LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (April 8, 2026)

Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since the conflict with Hezbollah broke out last month, even as the Iran-aligned group paused attacks on northern Israel and Israeli troops in Lebanon under a two-week US-Iran ceasefire.

Consecutive explosions shook Beirut, sending smoke billowing across the capital, as Israel's military said it had launched the largest coordinated strike of the war. More than 100 Hezbollah command centers and military sites were targeted in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, it said.

The strikes killed 89 people—including a dozen medics—and wounded 700 across the country, Lebanon's health ministry spokesman told Reuters.

Thick smoke continues to blanket parts of Beirut, Lebanon, based on footage taken by an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), "Glenda," amid ongoing tensions in the region.

According to Glenda, the situation in recent days has remained volatile, with persistent aerial activity and explosions disrupting daily life.

“Hindi pa rin po sila tumitigil. Tapos po every day po yung drone sa taas lagi nung ikot nang ikot. Hindi kami makatulog. Nagpapasabog pa rin po sila. Ganon pa rin po ang sitwasyon. Hindi pa rin po matahimik.”

“Kahapon po yung last. Pero yung pinaka-ano po nung Sunday. Malakas. Marami. Apat na beses.”

The Philippines cannot simply keep buying large volumes of oil to build up reserves due to limited storage capacity, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Wednesday.

In Chino Gaston’s report on "24 Oras," the DOE noted that it remains uncertain whether the recent decline in global crude oil prices—driven by a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran—will translate into lower local fuel prices.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Wednesday that charter flights are the more cost-efficient and faster way to bring repatriates home from the Middle East.

In a statement, the DMW said that commercial flights often had limited availability of seats and took around a month and a half for the whole process.

Meanwhile, charter flights only take two weeks for a complete repatriation.

The DMW said that they are now looking into more chartered flights from the Middle East in coordination with Migrant Workers Offices and Philippine embassies in the region.

Maersk said on Wednesday the two-week ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran could open some opportunities for vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, but did not yet provide enough security certainty to resume normal operations.

"At this point, we take a cautious approach, and we are not making any changes to specific services," the Danish shipping group said in a statement to Reuters.

The war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, followed by Iranian attacks across the region and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, has brought shipping in the Gulf to a near standstill, rippling across global supply chains.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States will help with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz.

"We'll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just 'hangin' around' in order to make sure that everything goes well," Trump said.

"There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process," he also said.

Trump on Tuesday agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the strait or face attacks on its civilian infrastructure. — Reuters

President Donald Trump told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday that the United States had won a "total and complete victory" after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran.

In a telephone call, Trump said he believed China had persuaded Iran to negotiate, and said Tehran's enriched uranium would be "perfectly taken care of."

Nearly half of marginal fishers in some Luzon provinces have stopped going out to sea due to rising fuel prices, the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) said Wednesday.

During a Senate Committee on Agriculture hearing, SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet said around 50% of fishers in Cavite, Bataan, Zambales, and Pangasinan have halted fishing operations following the latest round of oil price hikes on April 7.

Prices of some basic agricultural commodities increased and decreased following the tensions in the Middle East, according to the Department of Agriculture on Wednesday.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Wednesday dismissed reports that thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been stranded due to a supposed deployment ban in the Middle East.

In a statement, the DMW said no deployment bans are currently in place across the region, despite varying alert levels raised by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in some Middle Eastern countries amid ongoing tensions.