CAIRO (AP) — Mediators are moving closer to extending the ceasefire between the United States and Iran and restarting negotiations to salvage the fragile truce before it expires next week. The U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats have imperiled the week-old agreement but regional officials said Wednesday they are making progress. They told The Associated Press that the United States and Iran had given an “in principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. Whether the ceasefire would hold is unclear as U.S. pressed ahead with its blockade, which threatens to sever Iran from economic lifelines it has relied on since the war began.
Children killed in Lebanon as Israeli strikes hit homes far from front lines of war with Hezbollah
BEIRUT (AP) — Of more than 2,000 people killed in Lebanon since Israel’s current war with Iran-backed Hezbollah began, 168 are children. Israel has often struck alleged Hezbollah militants or officials in their homes without warning. The strikes are frequently in areas far from the front line when they are with their families, in apartment buildings surrounded by uninvolved neighbors. The Israeli military rarely names the targets of its strikes but says it takes measures to minimize civilian casualties including children. Israel blames Hezbollah members for mixing with the general population. The families of children killed accuse Israel of committing war crimes. The Israeli military doesn’t deny children have been killed but says it has targeted Hezbollah facilities and militants.
