One dead in Israeli strike on house in south Lebanon; Hamas examining 3-stage Gaza truce plan: Day 117 of Hamas-Israel war

Thank you for following our LIVE coverage from day 117 of the Hamas-Israel war.

We'll be back tomorrow with more news updates and analysis, right here at L'Orient Today.

Hezbollah announces the death of one of its fighters, Mohammad Nayef Hammoud, born in 1999, originally from Beit Lif, in southern Lebanon.

According to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south, this was the man killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this evening on a house in Beit Lif, Bint Jbeil district.

The total number of Hezbollah members killed since Oct. 8 has reached 177, according to our count.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked the US State Department to present policy options regarding US and international recognition of a Palestinian state following the war in Gaza, according to two US officials briefed on the issue, who spoke with American news website Axios.

According to the same source, the fact that the State Department is even considering such options signals a shift in thinking within the Biden administration around Palestinian statehood, which has proven to be a sensitive subject both internationally and domestically.

👉 Read about Blinken's inquiry here.

A damaged ambulance belonging to the Amal-affiliated al-Rissala Scouts, struck by an Israeli drone in Blida, southern Lebanon, Jan. 31, 2024. (Credit: Sent to our correspondent in the south, Muntasser Abdallah, by residents of Blida)

Here's an update from the last 30 minutes at the Lebanon-Israel border:

• The Amal-affiliated al-Rissala Scouts announced in a statement that an Israeli drone hit its ambulance and that "the paramedics survived." Al-Rissala also said that the association’s firefighting team is working to put out a fire in one of the buildings also struck during the three raids carried out on Blida, Marjayoun district, reported earlier this evening.

• Shrapnel from Israeli artillery shelling flew toward a Lebanese Army center in the village of Dhayra, Sour district, without causing any casualties among the soldiers, a security source told our correspondent in the south.

• Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Dahyra, Alma al-Shaab, Yarine (Sour district), and Mhaibib (Marjayoun district), according to residents.

• The Israeli army fired flares over the village of Mais al-Jabal, Marjayoun district, residents told L'Orient Today.

🔴 BREAKING: The owner of the house in Beit Lif that was targeted in an Israeli airstrike earlier this evening was killed, according to a medical source who spoke with L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south. There is no confirmation yet as to whether the man killed was a civilian or associated with any group engaged in the conflict.

Hezbollah and residents of the village of Flaoui, Baalbek district, mourn the death of Hezbollah fighter Hassan al-Siblani earlier today. (Credit: Courtesy of our correspondent in the Bekaa. Sarah Abdallah).

A military vehicle maneuvers near Israel’s border with Gaza on Jan. 24, 2024. (Credit: Amir Cohen/Reuters)

The United States has raised with Israel the issue of the establishment of a buffer zone in Gaza, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters, adding that Washington opposes any reduction in the size of Gaza territory.

Reuters reports that when asked about the raid on a hospital in Jenin and the destruction of a university in Gaza, Miller said he had no update on an assessment of the raid but that the United States had raised the issue of demolition of sites and Israel reported they were conducted only when they were sites from which terrorist activities were launched, plotted or planned.

👉 Read more about Israel's "buffer zone" project here.

Here's an update from southern Lebanon from the last 30 minutes:

• Israeli drones carried out three raids on the village of Blida, Marjayoun district, residents told our correspondent in the south. A house and an ambulance belonging to the Amal-affiliated al-Rissala Scouts were targeted. No casualties have been reported.

• Residents told L'Orient Today that an Israeli warplane targeted a house on the outskirts of Beit Lif, in Bint Jbeil district.

The United States is imposing sanctions on three entities and one individual based in Turkey and Lebanon for giving "critical financial support" to a financial network used by Iran's Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and Lebanon's Hezbollah, Reuters reports.

"These entities have generated hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of revenue from selling Iranian commodities, including to the Syrian government," the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

👉 Read the full report here.

Updates from southern Lebanon:

• Hezbollah announced that it targeted a building in which Israeli soldiers were present, located in the Israeli town of Metula, at 3:50 p.m.

• Five Israeli artillery shells targeted the area of al-Mudawar in Western Deir Mimas, Marjayoun district, residents told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south.

(Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return shortly to the Middle East "in the coming days," a US official told AFP on condition of anonymity, without specifying the destinations or dates.

It will be Blinken's fifth trip to the region since Oct. 7, and comes as negotiations gather steam on a proposal to halt Israel's offensive and free hostages held in Gaza.

👉 Read more here.

(Credit: Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Hamas is reviewing plans for a three-stage truce with Israel which foresee a weeks-long halt to the Gaza war, a source in the Palestinian militant group told AFP.

Over that period Israel will release between 200 and 300 Palestinian prisoners who are not deemed high-security detainees, in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages held in Gaza, the Hamas source close to Egyptian and Qatari mediators said.

Under the new agreement, aid deliveries would be boosted with the entry of 200 to 300 trucks per day.

👉 Read about the three stages here.

Here are the latest updates from southern Lebanon:

• Several rockets were launched from southern Lebanon towards the northern Israeli town of Metula, as reported by a security source to our correspondent, Muntasser Abdallah.

• In a statement, Hezbollah announced that at 1:35 p.m., they targeted an Israeli Merkava tank positioned at the site of Bayad Bilad with the "appropriate weapons, hitting it directly."

(Credit: Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Container shipping through the Red Sea has fallen by almost 30 percent year-on-year, announced the International Monetary Fund (IMF), against a backdrop of increasing attacks by Houthi rebels on merchant vessels off the coast of Yemen, reports AFP.

"The bulk of traffic in the Red Sea is container shipping, which has fallen by almost 30 percent," said Jihad Azour, IMF regional director for the Middle East and Central Asia, adding that "the decline in trade accelerated at the beginning of the year [2024]."

👉 Read the full report here.

An update on the security situation in southern Lebanon this afternoon:

- Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Tayr Harfa, Dhairah, Jibbayn and Yarine (Sour), local residents told our correspondent.

- Two Israeli shells targeted the outskirts of Boustan (Sour).

- Israeli military aircraft struck an area between Haddatha, Rshaf and Tiri (Bint Jbeil), residents report.

- An Israeli drone fired a missile at the outskirts of Yaroun (Bint Jbeil).

- Israeli artillery fire hit an area between Alma al-Shaab and Labbouneh (Sour).

- Hezbollah announced that it had successfully targeted Israeli "spy equipment" in the Israeli town of Hanita, opposite the Lebanese village of Alma al-Shaab. It also claimed responsibility for an attack at 3.10 p.m. on a gathering of Israeli soldiers near the Mitat barracks.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) considers an independent investigation into Israel's allegations that it is "hiding terrorists" in the Gaza Strip to be "very important," a spokeswoman for the organization in Amman told AFP on Wednesday.

Major donors – including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan – announced the suspension of their aid to UNRWA, after Israel accused 12 of its employees of involvement in the Oct. 7 attack led by the Palestinian movement Hamas.

"We have 33,000 employees ... it is extremely important for us to have an independent investigation into the individual cases Israel has raised," Unrwa spokeswoman Tamara Alrifai told AFP. "We received allegations from the Israeli government about 12 names in Gaza, we checked these names against our records of 13,000 employees in Gaza, and we were able to match eight of these names," she added. UNRWA had announced that it had dismissed most of the employees concerned.

Iran called on the United States to "stop using the language of threats," while Washington has promised retaliation after the death of three servicemen in an attack blamed on a pro-Iranian group.

"America must stop using the language of threat" and must "focus on a political solution," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told the cabinet meeting, according to the official Irna agency quoted by AFP.

He promised that Iran's response would be "incisive and immediate" in the event of an attack by the United States.

 Israel's National Minister of Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, says he opposes a potential deal with Hamas, in which thousands of Palestinian prisoners could be freed from Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, Haaretz reported.

Speaking at the Knesset, he said: "We won't allow thousands of terrorists to be released."

It comes as Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said he would travel to Cairo to discuss the proposed Paris deal which likely includes a proposal to release the hostages being held by Hamas in exchange for prisoners and a cease-fire.

The Israeli army issued a closed military zone order in the Egyptian border crossing area, in southern Israel overnight, Haaretz reported.

The order was issued by the chief of the Israeli army’s Southern Command, following demonstrations held in recent days to protest the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The demonstrations were organized by the "Tzav 9" ("Order 9") movement that includes family members of Israelis held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Lebanon's caretaker social affairs minister, Hector Hajjar, detailed the emergency response for displaced persons in southern Lebanon at a press conference:

A total of 18,647 of the displaced families will receive $25 per family, plus $20 per person, thanks to a $2.5 million fund from UNICEF and the World Food Program.

Of these, 2,919 families are benefiting from the Assistance Program for the Most Vulnerable [Lebanese] People and 15,728 families from the Aman program, which has been maintained exceptionally due to their displaced situation.

In addition, the ministry has deployed five vehicles in the South to provide psychological support to displaced persons and has supplied heating oil, notably to hospitals in Jezzine and Bint Jbeil.

Forces of the Israeli army, police and Shin Bet security service have arrested 14 wanted Palestinians and seized munitions in an overnight operation in the West Bank, according to Haaretz.

At least 2,990 Palestinians, including 1,350 Hamas-affiliated Palestinians, have been arrested by the Israeli forces since the war began.

Palestinians sit near bodies outside the Ahli Arabi hospital in Gaza City, on Jan. 31, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Credit: AFP)

Sheikh Nabil Qaouq, member of the Hezbollah executive council, giving a speech in South Lebanon, Jan. 31, 2024. (Photo provided by our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah)

Sheikh Nabil Qaouq, a member of Hezbollah's executive council, affirmed that "the Resistance has intensified its qualitative operations in response to the Israeli escalation."

A qualitative operation, in military terms, entails an increase in the quality of a operation by using enhanced tactics and equipment, or conducting upgraded training exercises.

"The Resistance is prepared for all eventualities of war and escalation," he continued at a religious ceremony in southern Lebanon, as reported by our correspondent. Finally, the dignitary assured that "the Resistance in Lebanon will continue its operations as long as the aggression against Gaza continues."

On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israeli army troops would "go into action very soon" in the north of the country, on the border with Lebanon.

Norway, one of the few major donors to have decided to maintain its aid to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), has called on other donors to consider the consequences of cutting off funding, according to AFP.

"We urge donor countries to think about the broader consequences of suspending their funding of UNRWA," Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in an email sent by his office to AFP.

"UNRWA is a vital lifeline for 1.5 million refugees in Gaza," he added. He concluded: "To avoid collectively punishing millions of people, we must distinguish between what individuals may have done and what UNRWA represents."

The Israeli military struck Syrian military targets in Daraa after rockets were launched from the country the night before, AFP reports.

"Last night, a number of launches from Syria toward the southern Golan Heights were identified," the Israeli military said in a statement, adding that its "fighter jets struck military infrastructure belonging to the Syrian regime in the area of Daraa overnight."

There was no information about any casualties or damage caused by the strikes. Prior to the ongoing war in Gaza, Israel routinely bombed what it claims are Iranian and Hezbollah assets in Syria. Strikes have intensified since the outbreak of the conflict on Oct. 7.

The Israeli military has shot dead an al-Amal Hospital security employee in Khan Younis, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.

The medical charity said on X that the staff member was standing near the back door of the hospital when he was shot. It also reported smoke bombs in the vicinity of the medical facility.

Israel is currently bombarding the southern Gazan city where two hospitals, Amal and Nasser, are facing dire conditions. Yesterday Director General of WHO Tedros Ghebreyesus warned that Nasser Hospital is “facing serious shortages" of oxygen, food and fuel. He added that the WHO is facing delays in delivering food and supplies to the hospital amid "ongoing heavy military operations" in the area.

Gaza's health ministry announced that "at least" 26,900 people have been killed in the enclave since the start of the war on Oct. 7, Reuters reports.

The ministry added that an additional 65,949 people have been injured and that 150 were killed and 313 injured in the last 24 hours.

Update on the situation in southern Lebanon over the last hour:

- Hezbollah announced that it had successfully targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers on al-Tayhat hill, opposite the Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, at 9:35 am..

- Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Tayr Harfa, Dhairah, Alma al-Shaab and Majdal Zoun (Sour), a security source told our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

- Israeli artillery also targeted the outskirts of Marwahine (Bint Jbeil) and Naqoura (Sour), according to local residents.

We have more details on Iran's warning that "no American threat will be left unanswered."

Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations has said that Iran’s “fundamental policy” is a “strong response to enemies” who launch attacks on its soil, Al Jazeera reports. Amir Saeid Iravani told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that any strikes on “Iran’s territory, or its interests or citizens abroad” would face a “decisive response,” as cited by Reuters.

The comments come after US President Joe Biden said that he has made a decision on how to respond to the drone strike, believed to be by Kataib Hezbollah on a US base in Jordan that killed three American soldiers and wounded dozens of others.

"No American threat will be left unanswered," warns the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, General Hossein Salami, reports Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted by Reuters.

This comes after US President Joe Biden said that he had decided on a retaliation for an attack on US troops stationed in Jordan which killed three and injured nearly three dozen others. Biden also said he holds Iran responsible for the attack as the US president claimed that Iran supplied the weapons used.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the immediate closure of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) as he fears this could cause a “humanitarian catastrophe,” the Times of Israel reported quoting an anonymous senior government official.

“If UNRWA ceases operating on the ground, this could cause a humanitarian catastrophe that would force Israel to halt its fighting against Hamas,” the Israeli official said. “This would not be in Israel’s interest and it would not be in the interest of Israel’s allies either.”

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani discussed finding a “just and durable solution for the Palestinian cause” in a meeting with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday, the Qatari Foreign Ministry has said in a statement.

The Qatari prime minister, who is also the foreign minister, held several other meetings during his visit to Washington, DC, including with members of the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Also discussed at the meetings was the need to “ensure a sustainable entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

Here is what happened on Tuesday evening in southern Lebanon:

•⁠ ⁠Israel fired machine guns from the Israeli Birkat Risha site, facing the Lebanese southern town of Boustan, towards Lebanese territories, according to a security source.

•⁠ ⁠Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Dhairah, Jibbayn, Yarin, Naqoura, and south of the town of Khiam.

•⁠ ⁠Israel fired machine guns from Israeli positions in the heights of Kfar Shouba, as reported by a security source to L’Orient Today.

•⁠ ⁠Hezbollah announced that it had attacked the Israeli Dhairah site, facing the Lebanese southern town of Alma al-Shaab (Sour) at 8:50 p.m.

Be sure to check out the Morning Brief to make sure that you are caught up with everything that has been happening.

Morning Brief

Southern Lebanon houses destroyed, pro-UNRWA protest, Group of 5 meet: Everything you need to know to start your Wednesday

The UN Security Council is due to meet to discuss the International Court of Justice's interim measures concerning Israel's war in Gaza on Wednesday at 11 a.m. New York time.

The meeting comes as Israel has confirmed that it is "channeling large quantities of water" through tunnels in Gaza, one of the examples cited in South Africa's complaint against Israel for genocide before the ICJ.

US President Joe Biden says he has decided how to respond to a drone strike by an Iran-backed militia on a US base in northern Jordan which killed three American troops.

Without going into details of what the response will look like, last night Biden told reporters he held Iran responsible “in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons” to Kataib Hezbollah. The group yesterday announced it is suspending its military operations against US troops in the region, to prevent “embarrassment” to the Iraqi government – according to a statement.

The White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby told reporters on Air Force One that the response would come in phases. “It is very possible that what you’ll see is a tiered approach here, not just a single action, but essentially multiple actions.”

Following Israeli accusations against UNRWA employees, thirteen countries, including the United States, Unrwa's largest donor, suspended their contributions until the agency has shed full light on the alleged involvement of its employees in the Oct. 7 attacks.

"These decisions ... will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza. No other entity has the capacity to provide aid on this scale" to a population that needs it "so urgently," argued UN agency heads quoted by AFP overnight.

Khan Younis was the scene of fierce fighting this morning, against a backdrop of calls from the UN to maintain aid to Gaza from its agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

During the night, witnesses reported heavy strikes on this southern Gaza Strip town where Israeli ground forces are attempting to defeat Hamas fighters. The enclave's Ministry of Health reported 125 deaths in violence in Gaza between late Tuesday and this morning.