Issued on: 08/04/2026 - 04:15Modified: 09/04/2026 - 08:39
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said he urged US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to include Lebanon in a ceasefire agreed overnight. Israeli strikes there on Wednesday killed 182 people, according to officials. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
Hezbollah fires rockets at northern Israel, citing ceasefire breaches
Lebanon's Hezbollah said early on Thursday it fired rockets at northern Israel in its first attack against the country since the United States reached a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran.
Hezbollah said in a statement that its attack came in response to what it described as Israeli ceasefire violations, after Israel launched its biggest attack on Lebanon in this war on Wednesday.
Iran's IRGC navy issues map to guide ships around Hormuz mines
Iran announced alternative routes on Thursday for ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, citing the risk of sea mines in the main zone of the vital waterway.
Tehran has agreed to temporarily reopen the strait, through which one-fifth of the world's oil usually passes, as part of a two-week truce.
"All ships intending to transit the Strait of Hormuz are hereby notified that in order to comply with the principles of maritime safety and to be protected from possible collisions with sea mines...they should take alternative routes for traffic in the Strait of Hormuz," Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement quoted by local media.
The statement shared instructions for an alternative entry and exit route through the strait.
Macron tells Trump, Iran president ceasefire must include Lebanon
French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that he urged his US and Iranian counterparts, Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian, to include Lebanon in the ceasefire reached with Iran.
Israel announced Wednesday it did not consider Lebanon covered by the Iran-US truce announced overnight.
Its strikes on Lebanon Wednesday killed 182 people and wounded 890, according to an initial government toll, with the capital Beirut hit by the most violent bombardment since the start of the Israel-Hezbollah war last month.
"I expressed my hope that the ceasefire will be fully respected by each of the belligerents, across all areas of confrontation, including in Lebanon," Macron wrote on X after speaking with both leaders.
He said it was a "necessary condition for the ceasefire to be credible and lasting".
Macron is the first Western leader to have spoken with the Iranian president since the announcement of the ceasefire.
Red Cross 'outraged' by 'death and destruction' in Lebanon
The Red Cross said it was "outraged by the devastating death and destruction" in densely populated areas across Lebanon Wednesday as Israel launched a massive wave of attacks.
Heavy explosive weapons with wide-area effects struck bustling neighbourhoods, including the capital Beirut, without effective advance warnings, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement.
"People across Lebanon were holding their breath for a ceasefire agreement, but a wave of deadly strikes plunged the country into panic and chaos," said Agnes Dhur, the ICRC's head of delegation in Lebanon.
"Many who had begun thinking of the moment when they might return to their homes have been rushing to streets and hospitals, searching for missing loved ones or seeking a safety that feels increasingly out of reach."
Lebanon's health ministry says Israeli strikes killed 182, the highest single-day death toll in the Israel-Hezbollah war
Trump weighs punishing certain NATO countries over lack of Iran war support, WSJ reports
The Trump administration is considering a plan to punish some members of the NATO alliance that he believes were unhelpful to the US and Israel during the Iran war, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing administration officials.
The proposal would involve moving US troops out of NATO member countries deemed unhelpful to the Iran war effort and station them in countries that were more supportive of the US military campaign, the report added.
Iran president says Lebanon truce a key condition for ending war, local media reports
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that a Lebanon ceasefire was one of the key conditions of the Islamic Republic's 10-point plan for securing an end to the Middle East war, the ISNA news agency reported Wednesday.
Pezeshkian told French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in a phone call that Tehran's "acceptance of the ceasefire is a clear sign of Iran's responsibility and serious will to resolve conflicts through diplomacy", ISNA said.
He added that "establishing a ceasefire in Lebanon has been one of the key conditions of Iran's 10-point plan".
Lebanon declares day of mourning after Israeli attacks
In photos: Beirut residents trapped in buildings damaged by Israeli strikes
Rescuers work to free residents from a damaged building following an Israeli strike, in Beirut.
(© Emilie Madi, Reuters)
On the ground: Awaiting long-term guarantees, ceasefire agreement enters 'tremulous period'
FRANCE 24's Noga Tarnopolsky reports from Jerusalem.
Turkey 'firmly condemns' Israeli strikes on Lebanon
Turkey "firmly condemns" ongoing Israeli strikes on Lebanon, which Israel and the United States say are not covered by the US-Iranian ceasefire, the foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday evening.
"We firmly condemn the Israeli attacks that have intensified against Lebanon, causing numerous casualties," said the statement from Turkey, a key regional player.
"These attacks are worsening the humanitarian situation in the country," it added.
Vance says US did not agree that ceasefire would cover Lebanon
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday said Tehran's negotiators thought the US-Iran ceasefire agreed to on Tuesday included Lebanon, but the US had in fact not agreed to that.
Vance urged Iran not to let the fragile ceasefire deal fall apart over Israel's attacks on Lebanon, days before he is due to lead talks with Tehran in Pakistan.
"If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart... over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that's ultimately their choice," Vance told reporters in Hungary.
On the ground: Iran continues to target Gulf countries despite ceasefire announcement
FRANCE 24 correspondent Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports from Doha.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday it is outraged by the devastating death and destruction in densely populated areas across Lebanon today following intensified military operations.
“People across Lebanon were holding their breath for a ceasefire agreement, but a wave of deadly strikes plunged the country into panic and chaos,” said Agnès Dhur, ICRC's head of delegation in Lebanon.
“Many who had begun thinking of the moment when they might return to their homes have been rushing to streets and hospitals, searching for missing loved ones or seeking a safety that feels increasingly out of reach.”
Iran designates safe paths through the strait of Hormuz under coordination with Revolutionary Guards
Iran ports and maritime organization has said that safe passage routes through the Strait of Hormuz have designates and must be used by ships in coordination with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the Student News Network reported.
The organization said that the safe entry path is from the Sea of Oman towards the north of Larak Island while the safe exit path from the Gulf passes south of Larak Island and towards the Sea of Oman.
Scale of killing in Lebanon 'horrific', UN rights chief says
The scale of the killing in Israeli strikes on Lebanon Wednesday is "horrific", the UN rights chief said, urging the international community to help end the unfolding "nightmare".
"The scale of the killing and destruction in Lebanon today is nothing short of horrific," Volker Turk said in a statement. "Such carnage, within hours of agreeing to a ceasefire with Iran, defies belief. It places enormous pressure on a fragile peace, which is so desperately needed by civilians."
Israel police says Jerusalem holy sites to reopen Thursday
The Israeli police said that holy places in Jerusalem that had been closed due to safety measures adopted during the war with Iran will reopen Thursday.
"Following... updated Home Front Command guidelines, starting tomorrow morning, Thursday, April 9, 2026, the holy sites in the city of Jerusalem will reopen to visitors and for prayer," the police announced.
On the ground: Day of strikes shows ‘fragility, complexity’ surrounding ceasefire
FRANCE 24's correspondent Reza Sayah reports from Tehran.
Iran accuses US of violating 3 clauses of framework for a deal, says ceasefire, negotiations with US are 'unreasonable'
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