Netanyahu rejects Hamas conditions for release of hostages; Hezbollah retaliates after car strike in Kafra: Israel-Hamas war, day 107

Thank you for following our LIVE coverage of day 107 of the Israel-Hamas war. We will be back tomorrow with more news updates.

Thirteen people, including five advisors to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, were killed on Saturday in Damascus in an air strike attributed to Israel, according to a new toll provided this evening by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).

"The death toll has risen to 13," said the UK-based NGO, which has an extensive network of sources in war-torn Syria.

The strike targeted and destroyed a four-story building in the western Mazze district, where a "meeting of pro-Iranian leaders" was being held, according to the source.

Read more here.

By late evening, and according to the latest information available to us, the strike in Kafra had claimed two victims: Fadel Ali Salman Shaar, a Hezbollah member whose death was announced earlier by the party, and Samar al-Sayed, a civilian.

According to the total toll compiled by L'Orient-Le Jour, 164 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Israeli strikes in Syria and Lebanon since the beginning of October.

Two civil defense rescue workers from the Islamic Mission Scouts (an organization linked to the Amal movement) were among the six wounded.

A woman seriously injured in the Israeli strike on a car in Kafra died in the evening in intensive care at Tibnin hospital, a medical source at the hospital confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour.

This civilian, Samar al-Sayed, was near the site of the strike. Her death had been announced in a Hezbollah statement, issued to announce a strike on a building in northern Israel, in retaliation for the raid on Kafra.

The party subsequently retracted the statement, publishing a corrected version that no longer mentioned Samar al-Sayed's death.

According to our count, 21 civilians have been killed in Israeli strikes in the south since Oct. 8.

Four Israeli rockets hit the Khiam plain (Marjayoun district), according to local residents.

Israeli aircraft flew at low altitude over several regions of Lebanon. Warplanes were heard in Beirut, Tripoli (north) and the Bekaa.

The Islamic Mission Scouts Civil Defense (a rescue organization linked to the Amal movement), announced in a statement that two of its rescue workers had been injured in the Israeli strike on Kafra.

The two members of the organization have been hospitalized and are in "stable condition."

Israeli artillery hit the outskirts of Houla and Wadi Slouqi, according to eyewitness accounts from residents reported by our correspondent in the south.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video today that he "categorically" rejected Palestinian Hamas's conditions for the release of hostages, following the latter's publication of a report on the Oct. 7 attack.

"I categorically reject the surrender conditions of the Hamas monsters" who demand "an end to the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza" and "the release of all murderers and rapists," he said.

French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu will meet families of Hamas hostages in Israel on Monday, before holding talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and several members of the war cabinet to discuss the situation in Gaza and the risks of escalation in the region, according to AFP.

Discussions will focus on "the situation in Gaza, efforts to secure the release of French hostages and missing persons, the protection of civilian populations and the humanitarian support provided by France," as well as efforts to avoid "regional escalation, particularly in Lebanon and the Red Sea," where Yemeni Houthi rebels are carrying out attacks on ships, the French minister's office said on Sunday.

This is the French Armed Forces Minister's second visit to Israel since the start of the war.

A march calling for an end to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza brought together some 9,000 people today in Brussels, where demonstrators marched to the European institutions district, according to the police, quoted by AFP.

Shouting "stop the genocide," "Israel: Terrorist" and "Free Gaza," the march passed through Brussels in a calm atmosphere, with a banner calling for "Justice for Palestine."

Some in the crowd criticized the EU for its "shameful" failure to protect Palestinian civilians, while others called for a boycott of Israeli products and companies.

A Hezbollah civil defense center in Kfar Kila was among the targets of strikes carried out by Israel in the afternoon, according to a statement from the Islamic Health Committee organization, linked to the party.

"The criminal policy of the Israeli enemy does not spare rescue workers and medical staff," according to the statement, which claims that Israeli aircraft struck "a civil defense center belonging to the Islamic Health Committee in Kfar Kila, destroying several ambulances."

This is the second time that Israel has targeted such a center, following a strike in Hanin on Jan. 11, in which two rescue workers were killed.

"[Israeli] army fighter jets carried out two series of strikes on 'terrorist' infrastructure, a military building, a launch pad and an observation post belonging to the Hezbollah 'terrorist organization' in Markaba, Lebanon today," the Israeli army said, quoted by AFP.

Army tanks and aircraft "also struck targets in a number of locations in southern Lebanon, including a Hezbollah operational command center and a military complex," it added.

Israeli artillery hit the northern outskirts of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun district), according to residents contacted by our correspondent.

Hezbollah has issued a second version of its statement announcing a missile strike on the Israeli town of Avivim, opposite the village of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil district), in retaliation for the Israeli raid on Kafra, which this time no longer mentions the death of a civilian.

The Hezbollah strike "hit a house, killing and wounding its inhabitants," the statement reiterates.

According to our correspondent in the south, the civilian whose death had been announced earlier by the party is still in intensive care, according to her relatives.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said there can be no normalization of ties with Israel without path to Palestinian state, he told CNN in an interview that aired today, according to Reuters.

In a statement published on Telegram, Hezbollah announced that it had retaliated against the Israeli raid on Kafra, "in which civilian Samar al-Sayed was killed," by striking the Israeli locality of Avivim, opposite the locality of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil district), with missiles "that hit a house and left its inhabitants dead and wounded."

Hezbollah announced in a statement published on its Telegram channel that it had struck the Israeli position of "Hadab al-Boustan" (opposite the Lebanese town of Boustan, in the Sour district) at 4:45 p.m. using a Burkan missile, which can carry huge explosive charges.

A security source told L'Orient-Le Jour that Israeli artillery struck the outskirts of Jibbayn and Dhaira (Sour district).

Residents of Marwahine and Umm al-Tout, also in the Sour district, reported an Israeli artillery strike on the outskirts of these two towns.

The Israeli army fired in the direction of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil district) and Blida (Marjayoun district), reports our correspondent.

Nine Israeli shells were also fired at Markaba (Marjayoun caza), destroying five houses, according to local residents.

Two Hezbollah fighters were killed today when an Israeli drone hit their vehicle in southern Lebanon, according to security sources quoted by Reuters.

This photograph, taken on Jan. 21, 2024, shows a view of a makeshift tent camp housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah, near the border with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas war. (Credit: AFP)

Hamas today demanded that Israeli aggression in Gaza stop, and said that only the Palestinian people should decide the territory's future, reports AFP.

"We categorically reject any international or Israeli plan to decide the future of the Gaza Strip," said the Palestinian movement in a document explaining its attack on Israeli soil on Oct. 7, in which it called for "an immediate end to Israeli aggression."

In a document published today and quoted by AFP, Hamas said that the Oct. 7 attack on Israel was "a necessary step" and a "normal response" to "all Israeli plots against the Palestinian people."

Hamas added that in the "chaos" around the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, "perhaps mistakes were made," denying however that it had targeted civilians, except "by accident, and during confrontations with the occupying forces." 

Israel struck the south-western outskirts of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun district), according to residents quoted by our correspondent.

BREAKING: The number of people wounded in the Israeli attack in Kafra (Bint Jbeil district) and taken to the government hospital in Tibnin now stands at eight, including a woman with a serious head injury, reports our correspondent.

Due to the seriousness of her situation, this woman was eventually transported to a better-equipped hospital.

According to the latest information gathered by our correspondent, seven people have been wounded (six lightly and one woman with a serious head injury) in the Israeli attack in Kafra (Bint Jbeil). The injured have been taken to the government hospital in Tibnin, according to medical sources quoted by our correspondent.

The remains of two people killed in the strike have been taken to Salah Ghandour Hospital in Bint Jbeil, our correspondent adds. No injuries or casualties have been reported among the ranks of the Lebanese Army.

Israeli fighter jets have conducted two strikes, and a third attack has been launched by a drone, on Mount Hermon, between Rmaish and Yaroun, our correspondent in south Lebanon reports.

Kafra strike: At least two people have been killed in a strike on a car in Kafra (Bint Jbeil), our correspondent reports, citing medical sources. 

Six wounded, including one seriously injured woman, were taken to hospital, while one was treated on the spot, our correspondent adds.

Ambulances were dispatched to the scene of the strike, near a Lebanese army checkpoint. It was not clear who was targeted by the strike, our correspondent adds.

Update on Kafra strike: At least five civilians present at the scene were injured by shards of glass from the windows that exploded when the drone attack hit the car in Kafra (Bint Jbeil) and have been transferred to hospital in Tibnin (Bint Jbeil), according to reports from local residents to our correspondent in south Lebanon. One woman was seriously injured, the residents add. Several people in the car have reportedly been killed, but we have no further information on this at present.

At least two women present at the scene of the Kafra (Bint Jbeil) strike have been injured by shards of glass. They have been transferred to Tibnin hospital (Bint Jbeil), according to reports from local residents speaking to our correspondent in south Lebanon. There are also reports of deaths in the vehicle, but we have no official information on this yet.

Image: The scene of a strike in Kafra. (Credit: Photograph supplied to our correspondent by local residents)

⚡An Israeli drone has targeted a car in the locality of Kafra (Bint Jbeil), according to reports from local residents.

This is the first time the locality has been targeted by an attack of this type, according to our correspondent in south Lebanon.

The attack, which took place near a Lebanese Army roadblock, reportedly resulted in injuries.

Update from south Lebanon in the last half hour:

- Hezbollah claimed responsibility for missile strikes targeting the Pranit barracks in Israel, opposite the Lebanese localities of Aita al-Shaab and Rmaish (Bint Jbeil) in south Lebanon. This is the first statement of this kind issued by the party today. It asserts that the attack hit its target.

- The Israeli army carried out a second air raid on the outskirts of Markaba (Marjayoun), according to reports from local residents gathered by our correspondent in south Lebanon. Two missiles were reportedly fired in the raid.

- The Israeli air force also fired on the outskirts of Tallousa, near Markaba.

Twelve people, including five advisors to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, were killed yesterday in Damascus in an airstrike blamed on Israel, according to a new toll provided on Sunday by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, AFP reports.

The strike targeted and destroyed a four-storey building in the western Mazzeh district, where a "meeting of pro-Iranian leaders" was taking place, said the UK-based NGO.

Hezbollah MP Hassan Ezzedine has assured that the "Resistance" is "capable of deterring" and "defeating" the Israeli army in southern Lebanon.

These remarks were made during a speech in Tayr Falsay (Marjayoun) to mark 40 days since the death of Hajj Abbas Hassan Arzouni, a Hezbollah member who died during cross-border fighting.

The MP was indirectly responding to threats from the Israeli Ministry of Defense, which issued a statement this week insisting that while Israel favors a diplomatic resolution, it is "ready to act by military force" in southern Lebanon.

Image: MP Hassan Ezzedine (Credit: Photo provided by Hezbollah with the press release relaying the MP's speech)

Israeli soldiers fired into the air this morning with the aim of frightening people working in orchards in the border area of Wazzani (Marjayoun), the Lebanese state-run National News Agency reports.

The incident reportedly took place at 8 a.m., says our correspondent in the region, Muntasser Abdallah, quoting a local mokhtar. The mokhtar told L'Orient Today that this type of incident often occurs in south Lebanon and that it leads to losses among the region's large livestock population.

Israel has recently shelled the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), according to residents cited by our correspondent in south Lebanon.

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has denounced Israel for the "heartbreaking" deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and called it unacceptable to resist statehood for the Palestinian people, Reuters reports.

"Israel's military operations have spread mass destruction and killed civilians on a scale unprecedented during my time as secretary-general," Guterres said at the opening of a summit of the G77+China in the Ugandan capital Kampala. More details here.

According to testimonies from residents of Markaba (Marjayoun) received by our correspondent in south Lebanon, the Israeli army air raid that targeted the outskirts of the locality a short while ago hit one house but caused no casualties.

The UK says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to Palestinian sovereignty is "disappointing."

"I think it's disappointing actually, to hear that from the Israeli prime minister," AFP reports Defense Secretary Grant Shapps as saying on the Sky News channel.

Ambulances are heading toward the site of strikes on the outskirts of Markaba, our correspondent in south Lebanon adds.

According to sources quoted by Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot, the Israeli army would like to propose a 48-hour truce on the border between south Lebanon and Israel in coordination with Washington. There are not yet any official statements to support this report.

The Israeli army carried out a raid on the outskirts of Adaisseh and Markaba (Marjayoun), according to reports from local residents received by our correspondent in south Lebanon.

Israel has approved an outline to allow the transfer of funds to the Palestinian Authority through Norway, Haaretz reports. Under interim peace accords, Israel collects taxes on the Palestinians' behalf and typically transfers them to the PA monthly on the approval of the finance minister. 

Israeli forces have killed 20-30 percent of Hamas fighters, according to US intelligence, an article in Sunday's Wall Street Journal reports. Click here for more.

Six shells fired by Israeli artillery have targeted the outskirts of the locality of Chihine (Sour district) in the last half-hour, according to residents' testimonies gathered by our correspondent in south Lebanon.

The Israeli army has announced the death of another of its soldiers killed during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip over the weekend, Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post report. This brings the number of fallen soldiers in the ground offensive against Hamas to 195 since Oct. 27, according to the Jerusalem Post. This figure does not include soldiers killed before that date or those killed in exchanges of fire on the border with southern Lebanon.

Kataeb party leader Samy Gemayel contends that "the possibility of Hezbollah plunging Lebanon into open war with Israel is well within the realm of possibility, but the Shiite party has no current intention of doing so." Gemayel's remarks were published in an interview with Kuwaiti newspaper Al Siyasa.

In the interview, Gemayel also pointed out that "Iran is trying to isolate Lebanon from its Arab environment so that it can control it more and more through Hezbollah." He also called on Arab countries "not to abandon Lebanon."

Gemayel went on to express fear "that an agreement will be reached at the expense of Lebanese sovereignty and that Hezbollah will get Lebanon as a consolation prize for withdrawing from the south to ensure Israel's security."

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Joumblatt estimates that "the war in Gaza and the hostilities in south Lebanon will continue and the war could extend over more than a year," local media outlets report, adding that Joumblatt's comments came during a partisan meeting yesterday in Aley.

"We are working hand in hand with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and the secretary-general of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, … to avoid a wider war. If the worst happens, as it did in 2006, we are ready to welcome our loved ones," he added, referring to those who may be displaced by fighting.

A total of 25,105 Palestinians have been killed and 62,681 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7, the Gaza Health Ministry says in a statement, Reuters reports.

Some 178 Palestinians were killed and 293 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry adds.

The Israeli army is currently shelling the outskirts of Khiam (Marjayoun district), according to reports from residents speaking to our correspondent in the south. So far, they say two shells have fallen. 

Israeli artillery has bombarded the vicinity of the Lebanese localities of Jibbayn and Chihine (Sour), according to our correspondent in south Lebanon, citing eyewitness accounts from local residents.

The Palestinians "have the right to sovereignty and a state," French diplomatic chief Stéphane Séjourné says, after the Israeli prime minister reaffirmed his opposition to "Palestinian sovereignty" in Gaza.

"France will remain faithful to its commitment to achieve this goal," Séjourné wrote on X (formerly Twitter) late last night.

The French minister's tweet follows statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposing Palestinian sovereignty in Gaza and saying Israel must retain "control over the security of the territory."

Israel's military this morning said its soldiers had killed 15 Palestinian gunmen during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, Reuters reports.

In the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where Israel has been increasing pressure on Hamas in recent weeks, the Israeli military said snipers, backed by air support, had "eliminated a number of terrorists."

Here's what happened overnight in southern Lebanon, as reported by our correspondent, citing several security sources:

- At around 9.30 p.m., an empty, multi-storey house was destroyed by an Israeli air raid in Marj Houla (Marjayoun). No casualties were reported.

- A second raid took place between Houla and Markaba (Marjayoun) at around the same time.

- Also between 9.30 p.m. and 10 p.m., Israeli fighter jets flew at low altitude over several localities in western south Lebanon, including Nabatieh and Iqlim al-Tuffah (in the Nabatieh district), and Israeli Merkava tanks fired several shells from the Israeli locality of Metula in the vicinity of Kfar Kila and Tal Nahas (Marjayoun).

- After 10 p.m., a drone flew over localities in the Zahrani area (Saida district, several dozen kilometers from the border), as well as over other areas in the Sour district.

- Also after 10 p.m., several missiles were reportedly fired from Lebanon towards Metula, a number of which were intercepted. For the moment, Hezbollah has issued no statement these strikes.

- Heavy machine-gun fire was also heard from Abbasieh (Hasbaya district), and a flare was fired into the sky between 10 p.m. and midnight.

- After midnight, Israeli artillery bombarded the outskirts of Houla and Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun).

Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan yesterday in Turkey, diplomatic sources announced this morning without specifying the exact location of the meeting, AFP reports.

The “release of the hostages” and “the establishment of a cease-fire as quickly as possible” were at the heart of the discussions, according to these sources. The last official contact, by telephone, between the two officials was on Oct. 16.

In south Lebanon, the morning has been relatively calm so far, with the exception of artillery fire heard near Aitaroun  (Bint Jbeil) and Blida (Marjayoun), according to our correspondent in the region, Muntasser Abdallah, citing testimonies from local residents.

Our correspondent also reports that Israeli reconnaissance planes are flying over many Lebanese communities along the border.

The Israeli army is also carrying out several operations in the occupied West Bank — in Hebron, Qalqilya and Jenin — according to AFP reports, citing  the Palestinian news agency WAFA. Arrests have taken place, and two houses have been demolished in Hebron, the report adds.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his opposition to "Palestinian sovereignty" during a telephone interview on Friday with US President Joe Biden, according to the prime minister's office.

Joe Biden “still believes in the prospect and the possibility” of a Palestinian state, but “recognizes that it will take a lot of work to get there,” the White House indicated after the telephone exchange.

The situation in Gaza this Sunday:

According to AFP, Hamas has reported dozens of airstrikes and extensive artillery fire in the Gaza Strip, saying Israeli forces have targeted the area around the Nasser and al-Amal hospitals in the southern town of Khan Younis, now the epicenter of military operations.

Dozens of bodies “are still under the rubble,” the Palestinian Islamist movement said.

According to witnesses who spoke to an AFP correspondent, Israel also resumed attacks around the Jabaliya refugee camp on Sunday morning.

The Israeli army dropped leaflets yesterday on Rafah showing photos of the hostages and calling on residents of the city, where tens of thousands of displaced people are crowded, to share any information they may have about them.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 107th day of war between Hamas and Israel, in which we will also cover developments in south Lebanon, the Red Sea and the Middle East in general.