Middle East live: Lebanon, Israel to hold new talks in US before ceasefire expires

Issued on: 14/05/2026 – 03:41Modified: 15/05/2026 – 04:20

Hezbollah on Thursday said it targeted Israeli troops in northern Israel with a drone. The lastest attack comes as Lebanon and Israel hold new direct peace talks in Washington as a tentative ceasefire between the neighbouring rivals nears its end. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.

Talks Thursday between Israel and Lebanon on an expiring ceasefire were "positive" and will take place as planned for a second day, a US official said.

"We had a full day of productive and positive talks that lasted from 9 am to 5 pm (1300-2100 GMT). We look forward to continuing this tomorrow and hope to have more to share then," a senior State Department official said.

Hezbollah said on Thursday that it targeted Israeli troops in northern Israel with a drone, as Lebanon and Israel were holding a new round of direct talks in Washington.

In a statement, the group said it "targeted a gathering of Israeli enemy army soldiers at the Rosh HaNikra site" near the border with Lebanon with a drone.

The Israeli military had earlier said that "several Israeli civilians were injured and evacuated to receive medical treatment" after "an explosive drone that was launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation fell within Israeli territory, near the Israel-Lebanon border".

Israeli nationalists swept through the narrow streets of Jerusalem's Old City on Thursday, chanting "Death to Arabs" and "May your villages burn" during the annual Jerusalem Day march, while many Palestinian residents remained barricaded indoors.

Every year, tens of thousands of Israelis – many of them teenagers and young adults – parade through Jerusalem to celebrate what Israeli authorities call the "reunification" of Jerusalem following Israel's capture and annexation of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

The annexation of east Jerusalem, home to a predominantly Palestinian population, is not recognised by the United Nations, which considers it illegal under international law.

Israeli settlers take part in the Jerusalem Day parade at the Damascus Gate in the old city of Jerusalem on May 14, 2026 (Photo by ilia Yefimovich AFP).

The International Monetary Fund warned on Thursday that continuing disruptions due to the Iran war meant its global economic outlook was moving towards an "adverse" scenario, with growth pared down and greater risks to inflation.

Last month, the multilateral lender's World Economic Outlook predicted global growth would drop to 3.1 percent in 2026 in its "reference" scenario, but warned of a bleaker outlook if the war were to drag on.

In the "adverse" scenario, where oil prices remain higher for longer, inflation expectations become less stable and financial conditions tighten, growth would slow to 2.5 percent, the Fund said at the time.

On Thursday, the Fund's chief spokesperson said the global economy was headed towards this less auspicious situation.

"We are moving into the adverse scenario, but inflation expectations are still reasonably well anchored, and financial conditions still remain accommodative," Julie Kozack told reporters in Washington. The Fund also has a "severe" scenario, in which growth slows to 2.0 percent and inflation flares to six percent.

An update of the World Economic Outlook is due in July.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said President Xi Jinping had offered China's help to open the Strait of Hormuz and pledged not to send military equipment to aid Iran in its war against the US and Israel.

"He said he's not going to give military equipment… he said that strongly," Trump told the "Hannity" show on Fox News, after the two leaders met in Beijing.

"He'd like to see the Hormuz Strait open, and said 'if I can be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help,'" Trump added.

As unprecedented negotiations open today in Washington under US mediation, many Lebanese see a chance for a return to stability.

Watch our report by Serge Berberi and Renee Davis.

Israel plans to sue The New York Times and one of its journalists for defamation over an article that said Israeli soldiers, prison ​guards and ‌settlers had used widespread sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners.

Prime Minister Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu said on Thursday he had instructed his legal advisers "to consider the harshest legal action" against the newspaper and Nicholas ‌Kristof, a veteran journalist who reported the story from the occupied West ⁠Bank.

"They defamed the soldiers of Israel and perpetuated a blood libel about rape, trying to create a false symmetry between the genocidal terrorists of ​Hamas and Israel's valiant soldiers," Netanyahu said in a statement.

"We will ‌fight these lies in the court of public opinion and in the court of law. Truth will prevail," he added.

The United Nations and rights groups say they have ‌documented the use of sexual violence by both Israel and Hamas since the militant Palestinian group's assault on Israel on ​October 7, 2023, which triggered Israel's war in Gaza.

Iran's ​ability to threaten ​its neighbors and U.S. interests in ​the ‌region ⁠have been dramatically reduced , ‌a senior U.S. admiral ⁠said on Thursday.

"Iran has a significantly ​degraded threat, ‌and they no longer threaten regional ‌partners, or the ​United States, in ways that they were ​able to ​do before, ​across every domain," Admiral Brad ​Cooper told a Senate committee.

Dozens of boats carrying activists and aid for Palestinians began sailing from Turkey’s Mediterranean coast on Thursday in the latest attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza — just weeks after Israel intercepted a previous flotilla and detained two activists.

More than 50 vessels were scheduled to depart from the port in Marmaris in what the organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla described was the final leg of their journey to Gaza’s shores.

On April 30, Israeli forces intercepted more than 20 boats from a flotilla near the southern Greek island of Crete, initially holding about 175 activists. The incident drew protests and condemnation from several countries.

Two of the activists, Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila, who were taken back to Israel where they were interrogated and detained for several days, were deported from Israel on Sunday.

Brazilian human rights activist Thiago Avila, of the Global Sumud Flotilla, center, arrives at the Sao Paulo International airport, after being released from detention in Israel, Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

The internationally recognised Yemeni ⁠government and ​the Iran-aligned Houthi group will exchange more than 1,600 prisoners, the office of ​the U.N. special envoy for Yemen said on Thursday, marking the largest release of detainees since the outbreak of the war in Yemen.

Under the agreement, the Houthis will ‌release 580 prisoners, including seven Saudis and 20 Sudanese, while the ⁠government will release 1,100 Houthi prisoners, Houthi official Abdulqader al-Mortada said in a post on X.

Israel's defense minister has criticized Barcelona’s teenage star Lamine Yamal for his waving of a Palestinian flag during celebrations of the Spanish league title win, saying the act “incites hate.”

“Lamine Yamal chose to incite hate against Israel while our soldiers combat the terrorist organization Hamas, an organization that massacred, raped and burned Jewish children, women and the elderly on Oct. 7, (2023)” minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Yamal waved a large Palestinian flag from an open-top bus during a victory parade by Barcelona’s team through the city on Monday. The parade drew some 750,000 people to celebrate the league title clinched the previous day, local authorities said.

Yamal, who is Muslim, posted pictures of him holding the flag on his Instagram account.

Spain’s government and a large part of its population have been highly critical of Israel’s military operations that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza in response to the 2023 Hamas surprise attack.

A woman walks past a mural depicting football player Lamine Yamal waving a Palestinian flag during the Catalans' title parade at Shati (Beach) refugee camp in Gaza City on May 13, 2026 (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP).

Israel and Lebanon opened a new round of peace talks in Washington on Thursday as their latest ceasefire was set to expire, diplomats said.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group exchanged fire.

Several Israeli civilians were injured during a Hezbollah drone strike, the military said, while the Israeli military said it had struck "Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites" in several areas in southern Lebanon.

Iraqi ​officials have approached the International Monetary ​Fund about securing financial assistance as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, ​a ‌source close to ⁠the IMF said on Thursday.

Initial conversations took place ‌last month during the spring meetings of ⁠the IMF and World Bank in Washington, and discussions are ongoing ​about how much funding ‌Iraq would need and how any loan would be structured, the source said.

Indian ​airline Air ​India on Wednesday said it ​will ‌reduce ⁠its services ‌on select international routes ⁠between June and August ​due to ‌airspace restrictions over certain ‌regions and ​record high jet fuel prices.

The airline said ​it ​will continue ​to operate ​more than 1,200 international flights every month.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the United Arab Emirates of playing an active role in the US-Israeli war against his country.

"The UAE is an active partner in this aggression, and there is no doubt about it," Araghchi said in a Telegram post while attending a BRICS summit in India.

Araghchi also referred to what Israel has described as a "secret" meeting in the UAE during the war between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan — a visit Abu Dhabi has denied took place.

"I must say that the UAE was directly involved in the act of aggression against my country. When this aggression began, they even refused to condemn it," Araghchi said.

"It also became clear that they participated in these attacks and may have even acted directly against us," he added.

Israel's military says it launched strikes against Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon, hours before US-brokered talks between the two countries are set to begin in Washington.

"The IDF has begun striking Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites in several areas in southern Lebanon," the military said after issuing evacuation warnings for a number of villages in the area.

⁠The ⁠United ​Arab Emirates' ​foreign ministry denied on Wednesday the ​reports ‌of ⁠Israeli Prime Minister ‌Benjamin Netanyahu's visit ⁠to the country, adding ​that any claims ‌regarding an unannounced visits ‌are "baseless". 

Lebanon's health ministry said 22 people including eight children were killed on Wednesday as Israel intensified strikes on the country, with several deadly raids hitting south of Beirut.