Washington says a Lebanon ceasefire is ‘close’, in ‘optimistic’ update

Published

1 year ago

September 26, 2024

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Senior US officials have said overnight they expect a ceasefire deal to be implemented “in the coming hours” along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Speaking to reporters in a late-night, last-minute phone briefing, the US administration officials said that exhaustive behind-the-scenes diplomacy had brought an agreement between the two sides close.

One administration official said: “The ceasefire will be for 21 days along the blue line. During those 21 days, the parties will negotiate towards a potential resolution of the conflict that has been ongoing since Hezbollah launched the attack on 8 October, and to reach a comprehensive agreement along the blue line that allows for residents to return to their home in both Lebanon and Israel.”

Middle East latest updates

The official emphasised that this ceasefire proposal was for the northern border only and did not extend to Gaza where Israel’s military offensive against Hamas continues but that a pause in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah would create the “space” for progress in Gaza.

“It buys some time and space to try to pursue an arrangement in Gaza along the lines of the hostage deal we’ve been discussing,” the US official said.

“We believe, regardless of what has happened on the battlefield over the last several days, the moment we feel is now to achieve that diplomatic resolution; to get there.”

The optimistic suggestion of a ceasefire “in the coming hours” follows a joint statement released by the US, UK, Australia, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar which called for the immediate 21-day ceasefire.

“It is time to conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes in safety,” the statement said, as it warned that “diplomacy, however, cannot succeed amid an escalation of this conflict.”

It’s not clear whether Israel or Hezbollah will agree to the ceasefire. Israel has stated its determination to remove the threat from southern Lebanon.

Asked about this, the US administration official said: “We have had this conversation with the parties… they’re familiar with the texts and we’ll let them speak to their actions. We’re expecting the deal in the coming hours.”

Hezbollah, which is a non-state group aligned with Iran, has been firing into Israel from Lebanon since 8 October in support of Hamas in Gaza.

Israel’s efforts to degrade Hezbollah with assassinations and last week’s pager and walkie-talkie attacks pushed the conflict to a new level with all-out regional war a step closer.

Even if the Israeli government can be persuaded to pause its military objectives, there is no guarantee Hezbollah would do the same. The group’s leader Hasan Nasrallah has pledged that attacks would continue until Israel stops attacking Gaza.

The US and other diplomats have been negotiating with the official Lebanese government and not directly with Hezbollah which they consider to be a terrorist group.

“We negotiate with the sovereign state of Lebanon. They are responsible in speaking for the state of Lebanon and for everything that happens on that side of the border,” the US administration official said.

Analysis: A real chance for peace – or just the same old song?

There is an element of deja-vu about this.

We’ve been here many times before, albeit with the other end of this conflict – Gaza.

American officials and the president himself have, so many times, said ceasefires and pauses are close, only to be let down by one side or the other.

This is a different situation for sure.

There are no hostages involved in the Israel-Hezbollah end of this conflict and Israel may feel that it’s had such spectacular success in degrading Hezbollah – with the assassinations and exploding pagers, that it’s militarily and diplomatically smart to pause now.

Will Hezbollah think the same? Or their masters in Iran? Maybe they will have no choice. They have taken an unprecedented beating over the past two weeks – at significant cost to civilians.

If there is a ceasefire along the Lebanon-Israel in the coming hours, as the Americans suggest, then it certainly does provide the space to get back to solving the Gaza nightmare.

It would also give the United Nations, in its biggest week of the year – the General Assembly, a sense of purpose and relevance; diplomacy works.

Israeli PM Netanyahu is speaking in the UN chamber later on Thursday. We’ll see how he reacts to the ceasefire calls and how he frames the conflict all as he addresses a body he rails against as ineffective and anti-Israeli.

“Who they negotiate with and deal with, as far as the non-state actors in Lebanon, I think they’re aware of the responsibility that they have to speak on behalf of the country or the state.

“So our expectation is when the government of Lebanon or when the government of Israel both accept this, this will carry and be implemented as a ceasefire on both sides.”

The potential breakthrough came at the end of a day when confused reports from Israel suggested Israeli ground troops might be preparing an invasion of southern Lebanon.

A US Department of Defence spokesperson later said the Pentagon had seen no suggestion of an imminent Israeli operation.

US

Two National Guard members shot near White House in Washington DC

Published

2 hours ago

November 27, 2025

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Two National Guard members who were shot near White House in Washington DC have died

Two military personnel have been shot near the White House in Washington DC.

A suspect has been taken into custody and the area secured, police said.

The White House was placed into lockdown, while US President Donald Trump is away in Florida.

Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform to say the two National Guard members had been “critically wounded”, adding that the “animal” that shot them “is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price”.

Washington DC shooting latest updates

Both guardsmen were shot in the head, according to Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, quoting an official and a senior official directly briefed on the investigation.

The shooting will be investigated by the FBI as a possible act of terror, two senior US law enforcement officials told NBC.

The suspect, who used a handgun in the attack, has been initially identified as an Afghan national, the officials said.

But investigators are still trying to confirm all of the individual’s details.

West Virginia’s governor initially said both victims were members of his state’s National Guard and had died from their injuries – but later posted to say there were “conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members”.

Patrick Morrisey had said: “These brave West Virginians lost their lives in the service of their country.”

FBI director Kash Patel said two National Guard members were “brazenly attacked in a horrendous act of violence”.

At a news conference he clarified they were in a “critical condition”.

Jeff Carroll, chief of the metropolitan police department in the area, said the attack began at 2.15pm local time (7.15pm in the UK) while National Guard members were on “high visibility patrols in the area”.

He said: “A suspect came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged it at the National Guard.

“The National Guard members were… able to – after some back and forth – able to subdue the individual and bring them into custody.”

Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser called the attack a “targeted shooting”.

Social media footage showed first responders attempting CPR on one of the soldiers as they treated the other on a pavement covered in glass.

Nearby other officers could be seen restraining an individual on the ground.

The scene has been cordoned off by police tape, while agents from the US Secret Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene, as National Guard troops stood sentry nearby. The FBI was also on the scene, the agency’s director said.

The Joint DC Task Force confirmed it was responding to an incident in the vicinity of the White House.

The DC Police Department posted on X: “Critical Incident: MPD is on the scene of a shooting at 17th and I Street, NW. Please avoid the area.”

In an update, the force said: “The scene is secured. One suspect is in custody.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The White House is aware and actively monitoring this tragic situation.

“The president has been briefed.”

Mr Trump was at his resort in Palm Beach ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, while US vice president JD Vance was in Kentucky.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said Mr Trump had asked for 500 more troops to be deployed to Washington DC after the shooting.

Flights arriving at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were temporarily halted due to its proximity to the scene of the shooting, the US Federal Aviation Administration said.

Hundreds of National Guard members have been patrolling the nation’s capital after Mr Trump issued an emergency order in August, which federalised the local police force and sent in the guard from eight states and the District of Columbia.

US

Girl, 13, arrested after teenager shot dead in Los Angeles

Published

8 hours ago

November 26, 2025

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Girl, 13, arrested after teenager shot dead in Los Angeles

A 13-year-old girl has been arrested following the fatal shooting a 16-year-old boy in Los Angeles County, California, police have said.

Officers responded on Sunday about 5pm to a report of a shooting in the city of Pomona.

They found a teenage boy suffering from a gunshot wound.

He was pronounced dead at the scene after firefighters arrived.

A motive for the crime is as yet unknown, police said.

Pomona Police Department said in a statement: “Due to the nature of the incident, investigators from the Pomona Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit responded to the scene and initiated an extensive investigation.

“During the course of their investigation, they identified a 13-year-old female as the possible perpetrator. She was taken into custody and transported to Juvenile Hall.”

The victim’s and the suspect’s identities have not been revealed.

US

Charges against Donald Trump in Georgia election interference case dismissed

Published

10 hours ago

November 26, 2025

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Charges against Donald Trump in Georgia election interference case dismissed

Charges against Donald Trump and others in an election interference case in the US state of Georgia have been dismissed.

Pete Skandalakis, the prosecutor who recently took over the case, said in court papers on Wednesday that he has decided to take no further action.

It was unlikely the legal action against the US president could have progressed while he was still in office, but the 14 others – including Mr Trump’s personal lawyer, the former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, and ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows – had still faced charges.

Budget latest – Reeves defends changes

The case was dismissed in full by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee after Mr Skandalakis submitted his decision.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had alleged a wide-ranging conspiracy to illegally overturn Mr Trump’s narrow loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the key swing state in the 2020 presidential election.

Charges against Mr Trump centred around a phone call he made to Georgia’s top election official, secretary of state Brad Raffensperger.

Mr Trump told his fellow Republican: “I just want to find 11,780 votes”, recordings of the conversation showed.

Mr Trump and 18 co-defendants were initially accused.

Four of the accused made plea deals with prosecutors, while the others, including Mr Trump, Mr Giuliani and Mr Meadows, pleaded not guilty.

An angry-looking Mr Trump was pictured as he was booked on the charges at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, and copies of the mugshot generated sales of more than $7m (£5.3m) in a matter of days, his campaign said.

In a 22-page memo explaining his decision, Mr Skandalakis noted the entire case is “without precedent,” and pointed in part to the challenges of trying a case against a sitting president.

Mr Skandalakis wrote: “In my professional opinion, the citizens of Georgia are not served by pursuing this case in full for another five to ten years”.

He said he was ending the case “to serve the interests of justice and promote judicial finality” and his decision is “not guided by a desire to advance an agenda but is based on my beliefs and understanding of the law”.

Mr Trump’s lawyer in the case, Steve Sadow, welcomed the end of what he called a “political persecution” of the US president.

“This case should never have been brought. A fair and impartial prosecutor has put an end to this lawfare,” he said.

Ms Willis, who brought the case in August 2023, was disqualified from prosecuting it last December.

An appeals court in the state capital, Atlanta, ruled that a romantic relationship she had with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she chose to lead the case, created “a significant appearance of impropriety.”

Defence lawyers claimed the district attorney profited from the case when Wade used his earnings to pay for holidays the pair took.

She appealed the verdict, but lost her case in September, despite Mr Wade having quit his role.

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