A picture taken from a position along the border in northern Israel shows black smoke billowing across the horizon along the hills in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal following Israeli bombardment on Dec. 25, 2023, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP)
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Catch up on our LIVE coverage of Day 77, Day 78, Day 79 and Day 80 of the Israel-Hamas war.
Hezbollah announced the deaths of several of its fighters since Friday while Israeli strikes continued to cause displacement and destruction in southern Lebanon.
- Hezbollah announced the deaths of seven fighters between Friday and Monday, increasing the number of party members killed since Oct. 8 to 126 by our count. Cross-border fire from Lebanon killed an Israeli soldier and seriously injured another, according to Haaretz.
- The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that half of Sour’s schools have been converted to shelter people displaced by the border clashes. The number of displaced southern Lebanon residents, estimated to be more than 64,000 people, has increased, the NNA added.
- Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon continued, falling near residential areas, including direct strikes on vacated homes. On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike inflicted an eye injury on a correspondent for the party-affiliated news channel Al-Manar. Hezbollah Central Council member Nabil Qaouk said the party would increase the severity of its cross-border attacks in response to the targeting of civilians. The party regularly announced strikes on military targets in northern Israel.
Four children died in North Lebanon after part of their home was submerged with mud following a downpour that also flooded homes, damaged a hospital, stranded motorists and disrupted the public water supply in Mount Lebanon and Beirut.
- Mudflow trapped a Syrian refugee family inside their Mizyara (Zgharta) home, leading to the death of four children. In Nahr al-Kalb, a child was hospitalized after he and 63 pupils were trapped on two school buses before being rescued by the Civil Defense. The rainfall also caused part of a house in Moseitbeh, Beirut to collapse and crush a car, without causing any injuries. Flooding at the administration and technical facilities as well as the emergency room of the Sacre Coeur Hospital in Hazmieh caused “considerable” damage, a hospital spokesperson said.
- The Civil Defense responded to a slew of distress calls to unblock roads, rescue motorists or evacuate water from flooded buildings.
- Lebanon’s infrastructure is unprepared for severe torrential rain, according to caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayyad. Over 100 millimeters of rain fell in less than an hour, surpassing Lebanon’s capacity, Fayyad said. The Mount Lebanon and Beirut Water Establishment (EBML) on Sunday said it would adopt a temporary rationing program after the weekend’s rainfall raised the turbidity rate in many of its water sources. Traffic jams resulted from the intemperate weather which left roads flooded across the country. Rain and fog severely reduced visibility in the lower mountains, and some roads were blocked by snow at higher altitudes.
Despite two arson attempts, the Christmas tree in the courtyard of St. George’s Cathedral, Tripoli was decorated. Unidentified persons burned down a Christmas tree on Sunday, repeating an incident from 2019 that saw the tree at al-Nini roundabout in the Dam w Farez neighborhood incinerated. Lebanese Forces Tripoli MP Elie Khoury thanked the al-Tawarek Foundation, an NGO that helps families in need in Tripoli, for covering the cost of re-lighting the tree.
After the United Nations Security Council stopped short of calling for a cease-fire Friday, the death toll in Gaza rose to at least 20,674 Palestinians since Oct. 7, according to figures released yesterday by the enclave’s health ministry.
- The UNSC called for the facilitation of aid delivery, in sufficient quantities, into Gaza and the creation of the conditions necessary for a cease-fire. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Israel’s offensive hindered the delivery of aid, while Israel’s representative to the UN said they are “already allowing aid deliveries at the required scale.” An estimated 5,405 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Oct. 7, before which 500 trucks entered daily. The UN’s Hunger Monitor reported that a quarter of Gaza’s 2.4 million inhabitants are facing starvation and that the entirety would be in the same situation within six weeks.
- Since Friday, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the enclave health ministry’s figures, as Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive continued. AFP reported a statement from Gaza’s health ministry claiming Israel’s ground troops “executed dozens of citizens in the streets.”
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel will be “intensifying” its fighting in Gaza as part of “a long war that's not close to ending.” Al-Jazeera reported that the Israeli war cabinet is set to discuss a new truce deal and prisoner exchange as 129 hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 remain in the enclave while Israel, by Al-Jazeera’s count, reportedly arrested 4,730 Palestinians since the start of the war.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from over the weekend: “Five Lebanese Christmas traditions — and a very cute Syrian one”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz
