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<\/a><\/p>\nPeople look at the damages of an Israeli strike on Tyre in southern Lebanon, May 28, 2026. (KAWNAT HAJU \/ AFP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Israel issued sweeping evacuation orders to residents in seven towns and villages Friday ahead of airstrikes on southern Lebanon, adding to evacuation orders across the region on Wednesday. The Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah has launched a surge of drones on northern Israel in recent days, including one that killed Israeli soldier Rotem Yanai Wednesday in a hit on a military zone on the Israeli side of the border. <\/p>\n
The United States has hosted Israeli and Lebanese negotiators for three rounds of talks since a ceasefire was declared in mid-April. Friday\u2019s discussions are due to launch a \u201csecurity track\u201d of negotiations between the countries\u2019 military delegations, focused on fortifying their strained ceasefire, according to the State Department. Next Tuesday and Wednesday, negotiations are scheduled to focus on the \u201cpolitical track,\u201d aimed at lasting calm.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the United States and Iran have reportedly reached a tentative deal to extend their ceasefire by 60 days, pending President Donald Trump\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n
Vice President JD Vance did not confirm whether the president would sign the agreement when speaking to the press Thursday night. \u201cThe president will be in a position where he can endorse the agreement, but obviously that\u2019s still TBD,\u201d he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Vance also said that he \u201ccan\u2019t guarantee\u201d a deal will be reached. Trump has yet to comment on the proposal.<\/p>\n
The expectation is that any deal would include opening the Strait of Hormuz. Iran\u2019s effective closure of the strait, a pathway for a fifth of the world\u2019s oil and gas, has sent energy prices soaring and placed increasing pressure on the Trump administration. Oil prices dipped slightly Thursday following news of the tentative deal. <\/p>\n
Trump and his officials have repeatedly suggested that the United States was close to a deal with Iran. In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump said that an agreement had been \u201clargely negotiated,\u201d including opening Hormuz, and that \u201cfinal aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report of a potential deal and Vance\u2019s comments come amid a fresh round of clashes between the countries. Iran launched a missile at a U.S. airbase in Kuwait on Thursday hours after the United States fired at Bandar Abbas, an Iranian port city near the Strait of Hormuz. It is the second time in three days that the United States has attacked targets in Iran, saying they were conducted in self-defense to intercept drones.<\/p>\n
Both countries claim the other has violated the current ceasefire.<\/p>\n
Israel and Hezbollah are also engaged in mounting hostilities despite an ostensible pause in the fighting. The Israeli Air Force widened its offensive in Lebanon on Thursday with a strike on the suburbs of Beirut, days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to escalate attacks.<\/p>\n
An Israeli security source told the Times of Israel that the target of the attack was Ali al-Husni, the head of an Iranian militia that operates alongside Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities said that at least 14 people, including children, were also killed that day in Israeli strikes.<\/p>\n