Trump denies US weapons shortage; Israel confirms settler incursion into south Lebanon | LIVE

Amal MP: 'Israel doesn't want a cease-fire'

Amal Movement MP Kassem Hachem said he is convinced Israel "doesn't truly want a cease-fire, even within the framework of the ongoing negotiations," in an interview with Sawt Kell Lebnan radio.

"Israel has not given Lebanon any real opportunity for an effective withdrawal, because maintaining this situation allows it to reap political and electoral gains," he said, referring to Israel's upcoming parliamentary elections.

Hachem added that "Lebanon cannot continue to follow the path Israel is trying to impose on it" and argued that "strengthening Lebanon's position at the negotiating table requires, first and foremost, internal unity."

Trump denies reports of US weapons shortage, attacks media

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States has "massive" stockpiles of weapons, rejecting media reports that shortages had prompted him to delay further strikes on Iran in recent days.

"The United States hasmassive amounts of 'munitions' especially of certain types... Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the US as needed," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Calling the reports "treasonous," he added that those responsible "are being hunted down" for prosecution. "Long jail sentences will be sought," he wrote.

CNN and The Washington Post have reported in recent days that shortages of long-range guided missiles and air defense interceptors have affected Trump's strategy toward Iran.

According to CNN, the U.S. military has "depleted nearly 80%" of its stockpile of interceptors for the THAAD missile defense system.

The Washington Post reported that Trump "exploded with frustration" last week over the shortages and demanded an explanation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over why he had "apparently been misled."

The reported shortages are believed to have contributed to Trump's decision on Saturday to suspend planned attacks, after he said Tehran had requested a pause, despite warning the United States was prepared to strike "at levels not seen since World War II."

New Israeli demolition in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army carried out another demolition in the occupied village of Zawtar Sharqieh (Nabatieh district), near Zawtar Gharbieh, one of the localities included in the first "pilot zones" established last week, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

Israeli army says settlers crossed into Lebanon before being returned

A group of Israeli settlers, including about 15 women, crossed into Lebanon on Wednesday near the village of Ghajar before being returned by Israeli troops, the Israeli army said Thursday.

"Approximately 15 Israeli citizens arrived yesterday in the Ghajar area, damaged the border fence and crossed into Lebanese territory," the army said in a statement.

It added that soldiers intervened and returned the group to Israeli territory before handing them over to Israeli police. The army "strongly condemns this incident, which constitutes yet another instance of serious disruption to operational activities and a danger to the security of Israeli army forces operating in the area," the statement said.

The women belong to "Uri Tzafon," an extremist Zionist group that advocates establishing Israeli settlements in southern Lebanon.

Activists from the same movement traveled to the disputed village of Ghajar, which is divided by the Blue Line, in early July and have crossed into Lebanese territory several times in recent months, including near the Hasbani River.

US, Israel reportedly preparing strikes on Iranian energy sites this weekend

The United States and Israel are preparing to launch strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure as early as this weekend, CBS News reported Thursday, citing several U.S. sources.

According to the network, Israeli officials have been informed of the plans and are coordinating with Washington, although U.S. President Donald Trump has not yet decided whether to authorize the strikes.

Speaking to Iran's Tasnim news agency, a senior Iranian security official said Tehran would respond forcefully by targeting critical infrastructure in Israel and U.S. energy facilities in the region.

"We consider reports of possible U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iranian infrastructure to be a form of recklessness," the official said. "Iran has prepared a comprehensive response plan."

CBS News also reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented Trump with three options for continuing the war, including strikes on military supply routes and tightening the naval blockade.

Earlier this week, Trump said the United States would strike Iran "very hard over the next four to eight weeks." "At some point, they will say they just can't take it anymore," he added. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told CBS News that Iran would not obtain nuclear weapons "under the presidency of Donald Trump."

Iran says it reached Hormuz agreement with Oman, but reopening depends on Washington

Iran said Wednesday it had reached an agreement with Oman on a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, which both countries border and which remains at the center of tensions with the United States.

But any reopening of the strategic waterway, which Tehran has blocked, will depend on Washington ending its blockade of Iranian ports, Iranian officials told local media.

"The geographical coordinates of the route agreed upon by both parties have been approved," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Israeli troops maneuver toward Wadi Slouqi

Several Israeli military vehicles and troops on foot were seen moving from Houla toward the Wadi Slouqi valley, west of the town, along the border of one of the "pilot zones" established last week in the central sector of the Bint Jbeil district.

The convoy also included a heavy truck reportedly carrying explosives, according to our correspondent.

Night of heavy Israeli bombardment in Sour district; 3 wounded in Burj al-Shemali

Following Wednesday's developments, southern Lebanon saw one of the most intense episodes of Israeli escalation in recent weeks overnight, mainly in the western sector of the Sour district.

The towns of Mansouri and Majdal Zoun came under heavy artillery fire, machine-gun fire and airstrikes, while demolitions continued into the early hours of Thursday, according to our correspondent in the South. Sporadic shelling was still targeting the Mashaa neighborhood in Mansouri at dawn.

After 10 p.m. Wednesday, the Israeli army shelled Majdal Zoun and the surrounding valleys, while Merkava tanks fired several rounds toward the town's outskirts. Flares were also dropped over Jibbayn, and a shell landed on the outskirts of Haniyeh. Residents of Mansouri reported hearing more than 50 artillery rounds in a short period.

After midnight, an airstrike targeted Mansouri, accompanied by sustained shelling of communal lands and machine-gun fire. Around 1 a.m., a loud explosion heard across the Sour and Bint Jbeil districts was caused by the demolition of homes in Haddatha. The Ali al-Taher forest also came under shelling.

In Burj al-Shemali, three drone strikes hit the home of a resident identified as Ali Joha, wounding three people, one of them critically. An Israeli airstrike then hit the same area, causing cases of asphyxiation and panic that were treated on site by paramedics from the Islamic Mission of al-Rissala and the Islamic Health Committee.

Rescue teams evacuated the area near al-Islah Stadium and one of their centers, while many residents fled to safer areas, causing traffic jams on the road to the Qasmieh Bridge, north of Sour.

The bombardment continued for about two hours in Mansouri's residential neighborhoods under constant drone surveillance. Meanwhile, the Lebanese army and rescue workers searched the sites hit in Burj al-Shemali for additional victims or people trapped under the rubble.

The fire sparked by Israeli shelling near Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya district) on Wednesday continued burning overnight and had not been extinguished by Thursday morning.

Two Israeli soldiers killed in Mansouri

The Israeli army on Thursday confirmed that two of its soldiers died in an incident the previous day in southern Lebanon, its first fatalities in more than a month, as U.S.-sponsored talks between Lebanon and Israel were underway in Rome.

News of the incident began circulating in Israeli media on Wednesday, shortly before Israel issued its first evacuation order for a village in southern Lebanon since the framework agreement establishing "pilot zones" was signed in June.

Read more here.

The incident also reverberated in Rome, where it cast a shadow over the negotiations.

Read Mounir Rabih's analysis here.

Catch up on our Morning Brief

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Good morning. We are now launching our live blog, covering news updates from the region.

We are now launching our live coverage of developments in the Middle East, where the United States and Iran appear to be moving closer to an agreement to end the war launched on Feb. 28 by Washington and Tel Aviv.

We will also be following developments in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli army continues to occupy several 100 square kilometers along the border, as Lebanese and Israeli officials hold talks in Rome aimed at securing a lasting end to the war between Hezbollah and Israel.