Extract from ABC News
Displaced families waiting for donated food after fleeing Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Hello. ABC Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran in Jerusalem here.
It's the end of day 41 of the war in the region. It has passed with a lot less turmoil than the last few days, but the situation remains incredibly tense.
Here's what you need to know today:
- Israel's prime minister said he was ready for peace talks with the Lebanese government aimed at disarming militant group Hezbollah. Israel continues to insist its intense bombardment of Lebanon is not covered by the fragile truce, despite the insistence of Pakistan — which brokered the deal — that it is. Crews kept searching through the rubble of destroyed buildings for more dead and injured from Wednesday's wave of attacks.
- The speaker of the Iranian parliament, who's been touted as the man likely to lead the Iranian delegation in peace talks in Pakistan this weekend, has warned Israel needs to pay a heavy cost for attacking Lebanon. In a post on social media, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said "STRONG responses" were required to breaches of the ceasefire.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Lebanon's already faltering health system was under immense strain and some hospitals were on the brink of running out of vital supplies. Lebanon's civil defence said the death toll from the Wednesday strikes was more than 250, with hundreds more injured.
- Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains at a near standstill, as Iran maintains its chokehold on the shipping route in protest at Israel's conduct in Lebanon.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet his Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, on Friday as Australia tries to get guarantees on fuel supplies from its main partners in Asia.
Here's what all that means
The Israeli prime minister's sudden announcement he was prepared to engage with the Lebanese government on some sort of peace agreement was curious in its timing.
Twenty-four hours earlier, his country's military had launched the largest and most intense series of simultaneous attacks in Lebanon in the war.
The Israeli military hit 100 different sites in just 10 minutes. The death toll surged.
Israel's defence minister insisted 200 "terrorists" had been killed, without providing names for those he said fit that category. Lebanese media was covered with stories of civilians being killed — families torn apart by the strikes, many of which came without advance notice.
The strikes had sent the entire Middle East region back to the brink of all-out war. Iran's deputy foreign minister revealed the country had been on the verge of responding to Israel's attacks until Pakistan, which brokered the fragile truce, intervened.
Despite the insistence by Israel, backed in by the United States, that Lebanon was not covered by the ceasefire, the other major player and the mediator in this war said it was.
US Vice-President JD Vance said Israel would pull back on its strikes. And suddenly, on Wednesday evening, Benjamin Netanyahu said he made a decision to consider peace talks with the Lebanese government.
It isn't a massive logical leap to see how the dots might be joining here.
This could be an attempt, under pressure from the United States, to ensure this truce, which has brought relative calm to the region, holds — at least for a few more days, beyond the time when the first round of negotiations on a lasting ceasefire are held in Pakistani capital Islamabad.
The Israeli government has ridiculed its Lebanese counterpart for months, accusing it of incompetence and impotence for failing to rein in Hezbollah.
The government of Nawaf Salam had asked for talks with Israel before it got to this point. Those overtures were rejected.
It's probably premature to say this is another major turning point. It may be more posturing than anything else. But it's an insight into the wrangling behind the scenes to keep this situation as calm as can be.
Although it might be a case of using gaffer tape to keep a sinking ship afloat.
And this is the impact on Australia
- How the PM can help Australia's fuel supply: Experts say visits like Anthony Albanese's to Singapore are important in securing Australia's energy supplies. As one observer puts it: "When you don't have the stock, you need friends."
And here's how to stay up to date:
You can keep track of the latest updates from Iran and around the world throughout the day via our live blog.
Thanks for joining me. I'll see you at the same time tomorrow.
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