Hussein Tawil, son of slain Hezbollah movement top field commander Wissam Tawil speaks next to a portrait of his father in Khirbet Silm in southern Lebanon on Jan. 14, 2024, during the one-week memorial since his killing. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)
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Catch up our LIVE coverage of Day 98, Day 99 and Day 100 of the Israel-Hamas war.
Israel said it killed militants who attempted to infiltrate from southern Lebanon after a firefight that wounded five Israeli soldiers, AFP reported, while those remaining in the Lebanese border region decried neglect by the government amid water, electricity and telecoms outages caused by Israeli shelling.
Israel announced that it killed four militants who attempted to cross the border from Lebanon on Sunday. A civilian was hospitalized for a gunshot wound to the leg in Tallet Hamamis, south of Khiam (Marjayoun), which security sources confirmed had been targeted by Israeli fire without being able to confirm the direct cause of the injury. On Sunday, a 70-year-old Israeli woman and her son were killed by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile.
Israeli shelling on southern Lebanon has caused prolonged disruption to water, electricity and telecommunications in Mais al-Jabal, residents said in a statement criticizing the Lebanese government’s “neglect” of the situation. The South Lebanon Water Establishment called on the area’s residents to ration their water use amid supply disruptions caused by power outages.
Israeli strikes continued to be reported across southern Lebanon, including in residential areas where they completely destroyed at least one house and fell in the vicinity of a mosque. Hezbollah continued to carry out cross-border strikes on Israeli military targets. Party member and former minister Muhammad Fneish described Hezbollah as imposing “rules of engagement” on Israel and quickly retaliating against any transgressions.
Israeli army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi threatened to turn the entirety of Lebanon into a battleground as has happened to southern Lebanon, where he said fighting would continue “as long as Hezbollah operates there.” Earlier in the day, UN Peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix completed a four-day visit to Lebanon emphasizing “the need for all parties to cease hostilities, to comply with UN Resolution 1701, and to work towards a lasting political and diplomatic solution.”
A weekend downpour forced the evacuation of more than 340 families in Akkar as flooding submerged several refugee camps and trapped motorists in their vehicles across Lebanon. The civil defense announced the rescue of a family of seven trapped inside their home in Kneiseh, Akkar. Several fields and properties in the region were also flooded, particularly in the Wadi Khaled area, according to our correspondent, as were numerous refugee camps, notably in Sheikh Zennad, Kneiseh and Semmaqieh. On Friday, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) warned motorists that the storm expected in the weekend would flood roads and endanger driving. Caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh has repeatedly blamed the obstruction of storm drains for flooding, while sanitation companies point to years of poorly maintained infrastructure. Last December, four Syrian refugee children died in North Lebanon after their home was flooded amid torrential rain that also flooded streets, homes and parts of the Sacre Coeur Hospital. The same month, the Beirut Airport was partially flooded due to precipitation surpassing the building’s ability to handle.
Hezbollah “will continue to fight,” party Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said Israel’s threats to escalate its attacks on Lebanon if the party does not cease its offensive “will never be effective.” Nasrallah said the party's support front for Gaza will continue, claiming that it would, along with other “various fronts,” force Israel to “accept the conditions of the Resistance.” The party leader’s fifth speech since Oct. 7 marks a week since Israel assassinated Hezbollah commander Wissam Tawil. Over 100 Hezbollah members have been killed in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon. Nasrallah reiterated his claim that Israeli casualties from Hezbollah’s attacks were being underreported by official figures.
Caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamiyeh affirmed to L’Orient Today that “everything will be sorted out” by today, a week after a cyberattack that displayed an anti-Hezbollah message on the Beirut International Airport (BIA) flight information screens. At the time of his statement, Hamiyeh said “20 percent of the damage” was left to repair. The damage to the baggage carousels is expected to be repaired by the installation of “three PLCs (a programmable machine that performs repetitive tasks at high speed and with precision)” scheduled to arrive today. Hamiyeh emphasized the need for funding to empower the airport’s security noting that next year’s budget allots “less than $10,000 for airport cybersecurity.”
A man remains at large after evading arrest by shooting dead a municipal police officer on the street between Gemmayze and Mar Mikhael. The suspect, according to Gemmayze mukhtar Bechara Gholam, was stopped at a municipality police checkpoint over suspicions of residing illegally in Lebanon. The man absconded from the police truck by shooting one of the police officers, Gholam continued, and a motorcyclist, whom he robbed of his vehicle, using it to escape.
At least 23,968 people have been killed in Gaza over the past 100 days, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “no one will stop” the war on Gaza while Israel faces genocide charges before the International Court of Justice.
“The massive death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss and grief of the last 100 days are staining our shared humanity,” UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) chief Philippe Lazzarini said, condemning Israel’s use of food, water and fuel as instruments of war.
Oxfam estimated that the Israeli attack on Gaza averaged 250 deaths per day, “significantly higher” than other recent conflicts by the NGO’s estimates.
UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that, facing obstacles imposed by Israeli authorities, only three of 21 scheduled aid deliveries to Gaza “were possible” between Jan. 1 and 10. Gaza suffered a renewed total disruption to its telecoms network on Friday.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) spokesperson Elizabeth Throsell said the office has repeatedly highlighted Israel’s failure to follow international humanitarian law and to use “distinction, proportionality and precautions in the conduct of attacks.”
The US and UK targeted Houthi rebels in Yemen 73 times on Friday, the rebels’ military spokesperson said. Hezbollah, Hamas and Russia condemned the strike while China expressed concern. “The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s spokesperson Dylan White described the strikes as “defensive and aimed at preserving freedom of navigation in one of the most important sea lanes in the world.” The strikes follow weeks of Houthi attacks in support of Gaza on vessels designated by the rebels as supporting Israel sailing through the Red Sea. Several shipping companies halted deliveries through the Red Sea in the wake of the Houthis’ attacks. Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said the US and UK strikes were acts of stupidity, claiming that they would further disrupt marine traffic through the Red Sea.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from the weekend: “Jounieh’s iconic cable cars navigate the challenges, from currency crisis to regional tension”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles