Summary

  • Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire, a senior US official confirms to the BBC

  • The pause in fighting was due to begin at 16:00 local time (14:00 BST) on Friday

  • Earlier this week, the US and Iran signed a deal to end the war in Iran which agreed an end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon - but fighting between Israel and Hezbollah had continued

  • At least 18 people were killed in southern Lebanon overnight following Israeli air strikes, according to the country's health ministry. Israel's military says four of its soldiers were also killed

  • The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also earlier said it had struck 80 targets linked to the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, killing "dozens" of its members

Live Reporting

Edited by Andrew Humphrey and Jack Burgess

  1. Ceasefire comes after US and Israel disagreement over Lebanon

    In recent days, the relationship between Donald Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appeared strained following the signing of the US-Iran deal.

    Israel had continued its strikes on Lebanon, as recently as last night, despite the memorandum of understanding stating that military operations in the country would cease.

    Speaking at the G7 summit in France on Wednesday, Trump said Netanyahu was a "good man" but he gets "a little excited sometimes".

    He said the PM could do with "a little softer touch", adding: "You don't have to knock down a building every time someone walks into it that's from Hezbollah."

    But yesterday, Vice-President JD Vance went even further, telling reporters that he did not appreciate criticism of the deal and of Trump by Israeli cabinet members.

    He claimed Trump "is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic" towards Israel at this time.

    "The problem for Israel is not Donald J Trump; and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that the country is in," he said.

    Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to someone off camera as he stands with Benjamin Netanyahu outside the front door of the White HouseReuters

    Trump and Netanyahu at the White House in September last year

  2. At least 47 killed in Israeli strikes - Lebanese health ministry

    At least 47 people have been killed and 97 others wounded in Israeli air strikes in the country today, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

    A statement by the ministry says the deaths took place between midnight and this afternoon, when a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced.

    Israel said earlier today that it had struck two Hezbollah command centres in the Beqaa Valley, eastern Lebanon, before confirming the ceasefire.

  3. In pictures: Night of strikes leaves destruction in southern Lebanon

    Images released by Reuters news agency which were photographed prior to the ceasefire agreement show smoke billowing over southern Lebanon after Israeli strikes.

    At least 18 people were killed in southern Lebanon following air strikes overnight. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier it had struck 80 targets linked to Hezbollah.

    Smoke billows following an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, as seen from MarjayounReuters

    Smoke billows following an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, as seen from the town of Marjayoun

    A woman returning to her village after displacement by the war holds a box salvaged from her neighbour’s house, which was destroyed by an Israeli strike in the Tyre districtReuters

    A woman returns to her village in the Tyre district

    A view of a house and a shop which were damaged by an Israeli strike in the Tyre districtReuters

    A house and shop in the Tyre district are reduced to rubble

  4. How did Lebanon get drawn into the conflict?

    Israeli tanks are deployed at a military outpost along the border with LebanonEPA

    The Israeli military has been operating in southern Lebanon since March

    Lebanon was drawn into the war between Israel, the US and Iran at the beginning of March, with Hezbollah launching rockets into Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.

    Israel responded by launching a bombing campaign across Lebanon and invading a significant part of the country's south, with the aim of driving back Hezbollah fighters from its northern border.

    At least 3,912people have been killed, among them women and children,and a further 11,699 others wounded since the latest conflict began, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

    About a million people remain displaced, while dozens of communities in the south have been completely destroyed.

    Hezbollah has vowed to continue with its attacks as long as the invasion persists.

  5. IDF confirms Israel-Lebanon ceasefire

    The IDF has confirmed that there is a ceasefire in place between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel.

    IDF Spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, says in a statement: "We are in a ceasefire. The IDF is prepared to continue fighting if called upon to do so."

  6. What does US-Iran deal say about Lebanon?

    The first point in the US-Iran deal declares an "immediate and permanent" termination of military operations on "all fronts", including Lebanon.

    It also commits all sides to ensuring Lebanon's "territorial integrity and sovereignty".

    Centred around 14 points, the memorandum of understanding also includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a requirement that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, a $300bn (£224bn) plan for Iran's "reconstruction", and the US terminating "all types of sanctions" on Iran.

    US officials have previously said that while Lebanon was covered by the ceasefire framework, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory was not a condition of the deal and that Israel would retain the right to self-defence.

  7. Ceasefire news comes after 18 killed in Lebanon, and 4 Israeli soldiers killed

    The announcement comes after at least 18 people were killed in southern Lebanon following a series of Israeli air strikes overnight, according to the country's health ministry. Israel's military says four of its soldiers were also killed.

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also earlier said it has struck 80 targets linked to the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah and killed "dozens" of its members.

    The developments come a day after the US and Iran signed a deal aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East, including a permanent cessation of hostilities in Lebanon.

    We'll bring you the latest updates right here on this page.

  8. Israel and Hezbollah agree ceasefire, US official confirms
    Breaking

    A US official has confirmed to the BBC that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire, which came into effect at 16:00 local time on Friday.