BEIRUT: European and Arab states have pressured Israel to stop targeting Beirut, a Western diplomat told AFP on Friday, two days after deadly Israeli strikes on Lebanon that left more than 300 people dead. On Thursday afternoon, the Israeli military issued a warning of incoming strikes for large, densely populated areas of southern Beirut, but had not carried out the threat as of midday on Friday. The Western diplomat, who asked to remain anonymous in order to discuss sensitive matters, said on Friday &quot;There is ongoing diplomatic pressure from European states, Gulf states and Egypt on Israel to prevent renewed Israeli airstrikes on Beirut after &#39;Black Wednesday&#39;&quot;. More than 300 people, mostly civilians according to a Lebanese military source, were killed in the wave of simultaneous Israeli strikes on Wednesday on Beirut and other areas of Lebanon. The strikes were launched despite the announcement hours earlier of a truce between the United States and Iran, with Israel and the US saying it did not apply to Lebanon. Thursday&#39;s Israeli warning included areas home to major hospitals and the road to the country&#39;s only international airport. Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamni said, in a statement carried by the state-run National News Agency (NNA) on Thursday, that he had &quot;received assurances&quot; from foreign diplomats that the airport and the road leading to it would be spared. Meanwhile, Mohammad Zaatari, director of the country&#39;s largest public medical facility, Rafic Hariri Hospital, told AFP: &quot;We have received assurances, including from the International Committee of the Red Cross that the hospital would not be targeted.&quot; The World Health Organization on Thursday called on Israel to cancel its evacuation warning for the Jnah district of Beirut because around 450 patients were in the Rafic Hariri and Al-Zahraa hospitals in the district, including 40 in intensive care. In southern Lebanon, Israeli strikes hit several villages during the night and on Friday, the NNA reported. An AFP photographer saw firefighters extinguishing a fire in a building blown apart by a nighttime strike in the village of Habbouch, near Nabatiyeh.

Lebanese rescuers clear the rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building the day before in the Lebanese Beirut on April 9, 2026. (AFP)

Middle East

European and Arab states pressure Israel to halt strikes on Beirut after attacks killed over 300 in Lebanon, as Israeli warnings continue and civilians and key infrastructure remain at risk.

European, Arab pressure on Israel to stop strikes on Lebanese capital: diplomat 

Web Desk/AFP

Americas

Iran fires missiles at Israel as strikes intensify across the region, Trump issues fresh threats and ultimatums, and tensions rise after attacks on energy sites, military targets and infrastructure, deepening instability across the Middle East.

Day 36: All you need to know about US-Israel war on Iran

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Iran&rsquo;s military said Wednesday that the United States is failing in its war and &ldquo;negotiating with itself&rdquo; to save face, dismissing claims that talks are underway to end the conflict. According to reports widely covered in international media, the spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters (the unified command of Iran&rsquo;s armed forces), Second Brigadier General Ebrahim Zolfaghari,&nbsp;said in a video published by Iranian outlets that the US should not call its setbacks an agreement. &ldquo;Has the level of your internal conflict reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?&rdquo; he asked. He said that energy and oil prices would not return to previous levels until regional stability is guaranteed by &ldquo;the powerful hand of our armed forces.&rdquo; The statement came a day after US President Donald Trump said Washington is speaking to the &ldquo;right people&rdquo; in Iran, which he said wants a deal &ldquo;so badly,&rdquo; during an oath-taking ceremony at the White House. Trump also said Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were &ldquo;in negotiations right now,&rdquo; according to CNN. Iranian officials have not confirmed any talks, saying only that messages had passed through intermediaries. Zolfaqari mocked US leadership, saying, &ldquo;someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you. Not now, not ever,&rdquo; according to the BBC. He described Washington&rsquo;s prior strategic power as &ldquo;turned into a strategic defeat&rdquo; and warned that previous oil prices and the regional order would not return until US leaders abandon the idea of attacking Iran, reported CNN.

The Spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the unified command of Iran’s armed forces, Second Brigadier General Ebrahim Zolfaghari speaking on March 25, 2026. (Tasnim News Agency)

The spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the US is failing in its war, dismissing claims that talks are underway to end the conflict.

Articles tagged with "Iran US Israel"

European, Arab pressure on Israel to stop strikes on Lebanese capital: diplomat

Day 36: All you need to know about US-Israel war on Iran

Iran military says US ‘negotiating with itself’ over peace talks reports