Overview
- Israel pressed its air campaign in Lebanon Thursday following Wednesday’s mass strikes that killed more than 200 people and wounded about 1,000, and it said a Hezbollah leader’s aide was killed in Beirut.
- U.S. and Israeli officials say the two‑week truce does not cover Lebanon, while Iran, Hezbollah and mediator Pakistan insist it does, a clash that Tehran says voids the deal.
- Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains sparse, with Reuters-cited data showing only one tanker and eight total vessels in 24 hours as physical oil nears $150 a barrel and U.S. diesel prices climb.
- Talks between U.S. and Iranian teams are slated for this weekend in Islamabad, though Iran’s president called negotiations meaningless during the Lebanon strikes and its embassy deleted a post about its delegation’s arrival.
- The UN, France, Britain and the EU condemned the strikes and urged the truce to include Lebanon, as Beirut declared a day of mourning and rescuers pulled survivors from collapsed buildings.