Islamic Jihad loses three fighters, Hezbollah two in southern Lebanon: Day 215 of the Gaza war

Thank you for joining us for our liver coverage. Be sure to come back tomorrow for more of the latest updates in the Gaza war.

Goodnight!

According to L'Orient Today's correspondent in South Lebanon, Israel struck Lebanese territory 19 times between this morning and 9 p.m., while Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 11 operations at the same time.

Hezbollah confirmed the death of two of its members in southern Lebanon, Hassan Mohammad Ismail, born in 1993 in Kfar Kila (Marjayoun) and Moustafa Ali Issa, born in Dalafa in 1988 (Bekaa).

Both men are believed to have fallen in the Israeli strike that killed two people in Adaisseh (Marjayoun) today.

The Israeli Prime Minister and the head of the CIA discussed on Wednesday in Jerusalem a possible “pause” in military operations in the southern Gaza Strip in exchange for hostage releases, an Israeli official told AFP.

Benjamin Netanyahu met William Burns in Jerusalem at a time when an Israeli delegation is taking part in indirect negotiations with Hamas in Cairo on a proposed truce in the Gaza Strip, including the release of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons in exchange for hostages abducted on Oct. 7 by the Palestinian movement during its bloody attack in southern Israel.

- According to a security source contacted by L'Orient Today's correspondent in South Lebanon, the Israeli strike targeting the village of Adaisseh (Marjayoun) earlier today killed two Hezbollah members and wounded two others.

The party has not yet commented on these two deaths, which would bring to 292 the number of its members killed since Oct. 8 in Lebanon and Syria.

- According to another security source, the latest strike on Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil) caused at least two minor injuries.

Latest update from southern Lebanon:

- Hezbollah announced that it had successfully targeted with an attack drone “one of the new technical systems recently installed at the Al-Assi site,” opposite the Lebanese town of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun).

- The Israeli air force once again targeted the town of Aitaroun (Bin Jbeil).

The scale of the damage caused by Israeli bombardments in southern Lebanon after seven months of violence with Hezbollah amounts to around $1.5 billion, a Lebanese official told AFP on Wednesday.

The escalation caused massive damage to infrastructure, estimated by the Southern Council at “around 500 million dollars.” The damage mainly affected essential services and roads.

The Lebanese Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that the war in southern Lebanon has claimed a total of 1,413 victims (wounded and killed), including 319 people who have had to be hospitalized since hostilities began, and 351 deaths, 4 of which occurred in the last 24 hours.

 The government in the Gaza Strip announced on Wednesday that 49 bodies had been extracted from a new mass grave discovered at al-Shifa Hospital, the main hospital complex in the Palestinian territory.

“A third mass grave has been found inside the Shifa hospital complex,” said the government press service. “So far 49 bodies (from it) have been extracted.”

In the last hour:

- ⁠Hezbollah announced that in retaliation to the Israeli attacks on southern villages and civilian houses, they attacked an Israeli position facing the southern Lebanese village of Alma al-Shaab (Sour) with a Burkan missile.

-⁠ ⁠Hezbollah announced that they attacked at 5 p.m., an Israeli position in the disputed Kfar Shouba Hills area which the party considers to be Lebanaese.

-⁠ ⁠A security source told L'Orient Today that at least one was killed and two were injured in the Israeli strike in Adaiseh earlier.

Police evacuated a pro-Palestinian encampment at George Washington University in the US capital early on Wednesday and made several arrests, announced the police in a statement relayed by AFP.

Citing “a gradual escalation,” the city's police explained that they had first sought to “defuse tensions” before intervening.

At around 4 a.m. local time (8 a.m. GMT), police officers intervened on campus and used pepper spray on demonstrators, according to student media outlet GW Hatchet, leading to several dozen arrests.

Update on the situation in southern Lebanon since 4pm:

- The Israeli air force has bombed the Adaisseh (Marjayoun), and emergency services have gone to the scene to search for any wounded, according to a security source. The airstrike targeted a house, which was completely destroyed. Israeli aircraft also bombed Blida (Marjayoun).

- Hezbollah issued two new statements. The first announced an attack on the Malkia site, opposite the Lebanese town of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil), targeting barracks and spy equipment. In the second, the party claimed responsibility for a drone attack “swooping down on the new headquarters of the Western Brigade in Ya'ra,” opposite Alma al-Shaab (Sour), and asserted that it had “hit its target with precision.”

Hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip have just three days' worth of fuel left, the head of the World Health Organization warned on social network X on Wednesday.

“Hospitals in southern Gaza have only three days of fuel left, which means they may soon cease to function,” wrote Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

According to a security source contacted by L'Orient Today's correspondent, the Israeli strike on Khiam left three people dead and one wounded. All are Palestinians. For the time being, no statement has been issued by any Palestinian group deployed in southern Lebanon.

An update on the situation in southern Lebanon over the last hour:

Hezbollah issued a statement announcing a new attack launched at 1:25 p.m. on an Israeli barracks at the al-Rahib site, opposite Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil). The party claimed that its attack had hit its target and added that it had also targeted surveillance equipment.

At around 3 p.m., Israeli artillery targeted the outskirts of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil) with several shells, according to reports from local residents. A little later, a security source reported that Israel had fired at least three white phosphorus shells at Aitaroun and Blida (Marjayoun).

A security source reported that the airstrike targeting the village of Khiam (Marjayoun) earlier this afternoon destroyed at least two houses and damaged neighboring homes. The security source also reported one injured and two missing, adding that rescue operations were continuing.

Finally, at around 3:30 p.m., local residents reported that Israeli artillery had shelled the outskirts of Naqoura (Sour).

Medical teams working in the aftermath of the latest Israeli raid on al-Shifa Hospital have found a third mass grave within its compound, with 49 bodies recovered so far, Al Jazeera reports, citing the Government Media Office in Gaza.

The government statement said the digging process is still underway. There have been a total of seven mass graves found within hospital compounds across the Gaza Strip, according to the media office.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the crimes of genocide and the continuous killing committed by the occupation army against our Palestinian people,” it said in a Telegram post. “We hold the US administration, the international community and the occupation fully responsible for these mass graves and this blatant aggression.”

The head of a powerful Israeli labor union Histadrut urged PM Benjamin Netanyahu to set a date for early elections, indicating that if the premier refuses, the organization could take steps aimed at forcing his hand, Times of Israel reports.

“The responsibility lies with the decision-makers, and I don’t see that they are trying to fix the situation,” Histadrut president Arnon Bar-David said during a Tel Aviv press conference. Daily and nightly protests are growing on the streets of Israel's major cities, as Netanyahu and his government face mounting criticism for failing to bring home hostages held in Gaza.

Last year, when protests against the same government’s divisive judicial overhaul plan reached a tipping point, the Histadrut declared a general strike, helping force the prime minister to pause the overhaul.

The White House believes the Israeli operation to capture the Rafah crossing does not breach President Biden's "red line" for a policy shift on Gaza, according to two US officials cited by US news outlet Axios.

The Biden administration expressed concerns about a potential major Israeli military incursion in Gaza, where over a million displaced Palestinians seek shelter. Biden opposed a major ground operation, emphasizing "civilian safety." An Axios report released Sunday revealed that the Biden administration had withheld a shipment of bombs last week over concerns about the Rafah invasion.

Israel sees no sign of a breakthrough in Egyptian-mediated talks on a truce with Hamas that would free some Gaza hostages, but is keeping its delegation of mid-level negotiators in Cairo for now, an Israeli official told Reuters today.

William Burns, the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, is in Israel meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a possible suspension of the Israeli operation in Gaza's Rafah in return for a hostage release, the official added. The US Embassy in Jerusalem had no comment on Burns' visit.

Updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border:

• Israeli raids targeted the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab, in Bint Jbeil district, Kfar Kila and Wadi Slouki, in Marjayoun district, and Jabal al-Rihane, in Jezzine district.

• Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Kfar Shuuba, Kfar Hammam and Rashaya Fawqar, in Hasbaya district, residents told our correspondent in southern Lebanon. Israeli artillery also targeted the area between the villages of Mais al-Jabal and Blida, Marjayoun district.

• Israeli warplanes raided the villages of Jabal al-Blat, in Sour district, and Khiam, in Marjayoun district, and the outskirts of Yaroun, Bint Jbeil district.

• A series of Israeli raids also targeted Iqlim al-Tuffah, in Nabatieh.

• Israeli rockets struck the area around Tal al-Nahas, in Marjayoun district, north of Kfar Kila.

The anticipated release of the Biden administration's report assessing potential violations by Israel of US and international humanitarian law amid its war in Gaza has encountered a delay. Originally slated for release today, three Senate aides and a House aide told Politico that the report's publication has been postponed.

The State Department has been diligently crafting a report for months, assessing whether Israel has breached international humanitarian law during the Gaza conflict. This report holds significant weight, as any determination of violation could lead to a cessation of military aid from the US.

👉 Read more here.

At least 34,844 Palestinians have been killed and 78,404 injured in Israel’s war on Gaza since Oct. 7, the Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement today, cited by Reuters. Thousands more are missing and thought to be buried under the rubble, the result of seven months of relentless bombardment that has destroyed more than half of the besieged enclave's buildings and infrastructure.

This handout picture courtesy of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) taken on April 26, 2024 shows construction work on the floating JLOTS pier in the Mediterranean Sea, which will support the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and partners

According to Sky News' regional correspondent, Kerem Shalom crossing is still closed, as of 11:15 this morning.

Citing a source at the UN, the correspondent, Ali Bunkall, posted on X that despite Israel's claim that the crossing — closed since Hamas rocket attacks on Sunday — had been reopened, nothing was coming through.

"I suspect the reality is that it will take some hours for trucks to arrive, be inspected, and then allowed to cross," he wrote.

Updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border:

• Israeli fighter jets carried out a series of raids on the villages of Aita al-Shaab and Ramieh, in Bint Jbeil district, a security source told our correspondent in the South. More than fifteen rockets were fired at wooded areas and open land.

• Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Halta and Kfar Hammam, in Hasbaya district.

• Rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards Israeli positions, a security source told our correspondent. According to Haaretz, alarm sirens were activated in northern Israel.

• Hezbollah claimed to have targeted a building used by Israeli soldiers in Metula. Haaretz reported that anti-tank missiles launched from southern Lebanon hit a house in Metula, and no casualties were announced.

An injured Palestinian boy awaits treatment at the Kuwaiti hospital following Israeli strikes in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 7, 2024. (Credit: AFP)

Hamas said its fighters were battling Israeli troops in the east of the city, Reuters reports, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge from combat elsewhere in the enclave. Residents said the fighting was still on the outskirts, according to the report.

Armed groups of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah said in separate statements, cited by The Guardian, that gunfights continued in the central Gaza Strip, while residents of northern Gaza reported heavy Israeli tank shelling against eastern areas of Gaza City and districts.

The Israeli army has told Israelis living in the Gaza border areas that they should not carry out any agricultural work today, according to a Haaretz report. An army spokesperson also announced that any activities carried out within a four-kilometer distance of the Gaza border should be coordinated with the the army.

Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system is designed to intercept rockets and shells fired from a distance of four to 70 kilometers. Missiles fired from closer than four kilometers often pass under the Iron Dome's radar.

Israeli bulldozers and vehicles have started the demolition, with police protection, of 47 homes belonging to the Abu Assa family in the Hebron Valley, near the Umm Batin Bedouin village in the Negev region, Middle East Eye reports, citing Wafa news agency.

The Higher Steering Committee for the Arabs of the Negev said that Israeli authorities are attempting to force the Abu Assa family to leave the area, in order to build the extension of a southward road.

The committee also said that Israel is not allowing residents to gather and hold protests against what it called an "unprecedented crime" against "the Arab citizens of the Negev."

Hamas spokesperson in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, confirmed the group's acceptance of terms laid out in a truce agreement presented by mediators in Egypt, during a press conference held yesterday evening.

"We reached this agreement after weeks and months of complex negotiations," Hamdan told reporters, "during which we showed flexibility in the best interests of our people in Gaza, but without ever abandoning our demands."

Hamdan was careful to specify that "all the Palestinian factions of the Resistance in Gaza agree to accept the conditions of this agreement," naming each one individually.

👉 Read the full report here.

The White House has denied any awareness of an agreement reported by Haaretz between the US and Israel for a private American security firm to assume management of Rafah crossing following Israeli army operations there.

According to the Haaretz report, Israel committed to the United States and Egypt to restrict its operation in Rafah, which started on Monday, aiming to deny Hamas authority over Rafah border crossing and concentrating on the eastern side of the city. Israel allegedly pledged not to damage the crossing's facilities to ensure its continuous operation.

Without naming sources, Haaretz claimed the parties agreed that a private American security company will assume management of the crossing. However, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday that he was not aware of the agreement and neither is the White House.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and other top Israeli officials will meet with CIA chief William Burns at 1:30 p.m. today amid intensive efforts to hammer out a hostage deal with Hamas, an Israeli source told The Times of Israel.

Burns has been shuttling between the capitals in the region in recent days, with stops in Cairo and Doha as Israeli troops took control of Rafah crossing and Hamas said it had agreed to the latest cease-fire proposal.

Andrea de Domenico, head of the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, in the occupied Palestinian territories, said last night that Israel's closure of the Rafah crossing with Egypt has severed access to fuel, affecting the entry of critical relief items and curtailing the movement of aid workers.

Speaking from Jerusalem, and cited by UN News, de Domenico said lack of fuel is a particular concern as aid workers have just around 30,000 liters of diesel available when they normally use 200,000 litres a day for providing services.

De Domenico warned that the fuel shortage would shut down the main water production facility in northern Gaza, "depriving the entire population of access to drinking water."

“The Israelis have provided assurances that they are working out a way to bring in more fuel and they are hoping to be able to organize this [Wednesday]. We will see,” he added, noting that distribution will also be a challenge “if Rafah is caught in the middle of the military operation." De Domenico added that the Israelis were not on the ground providing humanitarian services.

An aerial view of the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 7, 2024. (Credit: Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

The weapons shipment to Israel that the Biden administration decided to put on hold last week included 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, Axios reported, citing a senior US official.

The unprecedented move was made over fears Israel would invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Yesterday, troops pushed in along the southern border and took control of Rafah crossing, the most vital gateway between the blockaded Gaza Strip and the outside world, halting aid shipments as Palestinians in the enclave face chronic food shortages.

This is the first time since the war began that Biden has withheld military aid from its key ally. The restriction was a response to Israel having not "fully addressed" US concerns about a major ground operation, a senior administration official told AFP.

The Israeli army announced it had reopened Kerem Shalom crossing this morning, following a rocket attack on the crossing on Sunday that killed four soldiers and was claimed by Hamas. The White House had said yesterday that it expected Kerem Shalom to open, following the closure of Rafah crossing during the Israel army's first incursion into Rafah. Axios had reported that US President Joe Biden had told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that if Rafah were to remain closed then Kerem Shalom must open.

UN Secretary-General addressed the press yesterday warning of the situation in Rafah, which is the seat for all humanitarian operations throughout the Strip, and saying that Gaza risked running out of fuel by nightfall.

A summary of the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border overnight:

• 11 p.m.: Israeli warplanes raided six villages on the border with Israel. These were Aita al-Shaab, Aitaroun and Maroun al-Ras in the Bint Jbeil district, as well as the villages of Kfar Kila, Khiam and Houla in Marjayoun district.

• No casualties have been reported in any of the six villages. Two homes were targeted in the two raids on Aitaroun.

• At midnight: Israeli machine-gun fire targeted the village of Kfar Kila and Wazzani (Marjayoun).

Good morning and welcome to today's live coverage of Israel's war on Gaza and its repercussions in Lebanon, as Hezbollah and Israel continue cross-border fighting; the wider region, as Houthis continue to intercept shipments connected to Israel; and around the world, as an anti-war student movement sweeps across campuses on several continents.

☕ You can read the Morning Brief here.  👈

🔴 You can catch up on yesterday's live news here. 👈