Middle East crisis live: UN chief calls for Israel-Lebanon ceasefire to be ‘fully’ respected as it comes into effect

António Guterres welcomes truce and says through spokesperson he hopes halt in fighting will ‘pave the way for negotiations’ Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East. United Nations chief António Guterres has welcomed the ceasefire announced on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon , urging “all actors” to fully respect the truce. A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect, pausing fighting in a devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah th
Iran’s parliamentary speaker also says passage through waterway will depend on authorisation from Iran
Iran says strait of Hormuz ‘completely open’ to commercial vessels as oil prices fall
In case you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments in the Middle East to bring you up to speed. It’s 9am in Beirut and Jerusalem, 9.30am in Tehran and 2am in Washington DC.
A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect, pausing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 2,100 Lebanese people and displaced more than 2.1 million. The agreement was announced earlier by Donald Trump, who said he had spoken with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, and invited both leaders “for meaningful talks” at the White House. Both leaders welcomed the agreement.
Israel and Hezbollah both maintained their right to defend themselves if the truce is broken – here’s our full report.
Netanyahu called the ceasefire a “historic” opportunity for peace but refused to withdraw his troops from southern Lebanon during the pause in fighting. “We are remaining in Lebanon in an expanded security zone,” he said, due to the “danger of an invasion” and to prevent fire into Israel. “That is where we are, and we are not leaving.”
UN chief António Guterres welcomed the ceasefire, which took effect at midnight on Thursday (2100 GMT) in Lebanon, and urged “all actors” to fully respect it. He hoped the halt in fighting would “pave the way for negotiations”.
The Lebanese army warned people displaced from southern Lebanon about returning home because of intermittent shelling that was reported after the ceasefire came into effect.
The Israeli military warned residents of southern Lebanon not to return south of the Litani River despite the truce.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson welcomed the ceasefire and stressed it was already part of the original Iran-US agreement brokered by Pakistan.
Israel and Hezbollah continued to exchange fire in the hours before the truce took effect.
Coverage from 8 sources
- Middle East crisis live: UN chief calls for Israel-Lebanon ceasefire to be ‘fully’ respected as it comes into effectGuardian - World · Taz Ali (now) and Adam Fulton (earlier) · Apr 17, 2026, 11:38 AM
- Middle East crisis live: Tense Lebanon ceasefire holds as countries dispute withdrawal of Israeli troopsGuardian - World · Vivian Ho (now); Taz Ali and Adam Fulton (earlier) · Apr 17, 2026, 12:56 PM
- Middle East crisis live: Iran to fully open strait of Hormuz during ceasefire, foreign minister saysGuardian - World · Taz Ali (now); Vivian Ho and Adam Fulton (earlier) · Apr 17, 2026, 1:38 PM
- Middle East crisis live: Iran says strait of Hormuz to fully open during ceasefire but Trump says blockade will remain until deal
Coverage by lean
- Unknown8
Comments
Sign in to join the discussion.
Sign in with SpryLogin