Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday (9 April) he is seeking direct talks with Beirut, a day after the deadliest bombardment of the war killed more than 250 people in Lebanon and put Donald Trump’s U.S.–Iran ceasefire at risk.
Trump announced a ceasefire in the six-week-old Iran conflict late on Tuesday, just hours before a deadline after which he had threatened to destroy Iran’s entire civilisation.
In Pakistan, authorities were preparing for the first round of U.S.–Iran talks, locking down the capital, Islamabad.
However, there was no sign that Iran was easing its near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused the worst disruption to global energy supplies in history. Israel’s ongoing attacks on Lebanon remain a key sticking point.
In the first 24 hours of the ceasefire, just one oil products tanker and five dry bulk carriers passed through the strait, which typically handled around 140 ships a day before the war, accounting for roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
Netanyahu said in a statement that he had instructed officials to begin peace talks as soon as possible, including discussions on disarming the Iran-aligned militant group Hezbollah.
“In light of Lebanon's repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the cabinet yesterday to start direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” he said.
“The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon.”
An hour before Netanyahu’s statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he was pursuing a diplomatic track on the issue, which was beginning to be viewed “positively” by international actors.
A senior Lebanese official told Reuters that Beirut had spent the past day pushing for a temporary ceasefire to enable broader talks with Israel, describing the effort as a “separate track but the same model” as the U.S.–Iran ceasefire.
Israel says ceasefire excludes Lebanon
Israel says its operations in Lebanon are not covered by Trump’s ceasefire.
While Washington has also excluded Lebanon, Iran and Pakistan - which acted as mediator - say it was explicitly included in the deal. Several countries, including Britain and France, have called for the ceasefire to be extended to Lebanon.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who is expected to lead the Iranian delegation opposite U.S. Vice President JD Vance, said on social media that Lebanon and the rest of Iran’s “axis” of regional allies were inseparable parts of any ceasefire.
A Pakistani source said Islamabad was working on ceasefires for Lebanon as well as Yemen, where Israel has also targeted Iran-aligned forces.
Israel continued its bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs and other parts of the country on Thursday, according to Lebanese state media.
It also expanded evacuation orders to include areas on Beirut’s outskirts near the airport, as well as several displacement shelters.
Hezbollah said it carried out at least 20 military operations on Thursday, targeting Israeli vehicles on Lebanese territory and launching attacks into northern Israel.
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