Will conflict between Israel and Lebanon derail ceasefire?published at 03:10 BST

03:10 BST

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent in Beirut

One of the remaining questions is: will the war between Israel and Hezbollah derail the ceasefire?

Israel says its war in Lebanon is not over.

Hezbollah says it has the right to respond to Israeli attacks and has fired rockets at northern Israel, as disagreement continues over whether Lebanon is part of the ceasefire.

On Wednesday, Lebanon was hit with the heaviest bombardment by Israel in this conflict. For 10 minutes, the country was under heavy attack. The health ministry says at least 182 people have been killed and more than 800 wounded.

At the site of the largest air strike on Beirut emergency workers were searching damaged buildings for hours. Found amid the rubble were glimpses of interrupted lives: pictures of smiling families, pieces of clothing, school homework that was left unfinished. It was difficult to believe the scale of the destruction in an area so close to the centre of capital.

Abdelkader Mahfouz came to visit his brother who had been injured in the attack.

"There was a lot of body parts here. Only people are getting harmed. What should the people do. We can't do anything. I wish I was a bomb so that I can blow up whoever is responsible for this. The enemy doesn’t have mercy."

Many in Lebanon are angry with Hezbollah, saying it has dragged the country into an unwanted war. But they also blame Israel for bringing so much destruction to this country.

Image source, Getty Images

Hezbollah says it has fired rockets at northern Israel.

The Iran-backed militia says it was in response to ceasefire violations, in a statement posted on social media.

They have also threatened to continue attacks until "Israeli-American aggression" against Lebanon stops.

On Wednesday, Israel launched its heaviest bombardment of Lebanon in this conflict, killing at least 182 people.

Disagreement remains over whether Lebanon is included in the ceasefire.

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

Israeli police say Jerusalem's holy sites will reopen to visitors and worshippers following the temporary ceasefire arrangement reached in the Middle East conflict.

The sites, including the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Western Wall, and Church of the Holy Sepulchre, all with the Old City, are among the holiest in the world in Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

Because of the war on Iran launched by the US and Israel six weeks ago, the sites have been closed through key religious holidays, including over Easter and parts of Passover, with only very limited numbers of clergy admitted.

The Old City, where alleys are typically bustling with activity from residents, market-goers, tourists and worshippers, has been extremely quiet, with many shop and stall owners not opening at all.

Police said that the holy sites would reopen from Thursday morning, with hundreds of additional officers deployed to ensure safety, and the public is encouraged to be patient if there is congestion.

Image source, Getty Images

A short while ago, US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social for the first time since his meeting with Nato chief Mark Rutte at the White House today.

"NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!"

Trump appears to be referencing his previously stated aim to annex the Danish territory into the US, a move that was opposed by many US allies in Nato.

Rutte earlier told CNN that their meeting was "frank", and that he "absolutely" believes the world is safer after the US and Israel's attacks on Iran.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

Image source, Reuters

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has described his meeting with Donald Trump as "frank" and open, despite clear disagreements.

Rutte was at the White House for over two hours today, although we don't know long the meeting with Trump was.

What is clear, however, is that Trump still has deep misgivings about the alliance and the member countries that he believes did not help the US enough before and during Operation Epic Fury.

Much of Rutte's message to Trump appears to be that many European countries did not stand in the way.

The Secretary General told CNN that he pointed out that "the large majority of European nations has been helpful with basing, with logistics, with overflights".

"It's therefore a nuanced picture," Rutte said.

Whether or not that point - and the Secretary General's own warm relationship with Trump - are enough for the US president remains to be seen.

The relationship between the administration and the Nato alliance was already in a difficult place before the war with Iran, largely as a result of disagreements over Trump's plans for Greenland.

The conflict in Iran, however, has taken Trump's grievances with Nato to new heights and created what is perhaps the greatest challenge it has faced in its history.

It's unclear how many ships are currently able to cross through the Strait of Hormuz, amid conflicting reports about how open the narrow sea passage really is.

• Iranian state media reports that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed after continued attacks by Israel against Iran's allies in Lebanon

• Two Iranian outlets posted data from a vessel-tracking website showing one Panamanian-flagged ship that approached the strait before turning around, with the caption: "Strait of Hormuz has been fully closed, forcing oil tankers to turn back"
• White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters in her briefing that any reports suggesting that the strait is closed are false, and said there has been an "uptick" in ships passing through
• Leavitt added that Trump is aware of these "unacceptable" false reports, and has received assurance from US officials that the passage is actually open
• Meanwhile, commercial ship broker SSY confirmed to BBC Verify that ships in the Gulf had received a message from the IRGC saying: "The Strait of Hormuz remains closed and permission from the Revolutionary Guards is required to pass through this route. Any ship attempting to enter the sea without permission will be targeted and destroyed."

Sakshi Venkatraman
US reporter

There's been a lot of confusion around a 10-point proposal submitted by Iranian leaders ahead of the ceasefire.

Donald Trump mentioned it in his post on Truth Social announcing the ceasefire, and said it was a "workable basis on which to negotiate".

Since then, several iterations of the plan have been surfaced.

Iranian state-run media revealed one that included cessation of the war in Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and full commitment to the US lifting sanctions.

Then came one from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council adding more stipulations that were supposedly agreed. They included Iran keeping control of the Strait of Hormuz, permission to continue its enrichment of uranium and no more targeting of "Islamic resistance of Lebanon".

The part about enrichment was eventually removed from the English translation of the security council's statement.

Trump and White House have today disputed some of those points - including statements that a ceasefire on Lebanon is not a part of the deal and that there will be no enrichment of uranium.

"There is only one group of meaningful "POINTS" that are acceptable to the United States," Trump wrote.

Vice-President JD Vance said there have been three iterations of the 10-point plan, one of which was "garbage" and another of which was "reasonable".

The Speaker of Iran's Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has issued a statement saying the "denial of Iran's right to enrichment" was a violation of the 10-point plan, as was the exclusion of Lebanon from the ceasefire.

Image source, EPA

Earlier, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on X that three clauses of Iran’s 10-point proposal have been "openly and clearly violated" and in such situation a "bilateral ceasefire or negotiations" is "unreasonable".

Ghalibaf mentioned that Lebanon was included in the proposal, something that the White House has rejected today.

He also mentioned a drone entering Iran’s southern Fars province. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) had told the BBC that they were "not aware" of such an incident.

On the third one, he has said that Iran's right to enrichment was included in the proposal, something that was included in the Persian statement of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), read aloud last night by the presenter on state TV.

The US and Israel's war in Iran started on 28 February, two days after the latest round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Some unconfirmed reports had suggested that Trump administration was considering Ghalibaf as a potential partner and possibly even a future leader of Iran.

Nick Beake
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Getty Images

You wonder now just how sustainable this wider ceasefire is.

Israel trumpeted hitting 100 targets in the space of 10 minutes in Lebanon on Wednesday. The Iranians are threatening to hit back unless the attacks stop.

President Trump has indicated the Israelis are not breaking the terms of his Iran deal - referring to Lebanon as a "separate skirmish".

Just a reminder: 1,500 people have been killed in Lebanon in the last six weeks, including 130 children, and more than a million people have been displaced.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had - he thought - achieved his political ambition of a lifetime in persuading a US president to embark on a joint venture to hit Iran and topple the regime.

Tonight he had to deny suggestions he found out only at the last minute that President Trump was stepping back and halting strikes on Tehran.

He also vowed Israel would be ready to resume the war with Iran, if needed.

Opposition politicians say he has failed in his war aims, was not invited to the negotiating table, and has only created a more vengeful Iran - more determined than ever to build a nuclear weapon.

But in the short term, these continued Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon - and the accompanying death and destruction - are putting a considerable strain on this fragile truce.

It is just over 24 hours since US President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire in Iran, which Israel, Iran and mediators Pakistan later affirmed.

But already the peace deal is showing cracks.

Israel has launched a large wave of strikes in Lebanon, killing at least 182 people. There is still disagreement over whether the country is included in the ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the attacks as "the greatest blow" to Hezbollah since the start of war, saying Israel will resume fighting Iran if "required".

Meanwhile, Iran has said it will induce a "regret-inducing response" if the strikes in Lebanon do not stop immediately.

On Saturday, US Vice-President JD Vance will take part in negotiations with Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan.

A key point of contention will be shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime passage in the Persian Gulf that is critical to global oil and fuel supplies.

Iran has said vessels will be "targeted and destroyed" if they pass through without permission.

The speaker of the Iranian parliament also says three ceasefire clauses of its 10-point proposal have already been "openly and clearly violated", while Vance has said there is always some "choppiness" to such agreements.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest.