The Israeli army said on Monday it had begun what it described as \u201climited ground operations\u201d against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. It said that before the troops\u2019 entry into the area, it conducted air force and artillery strikes against \u201cnumerous terrorist targets in order to mitigate threats\u201d.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump warned that Nato faced a \u201cvery bad\u201d future if US allies failed to assist in opening up the strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported. Trump has urged a string of countries to send warships to the region but the response has been muted<\/a>. Japan and Australia have declined to send ships.<\/p>\n Flights are \u201cgradually\u201d resuming at Dubai international airport, according to its operator, after a \u201cdrone-related incident\u201d earlier sparked a fuel tank fire nearby. No injuries were reported, the city\u2019s media office said.<\/p>\n The US has started moving more than 2,000 marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa to the Middle East, according to news reports.<\/p>\n Japan said it was beginning the release of its strategic oil reserves after the International Energy Agency indicated earlier that the release would begin in Asia and Oceania before other regions.<\/p>\n Oil prices climbed again amid mounting supply fears, with brent crude \u2013 the international benchmark \u2013 rosing 1.8% to $104.98 a barrel during early trading on Monday.<\/p>\n British prime minister Keir Starmer discussed with Trump the need to reopen the strait of Hormuz, a Downing Street spokeswoman said on Sunday. Starmer also spoke with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney about the impact of the strait\u2019s continued closure on international shipping.<\/p>\n Italy\u2019s military said there had been a drone attack on the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait hosting Italian and US forces, but that all its personnel were safe.<\/p>\n A rocket attack on Baghdad international airport in Iraq wounded five people, Iraqi authorities said. The airport houses a US diplomatic facility.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.36 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n A spokesperson for China\u2019s foreign ministry, Lin Jian, was asked a question this morning about Donald Trump<\/a> suggesting he may delay his heavily anticipated trip to China later this month if Beijing does not help to secure the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n \u201cHead-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable, strategic guiding role in China-US relations,\u201d Jian was quoted as having replied.<\/p>\n According to the BBC, the spokesperson said Beijing and Washington had \u201cmaintained communication\u201d regarding Trump\u2019s visit, which had been scheduled for 31 March to 2 April.<\/p>\n When asked about Trump\u2019s comments calling for countries, including China, the UK and France, to send warships to help keep the strait of Hormuz open, Jian said the recent tensions have disrupted trade routes and undermined peace.<\/p>\n \u201cChina reiterates its call for all parties to immediately cease military operations,\u201d he said, adding that Beijing was \u201ccommitted to promoting de-escalation\u201d.<\/p>\n Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters that China was \u201ccommitted\u201d to de-escalating the conflict in the Middle East. Photograph: Andr\u00e9s Mart\u00ednez Casares\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Germany\u2019s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, has said Berlin does not see a role for Nato in addressing the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz, after Donald Trump said in an interview in the FT<\/a> that it would be \u201cvery bad for the future\u201d of the alliance if allies do not help secure the shipping lane.<\/p>\n Speaking in Brussels ahead of a meeting of the EU foreign affairs council, Wadephul said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI don\u2019t see that Nato has made any decision in this direction or could assume responsibility for the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n If that were the case, then the Nato bodies would address it accordingly.<\/p>\n Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul speaks to the media as he arrives for a foreign affairs council meeting in Brussels. Photograph: Nicolas Tucat\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.44 EDT<\/p>\n Bahrain\u2019s defence ministry said air defence systems have responded to attacks this morning. The ministry said four missiles and three drones were fired.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, monitoring organisation Netblocks said the internet blackout in Iran<\/a> has entered its 17th day.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the last day a decline has been tracked in reserved telecoms network infrastructure, further reducing VPN availability and sending some whitelisted users and NIN services offline,\u201d Netblocks said.<\/p>\n Those without access to Starlink or alternative ways to communicate \u2013 which are often expensive \u2013 are cut off, not only from the outside world but the blackout also severely curtails Iranian\u2019s ability to communicate with each other, making mobilisation, for example, much more difficult.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n According to the Hareetz newspaper<\/a>, Israel is considering a French proposal in which Lebanon would formally recognise Israel in exchange for guarantees that there would be no more Israeli airstrikes and that Israeli troops would pull back from five locations in the country\u2019s south that provide vantage points or are situated across from communities in northern Israel. Israel has maintained troops in the five areas of southern Lebanon in violation of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement<\/a>.<\/p>\n A source told Hareetz that the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is undecided on the French proposal. It reports that officials in Washington expect America\u2019s \u201cpatience\u201d for the war in Lebanon<\/a> to be exhausted once the \u201cmain\u201d war on Iran is over.<\/p>\n The site of overnight Israeli airstrikes is pictured in the southern suburbs of Beirut on 16 March 2026. Photograph: AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n This means there is a narrow window of opportunity for negotiation with Lebanon, whose government would likely pay a heavy diplomatic price for officially recognising Israel, Hareetz reports. Axios reports<\/a> that under the French proposal, Israel and Lebanon would begin US and French backed negotiations on a \u201cpolitical declaration\u201d to be agreed within one month.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s latest war on Lebanon was triggered on 2 March, after Hezbollah<\/a> fired rockets into northern Israel following joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran, which killed the country\u2019s supreme leader.<\/p>\n The Lebanese health ministry said yesterday that 850 people, including many children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since 2 March.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.27 EDT<\/p>\n Fire broke out at UAE\u2019s Fujairah oil industry zone after drone strike – media office<\/p>\n A fire broke out on Monday after a drone attack on an industrial oil facility in the UAE\u2019s Fujairah, officials have said.<\/p>\n The Media Office in Fujairah said a drone targeted the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, causing an \u201cadvanced\u201d fire. The civil defence teams are trying to control the fire, which did not result in any immediate casualties.<\/p>\n The Fujairah Oil Industry Zone hosts the Middle East\u2019s largest commercial storage \u200bcapacity for refined products.<\/p>\n It also serves as a vital global hub for trading and bunkering located outside the strait of Hormuz, one of the world\u2019s most important shipping channels, which is now effectively closed.<\/p>\n Bloomberg reported<\/a> yesterday that oil-loading operations at Fujairah had restarted after it was targeted by a drone strike on Saturday.<\/p>\n A fire and plume of smoke rise from an oil facility in Fujairah, UAE, on 14 March 2026. Photograph: Altaf Qadri\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n In a post on X<\/a>, the Abu Dhabi Media office said a Palestinian civilian was killed in Abu Dhabi after an incident involving a missile falling on a civilian vehicle in the al Bahyah area of the UAE capital.<\/p>\n \u201cThe public is advised to obtain information only from official sources and to avoid spreading rumours or unverified information”,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n The UAE is among the Gulf countries whose air defences have been regularly intercepting ballistic missiles and drones from Iran<\/a>. The country\u2019s Ministry of Defence said this morning that they were responding to missile attacks from Iran, with their fighter jets intercepting drones and \u201cloitering munitions\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump suggests he may delay China visit as he ramps up pressure over strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n Donald Trump is suggesting he may delay his much-anticipated visit to China at the end of the month as he seeks to ramp up the pressure on Beijing to help reopen the strait of Hormuz and calm oil prices that have soared during the Iran war.<\/p>\n In his interview on Sunday with the Financial Times, Trump said China\u2019s reliance on oil from the Middle East means it ought to help with a new coalition he is trying to put together to get oil tanker traffic moving through the strait. Trump said \u201cwe\u2019d like to know\u201d before the trip whether Beijing will help. \u201cWe may delay,\u201d Trump said in the interview.<\/p>\n As Associated Press reports, the uncertainty underscores just how much the US-Israeli strikes on Iran have reshaped global politics in the past two weeks. Calling off the face-to-face visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping could have its own major economic consequences: Relations between Washington and Beijing have been fraught as both sides have threatened the other with steep tariffs over the past year.<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Donald Trump\u2019s comments about the risk to Nato if allies do not contribute to the military effort to secure the Strait of Hormuz have been played down by a UK cabinet minister.<\/p>\n The UK appears unlikely to agree to the US president\u2019s call for allies to contribute warships to a mission to protect shipping passing through the waterway from Iranian attacks. However, ministers are drawing up plans to send minesweeping drones to the area.<\/a><\/p>\n Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden told Times Radio: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of rhetoric, always, in this presidency.<\/p>\n \u201cUnderneath that, there is a good and close relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. I\u2019m confident that will continue. We speak to one another all the time.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean that we will always have to support every intervention and every action that the United States chooses to take.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n EU member states will discuss what can be done from the European side to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, the EU\u2019s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and that\u2019s why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side,\u201d she said, speaking to journalists ahead of a EU foreign affairs meeting in Brussels.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Summary<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a snapshot of the latest key developments in the US-Israel war on Iran<\/a> to bring you up to speed.<\/p>\n The Israeli army said on Monday it had begun what it described as \u201climited ground operations\u201d against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. It said that before the troops\u2019 entry into the area, it conducted air force and artillery strikes against \u201cnumerous terrorist targets in order to mitigate threats\u201d.<\/p>\n Donald Trump warned that Nato faced a \u201cvery bad\u201d future if US allies failed to assist in opening up the strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported. Trump has urged a string of countries to send warships to the region but the response has been muted<\/a>. Japan and Australia have declined to send ships.<\/p>\n Flights are \u201cgradually\u201d resuming at Dubai international airport, according to its operator, after a \u201cdrone-related incident\u201d earlier sparked a fuel tank fire nearby. No injuries were reported, the city\u2019s media office said.<\/p>\n The US has started moving more than 2,000 marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa to the Middle East, according to news reports.<\/p>\n Japan said it was beginning the release of its strategic oil reserves after the International Energy Agency indicated earlier that the release would begin in Asia and Oceania before other regions.<\/p>\n Oil prices climbed again amid mounting supply fears, with brent crude \u2013 the international benchmark \u2013 rosing 1.8% to $104.98 a barrel during early trading on Monday.<\/p>\n British prime minister Keir Starmer discussed with Trump the need to reopen the strait of Hormuz, a Downing Street spokeswoman said on Sunday. Starmer also spoke with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney about the impact of the strait\u2019s continued closure on international shipping.<\/p>\n Italy\u2019s military said there had been a drone attack on the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait hosting Italian and US forces, but that all its personnel were safe.<\/p>\n A rocket attack on Baghdad international airport in Iraq wounded five people, Iraqi authorities said. The airport houses a US diplomatic facility.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.36 EDT<\/p>\n Dubai ‘gradually’ resumes flights after nearby drone incident<\/p>\n Flights are resuming at Dubai International Airport, according to its operator, after a \u201cdrone-related incident\u201d sparked a fuel tank fire nearby earlier.<\/p>\n The airport announced on X: \u201cFlights to and from DXB are gradually resuming to selected destinations, following the temporary suspension implemented as a precautionary measure.\u201d<\/p>\n It advised passengers to check with their respective airlines for updates on specific flights.<\/p>\n Dubai International Airport is usually the world\u2019s busiest airport for international flights. It has faced heavy disruption since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.10 EDT<\/p>\n Israel military says it has begun ‘limited’ ground operations in Lebanon<\/p>\n The Israeli army said on Monday it had begun what it described as \u201climited ground operations\u201d against Hezbollah<\/a> in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n The military said in a statement quoted by AFP:<\/p>\n double quotation markIn recent days, IDF troops from the 91st division have begun limited and targeted ground operations against key Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, aimed at enhancing the forward defence area.<\/p>\n This activity is part of broader defensive efforts to establish and strengthen a forward defensive posture, which includes the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and the elimination of terrorists operating in the area, in order to remove threats and create an additional layer of security for residents of northern Israel.<\/p>\n The Israeli military said that before the troops\u2019 entry into the area, the Israel<\/a> Defence Forces conducted air force and artillery strikes against \u201cnumerous terrorist targets in order to mitigate threats in the operational environment\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.53 EDT<\/p>\n Three foreign residents who were in a building in Dubai struck by a drone were taken into custody after sending photographs or messages to family members confirming they were safe, according to a campaign organisation.<\/p>\n The Detained in Dubai group said the residents were at home when a drone hit and caused an explosion, and immediately after they photographed the damage and sent the image privately to family to reassure them that they had survived.<\/p>\n The organisation, which provides legal assistance to people in the United Arab Emirates, claimed in a statement:<\/p>\n double quotation markInstead of receiving support as victims of the incident, the residents were detained by Dubai police after authorities requested to see their phones.<\/p>\n The chief executive of Detained in Dubai, Radha Stirling, said authorities should take a measured and compassionate approach towards residents who were reacting instinctively during a traumatic moment.<\/p>\n The group\u2019s claims and the arrests could not immediately be independently verified.<\/p>\n Peter Beaumont reported last week<\/a> that a 60-year-old British man \u2013 understood to be a tourist \u2013 was among 20 people who had been charged in the UAE under cybercrime laws in connection with filming and posting material related to Iranian attacks on the country.<\/p>\n As mentioned earlier<\/a>, Dubai authorities temporarily suspended flights at the city\u2019s international airport on Monday after a \u201cdrone incident\u201d <\/a>caused a fire in the vicinity, with no injuries reported.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here are some of the latest images coming in from the widening war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n A woman sifts through the rubble in her house in the Beryanak district of Tehran, Iran, after it was damaged in missile attacks. Photograph: Majid Saeedi\/Getty ImagesA man stands at the site of an unidentified missile that fell in a rural area in Babylon, Iraq. Photograph: Anmar Khalil\/APA firefighter works to extinguish vehicles set ablaze by fragments from the impact of an Iranian projectile in Tel Aviv, Israel. Photograph: Erik Marmor\/Getty ImagesMuslim worshippers gather around the area of Al-Aqsa Mosque and different locations in Jerusalem\u2019s Old City to mark Laylat al-Qadr after Israeli authorities prevented their entry into the compound in East Jerusalem on Sunday. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty ImagesPeople clear rubble in a house in the Tehran\u2019s Beryanak district after damage from a missile strike. Photograph: Majid Saeedi\/Getty ImagesA damaged and building in the aftermath of a reported Israeli strike on a healthcare centre in Borj Qalaouiya, southern Lebanon. Photograph: Mohammad Yassine\/ReutersAn Israeli artillery unit fires on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border amid the escalation with Hezbollah. Photograph: Shir Torem\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Air defences in the United Arab Emirates are responding to missile and drone attacks from Iran<\/a>, the ministry of defence has said.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 The sounds heard in scattered areas of the country are the result of the air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles, as well as fighter jets intercepting drones and loitering munitions,\u201d the ministry said in a post on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.04 EDT<\/p>\n Pictures have come in after Dubai authorities announced a temporary suspension of flights at the city\u2019s international airport after a fire in the area.<\/p>\n A \u201cdrone-related incident\u201d incident impacted a fuel tank, the media office in the Gulf financial hub said on Monday. It later added that authorities had extinguished the blaze that broke out.<\/p>\n The office also said no injuries had been reported.<\/p>\n Smoke rising from Dubai international airport is seen through the windshield of a vehicle in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday. Photograph: ReutersSmoke from the Dubai airport. Photograph: ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.35 EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary Here\u2019s a snapshot of the latest key developments in the US-Israel war on Iran to bring you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341862,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-341861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"'Drone-related](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/_Drone-related_incident__sparks_fire_in_Dubai___video_loop--42dc671f-268a-40c6-8f12-df7baef78743-1.0.jpeg\")
‘Drone-related incident’ sparks fire in Dubai \u2013\u00a0video loop<\/p>\n