ISRAELI STRIKES THREATEN IRAN TRUCE
More than 300 killed in Lebanon; US-Iran talks planned
Khadija, who was wounded in an Israeli strike that killed her father, is escorted by family Thursday as they prepare for the burial of Khadija's father at Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon.
A security guard patrols at Zero Point Bridge on Thursday as Pakistan gears up to host the U.S. and Iran for peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan.
WAR IN MIDDLE EAST
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he wants direct talks with Beirut, a day after the worst bombardment of the war killed more than 300 people in Lebanon and placed Donald Trump's U.S.-Iran ceasefire in jeopardy.
Trump announced a ceasefire in the six-week-old Iran conflict late Tuesday on social media, just hours before a deadline after which he threatened to destroy Iran's "entire civilization."
In Pakistan, authorities prepared for the first round of U.S.-Iran talks, locking down parts of the capital Islamabad.
But there was no sign Iran lifted its near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which caused the worst disruption to global energy supplies in history, with Israel's ongoing attacks on Lebanon cited as a key sticking point.
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that Iran doesn't seek war but won't forfeit its rights.
The statement attributed to Khamenei was read on state TV. He has not been seen in public since he took over from his father, who was killed on the first day of the war.
Khamenei said Iran will seek retribution for attacks against it and "will take management of the Straits of Hormuz into a new phase." He also vowed to avenge the deaths of his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's "martyrs."
Little traffic
In the first 24 hours of the ceasefire, just a single oil products tanker and five dry bulk carriers sailed through a strait that typically accommodated 140 ships a day before the war, accounting for about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
Trump claimed in a social media post Thursday that oil would start flowing again, though he gave no indication of what actions the U.S. might take.
"Because of me, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON and, very quickly, you'll see Oil start flowing, with or without the help of Iran and, to me, it makes no difference, either way," he said.
In a separate post, Trump said Iran should not charge fees to tankers going through the strait.
"They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now," he said.
Netanyahu, whose government rebuffed a historic offer for direct talks with Lebanon last month, said in a statement that he gave instructions to start peace talks as soon as possible, which would also include disarming Iran-aligned militant group Hezbollah.
"In light of Lebanon's repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the cabinet yesterday to start direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible," he said. "The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon."
An hour before Netanyahu's statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he was working on a diplomatic track on this matter that was starting to be seen "positively" by international actors.
A senior Lebanese official said Lebanon spent the last day pushing for a temporary ceasefire to allow for broader talks with Israel, describing the effort as a "separate track but the same model" as the U.S.-Iran truce.
Ceasefire
Washington and Israel, which invaded Lebanon last month in parallel with the war on Iran, claim Lebanon is not covered by Trump's ceasefire.
But Iran and Pakistan, which acted as mediator, say it was explicitly part of the deal. Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, expected to head the Iranian delegation opposite U.S. Vice President JD Vance, tweeted that Lebanon and the rest of Iran's "axis" of regional allies were inseparable parts of any ceasefire.
A Pakistani source said Pakistan was working on ceasefires for Lebanon as well as Yemen, where Israel has also hit Iran-aligned forces.
Day of mourning
Earlier on Thursday, Israel kept up its bombing of Beirut's southern suburbs and other parts of the country, Lebanese state media said.
It also expanded evacuation orders for areas on Beirut's outskirts to areas near Beirut airport, as well as several displacement shelters.
Hezbollah announced at least 20 military operations on Thursday, saying it targeted Israeli vehicles on Lebanese territory as well as firing into northern Israel.
Lebanese officials declared a day of mourning after Wednesday's attacks on heavily populated areas, which they described as a "massacre."
Outside Beirut's Rafik Hariri University Hospital, a steady stream of ambulances arrived throughout Thursday afternoon full of mangled bodies recovered from the sites of Israeli strikes the previous day.
"We're picking up body parts for the most part. It's very rare that we find entire bodies intact," said a rescue worker on condition of anonymity.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said the death toll since March 2 grew to 1,888 dead and more than 6,000 wounded.
Claims of victory
Both Trump and Iran declared victory in the wake of the ceasefire.
Washington hasn't achieved the aims Trump announced at the war's outset: to eliminate Iran's ability to attack its neighbors, destroy its nuclear program and make it easier for Iranians to topple their government.
Iran still possesses missiles and drones that can hit its neighbors and a stockpile of more than 900 pounds of uranium enriched to near weapons grade. Its rulers survived the superpower onslaught with no sign of organized opposition and demonstrated their ability to exert control of the strait.
In a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday, Trump expressed frustration with allies for their lack of support in the war and made clear he wanted concrete commitments within the next few days for help to secure the waterway, according to two European diplomats.
