Categories: World News

Trump Threatens Action if Tehran Fails to Comply with Deal; Lebanon Mourns After Israeli Strikes Kill 254 in a Day

Lebanon declared a national day of mourning on Thursday after Israeli airstrikes killed at least 254 people and wounded more than 1,100 others in a single 24-hour period, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment one of the deadliest escalations since cross-border fighting intensified struck densely populated residential areas in Beirut’s southern suburbs and several towns in the south, overwhelming local hospitals and deepening a growing humanitarian crisis.

In response, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced that Lebanon would mobilize “all political and diplomatic resources” to halt what he called Israel’s “killing machine.” The scale of the casualties, including women and children, has pushed the crisis beyond the military front into a full-blown political and humanitarian emergency, with international aid organizations calling for immediate medical evacuations and supplies.

The violence has thrown into sharp relief the confusion surrounding a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire announced just hours before the strikes. While the deal was intended to de-escalate tensions following months of indirect confrontation, its scope remains bitterly contested.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned that “all U.S. ships, aircraft, and military personnel” will remain in place around Iran until a “real agreement” on a ceasefire “is fully complied with,” threatening further action if Tehran fails to adhere. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly stated that Lebanon was not included in the U.S.-Iran deal, a position echoed by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who said, “We never made that promise.”

That interpretation directly contradicts Iran’s position. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that the U.S.-Iran “terms are clear” on Lebanon, adding that Washington must now choose between “a ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both.”

The dispute has become one of the clearest signs that the agreement remains politically fragile, with each side offering sharply different interpretations. Pakistan, which helped mediate the truce, has publicly stated that the ceasefire applied “everywhere,” including Lebanon further muddying the diplomatic waters.

In a separate but related development, the Al Jazeera Media Network condemned Israel’s “targeting and killing” of its correspondent in Gaza, Mohammed Wishah, as a “heinous crime,” calling for an international investigation into what it described as a pattern of attacks against journalists.

The broader toll continues to mount. Over more than five weeks of war, Lebanese authorities report at least 1,739 people killed and 5,873 wounded, underlining how quickly the conflict is widening despite efforts to contain it. Israel has not commented directly on the day’s casualty figures but has stated that its operations are aimed at Hezbollah military infrastructure embedded in civilian areas.