Israel attacks Lebanon again on eve of US-Iran truce talks

By Usaid Siddiqui and Zaid Sabah

Published On 10 Apr 202610 Apr 2026

• As the US and Iran prepare for talks in Pakistan, Israel continues to bombard Lebanon after killing at least 300 people and injuring 1,150 in nationwide strikes on Wednesday.
• World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called on Israel to withdraw a forced evacuation order affecting two main hospitals in the Beirut area, as the Lebanese health system struggles to treat casualties of Israeli attacks.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says if the US is willing to “crater its economy” by continuing to allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “kill diplomacy” by not adhering to the ceasefire, that would be Washington’s “choice”. “We think that would be dumb but are prepared for it”.
• Netanyahu says instructions have been issued to start direct negotiations with Lebanon, while Israeli media reports the Israeli defence minister saying “the war will not be stopped”.

• 7m ago

   (10:50 GMT)

  Tehran full of ‘sadness, pain’

  Iranians have welcomed a fragile ceasefire deal after weeks of Israeli and American bombardment, but many fear the US-Israeli war on Iran is far from over.

  “Everyone I’ve spoken with, it’s given them a new life,” a university student told AP news agency in an audio note via WhatsApp, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Everyone is really happy,” he said.

  But “Tehran has seen a lot of damage,” he added, and there’s widespread concern the fighting will resume.

  Maryam Saeedpoor, a photographer living in downtown Tehran, said she tried to take up painting to keep busy as blasts echoed across the city during the war, “but then I saw my hand was shaking, and I can’t”.

  She said she fears the strikes have already done lasting damage to industries and infrastructure that helped the country weather decades of international sanctions.

  “Tehran is the warmest, the most beautiful city in the world in my opinion, but now its face is full of sadness, pain,” Saeedpoor said via WhatsApp audio note.

  “They say they wanted to take out government leaders, but so many innocent people have been killed.”
• 17m ago

   (10:40 GMT)

  India concerned by ‘large’ civilian casualties in Lebanon

  India has sounded the alarm about the “large number of civilian casualties” caused by Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

  Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India finds the current trajectory of events “very disturbing,” as a country which contributes troops to the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL and which is “invested in Lebanon’s peace and security”.

  “Observing international law and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states is essential,” Jaiswal added.
• 27m ago

   (10:30 GMT)

  Israeli strikes in Lebanon taking ‘devastating and inhumane’ toll on children: UNICEF

  The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF has warned that intensified Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon are having a catastrophic impact on children, after bombardments on Tuesday reportedly killed 33 children and injured 153 within minutes.

  UNICEF said the latest bloodshed adds to a “staggering” total of about 600 children killed or injured in Lebanon since  March 2.

  More than one million people have been uprooted nationwide, including an estimated 390,000 children, many displaced multiple times, it added.

  The agency said it has received reports of children being pulled from under rubble, with others missing, separated from families and suffering severe trauma after losing loved ones and homes.

  “International humanitarian law is clear: civilians, including children, must be protected at all times,” it added.

  

  Children play by their tents at the makeshift encampment, by people who fled their homes after Israeli evacuation orders, in Beirut, Lebanon, April 8, 2026 [Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters]