Israeli strikes in south Lebanon in the evening; Nasrallah will 'keep on fighting': Hamas-Israel war, day 100

Thank you for following our LIVE coverage of day 100 of the Israel-Hamas war. We will be back tomorrow with more news updates.

Electricity has been restored to villages in the Rihan region of southern Lebanon, with the exception of the locality of Sojod, following an interruption caused by Israeli strikes at around 7 p.m., according to Bassem Charafeddine, President of the Union of Municipalities of Rihan, quoted by our correspondent.

The Khiam plain and Hamames hill (Marjayoun district) have been bombarded by the Israeli army for over 15 minutes, reports our correspondent in south Lebanon.

The Khiam plain and Hamames hill (Marjayoun district) have been bombarded by the Israeli army for a quarter of an hour, reports our correspondent in south Lebanon.

The Israeli strikes carried out on Sunday, notably in Iqlim al-Tuffah, hit targets deeper and further away from the border than usual, according to our correspondent in south Lebanon.

This is not the first time that Israel has struck this area since the start of hostilities on Oct. 8.

Yemen's Houthis said US aircraft were observed flying close to Yemeni airspace and coastal areas on Sunday, according to Reuters.

Many of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are likely to have been killed, a spokesman for the group's armed wing said Sunday, blaming the Israeli leadership for their fate, according to AFP.

The Israeli army bombarded the outskirts of the town of Blida and also targeted Hamames hill, south of the village of Khiam, with three shells, according to residents quoted by our correspondent.

Earlier, Israeli fighter jets and drones dropped six shells over three sites in Rihan, Jabal Safi and Malikh, which farther up north of south Lebanon than previous Israeli shelling since the crossfire started.

In a statement carried by Haaretz, the Israeli army confirmed on Sunday evening "expanded" strikes against targets in Lebanon, reaching up to 35 kilometers from the border between Lebanon and Israel.

Israeli forces killed three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, including two who were shot dead when their car broke through a checkpoint, sources on both sides said, according to AFP.

Thousands of people gathered in London, Paris and Berlin on Sunday to call for the "immediate" release of hostages still held by Hamas, on the 100th day of the war, reports AFP.

In the British capital, several thousand people gathered in Trafalgar Square under tight police security, covering the square with Israeli flags and floating 132 yellow balloons, each symbolizing one of the hostages still held.

A five-kilometer run and photo exhibition were organized in Paris at the foot of the Eiffel Tower by hostage support groups.

In Berlin, hundreds of people also marched behind banners reading "100 days in hell" and "Bring the hostages home now," in response to a call from the Israeli Embassy in Germany.

The Israeli army carried out strikes on sites in the Iqlim al-Tuffah region of southern Lebanon, according to security sources quoted by our correspondent. Local residents told our correspondent that they heard the sound of explosions, but gave no further details.

Israel also shelled the outskirts of the town of Mlikh (Jezzine district), leading to an interruption in electricity supplies.

It then struck Rihan (Jezzine district) and the heights of Jabal Safi (between Jezzine and Nabatieh). These bombardments were heard from as far away as Saida, Nabatieh and Zahrani, according to our correspondent.

Earlier in the afternoon, Israeli fighter jets flew over Nabatieh and Zahrani.

Israeli fighter jets bombed the localities of Kfar Kila (Marjayoun district) and Siddiqine (Sour district), according to residents quoted by our correspondent.

The Israeli army also carried out mock air raids over localities in the western sector as far as Sour, our correspondent added.

Three key points from Hassan Nasrallah's speech

1) The Hezbollah leader asserted that the Resistance will "continue to fight" on the Lebanese front, which is "causing Israel losses."

"We fear nothing and will fight without limits and without borders," he thundered. He felt that Israel "hides much more than in any other war" and "is plunged into failure."

2) Nasrallah also recalled that the Resistance has set "clear conditions concerning the war in Gaza: It refuses temporary ceasefires and demands a total cessation of hostilities in order to resume negotiations on the release of the hostages."

"If the situation continues as it is on the various fronts, in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Iraq, the enemy government will accept the Resistance's conditions," he said.

3) For Hezbollah's Secretary General, the latest aggression against Yemen "is British and American idiocy."

According to him, what the Americans have done in the Red Sea "will harm all maritime traffic."

London and Washington struck several Yemeni cities on Friday and Saturday in response to attacks by Houthi rebels on "Israel-linked" vessels in the Red Sea.

Latest updates on Hezbollah strikes in northern Israel in the last two hours

Hezbollah said it targeted the Israeli Al Assi site, facing Mais al-Jabal (Bint Jbeil district), at 2 p.m.

Hezbollah said that it targeted a group of Israeli soldiers with rockets, in the vicinity of the Israeli Hadb site, facing the southern town of Yaroun (Bint Jbeil district).

Hezbollah said its fighters targeted the Israeli position, Birkat Risha, facing the Lebanese town of Boustan (Sour district), at 12:30 p.m.

Latest updates on Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon in the last two hours

Security sources report ongoing Israeli artillery shelling on the outskirts of Dhaira, Yarin, Jibbayn and Tayr Harfa (Sour district). In Kfar Kila, shelling caused damage to a house, but no injuries were reported. The road between Kfar Kila and Adaisseh was also targeted.

Shelling was also reported on the outskirts of the border town of Abbasieh (Sour district) and Rabb Thalathin (Marjayoun district), according to residents. Ain Ibl was also struck twice, residents say.

Security sources report Israeli warplanes bombing the Ksayir area in the town of Mais al-Jabal (Bint Jbeil district). Earlier, Israeli warplanes had carried out an airstrike on the outskirts of Aitaroun and the outskirts of Mais al-Jabal, according to residents.

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has concluded his speech, with cheers from the crowd gathered in Kherbet Selm, southern Lebanon.

Hassan Nasrallah: "We have been ready for war for 99 days; we fear nothing, and we will fight without limits and without borders."

Hassan Nasrallah: "Our front puts pressure on the displaced people in northern Israel, who are raising their voices against the Israeli authorities.

Find here Olivia Le Poidevin's article on the Palestinians of northern Israel who feel abandoned by Netanyahu's government.

Hassan Nasrallah: "We will continue to fight on our front, causing losses to Israel. We are asked to stop the fighting to prevent Israel from waging a war against Lebanon. These threats have been ineffective over the past 100 days and will never be effective."

According to Hassan Nasrallah, 20 out of the 62 rockets fired at the Meron base were Katyusha rockets, and 22 were a new type of Kornet missiles. 18 of these Kornet missiles hit their target and killed Israeli soldiers.

Hassan Nasrallah also claims a successful attack on the command center of the northern region of the Israeli army in Safed.

Hassan Nasrallah: "According to our information, a significant target was struck in Haifa and entirely concealed by Israel."

The Hezbollah leader revisits the attack carried out by the party on the Israeli air surveillance base in Meron on Saturday, January 6, with 62 rockets, in response to the assassination of senior Hamas leader Saleh el-Arouri in the southern suburbs of Beirut on January 2.

He criticizes the fact that the enemy only confirmed its equipment was hit after the Shiite party released a video of the strike. The Israeli army acknowledged that the attack on the Meron base caused 'considerable damage.'

Hassan Nasrallah: "If the situation continues like this on various fronts, in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Iraq, the enemy's government will accept the conditions of the Resistance."

Hassan Nasrallah: "If Joe Biden and others like him think that Yemen will stop targeting ships in the Red Sea, they are ignorant, they know nothing."

"What the Americans did in the Red Sea will harm all maritime traffic, and they did all of this to protect Israel."

"Yemenis will decide their response to the American and British strikes. Joe Biden and the American administration are mistaken in sending messages and threatening Iran."

Hassan Nasrallah: "The Americans tried to threaten Lebanon by deploying fleets (in the Mediterranean, note) but they did not succeed. They subsequently threatened, in vain, through the Israelis and through the aggressions in Yemen and attacks in Iraq."

Hassan Nasrallah: "The latest aggression against Yemen is British and American foolishness. The United States claims not to want to escalate the war, yet they themselves are doing so."

"London and Washington struck several Yemeni cities on Friday and Saturday in response to Houthi rebel attacks on ships 'linked to Israel' in the Red Sea."

Hassan Nasrallah: "The Resistance has set clear conditions regarding the war in Gaza: it rejects temporary ceasefires and demands a complete cessation of hostilities to resume negotiations for the release of hostages."

Hassan Nasrallah: "Public opinion in support of the war is declining in Israel. They know that Netanyahu's government is incapable of doing anything during the war."

"Israel has no hope of recovering the hostages still in the hands of Palestinian factions in Gaza."

Hassan Nasrallah believes that the Israeli economy has also been heavily impacted by the war.

Nasrallah: "What is happening in the Red Sea was a severe blow to the enemy whose economy has been at a standstill for 100 days."

In the Red Sea, Houthi rebels, allies of Iran, have targeted ships "linked to Israel" around thirty times since the beginning of the war, in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Hassan Nasrallah casts doubt on the figures provided by Israel regarding losses among its army.

Nasrallah: "Some sources have said 4,000 Israeli soldiers are 'disabled,' meaning they were forced to withdraw from combat on all fronts after being injured."

Israeli media is very reserved about these figures, citing around 30,000 soldiers according to some estimates.

"When the war ends, the truth will be revealed about the actual numbers, and it will be a great catastrophe for Israel."

Hassan Nasrallah: "Israel has failed to stop the rockets fired from the north of Gaza at Tel Aviv, nor to recover a hostage alive (...) despite the developed capabilities of its army, and although no army stands before it but armed factions.

After 100 days, the losses of the enemy increase, its confusion as well, and it is going in circles."

Hassan Nasrallah: "I will discuss the latest developments in the war in Gaza before addressing the situation in Lebanon, as well as the latest threats and initiatives."

"Many are following the developments since October 7th and notice that Israel is concealing much more than in any other wars and controls the narrative."

"Israel is immersed in failure. Some speak of 'a massive hole' from which Israel cannot emerge... Israel has failed to implement both its declared objectives and those it has not disclosed."

Hassan Nasrallah: "At the beginning of the war, 100 days ago, on October 8th, Wissam Tawil left everything to go to the South. He was one of the senior commanders there, following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation."

Hassan Nasrallah: "Our problem is that we cannot say much about the life of Hajj Jawad [Wissam Tawil] because we are still in the midst of the battle."

Hassan Nasrallah emphasizes that Wissam Tawil began his "journey in the resistance as a fighter" when he was around fifteen years old in 1990. He held many positions of responsibility and was deployed on various fronts, including in Syria, in battles against ISIS (the Islamic State organization).

Hassan Nasrallah: "For a hundred days, a significant number of our fighters have been deployed on the front lines and are ready to sacrifice themselves."

Hassan Nasrallah begins his speech by discussing Wissam Tawil's journey within the party and mentions several other fighters from the village of Khirbet Slim who "sacrificed themselves for the Resistance."

He pays tribute to the fact that several other members of the deceased's family have died for the cause of the resistance.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has started speaking.

More updates to follow...

In front of the crowd, Wissam Tawil's son, Hussein, takes the floor to pay tribute to his father.

(Photo: Screen shot from a broadcast by al-Manar Television channel)

After the Lebanese national anthem and the Hezbollah anthem, a video pays tribute to Wissam Tawil, tracing his journey within the party. It is being broadcast in the memorial hall and televised on Al-Manar, the Lebanese TV channel associated with Hezbollah.

We are awaiting the speech of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who will be speaking for the fifth time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Today also marks one week since the death of senior Hezbollah commander Wissam Tawil, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for the establishment of a Palestinian state and a cease-fire in Gaza, AFP reports. Click here for more.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for the establishment of a Palestinian state and a cease-fire in Gaza, AFP reports. Click here for more.

Egypt and China are closely following developments in the Red Sea, focusing on the priority of ensuring the safety and security of navigation, they said in a joint statement issued today, Reuters reports.

The two countries have expressed concern over the expansion of the conflict in the region, emphasizing the importance of uniting efforts to stop attacks on Gaza, the statement adds. 

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks today against Israel:

- At 10 a.m., the party claimed it attacked an Israeli military position in Khirbet Maer, inflicting "direct injuries." It also announced that it had "successfully" targeted spy equipment in the vicinity of Metula.

- At midday, Hezbollah claimed to have targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Israeli town of Marj, inflicting "direct injuries."

- At 12.42 p.m., the group also claimed responsibility for an attack on an Israeli military force in Kfar Yuval, "causing deaths and injuries."

Israeli artillery bombarded the outskirts of Alma al-Shaab, Qaouzah and Beit Lif, in the Bint Jbeil district, as well as the outskirts of Marwahine (Sour), reports our correspondent in south Lebanon, quoting local residents. The outskirts of Jibbayn, Tayr Harfa (Sour) and Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun) were also targeted by Israeli artillery.

According to our correspondent, rockets were fired from southern Lebanon in the direction of western Galilee. 

A 70-year-old Israeli woman has been seriously wounded by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile in the northern Israeli town of Kfar Yuval, Haaretz reports.

Earlier, at 12:43 p.m., Hezbollah claimed an attack against an Israeli military force in the same town, which it said caused "deaths and casualties."

We have just received an update from the Health Ministry in Gaza. They say that 23,968 Palestinians have now been killed and 60,582 injured by Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7.

Marking 100 days since the beginning of the war against Gaza, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, expressed deep concern about its extensive impact, saying that "the massive death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss and grief of the last 100 days are staining our shared humanity."

He also described appalling conditions in overcrowded UNRWA shelters which have now become 'home' to "more than 1.4 million people." Lazzarini also condemned the misuse of food, water and fuel as instruments of war, hindering humanitarian efforts, stating, "The crisis in Gaza is a man-made disaster compounded by dehumanizing language and the use of food, water and fuel as instruments of war."

Lazzarini concluded by stating that it "is high time we restore the value of human life."

Namibia has condemned its former colonial ruler Germany's decision this week to reject accusations against Israel by South Africa of "genocide" at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), AFP reports. Click here for more.

Image: People gather as they wait for South Africa's Justice Minister Ronald Lamola and other members of the South African legal team representing South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to arrive at OR Tambo International airport, after their request for emergency measures to order Israel to stop its military actions in Gaza, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jan. 14, 2024. (Credit: Alet Pretorius/Reuters)

The Israeli army says rockets were fired towards the area of Misgav in northern Israel. They "fell in open areas, no casualties and no damage was caused," Haaretz reports.

Here's what has been happening this morning in southern Lebanon:

- Israeli artillery shelled the outskirts of Tyr Harfa (Sour district) and the outskirts of Naqoura (Sour district,) a security source tells L'Orient Today. Dhairah was also struck.

- Machine-gun fire and artillery targeted Houla (Marjayoun district) from the Israeli site of Abbad.

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron says that military action against the Houthi group in Yemen was deemed necessary due to their repeated attacks on ships in the Red Sea, the BBC reports.

Cameron argued that the UK had provided warnings to the Houthis before participating in US-led strikes, emphasizing the importance of defending freedom of navigation. He highlighted potential repercussions, such as rising prices in the UK, if the Houthis continued to block crucial trade routes.

The Houthi group, backed by Iran, claims to target Israeli ships in solidarity with Hamas, but Cameron dismissed this claim, stating that their attacks are global in scope. The joint UK-US airstrikes aimed to degrade Houthi capabilities supported by Iranian backing. The US warned of further retaliation if the Houthi's "outrageous behavior" persisted, with tensions escalating in the Red Sea region, according to the BBC.

The two sisters of Hamas deputy leader, Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in what is widely believed to have been an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, have been arrested by the Israeli army, Israeli media reports. Dalal and Fatima, who live north of Ramallah, have reportedly appeared recently in Palestinian and Arab media coverage, paying tribute to their brother after his death. The Jerusalem Post reports, citing Army radio, that the two sisters are "suspected of spreading incitement."

Here's what happened in south Lebanon last night and early this morning:

- This morning: Israel targeted the Tarash neighborhood southwest of the town of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun district) with two shells, according to local residents. Israel also bombarded the Hamames hill and the locality of Bab Thneib on the plains of Khiam  (Marjayoun district) with three shells, local residents told our correspondent.

- Last night, Israel targeted the town of Mais al-Jabal (Marjoyoun district,) with two shells, local residents tell L'Orient Today. After midnight, Israeli artillery shelled the Sadanah mountain area, Wadi Shebaa, and the outskirts of Kfar Shuba, all located in the Hasbaya district, with more than 50 shells. At around 11 p.m., Israeli artillery targeted the southern town of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun district) and the Hamames hill on the plain of Khiam (Marjayoun district).

- During the night, the Israeli army says it killed "four terrorists," who they say attempted to infiltrate northern Israel from Lebanon. Meanwhile, security sources in Lebanon tell L'Orient Today that they suspect that an aerial infiltration took place from Lebanon into Israel, but no party in Lebanon has claimed this yet.

Israeli forces have killed at least nine Palestinian militants during operations in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports, citing remarks from the military today.

The fighting, the Israeli army said, took place in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, as well as in areas farther north, where Israel says it has dismantled much of Hamas' military capabilities.

A reminder of what happened last night:

- Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said, "south Lebanon has become a battleground and will remain so for as long as Hezbollah operates there ... We are driving away the destroyers of the al-Radwan force and striking at the capabilities that Hezbollah has built up over many years."

- Israel will not be deterred by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) from continuing its war on Gaza until "total victory," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned after South Africa lodged a complaint of genocide against the Palestinians. "No one will stop us -— not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil, not anyone," Netanyahu said in a televised address carried by Reuters.

- There have been numerous Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for several attacks against Israel.

Israeli soldiers exchanged fire with militants attempting to cross from Lebanon into Israel and killed four of them, the Israeli army announced today.

According to the military statement, the soldiers were patrolling in Har Dov, near the disputed Shebaa Farms area, when they spotted the four individuals who opened fire on the force. During the exchange of fire, Israeli army soldiers fired artillery and mortars towards the area," the army said.

Catch up on yesterday's developments in the conflict here. 

Hello, 

Today marks 100 days since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7. In 100 days of fighting, the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 23,000, with thousands still under the rubble of the bombarded enclave and tens of thousands injured. We'll be with you all day with live coverage of events in Gaza, Israel, south Lebanon, Yemen and the wider region.