West Asia war: Lebanon declares national day of mourning after Israeli strikes nearly killed 200

Lebanon declared a national day of mourning on Thursday after Israeli strikes pummelled the country killing nearly 200 people and calling into question the ceasefire between the United States and IranWashington and Tehran had both claimed victory in the Middle East war after agreeing a twoweek truce and negotiations aimed at ending a conflict that has killed thousands across the region and plunged the global economy into turmoilBut fractures emerged quickly especially when Israel carried out its heaviest strikes yet on neighbouring Lebanon since the Iranbacked militant group Hezbollah joined the war in early MarchAt least 182 people were killed and nearly 900 wounded on Wednesday the Lebanese health ministry saidThere had been conflicting messages about whether the fighting in Lebanon was included in the truce with Israel insisting that it was notThe Lebanese prime ministers office said Thursday would be a national day of mourning for the martyrs and wounded of the Israeli attacks that targeted hundreds of innocent defenceless civilians ordering the closure of public administrations and the lowering of flagsHours later Hezbollah said it had fired rockets towards Israel in response to what it called a violation of the USIran truceUS Vice President JD Vance backed Israel in saying Lebanon was excluded from the truce days before he was due to lead talks with Tehran in Pakistan If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart over Lebanon which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire thats ultimately their choice he saidRunning left and rightBut Irans speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf appeared to threaten the ceasefire posting on X that the workable basis on which to negotiate had already been violated making further talks unreasonableGhalibaf listed three alleged US violations of the truce plan the continued attacks in Lebanon a drone entering Iranian airspace and Washingtons opposition to the countrys right to uranium enrichmentAdding to the fragility of the truce a senior US official said Irans 10point plan was not the same set of conditions the White House had agreed to in order to pause the warIn Lebanon where UN rights chief Volker Turk called the scale of killing horrific strikes across the capital Beirut that came without warning triggered horror and panicPeople started running left and right and smoke was billowing said Ali Younes who was waiting for his wife near Corniche AlMazraa one of the areas targetedMore than 1700 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel launched airstrikes and a ground invasion last month local officials saidIrans Revolutionary Guards warned they would fulfil our duty and deliver a response if Israel did not cease its strikes while Hezbollah said it had a right to respondIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country remained prepared to confront Iran if necessary while Trump said US forces would remain deployed to the region until a real agreement was reached and complied withHighstakes talksThe bellicose rhetoric came ahead of highstakes talks in Pakistan expected on Friday or SaturdayIrans ambassador to Pakistan announced that the countrys delegation would arrive in Islamabad on Thursday for serious talks on the terms of a peace deal A key point of contention remains the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of the worlds oil as well as vast quantities of natural gas and fertiliser pass in peacetimeIran announced alternative routes on Thursday for ships travelling through the strait citing the risk of sea minesBut it was unclear if Tehran was allowing vessels to pass through the strait following reports on Wednesday suggesting it was shut something the White House called completely unacceptableMore relaxedPakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif whose country mediated the ceasefire called in a social media post for all parties to exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire for two weeks to allow diplomacy to take holdFurther casting doubt on the truces durability Iranian state media announced fresh missile and drone attacks against USallied Gulf states in retaliation for airstrikes on its oil facilities with Kuwait the UAE Saudi Arabia and Bahrain all reporting strikes since the ceasefire took effectIn Tehran streets were quieter than usual on Wednesday with many shops closed after a long and anxious night for residents fearing a massive US attackEveryone is at ease now said Sakineh Mohammadi a 50yearold housewife adding she was proud of her countryWe are more relaxedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever