New aid drops in Gaza; Saudi Arabia condemns 'brutal crimes' against Palestinians: Day 156

Thank you for following our LIVE coverage of day 156 of the Gaza war. We will be back tomorrow with more news updates.

Hamas remains "open to negotiations" on a truce in Gaza, declared the leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Ismail Haniyeh today in a message on the eve of Ramadan, which begins tomorrow in several Muslim countries, according to AFP.

"I say clearly that the occupation bears the responsibility for not reaching an agreement, but I say that we are open to continuing negotiations, in whatever form," he assured in a televised message.

Head of Hamas' political bureau Ismail Haniyeh said today that he had "not received any commitment from Israel" regarding the implementation of a ceasefire in Gaza, after contacts with intermediaries in charge of conducting talks with Israel, according to statements published by the group's Telegram channel.

"We call for an all-out ceasefire, an end to the war, a complete withdrawal [of Israeli troops], the return of displaced persons, the delivery of humanitarian aid and the exchange of prisoners," said Haniyeh.

A child holds a lantern as displaced Palestinians prepare their tents for Ramadan, amid the Gaza war, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Mar. 9, 2024. (Credit: Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

The wounded man who was injured in the Israeli drone strike on the town of Hebbarieh (Hasbaya district) before noon today has died, according to a security source.

The information indicates that he is from the Islamic Group, pending an obituary statement.

A source in the Islamic Group confirmed to L'Orient Today that three members of the group were martyred today in the raid on the town of Hebbarieh and that another member was wounded.

Members of the Palestinian Astronomical Society and Waqf team look for the crescent moon ahead of Ramadan, at the Al Aqsa compound. (Credit: Ammar Awad/Reuters)

US President Joe Biden, who criticized the conduct of the war in Gaza, "is wrong," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with Politico magazine today.

"He's wrong," said Netanyahu, denying that he was acting against his country's interests after the American president had said on Saturday that the Prime Minister was "doing Israel more harm than good" by his conduct of the war in Gaza.

Israel will ensure that humanitarian aid, which is to be channeled through a maritime corridor, reaches the people of the Gaza Strip directly, "accelerating the collapse of Hamas," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said today.

"We'll make sure the aid gets to those who need it," Gallant said from a military boat off the Gaza coast.

The aid will help "to achieve one of the main objectives of the war: The collapse of Hamas's power," Gallant said on X, while Israel accuses the Palestinian movement, which took power in Gaza in 2007, of diverting humanitarian aid into the territory.

On Friday, the European Union and the United States announced plans for a maritime humanitarian corridor from Cyprus, some 370 kilometers from Gaza. A first ship loaded with 200 tons of food is ready to leave the Mediterranean island.

Ramadan will begin on Monday, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE announced, with the Muslim holy fasting month taking place against a backdrop of devastating war in Gaza, according to AFP.

A woman looks on as displaced Palestinians prepare their tents for Ramadan, amid the ongoing Gaza war, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on Mar. 9, 2024. (Credit: Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

Humanitarian aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip was loaded onto a Jordanian Air Force aircraft in Amman on Mar. 10, 2024, amid the ongoing Gaza war. (Credit: Ahmad Shoura/AFP)

Israeli warplanes attacked the outskirts of Kounin in the Bint Jbeil district, according to residents quoted by our correspondent in the south.

Hezbollah announced that it targeted the Ma'aleh Golan barracks for the second time with dozens of Katyusha rockets at 4:55 p.m. today "in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza."

Jordan and four other countries carried out a new aid drop on the Gaza Strip today, where war and famine threaten hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, according to the Jordanian army and an AFP journalist aboard a Jordanian plane.

On the ground, hundreds of men, women and children looked towards the parachuted aid boxes, before rushing to collect the parcels, according to the journalist.

During the three-hour operation, the parcels were dropped on several areas of the besieged Palestinian territory, where the destruction is visible from the air.

The Jordanian army said in a statement that American, French, Belgian and Egyptian aircraft had taken part in the operation.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz said today that the international community must assume its responsibilities to halt what he called "brutal crimes" against Palestinians in Gaza, according to Reuters.

In a speech read on his behalf by Saudi Minister of Media Salman al-Dosari to mark the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the King also said the international community must help provide safe humanitarian passages in the enclave. 

Israeli fighter jets bombed the outskirts of the villages of Hebbarieh and Rashaya Fawqar (Hasbaya district), according to residents quoted by our correspondent in south Lebanon.

Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, a member of Hezbollah's Central Council, said that "the lull begins in Gaza," referring to the actions of the "Axis of Resistance" in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq, in "support" of Hamas. "Hostilities against civilians will not go unanswered," he added, speaking at a ceremony in Beirut in tribute to a party fighter killed on the front.

Hundreds of people gathered in London today to sound the shofar, the ram's horn used in the Jewish religion, to call for the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, reports AFP.

In several locations across the British capital, participants sounded their instrument at midday for 1 minute and 55 seconds, corresponding to the 155 days of the captivity of the hostages, abducted in the deadly Hamas attack of Oct. 7 in southern Israel.

A ship carrying tons of food for Gaza remained docked in a Cyprus port today as preparations were underway to launch a yet untested maritime aid route to the enclave, where the United Nations estimates a quarter of the population faces starvation, according to Reuters.

Egypt was in contact with senior Hamas and Israeli figures as well as other mediators today to restart negotiations for a truce in the Gaza Strip during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins on Monday or Tuesday, two Egyptian security sources said according to Reuters.

Latest developments at the Lebanese-Israeli border (since 3:50 p.m.)

Hezbollah announced that it hit the Israeli barracks of Golan with missile weapons at 3:50 p.m.

Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Berghoz (Hasbaya district), residents told our correspondent in the south.

The party also said that hit the Israeli site of Ramtha and Sammaqa in the hills of Kfar Shuba with missile weapons at 4:10 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. respectively.

Israeli artillery shelling targeted the village of Freidis (Hasbaya district), residents told our correspondent in the south.

The United States and Jordan carried out a new airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza's Palestinians today, parachuting in more than 11,500 meals, the US military said, according to Reuters.

The heads of northern Israeli regional councils demanded that the government provide "a clear definition of the goals, objectives and timetable for the war in the north [of Israel]," according to Haaretz.

Hezbollah announced that it hit "spy equipment" at the Radar Israeli site in the disputed Shebaa farms at 2:25 p.m.

The party also said that it hit the Israeli site of Raheb and a deployment of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the same site with Burkan missiles at 2:30 p.m.

Here's what has been happening at the Lebanese-Israeli border since 11:45 a.m.:

* Israeli warplanes fired missiles on the forests of Hebbarieh (Hasbaya district), residents told our correspondent in the south. Earlier today, Israeli drones struck a vehicle in the same area, injuring one person.

* Sirens for "suspected aircraft infiltration" sounded twice in northern Israel, according to Haaretz.

Hezbollah has announced it hit the Israeli site of Ramya and its equipment at 9 a.m.

The party also said it hit a group of Israeli soldiers, east of the Israeli Birkat Risha site, with missiles at 10:20 a.m.

Hezbollah has announced that it launched, at 6:20 a.m., an aerial attack with two drones on Israeli artillery launchers at the Arar barracks and hit them "accurately."

Gaza casualty toll update: At least 31,045 Palestinians have been killed and 72,654 have been wounded since Oct. 7 in Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports, citing the enclave's Health Ministry. 

Of these, 85 have been killed in the last 24 hours, the ministry said in a statement relayed by AFP.

Dozens of Israeli profiles were recently spotted on Tinder, a dating app, less than 1 km from internet users in Beirut.

Our journalists, Layal Dagher and Guilhem Dorandeu, investigated. Read their findings here.

Image: Israeli profiles on Tinder geolocated in Lebanon. (Illustration by Guilhem Dorandeu)

We have received more details regarding the raid that targeted the village of Hebbarieh (Hasbaya district) this morning:

According to local sources speaking to our correspondent, Israeli drones struck a vehicle in the area, injuring one person. The injured individual has been taken to a hospital nearby, the sources added..

Image: White trails remain in the Lebanese sky following Israeli air force flights over the mountainous region of Kfardebian (Kesrouan). (Credit: Photo sent by our journalist, Marie-Joe Daoud)

Here's what has been happening at the Lebanese-Israeli border since 9 a.m.:

* Hezbollah announced that it targeted the village of Meron, located in the Upper Galilee, with dozens of Katyusha missiles at 9:15 a.m. The party said this attack is in response to an Israeli raid that targeted the Lebanese southern village of Khirbet Silm last night, killing three Hezbollah members and a civilian. Meanwhile, the Israeli army said that 37 rockets were fired, in two barrages, from Lebanon towards Meron and that seven were intercepted, according to Haaretz.

* Israeli drones raided forests in the village of Hebbarieh (Hasbaya district), residents told our correspondent in the south.

* Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Baraachit and Kunin (Bint Jbeil), according to residents.

The deaths of three Hezbollah fighters yesterday evening in an Israeli strike targeting a house in Khirbet Silm bring the number of Hezbollah fighters killed since the start of hostilities in southern Lebanon on Oct. 8 to 241.

According to our count, 307 people have been killed during the 155 days of clashes between the so-called "Resistance" factions and the Israeli army, including at least 46 civilians.

And here's the latest news from around the region:

* An aid ship is reportedly "ready" to leave Cyprus for Gaza with a cargo of 200 tons of food.

* Canada and Sweden announced yesterday that they were resuming their funding of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) after having suspended it, as had some 15 other countries. Israel immediately denounced this decision.

* With negotiations for a truce between Israel and Hamas faltering, the Israeli government said in a press release yesterday evening that the heads of the Israeli and American intelligence services, Mossad and the CIA, had met on Friday with a view to "moving towards another agreement for the release of hostages" held in Gaza.

* The Ramadan fast will begin without any truce agreement having been reached. Thousands of people demonstrated in London yesterday to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.

As this photo taken by our reporter Michel Hallak shows, Israeli reconnaissance aircraft were flying over the Bekaa and north Lebanon regions on Sunday morning.

Saturday night in south Lebanon:

* On Saturday evening, Israeli military aircraft targeted a house in the center of Khirbet Silm (Bint Jbeil), killing a family of four: the father, his pregnant wife and their two adult children. The father, Jaafar Ali Marji, and his two sons, Ali and Hassan, were Hezbollah fighters, according to statements issued by the party during the night. According to our correspondent in south Lebanon, Muntasser Abdallah, the targeted house was completely destroyed, and neighboring houses were seriously damaged, injuring nine people. The injured included two 15-year-old girls, two 20-year-old women and five older women, all of whom were taken to the government hospital in Tibnine (Bint Jbeil). The remains of the victims were also transferred there.

* Later in the evening, Hezbollah said in a statement that it had targeted Israeli troops on Mount Adir on Israel's northern border, "causing deaths and injuries," without giving further details.

* Finally, according to our correspondent, Israeli aircraft flew at low altitude over the towns of Nabatieh and Zahrani, as well as over the heights of the Iklim al-Toufah region, where the Israeli air force launched a strike, the target of which was not yet known.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post stated that there was a fifth fatality in the Khirbet Silm strike. We have since received information that there were only four fatalities in the attack.

Good morning,

Today is the 156th day of the war between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip. It is also the 155th day of fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army in southern Lebanon.

Thank you for following our live coverage of events in Gaza, Lebanon and the region.