A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is already showing early cracks, with both sides accusing the other of breaking the deal just hours after it began.
Ceasefire trouble and the Iran shadow
Lebanese officials say Israeli attacks followed the midnight start of the truce, and the language they used left little room for interpretation.
The Lebanese army said Israeli forces carried out what it calls “a number of acts of aggression” after the ceasefire took effect at midnight.
In southern Lebanon, residents reported smoke rising from at least one village early Friday—one of those details that cuts through the diplomatic wording fast.
Israel, for its part, said it will continue to hold positions inside Lebanon during the ceasefire.
Hezbollah argued it gives Lebanon the right to respond, but also said it will hold fire as long as Israel does.
It’s the kind of conditional calm that can last a day or a week, depending on how you read the other side’s moves.
Still, thousands of displaced families are returning home as cleanup begins, which is where the ceasefire becomes more than a headline.
The truce is also positioned as a possible stepping stone toward broader talks tied to the war with Iran.
Lebanon, Misryoum newsroom reported, has been a sticking point: Israeli strikes continued there even after a separate U.S.-Israel ceasefire with Tehran.
The U.S.
and Israel said Lebanon was not included, but Iran said it was.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, suggested Thursday that the conflict may be nearing an end.
“I don’t want to be a wise guy.
I don’t want to speak too soon,” Trump said.
“But we do very well.
You noticed that we’re doing very well, and I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly.
We can do whatever we want.
And it should be — it should be ending pretty soon.
It was perfect.
I mean, it’s perfect.”
Even with the optimism, Congress isn’t matching it.
On Capitol Hill, an effort to force an end to the war fell short by a single vote: the House rejected the resolution 213 to 214.
Republican Rep.
Thomas Massie voted with Democrats, while Maine Democrat Rep.
Jared Golden broke ranks to oppose it.
Three Republicans did not vote.
White House tensions spill into faith, then into policy
The Trump administration’s fight with Pope Leo XIV is turning from private friction into something much more public, and it now centers on Iran, faith, and nuclear weapons.
The pope spoke during a peace mass in Cameroon, warning against leaders who use religion to justify violence and describing the world as “ravaged by a handful of tyrants.”
“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” the pope said.
The remarks didn’t name Trump, but Misryoum newsroom reported they landed in the middle of a growing clash over Iran.
Asked about the pope Thursday, Trump pushed back and insisted there is no clash.
“I’m not fighting with him.
The pope made a statement,” Trump said.
“He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon.
I say Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
And if the pope looked at the 42,000 people that were killed over the last 2 or 3 months as a protester with no weapons, no nothing, I mean, you take a look at that.
So, I can disagree with the pope.
I have a right to disagree.
I have a right to disagree with the pope.”
Misryoum newsroom reported that the pope has never said he supports Iran having nuclear weapons, and that he has a history of speaking out against nuclear weapons.
That doesn’t stop the dispute from spilling into U.S.
policy, though.
The Trump administration is ending an $11 million federal contract with Catholic charities in Miami, a program that houses and cares for unaccompanied migrant children.
Acting ICE director Todd Lyons is also stepping down, with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announcing Thursday that Lyons will leave at the end of May. No reason was given for the departure, though Lyons is expected to move into the private sector.
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Meanwhile, the House passed a stopgap surveillance bill.
Quietly, in the middle of the night, lawmakers approved a short-term extension to prevent FISA from expiring Monday, buying time until April 30 as Congress remains divided over Section 702.
Trump has pushed for a clean extension with no changes, but that effort stalled, with about 20 Republicans joining most Democrats to block it earlier.
The Senate still needs to approve the short-term extension before the deadline.
And for businesses that paid tariffs under Trump, refunds could finally start moving—though not in the easy, automatic way people hope for.
The federal government will launch a new online system next week to process tariff refunds following the Supreme Court’s ruling that those duties were illegal.
U.S.
Customs and Border Protection said the CAPE portal opens Monday for electronic claims, with CBP confirming in a court filing that the system will begin accepting applications on April 20.
Only certain tariffs qualify, consumers who paid higher prices are not eligible, and approved claims could be paid within 60 to 90 days.
Even as lawmakers and agencies wrestle with the practical details, the political fights keep stacking up—ceasefire claims in one hemisphere, a faith-and-foreign-policy showdown in another. And somehow, the calendar keeps forcing decisions to land.
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