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Israel has carried out a strike on Beirut for the first time since it agreed a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in November.

The Israeli military says the strike targeted a Hezbollah drone storage facility in Dahiyeh, in the city’s southern suburbs, which it called a key Hezbollah stronghold and where support for the militant group is strong.

Israel’s army used a post on X in Arabic to urgently warn people to evacuate parts of a Beirut suburb on Friday as it vowed to retaliate against strikes that it said were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel.

28 March 2025, Lebanon, Khiam: Heavy smoke billows from areas that were bombed by Israeli Forces in the southern Lebanese border town of Khiam. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened the Lebanese capital Beirut after rockets were launched from Lebanon towards Israel, jeopardizing the ongoing truce between the two countries since last November. Photo by: STR/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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Smoke in areas bombed by Israeli forces in the south Lebanon town of Khiam. Pic: AP

Residents stand in the street for safety after an Israeli army airstrike hit the nearby neighbourhood of Hadath, in Beirut, Friday March 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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People try to find safety after an Israeli airstrike in Hadath, in Beirut Pic: AP

Hezbollah denied firing the rockets at northern Israel, and accused Israel of seeking a pretext to continue attacking Lebanon.

Lebanon’s government ordered all schools and universities in Beirut’s southern suburb of Hadath to close for the day.

Shooting could be heard in some parts of the southern suburbs, warning people to leave their homes, and many residents were seen fleeing the area in cars and on foot.

Associated Press reporters in Beirut said they heard a large boom and saw smoke rising from where Israel’s military had said it would strike, a residential and commercial area containing at least two schools.

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Though it’s the first Israeli strike on Beirut since November’s ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group, Israel has struck targets in southern Lebanon almost daily since then.

Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said on Friday that if there was no peace in Israel’s northern communities, there would be no peace in Beirut either.

Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones, and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel.

In September, Israel carried out waves of airstrikes and killed most of Hezbollah’s senior leaders as the bubbling conflict became an all-out war.

An Israeli drone flies over Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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An Israeli drone flies over southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh. Pic: AP

More than 4,000 people in Lebanon died, while around 60,000 Israelis were displaced.

Under the ceasefire that halted the fighting, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January.

The deadline was extended to 18 February, but Israeli troops have remained in five locations in Lebanon across from communities in northern Israel.

Meanwhile, Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, saying it attacked Hezbollah, while continuing drone attacks that have killed several members of the militant group.

Israeli strikes in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Tibnit on Friday killed three people and injured 18, including children and women, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

Limited strikes to send a message without ending ceasefire

It’s unclear who fired two missiles at northern Israel earlier – Hezbollah insists it wasn’t them, and the IDF hasn’t directly blamed the group. That suggests it could be someone else, perhaps factions of Hamas – but Israel is holding Hezbollah accountable for any actions along the border.

Both Israel and Lebanon blame the other for violating the ceasefire, and Lebanon’s president has called on the US and France to intervene, as both are sponsors of the deal, which was agreed in November.

Israel is right to call the firing of missiles across the border a breach, but despite the truce, it has been hitting targets in Lebanon regularly, and that could also be deemed a violation.

Friday’s bombing of Beirut was limited and targeted, and a warning was sent beforehand for civilians to evacuate the area.

That suggests Israel is trying to escalate the message it sends but, at the same time, avoiding actions that might result in the ceasefire collapsing.

The new government in Lebanon and the armed forces are still struggling to get overall security control of southern Lebanon, but it is in Israel’s interests to give them a chance to do so.

Hezbollah has been severely weakened militarily by Israel’s invasion last year, but only the Lebanese government can reduce their political influence within the country.

With the fighting resumed in Gaza and almost daily Houthi missile attacks on Israel now, Washington is unlikely to encourage a return to conflict in Lebanon too.

Six people died in Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Lebanon last week.

The UN special co-ordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said the escalation was deeply concerning, calling it a “critical period for Lebanon and the wider region”.

According to an Israeli official who was not authorised to speak to the media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting top security officials to discuss an impending strike on the capital.

The escalation came as Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas by launching a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of people in Gaza.

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Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine, and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s roughly two million Palestinians.

Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas returns 59 hostages it still holds – 24 of them believed to be alive. Israel is demanding that the group give up power, disarm, and send its leaders into exile.

Hamas has said it will release the remaining captives only in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire, and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

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Several killed after vehicle drives into crowd at street festival, police in Vancouver say

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Several killed after vehicle drives into crowd at street festival, police in Vancouver say

A number of people have been killed and multiple others injured after a driver drove into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver, police have said.

The driver has been taken into custody after the incident shortly after 8pm local time on Saturday, police added.

People were in the area near 41st Avenue and Fraser Street for the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party, named after a national hero of the Philippines.

Vancouver’s mayor Ken Sim said in a post on X: “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event.”

He added: “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”

Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least seven people lying immobile on the ground.

A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in photos from the scene.

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially 'historic' meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope's funeral

Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.

The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.

The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
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The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”

The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.

Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.

Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.

Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
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The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Trump and Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
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Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica

But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.

The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.

The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.

There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.

U.S President Donald Trump attends the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters

Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.

He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.

Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”

The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.

They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.

“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.

In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.

They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.

Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.

In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
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The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.

We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.

But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.

Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.

Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
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The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.

They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.

The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.

Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.

If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.

This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.

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