The Prime Minister contacted his Lebanese counterpart by telephone and strongly condemned Israel’s aggression.
According to a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s House, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke over the phone.
Israel has conducted strikes at the entire southern part of Lebanon, the western Bekaa Valley all the way into Nabatieh, where a strike killed more than a dozen Lebanese state security personnel.
We understand that Lebanese civil defence personnel are still looking for survivors and digging through the rubble.
There have also been strikes throughout the southwestern front where we are, and controlled demolitions carried out by Israeli forces.
Lebanon‘s Directorate General of State Security said 13 of its personnel were killed following Israeli strikes on a government building in the southern city of Nabatieh.
In a statement issued by its media and public relations department, the agency said that on April 10, Israeli airstrikes targeted the Nabatieh government Serail building, which houses the regional office of State Security.
(page source date: March 30, 2026)
New research published by Cratus Group reveals a seismic shift in political allegiances across East London, with the Labour Party’s traditional “safe territory” under threat from unprecedented voter volatility and a deepening trust deficit.
The report, The Battle for the East End, based on bespoke polling by Focaldata, examines voter sentiment in Newham, Redbridge, and Barking & Dagenham. The findings paint a stark picture of an electorate increasingly disillusioned with political institutions.
Keir Starmer is facing a surge of public discontent, with a new poll indicating that a clear majority of voters believe he should step down, while many are also calling for a fresh general election.
The findings point to a sharp collapse in support, not only among the wider electorate but within Labour’s own ranks. A significant share of those who backed the party in the 2024 general election now say the Prime Minister should resign.
The Public First research for Politico found that more than half (53%) of the UK public now view America as a negative force globally, up from 35% in December.
At the same time, the proportion of voters who think the States plays a positive role in the world has slumped from 41% to 29%.
The poll of 2,000 people was carried out between April 3 and 7, around five weeks into the US and Israel’s bombing campaign in Iran.
„We‘ve been pulling together a coalition of countries … working on a political, diplomatic plan, but also looking at military capabilities and … the logistics of actually moving vessels through the Strait,“ Starmer said during his visit to the Gulf.
The remotely piloted aircraft, often used by the RAF, supports missions including „surveillance, search and rescue, and armed operations alongside Nato and US forces“, according to the RAF.
The drone flew over Lebanon before and after the wave of Israeli strikes on Wednesday afternoon, which came after a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US was agreed on Tuesday night.
The first thing Abdelwahab noticed was the silence after the blast.
Then came the smoke, the screams – and the realisation that the bodies he was pulling from the rubble belonged to people he knew.
It was shortly after 2pm on Wednesday when across Lebanon, Israeli warplanes had launched a heavy wave of air strikes on densely populated areas, including in Beirut, its southern suburbs, the eastern Beqaa governorate and southern villages.
The simultaneous strikes killed more than 300 people and wounded over 1,150, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
(archive entries)
JOINT STATEMENT BY ALGERIA, ARMENIA, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, BAHRAIN, BANGLADESH, BELGIUM, BRAZIL, BRUNEI, CAMBODIA, CANADA, CHINA, COLOMBIA, CROATIA, CYPRUS, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, DENMARK, EGYPT, EL SALVADOR, ESTONIA, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, GHANA, GREECE, GUATEMALA, HUNGARY, INDONESIA, IRELAND, ITALY, JORDAN, LATVIA, LIBERIA, LUXEMBOURG, MALAYSIA, MALTA, MOLDOVA, MONGOLIA, MOROCCO, NEPAL, THE NETHERLANDS, NORTH MACEDONIA, PAKISTAN, PANAMA, THE PHILIPINES, POLAND, PORTUGAL, QATAR, REPUBLIC OF KOREA, ROMANIA, RUSSIA, SIERRA LEONE, SLOVAKIA, SLOVENIA, SPAIN, SRI LANKA, SWEDEN, TANZANIA, THAILAND, TIMOR LESTE, TURKEY, UNITED KINGDOM, URUGUAY, ZAMBIA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION
New York, 9 April 2026
We, the troop-contributing countries to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), joined by several other Member States and the European Union, express deep concern over the escalation of tension in Lebanon since 2 March 2026 and its impact on the safety and security of peacekeepers. We condemn in the strongest terms the persistent attacks against UNIFIL, including the latest grave attacks which cost the lives of three Indonesian peacekeepers and injured several other peacekeepers from France, Ghana, Indonesia, Nepal and Poland. We also firmly condemn the unacceptable aggressive behaviour towards UNIFIL personnel and leadership recently observed.
We recall that peacekeepers must never be the target of attack and that attacks on them are prohibited while they enjoy protection under international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and may constitute a war crime. The safety and security of UN peacekeepers is non-negotiable, and we urge the UN and the Security Council to exert all tools available at its disposal to strengthen the protection of UN peacekeepers in an increasingly dangerous environment.
We reaffirm our full support for UNIFIL and its mandate, as set out in relevant Security Council resolutions, and urge all parties, under all circumstances, to take all measures to ensure the safety and security of peacekeeping personnel and premises, in accordance with international law.
We call on the UN to continue investigating all attacks against peacekeepers in a prompt, transparent and comprehensive manner, and keep the relevant troop-contributing country informed of the progress, consistent with Security Council resolutions 2518 (2020) and 2589 (2021). Those responsible for these attacks must be held accountable.
We express deep concerns over the humanitarian situation in Lebanon, especially the significant civilian casualties, the extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure and the mass displacement of more than one million people.
We call on parties to urgently return to the cessation of hostilities arrangement of 2024 and respect the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006). We call for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, de-escalation of tensions, and for all parties to return to the negotiating table. We reiterate our strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of Lebanon.
We pay tribute to the dedication and service of all United Nations peacekeepers who risk their lives in the cause of international peace and security and express our deep appreciation to all troop-contributing countries.
While reaffirming their full support for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the countries urged the U.N. and its Security Council „to strengthen the protection of U.N. peacekeepers in an increasingly dangerous environment.“
The statement called on all parties to return to negotiations and reiterated „strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of Lebanon.“
Hadi said there were indications that more countries would sign the statement. Israel, Lebanon and the U.S. were not among those he read out.
President DONALD J. TRUMP
The Communist Party of Israel and the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) condemned on Wednesday evening, April 8, “the heinous and horrific massacre committed by the far-right Israeli government in Lebanon, only hours after the announcement of a temporary ceasefire in the war. This is a clear sign of the crisis facing war criminals, whose aggressive policies repeatedly fail to establish what they term the New World Order. Furthermore, Netanyahu and his government understand that ending the war signifies the collapse of their legitimacy and the end of their time in power.”
“We view the ceasefire in the war with Iran as a crucial development that must be maintained, defended, and turned into a standing agreement that guarantees peace and rights for the peoples of the region, while standing firm against any Israeli attempt to thwart it. We emphasize that this war has once again exposed the failure of the policies of aggression and the imperialist bullying of the US and Israel. It has proven that the logic of force, destruction, and occupation does not create security or stability, but rather drags the entire region into further ruin and bloodshed. We reaffirm that the only path to security, stability, and a better future for all peoples of the land and the region is not the path of war and aggression, but a political path based on ending the occupation—as it is the heart of the regional conflict—and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in all territories occupied by Israel in June 1967,” they said in the common communique.