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LAST UPDATE | 19 mins ago
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER Benajmin Netanyahu has said he has instructed his cabinet to open direct talks with Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah and establish “peace relations” between the two countries.
It comes after Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed over 200 people yesterday, something that was condemned by the EU and Pakistan.
“In light of Lebanon’s repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the cabinet yesterday to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” Netanyahu’s office wrote in a statement.
“Negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peace relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates today’s call by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarize Beirut.”
Washington and Tehran both claimed victory in the Middle East war on Tuesday night after agreeing a two-week truce and negotiations aimed at ending a conflict that has killed thousands across the region and plunged the global economy into turmoil.
But fractures have quickly emerged, particularly around whether Lebanon was included in the agreement. Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, who acted as a go-between in the truce, had said it applied “everywhere including Lebanon”. But Israel said it did not include Lebanon, something US vice president JD Vance agreed with yesterday.
Israel has been consistently striking the country since Iran-linked Hezbollah launched attacks on it on 2 March to avenge the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Lebanon today declared a national day of mourning following yesterday’s strikes, which the country’s health ministry said killed at least 203 people and wounded more than 1,000.
Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the war, but Israel’s right to defend itself does not justify inflicting such massive destruction.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) April 9, 2026
Israeli strikes killed hundreds last night, making it hard to argue that such heavy-handed actions fall within self-defence.
Israeli actions are…
In a statement this morning, the European Union’s senior diplomat Kaja Kallas said Hezbollah had “dragged” Lebanon into the war, “but Israel’s right to defend itself does not justify inflicting such massive destruction”.
“Israeli strikes killed hundreds last night, making it hard to argue that such heavy-handed actions fall within self-defence,” she said.
Israeli actions are putting the U.S.-Iran ceasefire under severe strain. The Iran truce should extend to Lebanon.
Kallas added that Hezbollah must disarm and that the EU supports Lebanon’s efforts to see this done.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee spoke with her Lebanese counterpart Youssef Rajji by phone. She said she expressed her “deep concern” about yesterday’s attacks on the country and “the mounting civilian death toll since the conflict began”.
Speaking after the call, McEntee said she was “appalled” by the attacks.
“Israel’s attacks on Lebanon are unacceptable and must stop. They risk all efforts to bring peace and stability to the region. I have consistently condemned Hezbollah for its attacks on Israel. Israel’s military response is entirely disproportionate.”
McEntee said she emphasised the need for peace, for the ceasefire to be upheld by all parties, and that it was essential that Lebanon be included in that ceasefire.
She also assured Rajji of Ireland’s “continued commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty and security and to UNIFIL’s role in southern Lebanon”, and paid tribute to the professionalism and dedication of Irish troops serving with UNIFIL.
France’s foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot condemned the strikes as “unacceptable”, while his UK counterpart Yvette Cooper called for the ceasefire to include Lebanon.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said “the severity with which Israel is waging war” in Lebanon “could cause the peace process as a whole to fail, and that must not be allowed to happen.”
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said the continued strikes on Lebanon by Israel “blatantly violate” the already shaky ceasefire between the US and Iran, adding that they rendered planned negotiations between the two countries “meaningless”.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned Tehran sees Lebanon as an “inseparable part of the ceasefire”.
Ahead of expected US-Iran talks in Islamabad tomorrow, Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Israel’s “ongoing aggression against Lebanon”.
“The prime minister said that Pakistan was engaged in sincere efforts for regional peace and it was in this spirit that the peace talks between Iran and the US were being convened,” his office said in a statement.
Tehran’s ambassador to Pakistan, meanwhile, deleted a social media post saying an Iranian delegation would arrive in Pakistan today.
An official at the Iranian embassy in Islamabad said the post was removed “because of some issues” and refused to say whether the delegation was still expected.
Netanyahu earlier said that Israel will continue to strike Hezbollah “wherever necessary”.
JD Vance, who is due to lead negotiations with Iran in Pakistan tomorrow, last night backed Israel in saying Lebanon was excluded from the truce.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart… over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
Iran’s parliament speaker Ghalibaf subsequently listed three alleged US violations of the truce plan: the continued attacks in Lebanon, a drone entering Iranian airspace and Washington’s opposition to the country’s right to uranium enrichment.
Adding to the fragility of the truce, a senior US official said Iran’s 10-point plan was not the same set of conditions the White House had agreed to in order to pause the war.
In Lebanon, where UN rights chief Volker Turk called the scale of killing “horrific”, strikes across the capital Beirut that came without warning triggered horror and panic.
“People started running left and right, and smoke was billowing,” said Ali Younes, who was waiting for his wife near Corniche Al-Mazraa, one of the areas targeted.
More than 1,700 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel launched airstrikes and a ground invasion last month, local officials said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned they would “fulfil our duty and deliver a response” if Israel did not cease its strikes, while Hezbollah said it had a right to respond.
Separately, the head of Iran’s nuclear energy agency, Mohammad Eslami, dismissed Washington’s suggestions that the truce deal would halt Tehran’s nuclear programme.
“The claims and demands of our enemies to restrict Iran’s enrichment programme are merely wishes that will be buried,” he said.
A key point of contention remains the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil as well as vast quantities of natural gas and fertiliser pass in peacetime.
Iran announced alternative routes today for ships travelling through the strait, citing the risk of sea mines.
But it was unclear if Tehran was allowing vessels to pass through the strait, following reports yesterday suggesting it was shut – something the White House called “completely unacceptable”.
With reporting from © AFP 2026
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