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Israel Keeps Killing Lebanese Civilians Despite Trump’s De-Escalation Claim

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Article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

An aerial view of buildings and a parking area opposite the Jabal Amel Hospital, the largest hospital in the city of Tyre, Lebanon, on June 2, 2026, shows damage from an Israeli strike. (Photo by Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“The more Netanyahu prevents the war with Iran from ending, the more obvious it becomes that he convinced Trump to start it.”

The death toll from Israel’s assault on Lebanon continued to rise on Tuesday despite President Donald Trump’s claims of de-escalation following Monday phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an intermediary for Hezbollah.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Tuesday that “the cumulative toll of the aggression from March 2 to June 2 has reached 3,468 dead and 10,577 injured,” even amid a ceasefire agreed to in April. The deal stemmed from Trump and Netanyahu’s illegal war on Iran, and Israel initially claimed it did not include Lebanon.

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After Iran on Monday reportedly halted talks with the US over Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that due to his phone calls, Israeli troops “have already been turned back” from Beirut, and Hezbollah “agreed that all shooting will stop—That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.”

However, Netanyahu said later Monday that “I spoke this evening with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and civilians, Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut. This position remains unchanged.”

According to Axios reporting contested by a senior Israeli official, one US source summarized Trump’s remarks to Netanyahu as follows: “You’re fucking crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.”

Another source said that Trump was “pissed” and at one point yelled at the prime minister, “What the fuck are you doing?”

While “the story has understandably been met with considerable skepticism,” wrote Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, there are “a few important counterexamples—particularly from Trump’s second term—that suggest the Axios story is not entirely implausible.”

“What is also plausible, however, is that Trump will once again fail to sustain the pressure and, by that, allow for Netanyahu’s potential retreat to prove temporary,” Parsi predicted.

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie (Ky.), a libertarian who recently lost his reelection primary to a Trump-backed challenger, responded to the reporting on social media: “It’s all talk. Just withhold foreign aid to Israel for a month, and they’ll stop bombing their neighbors—instant peace, the Strait of Hormuz can be opened, and gas drops $2 a gallon. Israel has been, and continues to be, the biggest welfare recipient from American taxpayers.”

Massie also said that “the more Netanyahu prevents the war with Iran from ending, the more obvious it becomes that he convinced Trump to start it.”

Progressive Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (Minn.) similarly said late Monday: “The lesson Israel has learned, time and again, is that it can commit genocide and other atrocities with near-total impunity. Now it’s exporting the Gaza playbook to Lebanon. Israel’s war in Lebanon is killing thousands and displacing over a million. NO MORE US AID TO ISRAEL.”

Citing Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) on Tuesday, Al Jazeera cataloged Israel’s killings since Trump’s de-escalation claims:

Two Syrians were killed in an Israeli attack on a plant nursery where they were working in the town of Jebchit in the Nabatieh governorate, NNA said on Tuesday.

Israeli drone strikes hit a motorcycle on Martyr Sabra Street in Toul and a car in the Dhi’at al-Arab neighborhood of Ansar, killing two people, NNA said.

The third strike hit a car near the village of Harouf, killing one person.

Separately, an Israeli drone strike hit a car on the road linking the southern town of Marjayoun with the city of Nabatieh, killing James Karam, a dentist from the nearby Christian municipality of Qlayaa, along with his daughter and son, NNA reported.

Those deaths followed Israel’s Monday airstrike in the southern village of Marwaniyeh, which killed six members of the Hassan Abdullah family, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense. Palestine Chronicle reported that “rescue teams worked throughout the night and into Tuesday morning to recover victims trapped beneath the rubble of the destroyed building. Three additional people were pulled from the debris during the operation.”

Also on Monday, Israel attacked the Jabal Amel Hospital in Tyre, killing at least four people and injuring dozens more.

Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Lebanon, said Tuesday that the hospital is one of the few operating in the country’s south, and the attack “caused significant damage… to the emergency department and intensive care unit.”

“Six hospitals have not yet resumed maternity delivery services and are currently providing only emergency room care,” he noted. “For pregnant women and newborns, delays in care can mean the difference between life and death.”

WHO has verified nearly 200 attacks on healthcare facilities and workers in Lebanon over the past three months. Calling for such attacks “to stop” and “active protection for healthcare,” Abubakar stressed that “these attacks kill and maim, they also deprive people of the health services they need.”

Israel hit Jabal Amel Hospital after a strike near Hiram Hospital the previous day, according to Doctors Without Borders, which supports both facilities. Omar Ebeid, the organization’s project coordinator in southern Lebanon, said Tuesday that “these repeated attacks reflect a grave failure to protect the medical mission and underscore the urgent need to safeguard civilians, medical staff, health facilities, and continuous access to lifesaving care.”

Faced with a rising death toll and Israeli forces’ destruction of civilian infrastructure, The Associated Press reported, “another round of talks between Israel and Lebanon began Tuesday in Washington, where Lebanese negotiators are set to seek a full ceasefire that will prevent future attacks.”

Article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

Continue ReadingIsrael Keeps Killing Lebanese Civilians Despite Trump’s De-Escalation Claim

Iran seeks ceasefire across Lebanon, Ghalibaf tells Berri

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Tehran, Iran on April 16, 2026. [Iranian Parliament Speaker Office – Anadolu Agency]

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told his Lebanese counterpart Nabih Berri during a phone call that Tehran is determined to secure a ceasefire across all of Lebanon, including the south.

During the call, Ghalibaf said: “If the crimes continue, we will stop the negotiations.”

He added: “The bond between Iran and Lebanon is inseparable, and our lives and your lives are one.”

Ghalibaf said that if an agreement is reached to end the war between Iran and the United States, it would include a halt to attacks on all fronts, particularly Lebanon.

He stressed that “if the crimes continue, we will not only stop the negotiations, but we will also stand against the Zionist entity.”

For his part, Berri said: “Lebanon will never forget Iran’s positive positions during this critical period.”

Earlier, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the Iranian negotiating team had suspended the exchange of messages with the United States through mediators following Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Citing sources, the agency said: “Given the continued crimes of the Zionist entity in Lebanon, and because Lebanon was one of the preconditions for a ceasefire, and since that ceasefire has now been violated on all fronts, including Lebanon, the Iranian negotiating team is suspending dialogues and the exchange of messages through mediators.”

The developments come amid rising tensions between Iran, the United States and Israel, as Tehran seeks to ensure that any ceasefire covers all regional fronts, including Lebanon, while clashes between Israel and Hezbollah continue to escalate.

Trump rebukes Netanyahu over Lebanon escalation, says it threatens Iran talks: report

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

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Continue ReadingIran seeks ceasefire across Lebanon, Ghalibaf tells Berri

3 Months of Trump’s Disastrous Iran War Has Cost US Consumers $60 Billion in Extra Energy Costs​

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Article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Shelton Seworth pumps gas at a QuikTrip gas station on May 11, 2026, in Irving, Texas. (Photo by Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News via Getty Images)

The average US household, according to Moody’s, has shouldered nearly $450 in extra fuel costs due to the Republican president’s unprovoked Middle East war.

Americans have made clear since President Donald Trump joined Israel in beginning an unprovoked war on Iran that they view the conflict-of-choice as damaging to their financial well-being—and that they blame the president for the higher cost of fuel since the war started in February.

On Friday, Moody’s Analytics put an exact number on the heightened financial anxiety families across the country have been feeling over the past three months as Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent fuel prices soaring: $447.19.

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That’s how much the average US household has had to additionally spend on fuel-related expenses since Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyanu launched their attack on February 28, Moody’s told CNBC.

Altogether, Americans have spent a total of nearly $60 billion on gas, airline fares, and other related costs as the strait, a key shipping route for oil, has remained effectively closed.

According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas stands at $4.39—up close to 50% since early March. Diesel now costs $5.52 per gallon, forcing consumers to pay $20 billion more in additional expenses on groceries and other goods.

“The economy isn’t just soft, it’s struggling,” Mark Zandi, Moody’s chief economist, said Thursday. “The Iran war needs to end, and the Strait of Hormuz needs to be reopened soon, or recession will become more likely than not.”

“Unless the war ends soon, financially pressed consumers will have no option but to turn more cautious in their spending.”

As CNBC reported Friday, “higher energy costs can force consumers to raid their savings and lean more on debt to cover expenses.”

Trump flatly said earlier this month that he doesn’t consider Americans’ financial situation “even a little bit” when it comes to the war on Iran, while National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett posited earlier this week that Americans are “spending more money” not because higher prices are forcing them to but because they’re “very, very optimistic about the state of the economy.” He also bragged recently that “credit card spending is through the roof”—a sign several observers took not as a positive omen for the economy but as a sign that families are being forced to take on debt to pay for gas and other essentials.

Zandi provided a reality check Friday.

“Unless the war ends soon, financially pressed consumers will have no option but to turn more cautious in their spending, threatening the already soft economy,” he told CNBC, warning that families could end up spending nearly $2,000 extra on fuel-related costs if the war continues reaches the one-year mark.

Republicans emphasized last year that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act would give bigger tax returns to families across the country. Any benefit, said Zandi, has now been canceled out by the president’s war.

On Thursday, US Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said the White House is in denial about the fact that Americans are struggling with the impact of Trump’s foreign policy decisions as the Pentagon vastly underestimates how much the conflict has cost in public statements.

The acting comptroller of the Pentagon told Congress in April that the war had cost $25 billion, increasing the estimate to $29 billion two weeks later.

The senators told the Congressional Budget Office Friday that independent analyses had put the real cost of the war at $40 billion-$50 billion.

“It is essential,” said the lawmakers, “that Congress and the American public receive accurate, comprehensive estimates of the costs of the war in Iran.”

Article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ... unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Continue Reading3 Months of Trump’s Disastrous Iran War Has Cost US Consumers $60 Billion in Extra Energy Costs​

Shrinking Oil Inventories Raise Fears of Prolonged Energy Crisis

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https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Shrinking-Oil-Inventories-Raise-Fears-of-Prolonged-Energy-Crisis.html

  • Global oil inventories are rapidly approaching “minimum operational levels,” with Asia already facing acute shortages.
  • Analysts warn record inventory drawdowns, collapsing Hormuz exports, and rising summer fuel demand are tightening markets far faster than expected.
  • Energy experts caution that prolonged underinvestment in new oil supply and continued disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could trigger sustained high prices.

…

Carlyle’s Currie had an even grimmer message for the U.S. government. “Every day that goes by, Iran’s negotiating leverage compounds. Why? Because inventories of oil … continue to drop,” he said, as quoted by CNBC. “The minute you think you won, that’s exactly when you know you probably lost, and their negotiating position at this point has never been stronger in the last 47 years.”

Some analysts are warning that once the full extent of the supply shortage becomes felt, prices will rise and stay high, likely for years. The reason, in addition to the immediate crunch of Middle Eastern supply, is a prolonged period of underinvestment in new supply from other parts of the world—something that OPEC+ has been warning about for at least three years now, to no avail. With estimates that it would take at least a month before Hormuz reopens, even with a peace deal in place, the prospect of an oil shortage in Europe has become all but a certainty, and the U.S. will likely see higher gas prices.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Shrinking-Oil-Inventories-Raise-Fears-of-Prolonged-Energy-Crisis.html

Continue ReadingShrinking Oil Inventories Raise Fears of Prolonged Energy Crisis

13% energy price hike makes ‘workers pay for Trump’s war’

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/13-energy-price-hike-makes-workers-pay-trumps-war

 Go further, faster: Paul Nowak

HOUSEHOLDS must not bear the brunt of US President Donald Trump’s illegal war, campaigners warned today, as energy bills are set to rise by 13 per cent.  

Ofgem’s new price cap from July 1 will see the typical household face an annual energy cost of £1,862 — up £221 on current levels, or £18 a month. 

The regulator said higher wholesale gas prices, “driven by ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” were behind the increase. 

Energy costs have soared since the US and Israel began their war on Iran and the subsequent blocking of the Strait of Hormuz.

Calls have mounted for the government to set out action to support the most vulnerable with bills, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves has refused any immediate energy measures in her cost-of-living plan. 

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the government must “go further and faster to protect households from punishing energy price rises in the coming months.”

“Households must not bear the brunt of costs from Trump’s illegal war,” he said.

“Painful energy price rises are coming down the track — and working people are already feeling the pinch with fuel costs rising because of Trumpflation.

…

Eva Watkinson of Debt Justice called it a “scandal” that the cap was rising while energy companies continued to post enormous profits, saying the government must “immediately act to write off debts that have built up during the cost-of-living crisis.”

Green MP Hannah Spencer demanded immediate government intervention, telling Ms Reeves to freeze the cap before bills go up. 

“And if she’s wondering how to pay for it, there are some people doing very well out of this crisis,” she said. 

“The government should start by taxing 100 per cent of the huge windfall profits oil and gas giants have made since the start of the illegal war on Iran.”

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/13-energy-price-hike-makes-workers-pay-trumps-war

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Continue Reading13% energy price hike makes ‘workers pay for Trump’s war’