: Trump spoke with Aoun by phone, followed by another call with Netanyahu to finalize the agreement.
According to the White House, the State Department was simultaneously working with the respective governments to formulate a memorandum of understanding for the ceasefire. The State Department on Thursday released a six-point statement outlining the terms of the ceasefire, which they said was agreed to by Israel and Lebanon. The points include Israel’s continued “right to take all necessary measures in self-defense,” and the possibility that the truce could be extended.
