A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect late Thursday, bringing a temporary halt to direct hostilities even as tensions and localized violence persisted and political leaders warned the pause may not hold.
The truce, announced by US President Donald Trump, was welcomed by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who urged all parties to respect the agreement and comply with international humanitarian law. French President Emmanuel Macron also voiced support but expressed concern that ongoing military operations could already be undermining the deal.
Despite the ceasefire, reports of violations and unrest emerged almost immediately. Lebanon’s army accused Israel of “acts of aggression,” including intermittent shelling of southern villages, and called on citizens to refrain from returning to frontline areas. AFP journalists reported gunfire and RPGs in Beirut’s southern suburbs around the time the truce began. The Israeli military said its forces would remain deployed in southern Lebanon and urged residents not to move south of the Litani River; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said troops would not withdraw and described an Israeli “security zone” extending roughly 10 kilometers into Lebanon.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the 10-day pause as a “temporary freeze” and warned that Israel’s ground invasion and aerial strikes in Lebanon had achieved gains but were “still not complete.” Katz said Israel would resume operations if diplomatic efforts failed to advance the country’s objective of disarming Hezbollah and suggested pressure on the Lebanese government — with US assistance — represented a significant diplomatic lever. He cautioned that residents who returned to southern areas during the ceasefire could be evacuated again if fighting resumed.
Shortly before the ceasefire took effect, Israeli air strikes on the southern city of Tyre killed at least 13 people and injured dozens, with several residential buildings destroyed. Lebanese officials reported people still missing under rubble. The strikes underscored the fragility of the truce and the humanitarian toll of the wider conflict.
Displaced Lebanese began to return home to towns and villages in the south and to parts of Beirut as the truce took hold, despite warnings from the army and signs of extensive damage. Over 1.1 million people — roughly a fifth of Lebanon’s population — had fled fighting in southern Lebanon and bombardment of Beirut’s suburbs. Returnees encountered flattened apartment blocks and destroyed infrastructure in some areas.
International diplomatic activity intensified as leaders sought to use the pause to broaden talks and stabilize the region. Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan planned discussions on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum to press for an end to the wider US-Israeli war with Iran, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging that the ceasefire be used to extend negotiations. Washington indicated a second round of US-Iran talks was likely after initial meetings in Islamabad.
European responses included plans for a Paris conference hosted by France and the United Kingdom focused on securing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global energy shipments that Iran had effectively blocked after the wider conflict began. German and Italian leaders were expected to participate, while Berlin signaled it could contribute naval minehunters and surveillance assets to an international mission.
The conflict’s wider economic impact was highlighted by warnings from the German Aviation Association and the International Energy Agency about potential jet fuel shortages and disruptions to summer travel, as damage across the Middle East has affected energy and logistic infrastructure.
Other developments related to the broader regional fallout included Australia granting humanitarian protection to members of Iran’s women’s national soccer team who sought asylum after protests about singing the national anthem, and Australian leadership saying the United States had made no new requests for assistance in Iran.
US President Donald Trump described the war with Iran as a “little diversion” and expressed optimism that it would end soon. He also posted on social media expressing hope that Hezbollah would “act nicely” during the ceasefire. The situation remained volatile: while the international community urged that the truce be respected and diplomatic channels be pursued, military deployments, local clashes and recent deadly strikes underscored how precarious the pause is and how quickly it could unravel.