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Lebanese officials 'unaware' of meeting with Israel - reports

Some news outlets have reported Lebanese officials as saying they were unaware of any contact or meeting with Israel, after Donald Trump said on social media that Israeli and Lebanese leaders would speak to each other today.

AFP news agency reported an official source in Lebanon saying: “We are not aware of any planned contact with the Israeli side, and we have not been informed of any through official channels.”

Al Jazeera also reported an official source in Lebanon saying “there is no information” about a possible phone conversation between Lebanese and Israeli leaders or a second meeting between their ambassadors in Washington following Tuesday’s talks.

In a Truth Social post, the US president said Israeli and Lebanese leaders will hold talks, but he did not provide any other details and it was not clear if he meant the countries’ heads of state or other officials. There has been no official confirmation of a meeting from Israel or Lebanon.

This morning the Israeli military issued another order telling people in southern Lebanon to flee the area due to “ongoing” airstrikes against what it described as Hezbollah targets, in its second such warning in 24 hours.

Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic language spokesperson, have told people south of the Zahrani river to flee their homes, saying: The airstrikes are ongoing as the IDF operates with great force in the area.”

Here are some of the latest images coming in from the Middle East amid growing optimism that the war may be near an end, with a key Pakistani mediator in Tehran and the Trump administration talking up hopes for a deal that would open the strait of Hormuz.

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The European Union is drafting plans to tackle a looming jet fuel supply crunch and maximise refinery output, officials said.

European airlines have warned of jet fuel shortages within weeks as a result of the Iran war, disrupting travel ahead of summer.

Europe is more dependent on jet fuel imports – with some 75% from the Middle East – than for any other transport fuel, Reuters reports.

From next month, the European Commission will introduce EU-wide mapping of refining capacity for oil products and introduce measures “to ensure that existing refining capacity is fully utilised and maintained“, a draft proposal says.

The EU is also working on measures targeting jet fuel supply, but those are still in development, officials familiar with the proposals said. The EC declined to comment on the draft plans, which are due to be published on 22 April.

Jet fuel prices have soared since the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz and European airlines are warning of price hikes, cancellations and grounded planes if the war does not end soon.

US President Donald Trump said in comments aired on Wednesday that the war with Iran could end soon, telling the world to watch out for an “amazing two days“, while U.S. forces imposing a blockade turned back vessels leaving Iranian ports.

The US defence secretary and the chair of the military’s joint chiefs of staff will hold a press conference on Thursday morning US time about the US-Israel operation against Iran, the US defence department has said on social media.

Pete Hegseth and Gen Dan Caine would hold the presser on Operation Epic Fury at 8am ET (1200 GMT), it said.

Asian stocks mostly gained while oil prices steadied on Thursday over expectations of an extension of a ceasefire in the Iran war and hopes for more talks between the US and Iran.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.4%, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed 2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.6%.

China on Thursday reported 5% economic growth for the January-March quarter, an acceleration from the previous quarter, the Associated Press reports

While economists say China has largely shrugged off the initial impacts from the Iran war, some are warning its massive export engine could be hit more significantly in the coming months on slower global economic growth.

Taiwan’s Taiex was trading 0.9% higher, while Australia’s S+P/ASX 200 edged down 0.1%.

Opening summary

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.

Donald Trump says the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will hold talks on Thursday, after the countries’ first face-to-face diplomatic negotiations in decades.

“Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon,” the US president posted on Truth Social on Wednesday. “It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow.”

Trump did not say who would be involved or give more detail. The Financial Times said a ceasefire could be announced soon, citing Lebanese officials.

Reports earlier said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was weighing a possible truce with Lebanon after pressure from Washington.

Meanwhile, the White House denied reports the US had requested an extension to its ceasefire with Iran, set to expire next week. Talks between them were “productive and ongoing”, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, and the US “feels good about the prospects of a deal”.

The US also announced it was tightening sanctions against Iran’s oil industry. Oil transport infrastructure would be targeted with sanctions on more than two dozen people, companies and ships that operated within the network of petroleum shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the Treasury department said.

In other developments:

  • Pakistan’s army chief met with Iran’s foreign minister in Tehran on Wednesday in the latest diplomatic move to ease Middle East tensions and arrange a second round of US-Iran negotiations. Trump said earlier that the war was “very close to over”.

  • Leavitt said a second round of US-Iran talks would “very likely” take place in Islamabad again and that Pakistan was “the only mediator” in the discussions.

  • Major Wall Street stock indices extended an upward climb on optimism about a US-Iran agreement.

  • Israel’s security cabinet met to discuss a ceasefire after the Israel-Lebanon talks mediated by the US in Washington on Tuesday. But the Israeli military continues to strike the country, with Netanyahu saying Israel was about to “overwhelm” the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, calling it a Hezbollah stronghold.

  • Four Lebanese rescue workers were killed in consecutive Israeli strikes in the southern Lebanon village of Mayfadoun on Wednesday, paramedic groups said. Six others were wounded.

  • The US military’s Middle East command Centcom said it stopped 10 vessels from sailing out of Iranian ports during the first 48 hours of the US naval blockade. But ship tracking data indicated at least three ships sailing from Iranian ports crossed the strait of Hormuz, though some vessels taking the route later turned back.

  • The finance ministers of 11 countries including the UK and Japan called for “coordinated emergency support” from the IMF and World Bank to help countries hit by disruptions from the Middle East war.

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