Latest developments in Middle East war

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war on Monday, April 20, 2026:

Israel-Lebanon warning

Israel’s military warned Lebanese civilians against returning to dozens of villages in southern Lebanon, claiming Hezbollah’s activities in the area were violating a ceasefire agreement struck last week.

Thousands of displaced residents have begun making their way back to parts of southern Lebanon since the truce between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Friday.

Iran executions

Iran executed two men convicted of having links to Israel’s spy agency, the latest in a string of executions since the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States.

“The death sentences of Mohammad Masoom-shahi and Hamed Validi were carried out at dawn today,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported.

Israel soldier hits Jesus statue

The Israeli army said that it had determined an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops.

The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross.

The Israel army said it viewed the incident with “great severity”, adding that the “soldier’s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops”, in a post to its official X account.

Oil price bounce

Oil prices surged on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States’ blockade of its ports.

European stock markets opened lower, also pressured by Tehran’s announcement that it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.

US seizes Iranian ship

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the USS Spruance, a guided missile destroyer, fired on and seized the Touska, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, in the Gulf of Oman and US Marines were “seeing what’s on board!”

Iran says it retaliated with drones in the direction of US military ships after one of its vessels was seized, Tasnim news agency reported.

Oil prices rise as US–Iran ceasefire fears mount after ship seizure

Peace talks in limbo

Iranian state media reported Sunday that Tehran was not planning to take part in talks with the United States, hours after Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad.

“There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks,” state broadcaster IRIB said, citing Iranian sources.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Sunday he had spoken by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian – which he described as “a warm and constructive conversation” – and reaffirmed his government’s readiness to mediate the conflict.

Syria foiled Hezbollah

Syria’s interior ministry said on Sunday that security forces had thwarted a cross-border attack in the southern Quneitra province by a cell linked to Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which denied the accusation.

In a statement, Syrian officials said they foiled a “sabotage plot” with hidden rocket launching equipment in a civilian vehicle, which was linked to Hezbollah and “aimed to destabilise the region”.

The area borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Iran shuts Strait of Hormuz again: Latest developments in Middle East war

Lebanon PM to Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron will on Tuesday meet Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris, his office announced, a day after a French peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon and amid a fragile 10-day truce between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Israel’s ‘full force’

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said his military will use “full force” in Lebanon – even during the ongoing ceasefire – should Israeli troops face any threat from Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s military said meanwhile it has reopened a road and bridge between the city of Nabatieh and Khardali that was damaged by Israeli strikes in the south.

Iranian airport reopens

Iran will resume international flights on Monday from Mashhad airport in the country’s northeast, its civil aviation authority said.