Israel army says Hezbollah drone kills soldier
The Israeli army announced Sunday that one of its soldiers had been killed the previous day by a Hezbollah explosive drone in southern Lebanon, bringing to 25 the number of Israeli military deaths since early March.
Staff Sergeant Michael Tyukin, 21, "fell in combat in southern Lebanon," the army said in a brief statement. An army spokesman told AFP he was killed by a Hezbollah drone strike.
In total, 25 Israelis have been killed - 24 soldiers and one civilian contractor - since hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah resumed on March 2, when the Shiite militant group reopened thr front in support of Tehran, following Israeli-US strikes.
Israel says planted flag on medieval Beaufort Castle in south Lebanon
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that the military had captured the strategic medieval fortress of Beaufort in southern Lebanon, where it is expanding ground operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
"Forty-four years after the heroic Battle of Beaufort, and on this day commemorating the soldiers who fell in the First Lebanon War (1982), our troops have returned to the summit of Beaufort and once again raised the Israeli flag there," Katz said on his Telegram channel.
Israel tells Lebanese to evacuate zone south of Zahrani river
The Israeli military warned Lebanese civilians living south of the Zahrani river to evacuate the region Sunday, warning that it was stepping up operations against Hezbollah.
"Residents of southern Lebanon, you must move immediately to north of the Zahrani," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on social media.
Trump says Iran has agreed to no nuclear weapons
US President Donald Trump said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons, as reports emerged he had sent a tougher peace proposal back to Tehran.
Any tweaks to the proposal could prolong even further an agreement to formally end the Middle East war and open the Strait of Hormuz maritime route after weeks of efforts to secure a deal despite fractious rhetoric and the occasional flare up of armed conflict.
- Israeli military says ground operations in Lebanon 'expanding to additional areas'
- Trump says Iran has agreed to no nuclear weapons
Israeli army captures strategic castle in Lebanon in deepest incursion into country in 26 years
Israeli troops have captured a strategic mountain topped with a Crusader-built castle in southern Lebanon in their deepest incursion into the country in more than a quarter century.
The capture of Beaufort castle near the city of Nabatiyeh came after days of intense fighting and airstrikes in nearby villages where Israeli troops fought Hezbollah members in the rugged area.
The capture of the castle marks a major gain for Israel since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began in early March and as the two countries that have been in a state of war since Israel was created in 1948 hold direct talks in Washington.
The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee posted a photograph on X showing Israeli troops walking outside the castle. Israeli troops had held the castle for 18 years until they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.
Israeli military says ground operations in Lebanon 'expanding to additional areas'
Israel's military said on Sunday its forces were advancing in Lebanon as part of expanded ground operations to strengthen its military position in the south of the country where it is fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
"A significant number of IDF ground soldiers commenced offensive operations aimed at expanding the Forward Defense Line...the operation is currently expanding to additional areas," the Israeli military statement said, adding its forces had crossed the Litani river.
Soaring prices during the Iran war jeopardize travel to tourism-dependent countries in Asia
With summer around the corner, soaring prices and other complications from the war with Iran are straining the tourism-dependent economies of countries in Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Vietnam.
Tourism in Asia has yet to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, many countries are coping with the war's repercussions for global energy supplies and prices, which hit Asia first and hardest. Some families are pulling back on travel as visiting gas stations and grocery stores gets more expensive worldwide. Crowds have thinned at some places once synonymous with travel.
Trump asked for tougher terms in proposed Iran war deal, says US media
President Donald Trump has sought to change several terms of a proposal to end the Middle East war, US media reported Saturday, as a finalized deal remains elusive among the parties.
The New York Times reported Trump's changes involved toughening the terms of the deal, and has sent the new framework back to be considered by Iran, according to officials familiar with the proceedings.
The report said it was not immediately clear what the changes entailed, but news site Axios reported Trump wanted to reinforce multiple points of the deal that he personally felt were important, such as what is done to Iran's nuclear material.
Welcome to France 24's liveblog covering events in the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Yesterday's key events:
-
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced what he called a dangerous Israeli escalation in the south, urging an immediate ceasefire and insisting that a "scorched-earth policy" would not ensure Israel's security.
-
An adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said on Saturday that US President Donald Trump was "betraying diplomacy for the third time" by continuing a naval blockade imposed on Iran and making what he described as excessive demands in negotiations.
-
The United States has more than sufficient stockpiles of weapons and is "more than capable" of resuming the war with Iran, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said in Singapore on Saturday.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
