DIRECT. War in the Middle East: the Israeli army announces strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, the day after the extension of the ceasefire

A bluff? Iran affirmed on Saturday, May 16, that European countries are in discussions with Tehran in order to obtain authorizations to cross the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime axis through which approximately 20% of the world’s crude oil transits, and which has been blocked since the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East. “After the passage of ships from East Asian countries, including China, Japan and Pakistan, we received information today that Europeans have started negotiations with the Revolutionary Guard Navy” to cross the passage, announced state television without specifying the names of these countries. Follow the situation in our live stream.

• New Israeli strikes in Lebanon, despite the extension of the truce. The Israeli army announced new strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, despite the announcement the day before of the extension of the ceasefire. The Lebanese National Information Agency (official Ani) reported strikes on at least five villages in the South, preceded by an exodus of residents towards Saida, the region’s major city, and Beirut. Israel and Lebanon, however, agreed on Friday to a 45-day extension of the truce which came into force on April 17.
• The head of Hamas’s armed wing killed in Gaza during a Israeli strike. Ezzedine al-Haddad was presented by the Jewish state as a “leading terrorist” et “one of the main architects of the October 7 massacre”.

• A pro-Iran militia commander arrested by the United States for planning attacks. American authorities announced Friday the arrest and indictment of a commander of a pro-Iran Iraqi militia whom they accuse of having planned attacks in the United States, Canada and Europe, particularly against Jewish sites. Mohammed Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, presented as a leader of the Hezbollah Brigades (Kataeb Hezbollah), is a “high value target, responsible for acts of mass terrorism on a scale”.
• Oil prices are rising in the face of diplomatic impasse to resolve the conflict. They have started to rise again in the absence of progress between the United States and Iran, raising fears of a lasting blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in July, gained 3.35%, to 109.26 dollars (93.97 euros). Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate, for delivery in June, increased by 4.20% to 105.42 dollars (90.67 euros). In this regard, you can monitor the situation in service stations in France in real time using our dashboard.