Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the US strike. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a phone conversation with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Thursday and strongly condemned Israel’s ongoing aggression against Lebanon.
He also condoled the loss of thousands of precious lives in these hostilities.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan was engaged in sincere efforts for regional peace and it was in this spirit that the Iran-US peace talks were convened.
While thanking Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for his peace efforts, the Lebanese Prime Minister sought Pakistan’s support to bring an immediate end to the attacks targeting Lebanon and its people.
Both leaders agreed to stay in touch.
Talks with Bahrain, Qatar and Austria
Meanwhile, in separate calls, the prime minister thanked Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa for his support in Pakistan’s mediation efforts and discussed the importance of maintaining the ceasefire with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker. He also spoke with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and expressed hope that “through joint efforts, peace would soon return to the entire region”.
In the past, the State Department has also strongly condemned Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, warning that they are undermining global efforts for regional peace.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon, resulting in the loss of innocent lives and the widespread destruction of infrastructure,” the FO said in a statement.
“The Israeli actions undermine international efforts to bring peace and stability to the region and constitute a flagrant violation of international law and basic humanitarian principles,” it warned.
Pakistan urged the international community to “take urgent steps to stop Israeli aggression against Lebanon”.
It reiterated its “unwavering solidarity with the government and people of Lebanon at this difficult time”, adding that it supported Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as its peace and stability.
Lebanon declared a national day of mourning on Thursday after Israeli strikes hit the country.
The Lebanese prime minister’s office said Thursday would be “a national day of mourning for the martyrs and the wounded following the Israeli attacks that targeted hundreds of innocent, defenseless civilians,” and ordered the closure of public administrations and the lowering of flags.
Hours later, Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israel in response to what it called a violation of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
There had been conflicting reports about whether the fighting in Lebanon was included in the ceasefire, with Israel insisting it was not.
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he had ordered his ministers to open direct talks with Lebanon and push for Hezbollah’s disarmament amid growing concerns that its ongoing attacks could unravel the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
A Lebanese official told AFP shortly after Netanyahu’s announcement that Beirut “wants a ceasefire” declared before starting talks with Israel, a day after deadly attacks across the country.
At least 300 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the bombardment on Wednesday, Lebanon’s health ministry said, while Hezbollah said it was engaged in close combat against Israeli forces on the ground Thursday in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil.
Netanyahu’s order for direct talks with Lebanon’s government was focused on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peace, according to a statement from his office, but he offered no immediate respite from the bombardment.
“Lebanon wants a ceasefire before starting negotiations,” said the Lebanese official, who is familiar with the matter and requested anonymity.
Even as Netanyahu spoke, Israel’s military issued a new evacuation order for Beirut’s southern suburbs, just a day after the wave of strikes.
“In light of Lebanon’s repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, yesterday I instructed the Cabinet to initiate direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” Netanyahu said.
“The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peace relations between Israel and Lebanon.”
Separately, US President Trump confirmed to NBC News that he had asked Netanyahu to pull back on the strikes in Lebanon to help ensure the success of the upcoming negotiations.
“I talked to Bibi (Netanyahu) and he wants to do it low-key. I just think we need to be a little more low-key,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said the group rejected direct talks with Israel and that the Lebanese government should demand a ceasefire as a precondition before taking further steps.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which the UN described as “carnage”, have been condemned worldwide.
Brussels, Moscow and Ankara demanded that the two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran be extended to Lebanon.
“We view the situation in southern Lebanon with particular concern,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, echoing statements from Paris and London.
“The severity with which Israel is waging war there could cause the peace process as a whole to fail, and that must not be allowed to happen,” he warned.
For their part, Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran sees Lebanon as an “inseparable part of the ceasefire” and President Masoud Pezeshkian said Israel’s attack made “meaningless” talks with US envoys scheduled for the end of the week in Islamabad.
“We continue to attack Hezbollah with force, precision and determination,” Netanyahu said in a social media post.
“Our message is clear: anyone who acts against Israeli civilians, we will attack them. We will continue to hit Hezbollah where necessary.”
The day after the strikes, rescue workers were still hard at work in the rubble of a building that was hit in the heart of a residential neighborhood by the sea in Beirut.
Half of the building had collapsed, some rooms were cut in two by the fatal strike, a dining room and a fountain were exposed.
The other half of the building is nothing but a pile of rocks and twisted metal, a school report card here, a law course from Saint Joseph University there, a stuffed toy for children.
According to the civil defence, several bodies are still under the rubble.
(With input from agencies)
