That's it for today's live coverage of the Gaza war and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's Jerusalem Day speech. Thanks for joining us. We'll be back tomorrow with more news updates and analysis. Goodnight!
A fresh round of talks aimed at arranging a Gaza cease-fire and hostage exchange is being planned for Cairo this weekend with US representation, the White House announced, cited by Reuters.
CIA Director Bill Burns will lead the US delegation, a US official said.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Thursday to "empower his negotiators" in Cairo so that a deal can be reached as soon as possible.
Emergency responders dig through the rubble of a building after an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun on April 5, 2024. (Credit: Rabih Daher/AFP)
The rock known as the Pigeon Grotto in Beirut illuminated with the image of Palestinian flag on April 5, 2024, to mark Jerusalem Day. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient Today)
Leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM, Aounist) Gebran Bassil told a Kuwaiti newspaper today that Hezbollah "has lost the power to decide to stop the war" with Israel.
The MP for Batroun told the daily al-Anba that, as he sees it, "it is clear that Hezbollah does not want a big war with Israel," but that it may no longer be up to them.
Asserting his support Hezbollah in its "confrontation with Israeli attacks," Bassil said that party's position in the conflict is "good and appreciated, even if Hezbollah has lost the power to decide to stop the war, which is now in the hands of Israel."
Israel has repeatedly threatened the expansion of the war with Hezbollah, while maintaining that it's up to Hezbollah whether the war is broadened.
The Amal Movement has announced the death of three of its members: Moussa al-Moussawi from the village of Nabi Sheet in the Bekaa, Mohammad Wehbi from the southern Lebanese village of Khiam and Mohammad Shait from Kfar Kila, also in southern Lebanon.
Earlier this evening, L'Orient Today reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted an Amal Movement party office in the southern Lebanese village of Marjayoun, killing three members and severely wounding a fourth.
Latest updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border:
• Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the western neighborhood of Mais al-Jabal, Marjayoun district, and hit a house and shops at al-Baraka square in the center of the same village, according to a security source cited by our correspondent in the South, Muntasser Abdallah.
• The security source added that Israeli warplanes also fired two missiles on the village of Blida, in Marjayoun district.
• Hezbollah announced that it hit the "Samaqa" Israeli military site located in the disputed Kfar Shuba hills with missile weapons at 5:35 p.m.
Hezbollah announced the deaths of two of its fighters: Bilal Hallal from the southern Lebanese village of Qana, in Sour district, and Ali Abed Ali from Aitit, also Sour district.
They were both killed in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a house in Aita al-Shaab, Bint Jbeil district, earlier today, according to our correspondent in the South.
269 Hezbollah members have been killed in Lebanon and Syria since the beginning of hostilities between Israel and the party on Oct. 8.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said earlier today that Israel attacks wherever it decides and against any enemy it chooses, Haaretz reports. "It could be in Damascus, and it could be in Beirut," Gallant said while visiting the Air Force base in Tel Nof, in central Israel.
The enemy "is looking for ways to respond that could come from anywhere, and we are preparing to face this matter," he said. "We are stronger, we are more prepared, and we will know how to protect ourselves."
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in his speech this afternoon that Iranian retaliation against Israel for its attack on the embassy in Damascus is "inevitable."
🔴 During Nasrallah's speech, Israeli warplanes destroyed an Amal Movement party office in the southern Lebanese village of Marjayoun, a security source and residents told our correspondent in the South, Muntasser Abdallah. According to security and medical sources, three Amal Movement members were killed in the airstrike.
A medical source added that a fourth Amal Movement member was severely injured. It is the first time that this village is subjected to Israeli strikes since cross-border fighting began nearly six months ago. Including today's casualties, 17 members of the Amal Movement have been killed in Israeli strikes.
According to Abdallah, journalists often cover the conflict along the Lebanese-Israeli border from this village.
The latest updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border:
• Hezbollah announced that it struck the Israeli military site of "Hadab Yaroun," facing the Lebanese border village of Yaroun, in Bint Jbeil district, with artillery shells at 3:05 p.m.
• The party also said that it hit a deployment of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the "Manara" military site, facing the villages of Hula and Mais al-Jabal, in Marjayoun district, with artillery shells at 4:05 p.m.
• Citing the Upper Galilee Regional Council, Haaretz reported that "several rockets fell in open areas" after sirens were triggered. No casualties were reported.
• Israeli artillery shelling targeted west of the village of Kfar Kila, Marjeyoun district, residents told our correspondent in the South. Israel also combed the same village and its outskirts with heavy machine-gun fire.
• Hezbollah announced that it targeted a group of Israeli soldiers stationed in a building in the Israeli village of of Adamit, located opposite the Lebanese village of Dhaira, Sour district, at 2:15 p.m.
Yemeni Louai Zahi also attended the speech. He told our correspondent afterward that he thought it was "very successful."
"The Lebanese people and the Yemeni people share the same determination and resistance in the face of the enemy, and that's what Nasrallah praised."
Hassan Nasrallah has finished his speech.
In the southern suburbs of Beirut, Mohammad, displaced by Israeli strikes on his hometown, the southern Lebanese village of Khiam, told L'Orient Today: "The situation is tense in southern Lebanon. One spark and it could explode. After that speech, we don't know what could happen, but we're ready for anything.
Nasrallah: "We salute the resistance fighters on the Lebanese front. They are fully prepared, their morale is high — their morale is at its highest."
"Everyone needs to prepare, organize their affairs and be ready for any eventuality. We will continue the battle until the Resistance and Gaza are victorious. Victory on land, sea and for sovereignty will be a blessing for all of Lebanon."
Nasrallah: "The Israelis fled this war from day one because the enemy leaders know what it means to go to war against Lebanon."
Nasrallah, on the response to the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus: "The enemy entity has begun to take measures out of fear of the Iranian response. The timing of the Iranian response is part of the battle, but when, where and how much depends on Imam Ali Khamenei and the Iranian leadership."
Nasrallah to "Netanyahu the madman": "In Gaza you can't cope and you want to wage war against Lebanon? The Resistance in Lebanon is not afraid of war!"
The crowd cheers again.
Nasrallah: "Rest assured that the Iranian response to the attack on the Iranian consulate will inevitably come."
The crowd cheers.
(On Wednesday, Iran's head of state promised that Israel, the Islamic Republic's sworn enemy, would be "slapped in the face" for the attack in Damascus, which left a total of 16 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.)
Nasrallah: "[The Iranian retaliation] will inevitably come, and depending on how the Israelis react to it, we must be prepared for all eventualities. God willing, this foolishness on the part of the enemy in Damascus will enable us to settle this battle and win the victory."
Nasrallah: "Netanyahu and his coalition have no choice but to stop the war, and that in itself is a loss for Israel, whatever the repercussions."
Nasrallah: "The Lebanon front will not stop, and this is a clear-cut issue, which is linked to the Gaza front. All the American, British and international intimidation could not stop the Yemen front in the Red Sea, nor the Iraq front. With the political, terrain, economic, security, local, regional and international data, we see clearly ... that resistance will triumph!"
Nasrallah: "When the war ends, Israel will face important deadlines, investigations and resignations, and that's what Netanyahu is running away from."
Nasrallah: "Even if Israel carries out its operation at Rafah, that doesn't mean that the Resistance in the Gaza Strip is finished."
Nasrallah: "Al-Aqsa Flood is a historic turning point for our region. What comes after is not like what came before for the [Israeli] enemy and the region."
Nasrallah: "The war in Gaza is the war of those who have lost all reason, a war of butchers and criminals. After six months of war, Israel has been unable to overcome the Resistance and Hamas, and has been unable to bring back the hostages, either on the ground, or through negotiations or pressure."
Nasrallah: "All those who analyze [the situation] and say that what's happening in Gaza, Palestine, Iraq, Yemen and the presidential election in Lebanon requires American-Iranian negotiations — are wrong. There are no negotiations linked to regional issues."
Nasrallah: "The one who should be ashamed is the one who normalizes ties with Israel, who creates relations with Israel, who justifies Israel's actions. Be ashamed. Be ashamed of your friendship with Israel. Be ashamed of having relations with criminals."
A boy stands on a man's shoulders, waving a Hezbollah party flag, during Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's Quds Day speech, April 5, 2024, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (Credit: Mohammed Yassine/L'Orient Today)
Nasrallah: "Some people in Lebanon and the Gulf criticize us for our relationship with Iran. But our relationship and friendship with Iran is a source of pride for us!"
The crowd cheers in response.
The crowds gathered in southern suburbs of Beirut to watch the televised speech of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on April 5, 2024. (Screenhost, al-Manar TV)
Nasrallah: "[Former supreme leader of Iran] Imam Khomeini's declaration that he supported the Palestinian cause was one of the most important reasons for the wars against Iran. The Islamic Republic has made great sacrifices to maintain this position, economically, politically and in terms of security."
Nasrallah: " Iran refuses direct negotiations with the United States. Iran has not and will not negotiate with the Americans on regional issues. The United States is 'killing itself' and says it is ready to negotiate with Iran. Since the first day of his presidency, US President Joe Biden has been trying to negotiate with Iran, but Iran has not succumbed. If Iran were to accept direct negotiations today, would the pressure and embargo on Iran remain as they are?"
Nasrallah has announced that an event will be held in Lebanon on Monday at 4:00 p.m. to pay tribute to the victims of the Israeli strike on Damascus. According to a Hezbollah press release, Nasrallah will be speaking at the event.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah began his speech at 4:40 p.m, starting off by paying tribute to the seven Iranian soldiers killed on Monday by Israeli strikes on the Iranian embassy in Damascus. He offered his condolences to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and to the victims' families.
Nasrallah's speech is commemorating Quds Day, also known as "Jerusalem Day, an annual global event held to express solidarity with Palestine and to oppose the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
It is traditionally celebrated on the last Friday of Ramadan, which this year falls on today, April 5.
It was established by Iran's first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, following the 1979 Iranian Revolution as a symbol of support for Palestinians and rejection of Israeli control over East Jerusalem.
Young men stand at attention during the military parade in the lead up to Hassan Nasrallah's Quds Day speech. They hold Lebanese, Hezbollah and Palestinian flags. (Screenshot, al-Manar TV)
In front of a giant screen, in a hall in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a large crowd awaits the broadcast of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's speech. The party leader is due to speak any moment now, commemorating Quds Day, also known as Jerusalem Day.
On the screen, "al-Ahrar's Flood" appears in large letters. A military parade is underway. A member of the Hezbollah-affiliated Civil Defense, Jawad looks out at the crisp white uniforms of the marching band, and the various styles of camouflage standing at attention on the red carpet. He says: "We expect this speech to be a firm response to the attacks suffered by the 'Axis of Resistance.' We would be disappointed if the Sayyed did not make a strong announcement."
The projections sifts through propaganda images of military actions taken on all fronts of the "Axis of Resistance," from the Oct. 7 al-Aqsa Flood Operation, to Houthi operations taking over ships in the Red Sea.
The latest updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border:
• According to security sources relayed by our correspondent in the South, an Israeli airstrike targeted the village of Kfar Kila, Marjayoun district, destroying a house and causing damage to vehicles and facilities at a nearby Lebanese Army position. A source at the Lebanese Army could not yet confirm to L'Orient Today that its position has been damaged as a result of the airstrike.
• Israeli warplanes targeted a house near a mosque in Aita al-Shaab, Bint Jbeil district, leaving an undetermined number of casualties, according to a security source and residents' testimonies.
• Israeli warplanes fired two missiles on the village of Tayr Harfa, in Sour district, residents told our correspondent in the South. Ambulances were dispatched to the targeted area.
• The Israeli army said that warning sirens in northern Israel were activated by the interception of a "suspicious aircraft," according to Haaretz.
• Sirens have sounded once again in northern Israel, Haaretz reports.
Religious figures participating in the march commemorating Quds Day in Saida on April 5, 2024. (Credit: Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
Protesters marking Quds Day began to gather in Saida's Martyrs' Square in preparation for the march, with participants streaming in from the Palestinian refugee camps in the south, our correspondent reported from Saida.
Protesters in the Borj al-Barajneh camp Palestinian refugee camp on April 5, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
A march took place in the Borj al-Barajneh camp in the southern suburbs of Beirut after the Friday prayer to commemorate Quds Day. L'Orient Today's photographer reported from the camp. The Palestinian factions in Lebanon had called for this march which was attended by tens of people. Photos of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah were raised and young men with military uniforms attended the march. Some people held up rifles and guns.
The Israeli army claimed it was targeting a "Hamas gunman" firing from the roof of one of the aid trucks when it killed seven aid workers in Gaza, admitting it had made a series of "serious mistakes." The aid workers were killed on Monday evening in the Gaza Strip by three Israeli strikes within four minutes on their convoy, reports AFP.
According to an internal army investigation, the team at the controls of the drones used to carry out the strikes made an "operational misjudgment of the situation" after spotting a "Hamas gunman" firing from the roof of one of the aid trucks being escorted by staff from the American NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK).
The army, citing "violations of normal operating procedures," also acknowledged that WCK had indeed communicated its route plan, but that the soldiers in charge of the strikes did not have it in their hands.
Here is an update on the situation in southern Lebanon and northern Israel:
- Security sources reported that an Israeli drone launched a missile targeting the outskirts of the town of Shebaa (Hasbaya), aiming at a small agricultural structure on the outskirts of the town.
- Locals reported that an Israeli jet targeted a house in the town of Zalloutieh (Sour).
- According to local residents, Israel targeted the southern side of the town of Zibqin (Sour), targeting at a house with a rocket that did not explode.
- Hezbollah stated that it targeted Israeli surveillance equipment in the Zarit barracks, on the opposite side of Naqoura (Sour), at noon.
(Credit: Mohammed Azakir/Reuters)
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah is due to speak this afternoon in a speech scheduled to mark Jerusalem Day at 4 p.m.
The party leader's speech is eagerly awaited, particularly after Israel's strikes on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus on Monday, and those on the western Bekaa region on March 24, the first since Oct. 8.
You can follow the speech live here.
Germany warned Israel that there were "no more excuses" when it comes to delivering aid to Gaza, AFP reports.
The comments from German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, come after Israel said it would allow the "temporary delivery of humanitarian aid" through its northern border with Gaza.
"The people in Gaza need every aid package now ... We expect the Israeli government to implement its announcements quickly," Baerbock said on X. "No more excuses."
The UN Human Rights Council also adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for any war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.
Twenty-eight countries voted in favor of the resolution, 13 abstained and six voted against.
"Death to Israel," "Death to America," chanted thousands of people gathered in Teheran on Friday to pay tribute to the seven Iranian servicemen killed on Monday in strikes blamed on Israel on the Iranian embassy consulate in Damascus.
The funeral procession began in the center of the Iranian capital on the occasion of al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, held every last Friday of Ramadan in several countries in solidarity with the Palestinians and against Israel.
People gathered brandishing Iranian, Palestinian and Lebanese Hezbollah flags, while portraits of the victims decorated the two trucks with the inscription: "Martyrs of the way (of liberation) of Jerusalem."
A poster in the square featured a phrase from the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: "We will make the vicious Zionist regime regret committing this crime."
The United Nations Human Rights Council voted to demand a halt to arms sales to Israel, warning of "genocide" in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, AFP reports.
Out of the council's 47 members, 28 voted in favor, six voted against the demand while the remaining 13 abstained.
The Gazan health ministry announced on Friday a new death toll of 33,091 in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement on Oct. 7, reports AFP.
In the space of 24 hours, a further 54 deaths were recorded, according to a statement from the ministry, which added that 75,750 people had been wounded in almost six months of war.
Thousands of people gathered in Teheran to pay tribute to the seven Iranian servicemen killed on Monday by strikes blamed on Israel against the Iranian embassy consulate in Damascus, reports AFP. The ceremony was organized as part of al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, held every last Friday of Ramadan in several countries, in solidarity with the Palestinians and against Israel.
Former US President Donald Trump believes Israel is "losing the PR war" in Gaza and has an interest in ending the conflict "quickly." "Israel is totally losing the war of communication," Trump said in an interview broadcast yesterday on The Hugh Hewitt Show. "We have to end it and get back to normalcy," he added. "We need a victory, and that takes a long time".
A candidate in the US presidential election in November, Donald Trump believes that the images of destruction in Gaza broadcast everywhere in the media do Israel a disservice.
The United States was looking into a media report that the Israeli military has been using artificial intelligence to help identify bombing targets in Gaza, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told CNN in an interview on Thursday, Reuters reported.
The report in +972 Magazine and Local Call was published on Wednesday.
The Israeli army, in statements to the media on Thursday, denied that AI was used to identify suspected extremists and targets. The media report said the Israeli army had marked tens of thousands of Gazans as suspects for assassination, using the AI system with little human oversight, according to Reuters.
Click here to learn more about Israel's AI targeting system.
American fast-food giant McDonald's reached an agreement on Thursday to buy the Alonyal group, owner of 225 franchised restaurants in Israel, which are affected by calls for boycotts linked to the war in the Gaza Strip, reports AFP.
The boss and owner of Alonyal Limited, Omri Padan, "announced [Thursday] that an agreement to sell Alonyal to the McDonald's group had been signed," the American group said in a statement. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.
Alonyal, whose first licensing agreements with the brand with the famous yellow arches date back more than three decades, employs more than 5,000 people.
At the presentation of McDonald's 2023 annual results on Feb. 5, management acknowledged that sales had been adversely affected by the conflict in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, which began in early October. Fourth-quarter sales just missed analysts' expectations, with a 0.7 percent decline on a like-for-like basis in international licensed markets.
CIA head William Burns is expected to travel to the Egyptian capital of Cairo this weekend to meet with his Egyptian and Israeli counterparts, along with the Qatari prime minister, to discuss the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, Axios reports, cited by Reuters.
Burns has played a leading role in the hostage and cease-fire negotiations despite the lack of any agreement in the months of talks.
The Orthodox Union, a prominent Orthodox Jewish organization in the United States, delivered 180,000 letters to the White House urging President Joe Biden to continue supporting Israel's actions in Gaza, address anti-Semitism and work towards the release of those held captive by Hamas. The number of letters corresponds to the 180 days that the captives have been held in Gaza.
In addition to the Israeli strikes, Hezbollah said it had targeted Israeli soldiers and vehicles in Malkia, located in the Shebaa Farms, at around 12:50 a.m.
The party also claimed to have targeted an Israeli military vehicle at the entrance to Metula, located opposite Khiam (Marjayoun), at 12:50 a.m., with a guided missile. "This resulted in its destruction and casualties, including one dead and one wounded," the party claimed.
Here is an update on the situation in southern Lebanon from last night and this morning:
- Last night, after 10 p.m., Israeli jets struck the town of Kafr Hammam in the district of Hasbaya. The Israeli airstrike targeted a vacant house belonging to the Sulani family in the Swan neighborhood, resulting in its complete destruction. Minor injuries were reported due to shattered glass in neighboring houses, affecting four individuals, three girls, who are sisters, and a Lebanese army soldier. They were treated on-site by Lebanese Civil Defense paramedics, as reported by security sources.
- At midnight, an Israeli artillery shell landed in the town of Aitaroun in the Bint Jbeil district, according to a security source speaking to L’Orient Today.
- After 1 a.m., Israeli artillery shelled the outskirts of the town of Khiam (Marjayoun) as well as the center of the town, hitting several houses and causing damage, as reported by locals.
The UN Security Council is due to hold a meeting today on the risk of famine and the situation of humanitarian workers in Gaza.
On Thursday, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Oxfam, Médecins du Monde and Save the Children International warned of the near impossibility of working in Gaza. Since the start of the war, nearly 200 aid workers have been killed, according to MSF Secretary General Christopher Lockyear.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that "100 percent of the population needs humanitarian aid" in Gaza. And those who are heroically mobilizing to provide this assistance are doing so at great personal risk," he stated on the sidelines of a NATO ceremony in Brussels.
"This week's horrific attack on World Central Kitchen was not the first of its kind. It must be the last," he insisted. The NGO announced that it was suspending its operations in Gaza, heightening fears for the 2.4 million inhabitants.
Open Arms, the Spanish organization that, with WCK, chartered the first humanitarian aid ship to arrive in Gaza in March, said on Thursday it was suspending "the mission in the humanitarian corridor to the Gaza Strip with World Central Kitchen," following the strikes.
The Israeli authorities will also allow "increased Jordanian aid through Kerem Shalom," a border crossing in southern Israel.
In the midst of the humanitarian drama in Gaza, the death on Monday in Israeli strikes of seven workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) increased international discontent. The Israeli army acknowledged a "serious mistake."
Israel announced this morning that it would authorize the "temporary" delivery of aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, threatened by famine, via the port of Ashdod and the Erez crossing, the day after its major American partner issued an unprecedented warning, reports AFP.
The announcement comes at a time of mounting international pressure on the Israeli government, with US President Joe Biden on Thursday raising for the first time the possibility of conditioning US aid to Israel on "tangible" measures to tackle the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
The Israeli security cabinet approved "immediate measures to increase humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement. "This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and achieve the objectives of the war," it added.
Be sure to read the Morning Brief so that you are caught up with what has been happening.
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