President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan earlier this month failed to reach a peace deal.
Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of the blockade until Iran's proposal is submitted and discussions are concluded "one way or the other."
IDF to retain positions in south Lebanon amid ceasefire, spokesperson says
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a post to X on Thursday that Israeli forces will maintain their positions in southern Lebanon amid the current ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Adraee warned displaced people "not to move south" of the front line dictated by the IDF, nor to approach the Litani River area, Wadi Salhani or Saluki.
Adraee listed 57 villages to which people will not be allowed to return.
Israeli soldiers patrol along the border with southern Lebanon on April 17, 2026.
Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images
Apr 23, 2026, 5:21 AM EDT
Lebanon-Israel talks expected in Washington on Thursday
Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors are expected to convene again at the State Department on Thursday for a second round of meetings amid the latest conflagration in the Middle East.
The first direct negotiations between the two states since 1993 are intended as preparatory meetings to shape future talks on a deal to normalize ties between the countries.
Thursday's meeting is expected to focus on extending a shaky ceasefire that has halted fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
The technocratic government in Beirut, which came to power in 2025, is juggling dual pressure campaigns -- sustained Israeli attacks and seizure of Lebanese territory on one hand and the internal threat of Hezbollah and its Iranian backers on the other.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Tuesday that the goal of the negotiations was to "stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the [Lebanese] army all the way to the internationally recognized southern borders."
Paul Salem, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute think tank, told ABC news that Thursday's talks are "historically significant in what they might eventually lead to," but framed the meetings as the first steps on a long and difficult road.
Mourners carry the coffins of civilians who were killed in the war between Hezbollah and Israel during a mass funeral in Bazouriyeh village, south Lebanon, on April 20, 2026.
Mohammed Zaatari/AP
The government in Beirut is facing "a prolonged conundrum," Salem said. "Iran is insisting on maintaining its presence and backing Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah seems to be happy to continue to play their role with Iran."
And in southern Lebanon, Israel seems intent on a devastating campaign and seizure of land which its Defense Minister Israel Katz has repeatedly said will be modeled on the destruction of Gaza.
"The Lebanese state needs to be able to bolster its credibility by not allowing a long-term Israeli occupation," Salem said.
Apr 23, 2026, 3:40 AM EDT
Lebanon's Aoun says Israel targets journalists to hide 'aggressive acts'
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's office published a statement to X on Thursday alleging that Israel's "deliberate and consistent targeting of journalists" is aimed at "concealing the truth of its aggressive acts against Lebanon."
The president's statement came after Israeli forces killed journalist Amal Khalil, who worked for Lebanon's Al Akhbar newspaper, in an attack in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.
This Lebanese Civil Defense photo shows rescue workers on a excavator carrying the body of the Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, in al-Tiri village, south Lebanon, on April 22, 2026.
Uncredited/AP
Lebanese authorities said Khalil was directly targeted and accused Israeli forces of firing on rescue workers trying to reach her. Journalist Zainab Faraj was also injured in the attack, authorities said.
Such attacks constitute "crimes against humanity," Aoun's office said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also condemned the killing in a post to X, in which he described Israeli actions as "war crimes."
-ABC News' Kevin Shalvey
Apr 23, 2026, 3:15 AM EDT
CENTCOM says 31 vessels turned back during blockade
U.S. Central Command said in a post to X on Wednesday night that it had directed 31 vessels "to turn around or return to port" as part of the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping.
This U.S. Navy handout photograph released on April 21, 2026, by U.S. Central Command Public Affairs shows Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy patrolling the Arabian Sea during a maritime blockade on April 15, 2026.
