French President Emmanuel Macron has thrown his "full support" behind the ten-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon - but has urged some caution.

"I also express my concern that it may already be undermined by the continuation of military operations," Macron said in a social media post.

"I call for the safety of civilian populations on both sides of the border between Lebanon and Israel. Hezbollah must renounce its weapons. Israel must respect Lebanese sovereignty and stop the war."

A reminder, later today in Paris the Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are to chair a virtual meeting of around 40 countries, aimed at establishing a multi-lateral mission to restore the safe passage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Ceasefire celebrations in Lebanon - but this may be a pause, not the endpublished at 07:58 BST

07:58 BST

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent in Beirut

At the stroke of midnight, gunfire and fireworks in Beirut celebrated the start of the ceasefire.

In the city of Sidon to the south, smiling crowds gathered as people tried to return home.

And in the dark, work had already begun to repair the bridges that had been destroyed by Israel in the war.

In the first hours of the truce, the Lebanese army said Israel had committed some violations, including the shelling of villages.Hezbollah has indicated it will abide by the ceasefire.

The Lebanese are desperate for some respite. This war has been devastating for this country. More than 2,100 people have been killed, and over a million displaced - roughly one in five of the population.

But more complex issues remain unsolved. Hezbollah is keeping its weapons, invading Israeli troops remain inside Lebanese territory with no timeline for their withdrawal and, according to the deal, Israel may even continue to attack Lebanon.

This may be a pause, but not the end.

Image source, Getty Images

As the ten-day truce brings a halt to six weeks of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, displaced people have started to return to their homes.

Some of the latest images coming to us show scores of people walking along and driving along roads to get back towards Sidon in southern Lebanon.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Israel and Lebanon's leaders have both welcomed the truce, with Netanyahu calling it an "opportunity to make a historic peace agreement".

The terms of the deal specify that the ceasefire is set to last 10 days, with the possibility of it being "extended by mutual agreement" if negotiations show signs of progress.

According to further details provided by the US State Department:

• Israel retains its "right to take all necessary measures in self-defence, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks"
• Lebanon must take "meaningful steps" to prevent Hezbollah and all other "rogue non-state armed groups" from carrying attacks against Israeli targets
• Those involved recognise that Lebanon's security forces have exclusive responsibility for Lebanon's security
• Israel and Lebanon requested that the US continues to facilitate further direct talks with the objective of "resolving all remaining issues"

The statement added that the truce was a "gesture of goodwill" by Israel intended to enable "good-faith negotiations towards a permanent security and peace agreement" between the two parties.

Hezbollah have also signalled a willingness to participate in the ceasefire, but said it must include "a comprehensive halt to attacks" across Lebanon and "no freedom of movement for Israeli forces".

You can read more details about the agreement in our explainer.

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Hezbollah continued to fire rockets at northern Israel until just before midnight local time when the ceasefire came into effect. Israeli shelling of Lebanese villages is said to have continued for half an hour afterwards.

But the hope is that this truce – brokered by Washington – will advance a peace deal between Israel and Lebanon, which have no diplomatic relations.

President Trump has invited their leaders to the White House for what he described as the “first meaningful talks” between the two countries in over 40 years.

However, Israel is insisting its forces will not withdraw from southern Lebanon where the Prime Minister said it’s creating what he called a “security zone” six miles from the border.

Hezbollah has indicated it will stick to the ceasefire – but has also said that Israel’s ongoing occupation grants the Lebanese the right to resist – a position which could cause complications.

If you are just joining our coverage, let's quickly round-up some of the key developments in the last few hours:

• A ten-day ceasefire has come into effect that could halt six weeks of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah
• Even as the truce began at midnight local time, Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into northern Israel while Israeli shelling is said to have continued for half an hour afterwards
• Israel insists its troops will remain in areas they have occupied in southern Lebanon; while Hezbollah believes the deal gives the Lebanese the right to resist
• Our security correspondent Frank Gardner assess the details of the ceasefire agreement - one, he writes, that is more fragile than the one between the US and Iran

• Iran welcomed the ten-day truce, but called for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon
• President Donald Trump has expressed optimism regarding a deal to ending the conflict with Iran, saying negotiations could resume this weekend
• Later today, around 40 countries are to take part in a meeting, chaired by the UK and France, to discuss joint efforts to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz

Image source, EPA

The United Nations' Secretary General António Guterres says he welcomes the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, and thanks the US for helping facilitate it.

"I hope this will pave the way for negotiations towards a long-term solution to the conflict & contribute to ongoing efforts toward a lasting & comprehensive peace in the region," Guterres says in a statement.

He also urges all parties to respect the ceasefire and to "comply with international law at all times".

Image source, Getty Images

The UK and France will chair a meeting with allies later today to discuss joint efforts to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran has effectively closed the critical waterway off Iran's coast in response to US-Israeli strikes, while the US has started its own blockade on Iranian ports, all of which have led to a surge in global energy prices.

Around 40 countries are expected to join this afternoon's meeting, Keir Starmer's office said, adding that the leaders will "focus on supporting the fragile ceasefire in the region and [in] ensuring shipping routes are reopened and secured through the Strait for the long term".

Starmer is expected to tell the meeting that "the unconditional and immediate reopening" of the strait "is a global responsibility", Downing Street said.

They will also discuss the potential deployment of "a strictly defensive multinational military mission, in order to ensure freedom of navigation," according to the invitation sent by the Elysee which was seen by AFP.

Peter Bowes
North America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

President Donald Trump says Iran has agreed to hand over its enriched uranium, one of the key sticking points in negotiations to bring the war to an end.

Fresh talks, he said, could resume as early as this weekend with Washington and Tehran "very close" to making a deal.

Speaking at an event in Las Vegas, focusing on the US economy, the US president gave one of his most upbeat assessments of the war since it started. He said it was going "swimmingly" and should be ending soon.

Earlier, at the White House, he said Iran had agreed not to obtain a nuclear weapon and would turn over what he called the "nuclear dust" - enriched uranium believed to be buried underground following the US-Israeli airstrikes last year. Iran has not commented on the president's claim.

Apparently confident that a fresh round of face-to-face talks is imminent, Trump said he wasn't sure an extension to the ceasefire with Iran, which is due to expire in five days, was necessary.

The Israeli military has warned residents in Lebanon not to move south of the Litani River as its troops remain deployed there.

On Thursday, the Lebanese army said the area south of the river, about 40km north of its border with Israel, has been cut off from the rest of the country because of Israeli strikes.

• For context: Last month, Israeli forces were instructed to destroy crossings over the Litani river that it said were being used by Hezbollah to send reinforcements.

Donald Trump has just described this as a "historic" day for Lebanon.

"Good things are happening!!!" he says in a Truth Social post minutes ago.

In a separate post earlier, he had said he "hopes Hezbollah acts nicely and well during this important period of time".

Four Iran-linked ships have crossed the blockade linepublished at 03:54 BST

03:54 BST

By Joshua Cheetham

Four ships have crossed over the US blockade line after sailing from Iranian ports, according to tracking data.

All the vessels we’ve been monitoring are container ships, three are flagged to Iran and the fourth, Tava 4, is registered in Comoros.

Since the blockade was introduced at 15:00 BST on Monday, the ships to cross it that we’ve tracked in MarineTraffic data are:

• Azargoun - left the port of Shahid Rajee and crossed at around 16:00 and has apparently sailed to Kandla in north-western India
• Ashkan3 - left the eastern Iranian port of Chabahar just after 12:00 and is currently showing as being in Karachi, Pakistan
• Shabdis - which also departed Chabahar and crossed at around 21:00 and is showing as off the south-west coast of India near Kerala, giving its destination as Zhuhai in China
• Tava 4 - sailed from Bandar Imam Khomeini in Iran and crossed the blockade line at 13:00, it reports to be off India’s west coast and heading to Jawaharlal Nehru Port near Mumbai

This assessment is based on these ships self-reported positions via their tracking data. However, some vessels may be turning their trackers off or be transmitting a false position, a practice known as "spoofing".

At a press conference earlier today Gen Dan Caine said the US “[continued] to hold the blockade”. When asked about the timing of these crossings, US Central Command told the BBC it had “nothing to add to the chairman's statements”.

Lucy Williamson
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Nahariya

Image source, Reuters

As news of the ceasefire spread through Israel's northern communities, sirens blared three times this evening warning of incoming rockets from Lebanon.

In the sky above the northern city of Nahariya, Israel's air defence interceptors shot up to block them, triggering loud explosions. Ambulance crews said at least three people were wounded by shrapnel in the hours before the ceasefire took effect, including two seriously.

On the ground here – and across the country – there's scepticism about why Israel's leader has signed up to the truce.

"I feel like the government lied to us," said Gal, a student in Nahariya. "They promised that this time it would end differently, but it seems like we're once again heading toward a ceasefire agreement that solves nothing."

Read Lucy Williamson's report from Nahariya.

Image source, Getty Images

Oil prices retreated slightly on Friday morning in Asia after a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel came into effect.

The conflict strained a two-week conditional ceasefire between the US and Iran, with Tehran saying Israel's attacks on Lebanon were a breach of the agreement.

The price of the global benchmark Brent crude fell by nearly 1% to $98.50 (£72.86) a barrel, while US-traded oil was down by 1.2% at $93.60.

Major Asian markets edged lower on Friday morning after climbing during the week. Japan's Nikkei 225 index dipped by 0.8%, while the Kospi in South Korea was lower by 0.3%.

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump addressed the war in Iran briefly during a tax day roundtable in Nevada. He said, "I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly" and that It "should be ending pretty soon".

He did not elaborate, but commended the US military for being good at shooting down rockets.

Over the weekend, talks in Islamabad between the US, Iran and mediators failed to bring about a deal.

The White House says discussions around a possible second round of peace talks are "ongoing" but no time or place has been confirmed.

The Lebanese Army says there have already been a number of violations of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

In a post on its official account on X, the army says it has recorded several Israeli attacks, including intermittent shelling, on Lebanese villages.

It urges displaced people to exercise caution in returning to southern towns and to avoid hazardous areas.

There has been no comment yet from the IDF.

Lebanon forms an "integral part" of a comprehensive ceasefire with the US, a speaker for the Iranian parliament has said.

In a statement on Telegram, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf sets out that Lebanon will play "an important role in moving forward for lasting peace in the region".

His comments follow a meeting with a Pakistani military officer.

"The issue of establishing a comprehensive ceasefire in all conflict areas is one of the clauses of the initial ceasefire agreement between Iran and the United States, mediated by Pakistan," the statement says.

US President Donald Trump is urging Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in southern Lebanon, to abide by the ceasefire with Israel that has gone into effect.

"I hope Hezbollah acts nicely and well during this important period of time," the president writes on Truth Social.

"It will be an GREAT moment for them if they do. No more killing. Must finally have PEACE!"

The ceasefire is technically between Israel and Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based.

An Israeli official told the the BBC's US partner CBS News that Israel will only respond militarily during the ceasefire to "imminent threats from Hezbollah".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a more lasting peace deal will require that the Iran-backed group is disarmed.

There have been scenes of celebration and relief in Lebanon as displaced people started returning to their homes after the truce began.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reu

Image source, Reuters

Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is very fragilepublished at 01:16 BST

01:16 BST

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Reactions to this latest ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon may be one of relief tempered with a fairly hefty dose of scepticism.

Remember that the conflict is not between Israel and Lebanon - it's between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, of course, is completely embedded in Lebanon, both politically and militarily - and the fact that there initially hadn't been any announcement or immediate reaction from Hezbollah is a little bit ominous.

The group has since signalled it is likely to abide by the ceasefire - but adds that a deal will need to include a "comprehensive halt" to all attacks in Lebanon.

The Israelis will take very little provocation from Hezbollah before they are tempted to break that ceasefire.

This is a very fragile ceasefire, even more fragile, I would say, than the one between Iran and the US, and of course the two are not disconnected.

Israel and the US are trying to say that this is a separate issue but for there to be peace in the Middle East, there has got to be peace in the Gulf, in Iran and in Lebanon - and we are a very, very long way off resolving the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which has got very deep roots and extends right back into events that take place in the West Bank and Gaza.

This is breathing space at best.