🔴 UPDATE: A Hezbollah spokesperson confirms with L'Orient Today that Hussein Barakat, the man killed by an Israeli strike while fleeing a house in southern Lebanon earlier tonight, was not affiliated with Hezbollah and works as a delivery driver.
Barakat was at work delivering an order when he was killed in Rab al-Thalathine, Marjeyoun district.
Ten days after a US veto, the United Nations Security Council is expected to vote at 5 pm (New York time) on a new text calling for a "suspension" of hostilities in Gaza. Initially scheduled for Monday, then Tuesday morning, the vote has finally been postponed to Tuesday afternoon.
🔴 BREAKING: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is due to visit Egypt on Wednesday for talks on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a prisoner exchange with Israel, a source within the group told AFP.
Based in Qatar, Haniyeh will head a "high-level" Hamas delegation to Egypt on Wednesday, where he is due to hold talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, among others, focused "on stopping the aggression and the war, preparing an agreement on the release of prisoners, and ending the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip," the source said.
Well-known Al Jazeera journalist Wael al-Dahdouh has faced a series of personal tragedies in the last several weeks, including the death of his wife and children in an Israeli airstrike and being severely injured himself in a different strike that killed his colleague, cameraman Samer Abudaqa. But still, he continues to cover the conflict.
After just two days, Dahdouh picked up his press jacket and microphone after narrowly escaping with his life. On Sunday, with a bandage on his wrist, he reappeared on screen to provide live coverage from inside Gaza.
Around 71 percent of the population in Gaza is undergoing extreme hunger, a study by the Geneva-based human rights Euro-Mediterranean Monitor says.
The survey, which included 1,200 people, found 98 percent of respondents say they eat insufficient amounts. Some 64 percent of participants admitted to eating grass and expired food items to satiate their hunger.
Hezbollah announced the death of another of its fighters, Ali Imad Moussa, from the southern Lebanese village of Qsaibe.
This is the fourth announcement today of a death among Hezbollah's ranks and brings the total number of Hezbollah fighters killed since the start of the conflict to 115, according to our count.
A spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry alleges that the Israeli army has taken control of al-Awda Hospital complex in Jabalia, northern Gaza, Haaretz reports.
According to Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra, there are approximately 240 individuals, including 80 staff members, 40 hospitalized patients, and 120 refugees at the hospital, who have been denied access to food and water. Qudra further asserted that six staff members, including the hospital director, Dr. Ahmed Mahana, were reportedly detained by the Israeli army.
Earlier, AFP reported that one of the last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza, al-Ahli Hospital, also known as al-Mamadani Hospital, was also stormed by the Israeli army. The hospital director said troops attacked the grounds, arrested doctors, medical staff and patients, and destroyed some of the facilities. Israel's attack has "put the hospital out of action," he said. "We can't receive any patients or injured."
Qudra accuses Israel of aiming to dismantle medical services in the northern Gaza Strip.
🔴 BREAKING: Hussein Barakat, 35, was killed in the southern Lebanese village of Rab al-Thalathine, Marjeyoun district, as he tried to escape his home following an Israeli bombardment, reports our correspondent in the south, Muntasser Abdallah.
According to the head of the village's municipal council, Barakat was at home when a bombardment hit his house. As he fled from the house, a second shell landed near him on the road, killing him.
Earlier we reported that four Israeli shells targeted this village, and that a residential house had been damaged by shell fragments.
Hezbollah announced the death of another of its fighters, Mohammad Nehmeh Srour, from the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab.
This is the third announcement today of a death among Hezbollah's ranks and brings the total number of Hezbollah fighters killed since the start of the conflict to 114, according to our count.
Speaking during the ongoing UN Security Council meeting in New York, US representative Robert Wood said "we must hold space for the heartbreak on all sides," The Guardian reports.
Haaretz also reported that during the discussion on the war in Gaza Wood said: "We must all work towards a two-state solution, which serves as the only foundation for a truly sustainable peace," and that Hamas must not be allowed to control Gaza, "for the sake of Israeli and Palestinian safety alike." He called for the Security Council to condemn Hamas, which is not mentioned by name in the draft resolution put forward by the United Arab Emirates and set to be voted on today.
Referring to the two-state solution, Wood said that "the events that have unfolded in the West Bank over the last year have moved us farther away from that reality. That includes the ongoing construction of settlements in the West Bank, which undermines the possibility of a Palestinian state. And it includes a sharp and alarming uptick in settler violence. Especially because, even before Hamas' attack on Oct. 7 – 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2005."
Excavators dig through the rubble of a building destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 19, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP)
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron says Britain is asking Israel to “recognize that they have to minimize civilian casualties, they have to obey international humanitarian law at all times," and wants Israel to use "a much more surgical, clinical and targeted approach when it comes to dealing with Hamas.”
Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock wrote a joint article on Sunday calling for a “sustainable cease-fire” in Gaza, and said that “too many civilians have been killed” in the conflict.
Speaking during a press conference, Cameron noted that, according to the Israelis, there have been fewer civilian casualties in the south of Gaza than in the north. “I would urge them still to go further,” the former premier told reporters.
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, told Iranian al-Alam TV that any country that moves against Yemen will have its ships targeted in the Red Sea, Reuters reports.
A meeting between Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Mossad Chief David Barnea, and CIA Director Bill Burns in Warsaw yesterday about hostages held by Hamas was positive but there is no expectation of an imminent deal, Reuters reports, citing a source briefed on the diplomatic efforts.
The leaders met in Poland’s capital to discuss a potential new deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The hypothetical agreement could also include a humanitarian pause in the fighting.
"The talks were positive, with negotiators exploring and discussing different proposals in an attempt to progress on negotiations," the source said. "An agreement is not expected imminently however."
Two Israeli rockets fell on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Dibinne, Marjeyoun district, reports our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.
This is the first time artillery fire has targeted this village.
The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem filed a petition on Tuesday with the Israeli Supreme Court requesting immediate access for international media to the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.
Several Israeli and international reporters have entered Gaza embedded with the Israeli military, but the association called this "limited access" and said it did not allow "access to areas where soldiers are not present," according to Reuters.
The FPA, which it says represents some 370 journalists from around 130 media outlets, said it had submitted multiple requests to the government to gain access but had not received a response.
"We are aware of the unique security challenges posed by the current war, and any members entering Gaza would have to take these risks into account," the statement said. "But the Israeli government's recent agreement to allow aid to enter Gaza directly from Israel shows that such obstacles can be overcome."
Illumination flares were launched over Mais al-Jabal, reported L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon. According to residents of the area, three Israeli rockets also targeted the village.
Additionally, four Israeli shells targeted the village of Rab al-Thalathine (Marjeyoun district), a security source told L'Orient Today. One residential house in the village was damaged by shell fragments.
Hezbollah announced the death of another of its fighters, Mohammad Hassan Jaafar Makki, from the village of Mahrouna, South Lebanon.
According to L'Orient Today's count, 113 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since the beginning of hostilities at the southern border on Oct. 8th.
The military wing of the Islamic Jihad announced on its Telegram channel that it killed and wounded seven Israeli soldiers during “fierce confrontations” in the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
Saraya al-Quds also said it targeted a support site for Israeli forces in the al-Zana area, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, with several mortar shells.
The southern outskirts of Khiam (Nabatieh district) are under artillery bombardment, according to residents.
The outskirts of Taybeh (Marjeyoun district) are being bombed, and residents reported seeing flares in the skies.
Several rockets were recently launched toward Israeli sites, security sources told L'Orient Today.
Defensive missiles were also launched toward Israeli sites and were seen exploding in the skies over the southern town of Al-Wazzani, south of Khiam (Nabatieh district), security sources added.
Rocket sirens were activated in Kiryat Shmona and surrounding areas, according to Haaretz.
Hezbollah announced the death of its fighter Ahmad Hussein al-Hajj, from the southern village of Halloussiyeh (Sour district).
The party said he died "on the path to Jerusalem," without providing further details.
This brings the total number of Hezbollah fighters killed since Oct. 8 to 112.
An Israeli drone launched a missile toward a house in Aita al-Shaab, according to the town mayor.
The mayor, who spoke to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south, described the situation in the town "as a state of war, with continuous artillery bombardment since noon that intensified in the afternoon."
Israeli artillery shelling is ongoing on the outskirts of the southern towns of Blida (Marjeyoun district), a valley between Jibin (Sour district) and Majdal Zun (Sour district) as well as the outskirts of Houla (Nabatieh district), Mais al-Jabal (Nabatieh district), and Ramieh (Bint Jbeil district), according to security sources and residents.
Eyewitnesses from Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil district) told L'Orient Today that an Israeli helicopter launched a missile at the outskirts of Aitaroun, and that Israel is currently shelling Jabal al-Blatt, on the outskirts of Marwahin (Sour district.)
Israeli President Isaac Herzog signaled readiness to enter another foreign-mediated Gaza truce to recover hostages held by Hamas and enable more aid to reach the besieged Palestinian enclave, reports Reuters.
"Israel is ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages," Herzog, whose public role is largely ceremonial, told a gathering of ambassadors, according to his office.
An Israeli drone fired a missile on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab, Bint Jbeil, near the Israeli Raheb site, residents told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south.
A Hamas senior official says the group rejects holding negotiations about a prisoner exchange under the continuing Israeli war, but is open to any initiative to end the conflict.
A senior Houthi official told Al Jazeera that “intense talks” are underway to contain tensions in the Red Sea.
On Saturday, a Houthi spokesman said the group has engaged in Oman-mediated talks with unnamed “international parties” over its operations in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea.
The official speaking to Al Jazeera called the launch of a US-led naval task force to protect maritime trade after Houthi attacks forced at least a dozen shipping lines to suspend operations “unnecessary.”
“We are trying to help Palestinians,” the official said. “We will consider any military vessel that enters our territorial waters a legitimate target irrespective of its nationality.”
Israeli President Herzog says Israel is ready for another humanitarian pause in Gaza so hostages can be recovered, reports Reuters.
A Syrian national and his son were mildly injured after a rocket was intercepted and fell on their house in the southern Lebanon village of Aitaroun, a security source told L'Orient-Le Jour.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is hosting a press conference in Beirut, to share the findings of their report on the initial social, economic and environmental impact of the war in Gaza on Lebanon.
Abdallah Al Dardari, the Assistant Secretary-General for UNDP, told the room of reporters that Lebanon's economy is “very fragile” and it “cannot handle more shocks.” In southern Lebanon, the agricultural sector which constitutes 80 percent of GDP in this region, has experienced significant losses, as the fighting happened during a critical season, according to the report.
Air pollution has also increased because of shelling in the south — affecting also water and soil quality, which could have long-term negative impacts.
The southern Lebanese village of Chama, Sour district. (Credit: Lyana Alammeddine/L'Orient Today)
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 7,700 children, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
UNICEF’s spokesperson James Elder said on X, “Without sufficient safe water, food and sanitation that only a humanitarian ceasefire can bring – child deaths due to disease could surpass those killed in bombardments.”
One of the last remaining hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip stopped operating on Tuesday after being stormed by the Israeli army, its director said, according to AFP.
Fadel Naim told AFP that Israeli troops had attacked the Al-Ahli hospital and arrested doctors, medical staff and patients, destroying part of the building’s grounds.
Israel’s attack has “put the hospital out of action,” he said. “We can’t receive any patients or injured.”
At least four people who were wounded by Israeli fire on Monday died on Tuesday after being injured in the Al-Ahli assault, he said, AFP reported.
“According to our information, there are dozens of wounded in the surrounding streets,” he said.
Al-Ahli, also known as the Baptist or Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, was already heavily damaged by an explosion in its car park on Oct. 17, resulting in at least dozens of deaths.
Doctors Without Borders says that, after two months of war, Palestinians in Gaza are now cornered in the south, where Israeli strikes on what was supposed to be a safe zone prove that nowhere is safe.
“At Nasser Hospital [in Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza], the emergency department is completely full and new patients are being treated on the floor,” the charity said in a statement.
“Doctors are stepping over bodies of dead children to treat other children who will die anyway,” said Chris Hook, DWB medical team leader in Gaza.
“The lucky few that survive have life-changing injuries. Many injured people suffer from extreme burns, major fractures that won’t heal properly and may go on to require amputations,” Hook said.
The Israeli army spokesman announced that the Israeli air force attacked additional Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, and also intercepted a suspicious aircraft that crossed into Israeli territory, Haaretz reported. Siren sounds were heard in northern Israel.
Artillery shelling was also reported on the outskirts of Maroun al-Ras and Yaroun, residents told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south.
Gaza is "the most dangerous place in the world" for a child, the UN children's agency spokesperson said Tuesday, expressing his rage at the situation there after returning from the Palestinian territory.
"I'm furious that those with power shrug at the humanitarian nightmares unleashed on a million children," UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told a press briefing after spending nearly two weeks in Gaza.
He spoke of children having undergone amputations and who were then "killed in those hospitals" as the Israeli army bombardment of the Gaza Strip continues after the unprecedented Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
The Israeli army struck areas around the south Lebanon border village of Naqoura a few minutes ago, a security source told L'Orient Today. Areas around the south Lebanon border village of Houla and Aitaroun were also bombed a few minutes ago, residents of the villages told L'Orient Today.
The al-Ahli Hospital, one of the last remaining in the northern Gaza Strip, ceased operating on Tuesday after being stormed by the Israeli army, its director told AFP.
The Israeli army laid siege to this hospital in Gaza City, arresting several doctors, nurses and wounded, and destroying part of the compound, said the facility's director, physician Fadel Naïm. "The occupation army's intrusion has put the hospital out of action. We can't receive patients or wounded," he told AFP.
Read the full report here.
Rome announces the dispatch "within the next few hours" of a frigate to the Red Sea as part of the coalition to counter attacks on merchant vessels by Yemeni Houthi rebels.
"Italy will do its part, together with the international community, to combat the destabilizing terrorist activity of the Houthis, to protect the prosperity of trade and guarantee freedom of navigation and international law," said a Ministry of Defense statement quoted by AFP.
"It is for these reasons that Italy will be sending the multi-mission frigate (FREMM) Virgilio Fasan to the Red Sea in the next few hours," the statement said.
The Israeli army said the Iron Dome had intercepted a suspicious aerial target that had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Earlier Haaretz reported that sirens were activated in the Upper Galilee due to a suspected infiltration of a "hostile aircraft" in northern Israel.
19,667 Palestinians have been killed and 52,586 wounded by Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7, reports Reuters, citing Gaza's Ministry of Health.
At least 13 Palestinians have been killed and 75 others wounded, in an Israeli strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip – says the Hamas-run health ministry – cited by BBC News.
Yesterday, at least 110 people were reportedly killed in Jabalia – the largest of eight camps in Gaza which has been home to around 116,000 registered refugees.
Back in October, Israel's military had ordered the camp to be evacuated of the camp.
In the last 30 minutes:
– The Israeli army has shelled a house in Mais al-Jabal, a resident of the village told L'Orient Today.
– An Israeli drone struck an area between the south Lebanon border villages of Naqoura and Alma al-Shaab, according to a security source.
– The Israeli army shelled an area between the south Lebanon border villages of Yaroun and Maroun al-Ras, also according to a security source.
Hezbollah announces that it targeted at 11:05 a.m. an Israeli position facing the south Lebanon border village of Kfar Kila and said they "directly hit the target." Earlier, the Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Kfar Kila.
Excavators dig through the rubble of a building destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 19, 2023 amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP)
A former chief of British intelligence says there has been a "change of mood in the UN," due to the ongoing deaths of Palestinians.
Asked by the BBC whether the UK could have a public difference from the US on the Security Council ahead of a vote today on a potential cease-fire, Sir John Sawyers highlighted how the UK abstained and the US vetoed in the previous Security Council vote.
Reports suggest that the wording of this latest draft resolution could be watered down from calling for an "urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities," to a "suspension" of hostilities, to get US backing – most likely through an abstention – which would allow it to pass.
Latest on bombardments in southern Lebanon:
Haaretz is reporting that the Israeli army says it is responding to a "source of fire" coming from Lebanon into the area of Metula.
The Israeli army says it has killed a "prominent financier" who helped transfer tens of millions of dollars to the military wing of Hamas.
Confirming the news on X, the military said that Subhi Ferwan was killed in Rafah in a strike by a fighter jet.
Haaretz is reporting that Farwan and his brother had a money exchange business called "Hamasat" – which they used to transfer funds to Hamas, which were used to pay for salaries and to finance "war activities."
The outskirts of the southern Lebanon border village of Khiam was bombed again around 11:40 a.m., sources in the area told L'Orient Today. The outskirts of the southern Lebanon border village of Kfar Kila was also bombed around the same time, sources in the area told L'Orient Today.
The Israeli army is shelling the outskirts of the south Lebanon border villages of Houla and Khiam, a security source told L'Orient Today. An area between the south Lebanon villages of Houla and Shaqra is also being shelled, residents of the villages told L'Orient Today.
Hezbollah's deputy head of the Executive Bureau, Ali Daamoushi, has claimed that Israel’s latest threats against Lebanon stem from a state of “fear."
He has dismissed recent suggestions by Israel that it could launch an attack if Hezbollah does not stop its daily strikes against the north of the country as “empty.” He also reiterated that his party will continue its operations along the southern border with Israel, in order to put “pressure” on them.
Yemen's Houthi rebels say they have no intention of ceasing their attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea despite the US announcement of a new maritime protection coalition.
"Even if America succeeds in mobilizing the whole world, our military operations will not cease...whatever the sacrifices it costs us," a rebel official, Mohammad el-Bukhaiti, was quoted as saying on X by AFP.
New update on bombardments in the south:
The Israeli army has shelled an area around the southern Lebanon border villages of Blida and Mais al-Jabal, residents of Blida told L'Orient Today.
Reports are emerging regarding a UN Security Council meeting that is set to convene Tuesday to weigh a call for a cease-fire in Gaza after a previous bid was vetoed by the United States.
According to The Guardian, the vote was postponed to give more time for diplomats to meet US objections to the wording of the draft resolution. The vote in New York had been due on Monday. The US said it could not support a reference to a “cessation of hostilities,” but might accept a call for a “suspension of hostilities."
The Arab countries negotiating the text said they had been encouraged to see that the White House was apparently trying to find wording that it could support – as opposed to simply vetoing resolutions, The Guardian also reported.
In the last 30 minutes, we have received reports from residents that the Israeli army is shelling areas around the southern Lebanese border villages of Naqoura, Yaroun and Hanin. We will update you with more details once we get them
An incident occurred 80 nautical miles – approximately 150 kilometers – northeast of Djibouti, at the mouth of the Red Sea, according to a briefing note published Tuesday by the British Maritime Trade Operations Agency (UKMTO) cited by Reuters.
The authorities are investigating this incident, the origin of which is not yet known. Yemen's Houthi rebels claim repeated attacks on ships in the Red Sea, particularly those sailing towards Israel.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has invited dozens of nations to take steps to address attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea, Reuters reports.
"We're all here because many countries can directly contribute to our common efforts to keep strategic waterways safe," Austin said.
"These reckless Houthi attacks are a serious international problem and they demand a firm international response,” he added.
A man sits with children by a fire outside one of the tents housing Palestinians displaced by the conflict in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 18, 2023. (Credit: Mahmud Hams/AFP)
In southern Lebanon:
The situation in southern Lebanon remained relatively calm overnight, despite some Israeli strikes, reports our correspondent in the region Muntasser Abdallah.
From 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., the situation remained calm, until Israeli strikes targeted the area around Maroun al-Ras (Bint Jbeil district) at around 11 p.m., local residents told our correspondent. According to them, three shells fell and a house was damaged. No injuries have been reported for the moment.
On the diplomatic front, ten days after an American veto, the UN Security Council is expected to vote on a new text calling for an "urgent and lasting cessation of hostilities" in Gaza, a vote initially scheduled for Monday.
With Washington showing signs of impatience with its Israeli ally, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would continue to supply arms and munitions to Israel, according to a joint statement.
Here is what happened yesterday:
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna called on Lebanese leaders to exercise restraint to avoid escalation in southern Lebanon, after making a similar appeal the previous day to Israeli officials.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called on Hezbollah not to "provoke a wider conflict," against a backdrop of almost daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and the Lebanese movement allied with Hamas.
Make sure to read the Morning Brief to ensure that you are caught up and know what to expect for today.
Good morning!
Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of day 74 of the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.
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