As British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer travels to the Middle East for talks, Israel defies the ceasefire and launches the biggest attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon since the current conflict began.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said there was “work to be done” to secure the US-Iran ceasefire, and refused to say whether his relationship with Donald Trump is in tatters. It came amid warnings from within Iran that it could withdraw from the deal if Israel continues its major attacks on neighboring Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.
Confusion has already broken out over the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah: Israel claims the war is outside the ceasefire, while peace mediator Pakistan claims it is included. The Israeli army attacked more than 100 sites “within 10 minutes” in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon, in the “largest attack” since the start of the war.
The new attacks threatened to derail what US Vice President JD Vance called a “fragile” agreement. Meanwhile, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Iranian state media reported.
Hours after Trump announced it, more evidence emerged that Trump’s ceasefire had been marred by chaos. Iran is considering conducting “deterrent operations” against Israel, claiming it violated the ceasefire by attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Pakistan, which mediated the two-week ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran, claims the deal includes Lebanon, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied this.
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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks with Gulf allies after the President of the United States walked back his threats to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants. Instead, the United States agreed to a two-week ceasefire, which even Trump’s own vice president, JD Vance, admitted was “fragile.”
Trump had threatened that “an entire civilization will die” if Iran did not agree to reopen the Gulf oil bottleneck, the Strait of Hormuz. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the ceasefire is not covered by the peace agreement. On a visit to an air base in Saudi Arabia, Starmer said there was a “sense of real relief” about the ceasefire.
But he said there was still much work to be done to make the peace agreement last and to secure the Strait of Hormuz. He said: “There is work to do. It is early days. I think there is a real sense of relief that can be felt at the base here in Saudi Arabia, for 39 days, they have been acting in our collective self-defence. “What people in the UK want to know… is that this must be permanent, and it is our job to work with other countries in the region, not only on the cessation of hostilities, but also on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.”
He reaffirmed his commitment that Britain would not be drawn into war, a stance that has put his relationship with Trump under serious strain. The president of the United States has repeatedly attacked Starmer for refusing to intervene in the conflict.
Asked if their relationship was “destroyed”, Starmer said: “I have acted as you would expect of a British Prime Minister, which is to say absolutely focused on what our national interest is, and that is why I have applied my principles and my values at all times.
“And my principles and values ensured that our decisions were that we would not engage in action without a legal basis, without a viable and well-thought-out plan. I am here to thank some of those who have been defending our allies and British interests in the region, but the principles of not getting dragged into this war, the principles of always saying that the United Kingdom will act only on a legal basis and only for a viable long-term plan.
“They are the right principles. As I say, I am the British Prime Minister. Previously, Mr Starmer and other world leaders demanded that Israel end its attack on Lebanon. The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council welcomed the ceasefire.
In a statement they said: “We strongly encourage rapid progress towards a substantial negotiated agreement. This will be crucial to protect Iran’s civilian population and ensure security in the region. It can avoid a serious global energy crisis.” Earlier in the morning, news of the ceasefire was heralded with explosions in the Gulf States as Iran took the final shots.
But Lebanon suffered sustained bombing, the worst of the war. Beirut was plunged into chaos when at least 89 people were killed in the attack as Israel claimed to have targeted at least 100 Hezbollah headquarters. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for suspending US strikes against Iran.
But his office said the two-week truce will not extend to Israel’s ongoing military operations in Lebanon. In a statement, Netanyahu said Israel supported US President Donald Trump’s efforts to ensure that “Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terrorist threat to the United States, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors and the world.”
His statement came after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the United States, Iran and their allies “have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere.” Sharif said the measure took effect “immediately.” Israeli forces shelled the southern city of Srifa, in the Tire region, and also issued an evacuation warning for a building near the city.
The Lebanese army warned the population on Wednesday not to return to the south of the country. They said: “In light of regional developments and reports circulating about a ceasefire, the army urges citizens to wait before returning to southern villages and towns and to avoid approaching areas where Israeli occupation forces have advanced… as they may be exposing themselves to ongoing Israeli attacks.”
Lebanon was drawn into the US-Israel war against Iran on March 2 after Hezbollah, aligned with Tehran, launched attacks against Israel. Hezbollah said the attacks were in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war, February 28. He added that the attacks were also revenge for Israel’s almost daily violations of a ceasefire it agreed to in Lebanon in November 2024.
That truce was agreed to after more than a year of cross-border fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters following the launch of their genocidal war in Gaza in October 2023. And there have been claims that Iran will withdraw from the ceasefire if Israel continues to defy the agreement through attacks on Lebanon.
A source told the English-speaking TRT World news service in Turkey: “Iran will withdraw from the deal if Israel’s ceasefire violations through attacks on Lebanon continue.” The source added that Tehran is reviewing the situation amid what he described as “continued Israeli violations” linked to the attacks on Lebanon.
According to the source, the United States had agreed to a cessation of fighting on all fronts, including against Lebanon’s “Islamic resistance,” under a proposed two-week ceasefire plan. However, Israel has committed “clear violations of the ceasefire” since early Wednesday by attacking Lebanon. The Israeli military said it attacked more than 100 sites “within 10 minutes” in multiple areas of Beirut, the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon, in the “largest” coordinated attack since the start of the current offensive in Lebanon.
Israel has carried out airstrikes and a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2, despite a ceasefire that took effect in November 2024. Lebanese authorities said at least 1,530 people have been killed and another 4,812 wounded in the Israeli strikes.
