Hezbollah's 'first riposte' after Saleh al-Arouri's assassination; Borrell in Beirut urges to 'avoid a regional escalation': Israel-Hamas war, day 92

Thank you for following our LIVE coverage of day 92 of the Israel-Hamas war. We will be back tomorrow with more news updates.

Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters, Hassan Abdel Jaafar, from Sour in southern Lebanon.

According to our count, 153 Hezbollah fighters have been killed by Israel since crossfire at the border began on Oct. 8.

Seven Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded in an Israeli air strike today on a house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip belonging to the Al-Nabris family, Palestinian health officials said, according to Reuters.

Israeli air force planes attacked two Hezbollah military compounds, the air force announced, according to Haaretz.

It also claimed to have attacked other Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including "a terrorist infrastructure, a terrorist cell, a rocket launching site and an operational headquarters."

The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, said he wanted to "make sure that the conflict [in the region] doesn't spread," according to AFP.

"We have to make sure the conflict doesn't spread," he said after a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Chania (Crete).

"One of the real concerns is the border between Israel and Lebanon, and we want to do everything we can to make sure there is no escalation," he added.

(Photo credit: Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/Reuters)

The Israeli army has announced the death of one of its soldiers, aged 31, during a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.

According to Haaretz, the soldier was serving as division commander of the Nahal Brigade.

The US Middle East Military Command (Centcom) said on X (formerly Twitter) that its warship, the USS Laboon, shot down a drone in international waters in the southern Red Sea, claiming it was launched from Houthi-controlled Yemeni areas.

"On Jan. 6, at approximately 9:30 a.m. (Sanaa time), a drone launched from Yemeni areas controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthis was shot down in self-defense by the USS Laboon in international waters of the southern Red Sea, in the vicinity of several commercial vessels," Centcom said.

"No casualties or damage were reported," it added.

Israeli artillery targeted the outskirts of Tallet al-Awaida and Beni Hayan (Marjayoun district), reports our correspondent in south Lebanon, quoting local residents.

Israeli bombardments also hit the Markaba road.

According to Haaretz, alarm sirens are sounding in northern Israel.

Israeli artillery targeted the northern and southern outskirts of Houla, according to our correspondent in the south.

The Israeli army also raided the village of Ainata (Bint Jbeil district).

According to local residents, one house was hit. No information on casualties has yet been released.

A dozen Israeli rockets targeted the hill of al-Hamames, south of the village Khiam, reports our correspondent in southern Lebanon, quoting local residents.

Howitzers also targeted the outskirts of the Khiam valley.

According to the mayor of Aita al Shaab, earlier raids by the Israeli army had rendered the road linking this village to Rmaish (South Lebanon) impassable.

Civil Defense teams are attempting to reopen the road by removing the embankments. Several people were slightly injured as a result of the Israeli bombardment, he told our correspondent in the south.

(Photo credit: Mountasser Abdallah/L'Orient-Le Jour)

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna called Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to urge "Iran and its affiliates" to "immediately" cease their "destabilizing actions," reports AFP.

Colonna said she had "sent a very clear message: The risk of regional conflagration has never been greater. Iran and its affiliates must immediately cease their destabilizing actions. No one would gain from an escalation," according to a message posted on the X (formerly Twitter).

While in Istanbul, Head of US Diplomacy Antony Blinken, discussed the situation in Gaza with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a State Department press release.

Blinken stressed to his host "the need to prevent the conflict from spreading, to increase humanitarian assistance, to reduce civilian casualties, to work toward a lasting regional peace and to move toward the establishment of a Palestinian state," reports AFP.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in a meeting with Blinken, called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, AFP adds, citing a diplomatic source.

Hezbollah claimed to have targeted Israeli soldiers gathered at Jal el-Allam at 5:05 p.m., opposite Naqoura, causing "deaths and injuries."

It also claimed to have successfully attacked a gathering of Israeli soldiers near the Israeli site of al-Manara at 5:15 p.m.

Abbas Ibrahim, former Director of General Security (SG) in Lebanon, denied to L'Orient-Le Jour the claim that he had been targeted by Israeli raids on Kaouthariyet el-Sayad, his native village.

Ibrahim said he was not in the village when the Israeli strikes hit an area near his home.

Reports circulating on the networks indicate that the former SG leader was the target of the attack.

An Israeli tank enters Israel from Gaza, amid the Israel-Hamas war, at the Israel-Gaza border, Jan. 6, 2024. (Credit: Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Dr. Ibrahim Matar, who works at al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, lamented the fact that the Israeli army is moving ever closer to the health facility after weeks of intense bombardment.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he claimed that many doctors and nurses have left "the only hospital in the central governorate," even though it is "full of wounded and sick people."

When asked about the Israeli raids earlier, Ali Moussa, Chairman of the Kaouthariyet el-Sayad Municipal Council (Saida district), told our correspondent in southern Lebanon that Israeli warplanes fired three rockets at a three-story house, noting that it "was completely destroyed."

According to him, the house is uninhabited but is located in a populated neighborhood. A number of people were slightly injured as a result of the explosion, and a number of homes were damaged.

A sweeping operation will be carried out on Sunday morning, concluded Moussa.

Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Jibbayn (Sour district), reports our correspondent in the south, quoting local residents.

Israeli fighter jets also bombed the village of Aita al Shaab (Bint Jbeil district) about half an hour ago, our correspondent adds. Wisps of smoke continue to rise over the village, which is difficult to reach at the moment.

At 4:40 p.m., Hezbollah announced that it had targeted Israeli soldiers gathered in the Israeli town of Avivim, inflicting "direct injuries."

Hezbollah announced the death of two more of its fighters, Abbas Hussein Rammal and Abdallah Hassan Asmar, both from the village of Adaisseh in southern Lebanon.

According to our count, 152 party fighters have been killed since the fighting began on Oct. 8.

Three Israeli air raids and a drone strike targeted the village Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district), our correspondent in south Lebanon reports, citing a security source.

Israeli artillery fire also targeted the outskirts of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun distrcit), local residents told our correspondent.

Israeli warplanes also struck a house in the village of Ramaya (Bint Jbeil district). According to a security source, there has been no news so far of any injuries.

According to a security source, rockets were launched from southern Lebanon towards northern Israel. Haaretz reported that alarm sirens were sounding in northern Israel.

Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters, Moustapha Mahmoud Jaber, from the village of Mohaibib in southern Lebanon.

According to our count, 150 party fighters have been killed since the fighting began on Oct. 8.

At least two Hezbollah fighters were killed in an Israeli strike near Adaisseh (Marjayoun district) in southern Lebanon this afternoon, a security source told our correspondent.

Hezbollah, which has lost 150 fighters since the fighting began on Oct. 8 according to our count, has not yet announced any deaths in its ranks as a result of this bombardment.

Israeli warplanes raided an area between Kaouthariyet Al-Saiyad (Saida district) and Charqiyeh (Nabatieh district) twice, residents and eyewitnesses told our correspondent in the South.

Hezbollah announced that it hit the Israeli site Bayyad Blida at 3:40 p.m.

Al-Risala scout members (affiliated with the Amal movement) are extinguishing a fire that broke out in a house that was targeted in an Israeli raid earlier between Markaba and Adaisseh (district of Marjayoun).

An Al-Risala scout member said that one injured person was transferred to one of the hospitals in the area.

The European Union's foreign chief Josep Borrell said that Lebanon must not be "dragged into a regional conflict," against the backdrop of clashes in the south of the country between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.

"It is imperative to avoid a regional escalation in the Middle East, it is absolutely necessary to avoid Lebanon being dragged into a regional conflict," Borrell said at a press conference in Beirut with his Lebanese counterpart, Abdallah Bou Habib.

"I also send this message to Israel: No one will come out a winner from a regional conflict," he added.

(Photo credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)

Israeli warplanes have raided an area between Odaisseh and Markaba (Marjayoun district), eyewitnesses tell our correspondent in south Lebanon.

The European Union's head of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, has met with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and expressed "great concern about the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip and his fear that this conflict could spread to Lebanon," the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reports.

Borrell also expressed "his fear of an Israeli escalation, stressing that priority must be given to ending the war in the Gaza Strip, which is a gateway to a return to calm in Lebanon."

He also called for the full implementation of Resolution 1701, according to the NNA.

For his part, Berri declared that the implementation of resolution 1701 "begins with the cessation of Israeli aggression and the withdrawal of the Hebrew state from all occupied Lebanese territory."

Image: European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a joint news conference with Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 6, 2024. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)

Residents of Yarin tells our correspondent in south Lebanon that a "spy balloon" has been launched by the Israeli army over Yarine, Dhaira (Sour district) and some villages in the western sector of southern Lebanon.

Image: Credit: Courtesy of Muntasser Abdallah

The European Union's head of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, was briefed "on the current risks of escalation along the Blue Line" in southern Lebanon during a meeting with UNIFIL force commander Gen. Arnoldo Lazaro.

"I reaffirmed the EU's strong support for the UN mission, which plays a crucial role in preventing and mitigating the risks of escalation," Borrell said on the X platform following the meeting.

Image: Josep Borrell attends a meeting in Lebanon. (Credit: Mohammed Yassin)

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to use his current Middle East tour to end Israel's "aggression," AFP reports. More details here.

A resident of Burj al-Muluk (Marjayoun district) tells our correspondent in south Lebanon that shrapnel from an Israeli strike between Burj al-Muluk and the plain of Khiam, as reported earlier today by L'Orient Today, injured a 24-year-old Syrian woman in the leg.

An ambulance took her to a hospital for treatment, according to the same source.

Separately, three Israeli artillery shells have fallen on the southern outskirts of Yarine (Sour), according to residents.

Eyewitnesses also tell L'Orient Today that an interceptor missile has exploded over Labbouneh (Sour).

Al Jazeera's correspondent reported at 10:30 a.m. that the Israeli army had detained television teams, including the Al Jazeera crew, in the Gaza envelope and prevented them from continuing their work.

The Gaza envelope refers to areas that are within seven kilometers of the Gaza Strip border.

An Israeli drone has raided the outskirts of Yarine (Sour district), residents tell our correspondent in south Lebanon.

Eyewitnesses, meanwhile, tell L'Orient Today that an Israeli warplane has struck an area between Burj al-Muluk and the plain of Khiam (Marjayoun).

Gaza death toll update: The number of people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7 has now reached 22,722, according to the enclave's Health Ministry, Reuters reports. Some 58,166 others have been injured in the attacks.

An Israeli drone has fired a missile at the outskirts of Marwahin (Sour district), a security source tells our correspondent in south Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah has announced the death of one of its fighters: Moustafa Saad from Bint Jbeil. The number of Hezbollah members killed since the beginning of cross-border fighting on Oct. 8 has now reached 148, according to our count.

An Israeli drone has fired a missile at the outskirts of Marwahin (Sour district), a security source tells our correspondent in south Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah has announced the death of one of its fighters: Moustafa Saad from Bint Jbeil. The number of Hezbollah members killed since the beginning of cross-border fighting on Oct. 8 has now reached 148, according to our count.

Al-Fajr forces, the military wing of Jamaa Islamiya, has announced that it carried out two operations against Israel from Lebanon last night. These included launching missiles at the city of Kiryat Shmona.

The group did not say that the attack was in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri and other Hamas and Jamaa Islamiya members in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday. However, in its statement published today, al-Fajr Forces promised that it would respond to "assassinations."

Four Israeli artillery shells have fallen on the outskirts of Tell en Nhas, Burj al-Muluk and Kfar Kila (Marjayoun district), residents tell our correspondent in south Lebanon.

Israeli artillery shelling has targeted the outskirts of the Khiam plain (Marjayoun district), residents tell our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has arrived in Beirut to hold "important meetings … on the impact of the Gaza war on Lebanon and the region," the diplomat announced on X.

"The priority is to avoid regional escalation and to advance diplomatic efforts to create the conditions for a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine and the region," he said.

Borrell is scheduled to meet with Lebanese officials today.

Image: A mourner reacts next to the body of Palestinian journalist Akram al-Shafii, who died of a wound he sustained in an Israeli strike, at the European Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Jan. 6, 2024. (Credit: Arafat Barbakh/Reuters)

Israel has fired phosphorous bombs on the town of Khiam and its outskirts (Marjayoun district), residents and the town's mayor, Adnan Alyan, told our correspondent in south Lebanon.

According to Alyan, phosphorous bombs have fallen on the eastern neighborhood of the town and in the vicinity of the former Israeli detention center in Khiam. He added that no injuries have been reported so far.

L'Orient Today asked a UNIFIL spokesperson if she could confirm the phosphorous bombs. “We are concerned about the exchanges happening today along the Blue Line, and continue to urge all parties to halt their fire," she answered without giving further details.

The Lebanese Army was not immediately available for comment.

Hezbollah announces that it hit a group of Israeli infantry soldiers in the vicinity of the Hunin barracks at 9:55 a.m.

Hezbollah has announced that it hit the Israeli town of Metula at 9:40 a.m.

An Israeli warplane bombed the village of Aita al-Shaab  (Bint Jbeil) at 10:15 a.m., residents tell our correspondent in south Lebanon.

British maritime security firm Ambrey has received a report of a maritime security event in the Red Sea's Bab al-Mandab area, the firm said in an advisory note on Saturday, without elaborating, Reuters reports.

Ambrey has advised crews to minimize deck movements and said only essential crew should be on the bridge.

Israel has targeted the vicinity of Tallet al-Hamames, south of Khiam (Marjayoun district), with four shells, residents tell our correspondent in south Lebanon.

A security source tells our correspondent in south Lebanon that an Israeli drone has targeted a neighborhood near the mosque in Yaroun (Bint Jbeil district). No casualties have been reported. The source adds that this neighborhood has been repeatedly targeted.

Meanwhile, the western outskirts of Mais al-Jabal, Wadi Saluki and the outskirts of Houla (Marjayoun) are being subjected to Israeli artillery shelling.

Tensions on key shipping routes in the Red Sea are continuing to rise as the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vows to reach "the enemy" far and near, Reuters reports. Tehran’s allies have been attacking vessels in the sea in what they describe as support for Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza.

"Today, we are facing an all-out battle with the enemy," said Guards commander Hossein Salami at a ceremony in the southern Gulf port city of Bandar Abbas, where the Guards' navy unveiled a new ship named "Abu Mahdi" and 100 missile launchers.

Salami did not name the enemy, but 22 nations have agreed to participate in a US-led coalition to safeguard commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement. More details here.

Image: Three Israeli airstrikes on an area between Aita al-Shaab and Ramyah (Bint Jbeil district) (Credit: Photo sent by a local resident to our correspondent in south Lebanon)

Israeli warplanes have bombarded the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab, Ramyah and Bayt Lif (Bint Jbeil district), eyewitnesses tell our correspondent in south Lebanon.

Five Israeli artillery shells have fallen on the al-Bayyad valley on the outskirts of Houla (Marjayoun district), residents of the town tell our correspondent in the south Lebanon.

The outskirts of al-Tiri and Rachaf (Bint Jbeil) are also being subjected to Israeli artillery shelling, residents say.

Hezbollah says it hit Israel's Meron air surveillance base with 62 missiles as part of the initial response to the assassination of Hamas senior leader Saleh al-Arouri and other Hamas and Jamaa Islamiya members.

Arouri was assassinated in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday, along with other Hamas and Jamaa Islamiya leaders and members. Hezbollah has accused Israel of being behind the attack.

Hezbollah adds that the Meron air base, which is located on the top of Mount Jarmaq, is considered the only center for surveillance and air control in northern Israel.

"It is one of two main bases in Israel: Meron in the north, and the second one is Mitzpe Ramon in the south," the party adds.

Heavy fire from Lebanon targeted northern Israel this morning, the Israeli military said, adding it had responded by striking a "terrorist cell" that took part in the launches, Reuters reports.

Shortly after rocket sirens sounded across northern Israel, the military said that "approximately 40 launches from Lebanon toward the area of Meron in northern Israel were identified."

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

"A short while after, the IDF (Israeli army) struck a terrorist cell that took part in the launches," it said.

The EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, is set to meet this weekend with officials in Lebanon, while the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Turkey today at the start of a regional tour that will also take him to Israel and several Arab states as he seeks to guard against a regional conflagration.

“2024 will be a year of fighting,” Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari warned yesterday, noting “a very high level of preparation” of the troops on the border with Lebanon, where daily exchanges of fire take place with Hezbollah.

Gaza, the scene of new Israeli strikes this morning, has become a "place of death" that is simply "uninhabitable," the UN has warned after almost three months of a relentless Israel-Hamas war.

The Gaza Strip has "simply become uninhabitable," and its inhabitants "face daily threats before the eyes of the world," the coordinator of humanitarian affairs of the United Nations, Martin Griffiths, said.

According to Unicef, the UN Children's Agency, the clashes, malnutrition and health situation have created "a cycle of death which threatens more than 1.1 million children" in this impoverished territory even before the start of the war.

According to AFP journalists, Israeli strikes sounded early this morning in Rafah, a town at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge in recent weeks trying to escape the clashes.

Yesterday, hospital sources reported 35 deaths in Deir al-Balah (central Gaza) while in the north of Gaza, where the Israeli army launched its ground operation at the end of October, bombing continued.

The outskirts of Wadi Saluki and Houla (Marjayoun district) are also being subjected to Israeli artillery shelling, residents tell our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

Here's what you need to know this morning:

The Israeli army says that "more than 30 shots were reported" in northern Israel after the sounding of alarm sirens, but that these "were not hostile aerial devices." The army later added that it responded by striking a "terrorist cell."

- On the Lebanese side, three Israeli shells fell on the outskirts of the village of Jebbainn (Sour), according to local residents cited by our correspondent. Locals also reported Israeli bombings on the outskirts of Blida (Marjayoun), Aitaroun, Yaroun, Rmaish and Hanin (Bint Jbeil).

AFP correspondents are reporting Israeli strikes early this morning on Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of people have sought shelter from the fighting. Find more details here.

Good morning, 

We're back today with live coverage on day 92 of the war in Gaza and south Lebanon, as new exchanges of fire are reported between Israel and Lebanon, a day after the latest speech by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.