LIVE: Middle East tensions push oil prices above $90 as fighting intensifies in Lebanon

This live blog follows the latest developments across the Middle East crisis, including regional diplomacy, maritime security, ceasefire negotiations, and economic fallout.

Catch up on Monday's top developments here:
 

• Trump insists Netanyahu relationship 'very good' despite Gaza rift
•  Oil prices finish up 5% as Hormuz dispute drags on
• Trump says will demand conflict compensation from Iran

• Iran supreme leader names Guards general Abdollahi military chief

• Iran ties the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to an end to the US blockade

  
  

Gaza death toll rises to 73,387, with more than 174,250 injured

Published; Aug 11, 2026 | 10:42 GMT | by Web Desk

WAFA news agency reported Tuesday that the death toll from Israel’s ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 73,387, with 174,250 others injured, since Oct. 7, 2023.

Hospitals across the enclave reported receiving the body of one slain Palestinian and one injured person over the past 24 hours.

Death toll since the ceasefire took effect on October 11, 2025, has reached 1,259, while the number of injuries has risen to 4.146. The number of bodies recovered from under the rubble since then has reached 807.

Brent North Sea oil tops $90 as Iran-US deal hopes fade
Published; Aug 11, 2026 | 8:42 GMT | by AFP

The price of Brent North Sea crude, the main international oil contract, climbed above $90 on Tuesday as hopes that the United States and Iran reach a deal to end the war fade.

Brent reached $90.02 a barrel, a gain of more than 2.5% from Monday, while the main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, jumped 2.7% to $84.32 a barrel.

Israeli forces shell southern Lebanese town
Published: Aug 11, 2026 | 07:42 GMT | by Web Desk

Israeli forces carried out intermittent artillery shelling on Tuesday in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, a town in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border, accompanied by heavy machine-gun fire targeting several neighborhoods, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported.

The shelling coincided with reports from UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in Lebanon, which said Israel fired 455 projectiles into southern Lebanon and violated Lebanese airspace 97 times between Friday and Sunday.

The UN force described this as the heaviest exchange of fire in months.

Iran condemns Israeli attacks on Lebanon
Published: Aug 11, 2026 | 07:22 GMT | by Web Desk

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei condemned Israeli military attacks on southern Lebanon on Tuesday, stating that Israel was violating the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty, according to the Tasnim news agency.

In a statement, Baghaei said the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, had failed to respond adequately to the attacks.

UN Security Council to convene session on West Bank developments
Published: Aug 11, 2026 | 06:47 GMT | by Web Desk

The UN Security Council is scheduled to convene on Tuesday for a session on Palestinian affairs, with several council members requesting the meeting amid growing international concern over developments in the West Bank, according to the WAFA news agency.

Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, is expected to brief the council via video conference.

Iran's Supreme Leader appoints new military commanders

Published: Aug 11, 2026 | 06:30 GMT | by Web Desk

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Maj Gen Ali Abdullahi as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and Brig Gen Kiyomars Heydari as Deputy Chief of Staff, Tasnim News Agency reported Tuesday.

In related decrees, Khamenei promoted Brig Gen Ahmad Vahidi to major general and appointed him Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), while Maj Gen Mustafa Izadi was named acting commander of the IRGC.

Israeli forces issue military order to seize land in West Bank

Published: Aug 11, 2026 | 04:44GMT | by Web Desk

Israeli forces issued a military order to seize 407 square meters of land belonging to the village of Jinsafut in Qalqiliya, a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to the WAFA news agency.

The order covers a 94-meter strip of land and was issued for what Israeli authorities describe as "military purposes."

According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, the seized land will be used to establish a military communications tower and create an access route to the site alongside the Al-Funduq bypass road.

Israeli planning committee approves settlement expansion plan near Jerusalem

Published: Aug 11, 2026 | 04:38GMT | by Web Desk

An Israeli planning committee has approved a plan to establish a new settlement called Nofey Rachel at the entrance to Umm Tuba, a Palestinian neighborhood south of occupied East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The plan calls for approximately 650 housing units on roughly 27,000 square meters of land adjacent to Palestinian homes in Umm Tuba, WAFA reported. The Jerusalem Governorate announced the approval Monday.

The settlement would be constructed on land the Israeli government designates as state property.

Israeli forces destroy water infrastructure in West Bank territory

Published: Aug 11, 2026 | 04:00GMT | by Web Desk

Israeli forces destroyed water pipelines in the areas of Atouf and Ras al-Ahmar, located southeast of Tubas in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The West Bank is a territory occupied by Israel since 1967, where Palestinians have limited self-governance in some areas but where Israeli military maintains broad authority. Tubas is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank.

Human rights activist Aref Daraghmeh told WAFA that the pipelines were destroyed to clear the way for construction of a military road in the area. The pipelines supply water to Palestinian communities in the region, where access to water resources remains contested between Israeli and Palestinian authorities.

The destruction of water infrastructure is part of a broader pattern of Israeli military operations affecting Palestinian civilian infrastructure in the West Bank.

Monday's developments at a glance

Published: Aug 10, 2026 | 00:22 GMT | by Web Desk

Oil prices jumped roughly 5% Monday, with Brent crude rising to $87.72 a barrel and US benchmark WTI climbing to $82.13, as Washington and Tehran remained far apart on terms to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's foreign ministry said the waterway would stay closed until the US lifts its naval blockade and makes amends for what it called “destructive actions.”

Separately, Iran and Oman continued talks on a shipping route through the strait, with both sides agreeing on a proposed path but still working out technical details; Tehran said transit fees were not currently part of the discussion.

President Trump, meanwhile, said he would seek compensation from Iran for damage during the recent conflict, mirroring Iran's own demand for compensation over deaths and injuries it attributes to US strikes.

Iran's supreme leader also reshuffled the country's military command, naming a new armed forces chief of staff and a new IRGC commander, cementing his authority over the armed forces.

On the Gaza front, President Trump insisted his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains "very good," despite Netanyahu's explicit rejection of a US-backed Gaza plan that would have Israel withdraw forces as Hamas disarms. 

The rejection comes as Netanyahu faces pressure from his right-wing base ahead of October elections, with polls showing the plan is unpopular among his coalition.

Regionally, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held calls with his Iranian and Saudi counterparts, briefing both on the newly signed Makkah Joint Defense Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye. Iran's foreign ministry described the pact as a sign that regional states are shifting away from relying on foreign powers for security.

Elsewhere, violence persisted in Yemen, where clashes intensified between government forces and Houthi fighters along the Al-Fakher front, and in the West Bank, where Israeli forces and settlers raided areas southeast of Bethlehem.

For earlier developments, read our Aug 10 live blog here.