Trump announces Israel-Lebanon ceasefire as House passes war powers resolution | First Thing

Lebanese government agrees ceasefire but Israeli drone strikes continue. Plus the story of the man who launched Cuba’s first independent magazine

Good morning.

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire to end hostilities, the Trump administration has announced – but it comes with caveats. Not only is the deal contingent on a complete cessation of fire from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah armed group, and on the evacuation of all its fighters from the area south of the Litani River – but Hezbollah have not been part of the talks.

Where has Israel been targeting? William Christou in Beirut reports that three hospitals in southern Lebanon have been attacked by Israel in under a week, wounding more than 150 people and killing nine. Analysts and human rights experts have said the attacks on healthcare facilities were aimed at degrading the conditions for life in south Lebanon.

What did Israel say about it? The military said it had struck “Hezbollah infrastructure in the area of Tyre” and acknowledged a hospital was “affected incidentally”. It accused Hezbollah of “taking over” one of the hospitals it struck.

Is that number significant? Yes, the 90-day threshold is important because the 1973 War Powers Resolution lays down that a president must seek congressional approval to continue waging war after hostilities have continued that length of time. Trump’s White House has rejected that argument, citing a temporary ceasefire that has been in place since 8 April – although it has been broken several times by the US, Israel and Iran.

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