Continued Israeli military strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon are threatening to unravel the fragile US-Iran ceasefire reached earlier this week, with Iran warning of “strong responses” and the WHO calling hospital evacuation orders impossible to carry out.

Why it matters

The ceasefire between the United States and Iran was designed to de-escalate weeks of conflict in the Middle East. If Israel’s campaign in Lebanon provokes an Iranian response, the two-week truce could collapse before negotiations scheduled for Saturday in Islamabad even begin.

Netanyahu rejects Lebanon ceasefire

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that there is no ceasefire in Lebanon and that Israel wants direct negotiations with Beirut on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations. Pakistan, which brokered the US-Iran deal, said Lebanon was included in the agreement. Israel disputes this.

Lebanese officials said Beirut has received no formal invitation for talks. One senior official told CNN there will be “no negotiations under fire.”

Hospital crisis

The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for Beirut’s Jnah neighbourhood, which includes the Rafik Hariri University Hospital and al-Zahraa Hospital. Approximately 450 patients, including 40 in intensive care, are in the two facilities.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said evacuating the hospitals was “operationally unfeasible” and called on Israel to withdraw the order.

The toll

Over 300 people were killed and at least 1,150 injured in a single day of strikes across Lebanon on Wednesday, according to Lebanese health authorities. On Thursday, the Israeli military issued fresh evacuation notices for entire Beirut neighbourhoods, though there was no immediate repeat of the intensity seen the day before.

What happens next

Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to lead a US delegation to Islamabad on Saturday for the next round of ceasefire talks. Whether Lebanon is on the agenda remains contested. Iran has said the talks cannot proceed while Israel continues its offensive in Lebanon.