Live: Israel, Hezbollah agree to partial ceasefire in Lebanon after US intervention

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Hezbollah claimed several attacks late Monday on Israeli targets in south Lebanon, hours after US President Donald Trump said the Iran-backed group had agreed that "all shooting will stop".

In one statement, Hezbollah said that in the town of Hadatha, its fighters targeted a Merkava tank with an attack drone, and Israeli troops with "barrages of rockets and artillery shelling", adding in another statement that fighters subsequently attacked two Israeli tanks in the same area.

In a third statement, which like the others also indicated an attack time of after 11:00 pm (2000 GMT), Hezbollah said its fighters targeted a Merkava tank in the town of Bayada "with a guided missile".

The Israeli military earlier said one soldier had been killed and another seven wounded in combat in south Lebanon.

President Donald Trump said Monday he hoped Israel and Hezbollah would stop fighting forever, doubling down on claims of a ceasefire despite Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu reserving the right to strike the Lebanese group.

Trump said on his Truth Social network that Hezbollah had "agreed to stop shooting at Israel, and its soldiers. Likewise, Israel agreed to stop shooting at them. Let's see how long that lasts -- Hopefully it will be for ETERNITY!"

At least four people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the town of Marwaniyeh, in south Lebanon’s Sidon district, according to the National News Agency.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said Monday that it will be necessary to maintain peacekeepers in Lebanon after the mandate of the current mission expires at year-end.

In a report to the Security Council seen by AFP, Guterres proposes three options ranging from nearly 2,000 to more than 5,500 UN personnel to monitor the ceasefire and support the Lebanese armed forces.

"Under all proposed options, a uniformed United Nations presence working to facilitate de-escalation, dialogue, liaison and coordination, and support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, would be necessary... towards the overarching objective of a long-term solution to the conflict," the report says.

The Israeli army said Monday evening that one soldier had been killed and another seven injured in southern Lebanon.

It did not disclose further details about the circumstances of the casualties.

Hezbollah has agreed not to target areas in Israel under a push by the Trump administration to deescalate the conflict in Lebanon, according  to the Lebanese presidency.

Citing a statement from the Lebanese embassy in the US, the presidency said that in exchange Israel had agreed not to bomb Beirut.

The framework will be expanded to encompass all of Lebanon's territory, it added.

Lebanese, Israeli and American officials are set to hold a third round of talks in Washington on 2 and 3 June.

البيان الصادر عن السفارة اللبنانية في واشنطن:

في إطار المساعي التي تبذلها الدولة اللبنانية للحفاظ على الاستقرار وتجنيب لبنان المزيد من التصعيد، وفي أعقاب الاتصال الذي جرى بين رئيس الجمهورية العماد جوزاف عون ووزير الخارجية الأميركي ماركو روبيو، تلقت السلطات اللبنانية تأكيداً…

— Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) June 1, 2026

Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called on Benjamin Netanyahu to reject the US ceasefire push in Lebanon and continue with its offensive against Hezbollah.

Donald Trump earlier this evening said "all shooting will stop" in Lebanon after he spoke to the Israeli prime minister and Hezbollah representatives.

"You said that a strong prime minister tells the President of the United States 'yes' when possible, and 'no' when necessary. Now is the time to say to our friend, President Trump, 'no,'" the Jewish Power leader wrote on his Telegram channel.

"Now is the time to do what is required and necessary to strike Hezbollah, to free the hands of our fighters, and to restore security to the north."

Ben-Gvir earlier on Monday called for the Israeli military to flatten southern Beirut.

Lebanese media are reporting a new round of Israeli airstrikes targeting towns in the south of the country, an hour after Donald Trump said he had agreed with Israel and Hezbollah that the "shooting will stop".

An Israeli drone struck the town of Majdal in Tyre district while a separate attack hit Sajd in the Jezzine area, according to the country's state-run news agency.

The National News Agency has also reported in the last few minutes a strike in Hannaouiyah in Tyre district.
 

US President Donald Trump said Monday that talks with Iran were moving ahead rapidly, despite Iran's Tasnim news agency reporting Tehran had halted talks in protest at Israel's Lebnanon offensive.

"Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said on his Truth Social account, shortly after another post saying Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to stop attacks.

Donald Trump has written on Truth Social that "all shooting will stop" in Lebanon, shortly after speaking to Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone.

The US president also said he had communicated with Hezbollah representatives and reached an agreement that "Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel".

"There will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back," he wrote on his social media platform, describing his conversation with Netanyahu as "very productive".

"Through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop," he said.

The United Nations on Monday expressed its alarm and called for all sides to respect the ceasefire as Israel expanded its offensive into Lebanon.

"We are deeply alarmed by the escalation in military activities across southern Lebanon and beyond," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said.

"We urge all actors to respect the cessation of hostilities and avoid further escalation."

Two people were killed and 23 others wounded in the Israeli attack at the Jabal Amel University Hospital in Tyre earlier this afternoon, Lebanon's state-run news agency is reporting.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump on Monday, several Israeli media outlets reported, without providing further details.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had not heard from Iranians that they were suspending talks with the Washington.

"I think we've been talking too much if you want to know the truth. I think going silent would be very good, and that could be for a long time," Trump said in an interview with NBC News.

"It doesn't mean we're going to go and start dropping bombs all over there," Trump was quoted as saying. "We'll just go silent. We'll keep the blockade."

"I think I can wait as long as they want. They're losing a fortune."

The Iranian state news agency Tasnim reported earlier that Iran was halting indirect negotiations with the US after Israel ordered its troops to push deeper into Lebanon, complicating diplomatic efforts to end three months of war.

Lebanese health authorities said on Monday that at least 3,433 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since 2 March while another 10,395 have been wounded.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to open "new fronts" and keep the Strait of Hormuz closed over Israel's offensive in Lebanon, state media reported on Monday.

"Iran considers crossing the red lines in Lebanon and Gaza to mean direct war," state TV quoted the Guards' intelligence organisation as saying, adding: "in return, it is determined to carry out defensive operations by taking meaningful actions and opening new fronts, in addition to preserving the Strait of Hormuz equation".

Lebanon said an Israeli strike hit near a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday as the health ministry shared footage showing heavy damage to the facility.

The state-run National News Agency said a strike targeting an intersection near the Jabal Amel hospital "hit a building and the parking lot, resulting in a number of wounded".

The health ministry shared two videos showing damage inside a hospital ward, with rubble and debris on the ground, blown-out ceilings, blood on the floor and shattered glass, while smoke could be seen billowing from a fire at what appeared to be a heavily damaged adjacent car park.

Oil prices surged Monday after Iran said it suspended all exchanges with Washington following days of inconclusive talks to end the war, and the two nations again traded strikes.

At around 1640 GMT the price Brent North Sea Crude for August delivery was up 6.2% at $96.80 a barrel, while US crude for July delivery was up more than 7% at $93.6.

An unknown projectile hit a container ship travelling in the Gulf on Monday afternoon, causing a "large explosion", the UK's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has said.

The incident occurred about 40 nautical miles (74 km) southeast of Umm Qasr, Iraq, it said.

UKMTO WARNING 063-26

Click here to view the full warning⤵️https://t.co/RyUM9BRf69#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/tZtykTLbyN

— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) June 1, 2026

France has banned Israeli government officials from attending the Eurosatory defence exhibition in Paris this month, Israel's Defence Ministry said on Monday.

As a result, Israel will not be able to set up a pavilion at the event, the ministry said, calling  it a "shameful decision".

France has also banned Israeli weapons makers from exhibiting offensive systems and will only permit them to display "air defence products".

The exhibition will take place in the French capital on 15-19 June.

The Israeli military has ordered residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs to flee the area ahead of airstrikes.

In a statement on social media, the military said it will target buildings in Dahiyeh if Hezbollah continues to launch rockets into Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier ordered the army to strike "terrorist targets" in the suburb.

This comes hours after the military issued displacement orders for nine Lebanese villages in the south of the country.

Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun, the third-highest scorer in the history of the Iranian national team, is not among the players selected for the World Cup, according to a list published Monday by the Football Federation.

Azmoun faced intense criticism in the Iranian media in March after posting on his Instagram account a photo of himself alongside the premier of the United Arab Emirates, a US ally and supporter of Washington in its war against Iran.

Wall Street stocks opened lower on Monday as optimism over a possible peace deal in the US-Israeli war on Iran dissipated, with the United States and Iran trading strikes and oil prices surging.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 per cent to 50,805.68 points shortly after trading started, while the broad-based S&P 500 Index was down 0.1 per cent at 7,569.80.

The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index edged lower by 0.1 per cent to 26,960.19.

Oil surged on Monday, in line with a recent trend seen when prospects for peace in the Iran war appeared clouded.

The semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim, considered close to the IRGC, reported that "Tehran's negotiating team is halting message exchanges with the United States through mediators, due to the strikes in Lebanon."

It was also reported that "no talks will be held until Iran's demands for a cessation of Israel's activity in Lebanon and Gaza are met."

It noted that the "Resistance Front and Iran have set their agenda to completely block the Strait of Hormuz and activate other fronts, including the Bab El-Mandeb Strait." 

In a statement to the press, Hezbollah says its members are still fighting Israeli troops near south Lebanon's Beaufort castle.

Over the weekend, Israel claimed it had control of the castle, describing it as a tactical and symbolic victory.

In a phone call he received today, Monday, from Swiss Foreign Minister Ignacio Cassis, the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister discussed Pakistani mediation efforts between the United States of America and Iran.

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the call focused on coordinating efforts to support mediation to reduce escalation, thereby contributing to enhancing security and stability in the region.

During the call, the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister stressed the importance of all parties responding to ongoing mediation efforts, thereby paving the way to address the roots of the crisis through dialogue and peaceful means and to reach a sustainable agreement that prevents renewed escalation.

The European Union has joined calls for Israel to halt its expanding attacks in Lebanon after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said he had ordered more attacks in Beirut's southern suburbs.

"We call on Israel to stop its military escalation in Lebanon and to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.

The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that US forces downed two Iranian ballistic missiles that targeted US forces stationed in Kuwait.

CENTCOM said the missile strikes, occurring at 11 p.m. Eastern time (03:00 GMT), were "immediately defeated", with no US personnel harmed.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that violating the ceasefire on one of the fighting fronts means violating it on all fronts, holding the United States and Israel responsible for the repercussions of any such violation.

Araghchi said, in a post on the X platform entitled "For Urgent Attention," that the ceasefire between Iran and the United States includes, "without any ambiguity," all fronts, including Lebanon, adding that any violation of it on one front is a violation of the entire agreement.

The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, condemned the continuation of what he described as "hostile Iranian attacks" targeting the State of Kuwait, stressing that they represent a "dangerous and irresponsible escalation," a violation of Kuwait's sovereignty, and a threat to the security and stability of the region.

Al-Budaiwi said in a statement published by the Council's General Secretariat today that the continuation of these attacks reflects an "unacceptable Iranian approach" that undermines efforts to maintain security and stability, and called on the international community and the Security Council to take a firm stance against these violations.

He stressed that Kuwait's security is an integral part of the GCC countries' security, and that the GCC countries stand by Kuwait and fully support the measures it is taking to protect its security and sovereignty. The General Staff of the Kuwaiti Army announced that the Kuwaiti air defences responded to enemy missile and drone attacks.

On Monday, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas praised Pakistan's role in mediating between the United States and Iran, which helped prevent an all-out war.

The Pakistani Geo channel quoted Kallas as saying, during a joint press conference with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, following the eighth session of the strategic dialogue between the European Union and Pakistan, that "Pakistani diplomatic efforts have helped prevent the outbreak of an all-out war on several occasions, and these efforts are appreciated throughout Europe."

Kallas described Pakistan as a "major regional power" and an important partner for the European Union, adding: "Today, during the strategic dialogue, we confirm our joint commitment to strengthening relations between the European Union and Pakistan."

Israel's defence minister said Monday there would be "no calm in Beirut" if Hezbollah attacks continued and vowed to establish a military-controlled zone in the area of south Lebanon's Litani River.

"The Dahiyeh in Beirut is no different from the communities in northern Israel—if there is no calm in the north, there will be no calm in Beirut," Israel Katz said in a statement released by his office, referring to the southern suburb of Beirut, which he had earlier Monday ordered strikes.

"At the same time, the IDF continues to operate with fire and manoeuvre against Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure in Lebanon... in order to push threats away from IDF forces and from the residents of the State of Israel, and to turn the Litani area into a zone under IDF security control, free of weapons and terrorists," Katz added.

The Iranian IRGC Navy has said that a total of 15 ships, including four oil tankers, have passed the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours, according to a statement shared by Fars news agency.

The organisation warned that it would view any form of cooperation by vessels with "hostile forces" as an "imminent security threat" to be "dealt with accordingly".

The Israeli army once again announced more forced evacuation orders, this time on seven villages and towns in southern Lebanon: Houmin al-Fawqa, Benaful, Arabsalim, Rumine, Azza, Erki, and Jbaa.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reportedly chaired the ministerial meeting on Monday morning.

Information Minister Paul Morcos said after the meeting, "Salam began the meeting with a briefing on the course of launching negotiations at the military level in Washington. He also presented the ongoing Lebanese efforts, in an intense manner, with friendly and brotherly countries, which are focused on re-establishing the ceasefire."

"The meeting discussed various aspects of the displacement file, especially in light of recent developments," he added.

A comprehensive report on the past three months will be issued tomorrow regarding responses to shelter and displacement needs.

An urgent international appeal is scheduled to launch on Friday, in continuation of previous relief efforts, to meet the growing needs of the displaced amid a decline in currently available capabilities.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator, accused the US of breaching the ceasefire, including by continuing its blockade of Iranian ports and allowing Israel to widen attacks in Lebanon.

"The naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon by the genocidal Zionist regime are clear evidence of US noncompliance with the ceasefire," Ghalibaf wrote in a post on X. "Every choice has a price, and the bill comes due. It will all fall into place."

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that Iran and Oman are the only two countries with the right to "exercise sovereignty" in the Strait of Hormuz.

In comments carried by the IRIB broadcaster, Gharibabadi said Iran has implemented a new process for "controlling traffic and navigation" in the waterway, but arrangements are coordinated with Oman.

He said Iran has urged Oman to "not give in to" threats from the US.

Official Lebanese sources told The New Arab that Lebanon is intensifying its efforts to stabilise the ceasefire and is conducting international contacts, especially with the US, in light of Israeli threats to bomb Beirut's southern suburbs.

According to the sources, negotiations expected in Washington tomorrow are still ongoing, and there is no decision to back down, although they have not yet yielded the desired results, with efforts focused on a complete ceasefire.

Sources in the General Directorate of Lebanese Civil Defence confirmed to The New Arab that field teams are continuing to perform their humanitarian tasks on the ground in various regions despite the harsh conditions and imminent dangers from the ongoing Israeli aggression.

The sources explained that field developments and increased Israeli threats forced the adoption of exceptional measures in several centres, including repositioning to ensure the safety of the crews, while stressing that the elements are present on the ground and that field coordination with them is continuing.

 The Civil Defence identified a centre in the Sidon region in southern Lebanon as a point of operations in light of the rapid developments.

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Kuwait's Foreign Ministry has expressed its "strong condemnation and denunciation of the continued escalation" by Israeli forces in Lebanon.

The ministry affirmed Kuwait's "steadfast and supportive stance toward Lebanon's unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, calling for an immediate halt to this escalation, the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from all Lebanese territories, and full compliance with the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 and all other relevant international resolutions," it said in a statement, adding that the international community and the UNSC must "fulfil their responsibilities in stopping these violations".

Kuwait's air defences intercepted missile and drone attacks, the military said Monday, with the country later blaming Iran.

"The General Staff of the Army wishes to advise that any sounds of explosions heard are the result of air defence systems intercepting these hostile attacks," the army said in a post on X.

The foreign ministry later said in a statement that it was "holding Iran fully responsible for these heinous attacks".

KUNA, the state news agency, reported that air raid sirens sounded across the Gulf nation, which is a US ally. 

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that there were currently no exchanges with the United States over the details of Tehran's nuclear programme.

"We know when it is necessary to act on nuclear matters. No negotiations have taken place on the details of the nuclear file. At this stage, our priority is ending the war," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a weekly press briefing.

The foreign ministry said that Kuwait must urgently clarify the status of the four detained Iranian citizens, without providing further details about the case.

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that a ceasefire in Lebanon remains a key condition for a deal with the United States.

"We insist that a ceasefire in Lebanon is an essential condition for any deal aimed at ending the war," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing, as Israel expands its invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon.

The New Arab's Arabic-language correspondent in the Lebanese capital reported that the southern suburb of Beirut is witnessing an exodus of people rushing to leave following Israel's new threat to bomb the area.

The #EU’s statement blaming Iran for exercising its right to self-defense against U.S. aggression launched from bases in neighboring countries is a masterclass in selective moral outrage; it is hypocritical and reckless.

The EU (@eu_eeas) must remain faithful to the rule of law…

— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) June 1, 2026

Netanyahu has instructed the Israeli military to strike “terrorist targets in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut”.

He claimed on a post on X that the strikes are in response to the "repeated and ongoing violations" of the ceasefire in Lebanon by Hezbollah. 

Lebanese state media, the National News Agency, reports at least 6 killed from recent Israeli strikes.

NNA reports that two people were killed in an Israeli drone strike in the southern town of Braiqaa, while an Israeli drone strike in the nearby town of Toul killed a Syrian national.

Three others were killed in overnight strikes in the town of Kfarsir, located north of the Litani River, according to NNA.

The Israeli army warned residents of seven villages and towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate and move north of the Zahrani River.

The targeted towns, according to a statement by the Israeli army, are: Al-Aqibiya, Al-Zarriya, Al-Marwaniyah, Sneiber, Al-Najjariya, Al-Adousiya, and Khirbet Basal.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that his country was facing "a vicious and reprehensible Israeli aggression", after Israel stepped up its invasion of the country with the capture of the medieval Beaufort Castle.

Aoun condemned the Israeli offensive in a post on X and pledged to "work to end the suffering of the Lebanese people, and people in the south in particular".

On Monday, the UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on Lebanon, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the castle's seizure marked a "dramatic shift" in the fighting.

The UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting Monday on the fighting in Lebanon after Israel's military took over the medieval castle of Beaufort in Lebanese territory, diplomatic sources told AFP.

Diplomatic sources told AFP that the United Nations Security Council would hold an emergency meeting Monday over Israel's expansion of its invasion in Lebanon.

The meeting was requested by France, whose President Emmanuel Macron said "nothing justifies the major escalation underway in south Lebanon", calling for an end to fighting.

Israel hit Lebanon over the weekend, with eight people killed in a strike on Deir Zahrani in southern Lebanon on Sunday, including three women, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Lebanon's health ministry says Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,412 people since early March.

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Al-Mizan Agency, which is affiliated with the judiciary in Iran, reported that the death sentence was carried out today at dawn in Tehran, against two people described as "leaders of the January coup" in reference to the protests this month. 

The agency explained that the two convicts were accused of burning the Jaafari Mosque in the Koy Nasr neighbourhood in Tehran, vandalising public property, closing streets and preventing the passage of citizens, in addition to clashing with security personnel, noting that their arrest was followed by a judicial process that ended with the ruling being upheld in the Supreme Court before the execution was carried out.

US President Donald Trump said that Iran very much wants to agree, noting that it would be a "good" agreement for the United States and its allies.

In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump criticised his political opponents and some Republicans for their handling of the negotiation process, noting that the contradictory calls to speed up or slow down, or to resort to or avoid war, make his work and negotiating efforts difficult.

He added that things "will turn out well in the end."

A US official told Reuters that Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.

The official explained that the United States proposed, as a first step, that Hezbollah stop all its attacks on Israel, and in return, Israel refrain from further violence in Lebanon.

The US official added that Aoun tried to move forward on this proposal, but Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri placed the responsibility on Israel to refrain from "shooting first."