Skip next section Lebanon: President calls for Israel-Hezbollah truce

03/20/2026March 20, 2026Lebanon: President calls for Israel-Hezbollah truce

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday reiterated calls for “a full truce” between Hezbollah and Israel, to “disarm” the Iran-backed Islamist group and for “direct negotiations” with Israel.

Lebanon was pulled into the regional war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets from Lebanese territory towards neighboring Israel in response to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in Israeli-US attacks.

Israel has responded with heavy airstrikes across Lebanon and ground incursions in the border area. More than 1,000 people have been killed — including two Israeli soldiers.

After meeting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Thursday, Aoun stressed “the necessity of a ceasefire, and to provide the necessary guarantees for its success by the parties concerned.”

He said a proposed framework for such a ceasefire was “still on the table.”

According to the French ministry, Barrot’s snap visit was a sign of “solidarity with the Lebanese people, who have been dragged into a war they did not choose.”

After Lebanon, Paris said Barrot would on Friday visit Israel for the first time since France recognized the State of Palestine last year, angering the Israeli government.

Barrot is expected to “hold talks with the Israeli authorities to discuss the security situation, humanitarian issues, and prospects for de-escalation.”

https://p.dw.com/p/5AkLY

Skip next section Israel says it is striking ‘infrastructure’ across Tehran

03/20/2026March 20, 2026Israel says it is striking ‘infrastructure’ across Tehran

The Israeli military said early on Friday that it was continuing to strike unspecified “infrastructure” in the Iranian capital Tehran.

A statement said Israeli forces had “begun a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran,” without giving details.

Earlier, late on Thursday evening, Iran had fired several waves of missiles at Israel, with no injuries or serious damage reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Times of Israel newspaper that “Iran is weaker than ever” and unable to produce ballistic missiles or enrich uranium after three weeks of war.

Netanyahu said the attacks on Iran would continue “for as long as necessary.”

https://p.dw.com/p/5AkL0

Skip next section Israel says it will refrain from striking key gas field

03/20/2026March 20, 2026Israel says it will refrain from striking key gas field

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged late on Thursday to refrain from more strikes on a key Iranian natural gas field at the request of US President Donald Trump.

Israeli attacks on the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, the largest such field in the world, led to retaliatory Iranian strikes against liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities in Qatar.

Trump called on Israel to stop targeting South Pars and on Iran to stop targeting Qatar, threatening to “massively blow up the entirety” of the gas field himself if Tehran didn’t comply.

After a top US intelligence official resigned claiming that Washington had been dragged into the war by Israel, President Trump claimed that the United States had not been informed about the Israeli intention to strike South Pars.

Netanyahu insisted in comments to foreign journalists: “I misled no one. And I didn’t have to convince President Trump about the need to prevent Iran from developing its nuclear program.”

https://p.dw.com/p/5AkL1

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage03/20/2026March 20, 2026Welcome to our coverage

Hello and welcome to DW’s coverage of the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Israel and Iran continued to exchange missiles strikes overnight with the Israeli military claiming to have hit unspecified infrastructural targets across Tehran.

But Israel has said it will refrain from launching further strikes against the key South Pars natural gas field.

https://p.dw.com/p/5AkJM