White House sources have told media the U.S. and Iran are set to extend their ceasefire for another 60 days.
Iran says any peace deal must also end Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, after the U.S. ally bombed Beirut for the second time this month.
Israel said it’s targeting Hezbollah-linked infrastructure in southern Lebanon, where the Iran-backed militant group has fired rockets at the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered troops to take control of up to 70% of Gaza, as the IDF continues to strike the region.
U.S-Iran
Overnight, U.S. officials said a deal to extend the Iran ceasefire is imminent.
After Iran was struck by the U.S. and Israel in February, it blocked non-Iranian ships from the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. then stationed vessels at the waterway’s entrance to restrict Iranian shipping.
The new deal would reopen the Strait to international shipping, and require the U.S. to lift its blockade.
U.S. President Donald Trump still needs to sign off on the plan. Iranian state media reports the regime is yet to agree to final terms.
Lebanon
Israel and Lebanon have had a ceasefire in place since mid-April, after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel and the IDF struck Lebanon.
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At the time, Israel said it needed to maintain a “buffer zone” with troops in southern Lebanon. This week, it’s carried out multiple strikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah has fired on Israeli troops.
Israel’s strikes killed at least 31 people, according to Lebanese authorities, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced.
Gaza
Netanyahu has directed the IDF to increase its control of Gaza to 70%, up from around 60%.
Under last year’s ceasefire deal, Israel was meant to withdraw its troops to an “agreed upon line” and stop “military operations” in Gaza.
However, Netanyahu said troops will now move “step by step” to take more of Gaza.
“We‘re pressing [Hamas] from all sides. We’ll deal with the remnants,” he told a conference at a settlement in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 900 people since the truce, health officials say, while Israel says four soldiers were killed during the same period.
The UN says it has observed “a renewed military escalation” in Gaza “over recent weeks,” while hospitals in Gaza City said Israeli strikes killed at least 10 people this week.
This week marked Eid al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday. Gaza is majority Muslim, while Lebanon has a significant Muslim population.
