Thank you for following our LIVE coverage of day 148 of the Gaza war. We will be back tomorrow with more news updates.
⚡️Egyptian sources said assurances had been offered to Hamas that the terms of a permanent ceasefire would be worked out in the second and third phases of the ceasefire deal, according to Reuters.
The duration of the initial pause, a phase expected to last about six weeks, had been agreed upon, the sources said.
Drops of humanitarian aid into Gaza or possible deliveries by sea "cannot substitute for the necessary entry of assistance by as many land routes as possible," said a senior US official, quoted by AFP.
Another senior US official, in the same press interview, said that the US was also considering aid deliveries by sea after it began dropping parcels on the famine-threatened territory today.
⚡️A senior US official said that Israel had "more or less" agreed to a truce in the war in Gaza, and that now "the ball was in Hamas's [court]" to bring it into effect, according to AFP.
"There's an agreement on the table. The Israelis have more or less accepted it. A six-week ceasefire could begin today in Gaza if Hamas agreed to release a well-defined category of vulnerable hostages," said the American official.
He added that, for the time being, "discussions are continuing" to seal an agreement before Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, which begins in a week.
At 7 p.m., Hezbollah claimed to have successfully targeted the Israeli site of Hadeb Yarine, opposite the Lebanese village of Dhairah.
This is the sixth attack on Israel today claimed by the party.
⚡️ Lebanon's Outgoing Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib affirmed that "Lebanon is ready to conduct indirect negotiations" with Israel, believing that "the other option would be the risk of war spreading regionally," the National News Agency reported today.
Gaza's Ministry of Health announced eleven people dead in an Israeli strike that hit tents of displaced civilians near a hospital in Rafah, according to AFP.
"Eleven people were killed and around 50 wounded, including children, by Israeli occupation forces who targeted displaced persons' tents and a gathering of people near the gate of the al-Emirati maternity hospital" in Rafah, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement relayed by AFP.
A paramedic was killed in the strike, he added.
Latest developments on the Lebanese-Israeli border
• Israeli fighter jets carried out a raid on the village of Labbouneh (Sour district), reports our correspondent in south Lebanon.
• Hezbollah claimed to have successfully targeted the Zebdine barracks in the disputed Shebaa Farms at 5:30 p.m.
The US Middle East Military Command (CENTCOM) and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted a humanitarian aid drop in the Gaza Strip today between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. (Gaza time), Centcom reported on X.
"US C-130s dropped more than 38,000 meals along the Gaza coast, giving civilians access to this crucial aid," it stated.
"We are in the process of planning possible aid delivery missions by air...," it added.
At 4:40 p.m., Hezbollah announced that it successfully targeted the Israeli site of Raheb, located opposite the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district).
A Hamas delegation is due to travel to Cairo today to continue negotiations on a truce in the Gaza Strip, a source close to the Palestinian Islamist group told AFP.
According to the source close to Hamas, who requested anonymity, the delegation would "meet with Egyptians overseeing ceasefire negotiations to follow the development of talks aimed at halting the [Israeli] offensive and the war, and reaching an agreement on a hostage exchange."
Recent developments at the Lebanese-Israeli border (since 3:20 p.m.)
• Hezbollah announced that it hit the Zaoura launcher with missile weapons at 3:20 p.m.
• Israeli drones raided the area of Khreibeh in the outskirts of Rashaya Fawqar (Hasbaya district), residents told our correspondent in the south.
• Israel combed with machine guns the village of Wazzani (Hasbaya) and the eastern outskirts of Houla and fired artillery shells at the village of Kfar Kila (Marjayoun), according to residents.
Lebanese caretaker foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib said that "Lebanon is ready for indirect negotiations [with Israel] because the other option is the risk of the war expanding into a regional war," according to state-run National News Agency.
Bou Habib made these comments in a dialogue session about "establishing a lasting peace in the Middle East" at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey with representatives from Palestine, Bahrain and the Arab League.
Bou Habib also said that if Israel withdraws from the Shebaa farms and Kfar Shuba hills, respects international borders and stops "daily violations," security would be achieved for all.
With the humanitarian situation in Gaza increasingly desperate, the United States has made its first aid drop into the enclave, with three c-130 planes, Reuters reports.
The amount of aid brought into the territory by truck has plummeted during nearly five months of war, and Gazans are facing dire shortages of food, water and medicines. With most aid convoys halted, some foreign militaries have air-dropped supplies to Gaza instead, sending long lines of aid pallets floating down into the war-torn territory on parachutes.
Some observers have criticized the move by Biden, including The Guardian's Washington reporter, Julian Borger, who says "the use of airdrops is a spectacular but inefficient way of delivering aid ... [it] suggests that Biden had given up on being able to persuade Israel soon to coordinate a large-scale ground-based relief effort under the threat of mass starvation across Gaza."
The director of the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a post on X that the level of destruction around Gaza's main hospital, al-Shifa, is "beyond words" and has called for a ceasefire.
In the post published last night, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that "over 240 patients are being served by a large number of volunteer health workers. Services are very limited due to a lack of medical supplies, fuel, water and food."
He added that after a month of trying, a WHO team was finally able to access al-Shifa hospital to deliver "9,000 liters of fuel, lifesaving medical supplies for 150 patients and treatments for 50 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition."
Recent security developments in south Lebanon (past hour and 30 minutes)
• Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the village of Ramaya (Bint Jbeil district), residents told our correspondent in the south. Ambulances headed towards the targeted house.
• Israeli artillery shelling targeted the area of Birkat Machaaroun, located between the villages of Markaba and Tallousa, and the northern outskirts of Beni Hayan (Marjayoun district), according to residents.
At least 10 Palestinians have been killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit a tent in Rafah today, Reuters reports, citing the Gaza Health Ministry.
According to Reuters' report, the airstrike took place over an area where displaced Palestinians have been taking shelter, outside the Emirate Hospital in the suburb of Tel al-Sultan in southern Gaza's Rafah. It adds that the Health Ministry in Gaza said a medic working at the hospital was among those killed. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Here's what has happened at the Lebanese-Israeli border during the past hour:
* Several missiles were fired from Lebanon towards Israeli sites in the Western Galilee, according to a security source relayed by our correspondent in the south.
* Six Israeli artillery shells fell on the village of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district), residents told L'Orient Today.
* According to residents, Israeli artillery shelling targeted the southwestern neighborhoods of the village of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun). A fire broke out in the targeted area.
UKMTO (UK Maritime Commercial Operations) has received a report of an attack on a vessel 15 nautical miles west of Mokha in Yemen, Reuters reports.
"The crew took the vessel to anchor and were evacuated by military authorities," UKMTO added in an advisory note.
Here's what happened at the Lebanese-Israeli border this morning, apart from the drone strike that targeted a car in Naqoura:
* 5:40 a.m: Hezbollah targeted an Israeli "leadership" position with a drone in the village of Liman in the Western Galilee, according to a statement published by the party.
* 6 a.m.: According to security sources relayed by our correspondent in the south, the outskirts of Tayr Harfa, Jibbayn, Majdal Zoun and Naqoura (Sour district) were subjected to Israeli artillery shelling for half an hour.
* 9 a.m.: Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Alma al-Shaab, Dhairah (Sour) and Wazzani (Hasbaya), residents told our correspondent in the south.
The cargo ship Rubymar, which was abandoned in the southern Red Sea after being targeted by Yemen's Houthis on Feb. 18, has sunk, a statement by the internationally recognized Yemeni government said on Saturday, Reuters reports. The vessel was operated by a the Lebanese company Blue Fleet.
Hezbollah has announced the deaths of seven of its members since last night amid ongoing hostilities between the party and Israel. Three of them were killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a car on the road that links Naqoura to the city of Sour this morning.
These are the seven fighters killed:
* Ali Shalhoub from the town of Qana.
* Mohammad Ghebris from the town of Tayr Debba.
* Mostafa Salman from the village of Majdal Zoun.
* Ali Kassem from the town of Mahrouna.
* Farouq Harb from the village of Halloussiyeh (killed in Naqoura drone strike).
* Abbas Khalil from Sammaaiyeh (killed in Naqoura strike).
* Hussein Badwi from Deir Qanoun al-Ain (killed in Naqoura drone strike).
Some 229 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Lebanon and Syria since the beginning of fighting between the party and Israel on Oct. 8, according to our count.
The Israeli army has confirmed on X that it "struck a vehicle in southern Lebanon" containing Hezbollah members who had "launched rockets into Israeli territory."
The Israeli army claims the victims were operating with the Imam Hossein Division, which is "affiliated with Iran and operates for Hezbollah." L'Orient Today earlier reported that three Hezbollah members were killed this morning in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a car on the road that links Naqoura to the city of Sour.
The Israeli army also said its warplanes struck Hezbollah infrastructure and two of their "military compounds."
Gaza ceasefire negotiations are due to resume in Cairo on Sunday, Reuters reports, citing Egyptian security sources it spoke to today.
The parties have agreed on a duration of Gaza truce, hostage and prisoner releases, the news agency reports, adding that the completion of the deal still requires an agreement on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Gaza and a return of its residents.
Hezbollah confirmed the death of a third fighter, who L'Orient Today understands was killed this morning in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a car on the road that links Naqoura to the city of Sour.
The party identified him as Hussein Badwi from the village of Deir Qanoun al-Ain. The party also announced the deaths of Abbas Khalil from the village of Sammaaiyeh and Farouq Harb from the village of Halloussiyeh, both of whom we also understand were killed in the drone attack.
The UN peacekeeping force for Lebanon says it remains operational after an Israeli drone strike killed three members of Hezbollah on the main coastal road linking Naqoura and Sour. This road is often used by UNIFIL.
"Peacekeepers frequently use a number of roads that have, unfortunately, been impacted in the exchanges of fire since October. The coastal road is the main link between Naqoura and Sour and so is frequently used by both military and civilian peacekeepers," Kandice Ardiel told L'Orient Today.
"Peacekeepers remain on task and operational, and continue to perform their essential work across the entire area of operations," she added.
UNIFIL says it has noted a "concerning shift in the exchanges of fire recently," amid deepening Israeli bombardments in Lebanon and ongoing strikes by Hezbollah in northern Israel.
Hezbollah has confirmed the death of a second fighter, who L'Orient Today understands was killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a car on the road that links Naqoura to the city of Sour this morning.
The party identified him as Abbas Khalil from the village of Sammaaiyeh.
Gaza death toll update: The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the wartime death toll in the enclave has now reached 30,320 after 92 new fatalities were recorded in the previous 24 hours, AFP reports.
The ministry also said 71,533 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war started on Oct. 7.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) hopes a cease-fire can be agreed in the Gaza war in time for Ramadan, its Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said this morning. Maliki also said that the PA would be "the only legitimate authority" to run Gaza after the war. ➡️ More details here.
Hezbollah has confirmed the death of one of its fighters, who L'Orient Today understands was killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a car on the road that links Naqoura to the city of Sour this morning.
Hezbollah named the fighter as Farouq Harb, from the village of Halloussiyeh. L'Orient Today understands he is one of two Hezbollah members killed in this strike.
Here's what's been happening at the Lebanese-Israeli border during the past hour:
* Israeli warplanes raided the area of Labbouneh in the outskirts of Naqoura (Sour district), residents told our correspondent in the south.
* Three Israeli artillery shells fell on the outskirts of Tayr Harfa and Wadi Hassan on the outskirts of Majdal Zoun (Sour district), residents told our correspondent in the south. One of the shells hit a house in Tayr Harfa, without causing casualties.
* Hezbollah announced in a statement that its fighters fired missiles at a gathering of Israeli soldiers at 10.10 a.m. in the vicinity of the Jal al-Alam Israeli site (opposite the Lebanese area of Labbouneh).
African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat has accused Israel of "the mass killing of Palestinians" and called for an international probe after dozens died following a rush on an aid convoy in northern Gaza yesterday.
"Mahamat strongly condemns an attack by Israeli forces, that killed and wounded more than 100 Palestinians seeking life-saving humanitarian aid," the bloc said in a statement dated yesterday but posted on X today.
Update on the Israeli strike this morning on a car on the coastal road linking Naqoura and Sour:
⚡ Two members of Hezbollah have been confirmed killed in this strike, according to our correspondent in the south, Muntasser Abdallah.
Earlier, we reported that two people had been injured. We will bring you more updates when we get them.
Update on the Israeli strike this morning on a car on the coastal road linking Naqoura and Sour:
One member of Hezbollah has been confirmed dead in this strike, according to our correspondent in the south, Muntasser Abdallah.
Earlier, we reported that two people had been injured. We will bring you more updates when we get them.
US forces struck and destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile in Yemen yesterday after deciding it posed an "imminent threat" to American aircraft, AFP reports, citing an announcement from the US Central Command in the Middle East. ➡️ More details here.
Here's what happened at the Lebanese-Israeli border overnight:
* Hezbollah says it hit launchers at Israel's Kherbet Maer base with two Falaq missiles at 9:20 p.m.
* Israeli warplanes fired two missiles on the village of Blida (Marjayoun district), according to a security sources relayed by our correspondent in south Lebanon.
Two people have been injured in an Israeli drone strike on a car this morning on the coastal road linking the village of Naqoura (Sour district) to the city of Sour in south Lebanon, according to security sources relayed by our correspondent in the south. The strike occurred on a main transit route for the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, UNIFIL, our correspondent added. The vehicle struck was not a UNIFIL vehicle.
Good morning, thank you for joining us as we bring you live updates from Gaza, south Lebanon and across the region on the 148th day of the Gaza war.
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