Israeli airstrike kills 2 brothers in southern Lebanon: Gaza war, day 240

Thank you for following our live updates today. We'll be back tomorrow morning.

Here are the latest developments from south Lebanon:

* Israeli aircraft targeted Tayr Harfa (Sour), according to local residents.

* Israel also carried out an attack on Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), according to local residents.

After Israeli strikes on a road in the village of Khiam (Marjayoun) in southern Lebanon, rescue workers from the Amal Movement-affiliated al-Rissala Scout Association inspected the area. No injuries or casualties were reported, they told our correspondent.

Image: Photo sent to our correspondent, Mountasser Abdallah

On the Israeli side, Haaretz reports that an anti-tank missile has hit a house in the town of Metoula and that teams of firefighters have been deployed in northern Israel to fight fires caused by the fighting, rescuing three people from the flames.

The Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman, Avichay Adraee, has claimed that a "Hezbollah weapons depot located in Mais al-Jabal, in an area used this morning to launch shells in the direction of the Margaliot region," has been destroyed by Israeli aircraft, "killing a terrorist."

Here's the latest from Lebanese-Israeli border:

* At 5 p.m., Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack on Israeli military vehicles on Abad hill, opposite the Lebanese village of Houla (Marjayoun). "One of the vehicles was hit and destroyed, burning with all those inside," the statement reads.

* The party also fired dozens of Katyusha rockets in the direction of Kiryat Shmona, prompting Israel to launch interceptor missiles, before targeting Metoula, opposite the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, "in retaliation for the aggression on Houla, which caused the deaths of two civilian martyrs."

* Israeli aircraft repeatedly flew over several sectors of the border area, breaking the sound barrier at low altitudes over Western Bekaa, Nabatieh and Sour, and causing panic among bathers on the latter's beaches, according to our correspondents in the south and Bekaa, respectively, Muntasser Abdallah and Sarah Abdallah.

* Israeli artillery again targeted the village of Khiam (Marjayoun) with white phosphorus shells, according to witnesses who photographed the strike.

The Israeli army has completed military exercises "to increase its preparedness on the northern front," according to a post on X by the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman, Avichay Adraee.

"This week, exercises in staff headquarters were conducted, included in the defense forces' preparations for the battle on the northern front," he wrote. Soldiers "practiced numerous scenarios, including scenarios for expanding the war zone on the northern front."

Hezbollah central council member Nabil Kaouk has says that the escalation of Israeli attacks and assassinations “will not change the reality of the Israeli failure in the battlefield, and will not stop the support front, nor will it return the settlers to their settlements.”

“Our response to assassinations and attacks will be on the front lines, not with speeches or statements,” he added. 

“After eight months of continuous confrontations with the enemy, the resistance today is stronger than it was on Oct. 8,” Kaouk added, referring to Hezbollah.

Kaouk was speaking during a ceremony to pay tribute to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's mother, who died a week ago.

Image: Hezbollah central council member Nabil Kaouk. (Credit: Hezbollah press office)

Delegations from the United States and Israel have completed a meeting in Cairo during which Egypt maintained its position that Israel must withdraw to the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing for it to be able to function again, the Egyptian television channel "al Qahera News TV" reported, citing a senior source.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is working to form an alternative to Hamas rule in Gaza, Haaretz reports.

Gallant said that in addition to "the important military action, the defense system is preparing the alternative ruling body to [replace] Hamas."

According to him, the plan is to "isolate areas, eliminate members of Hamas and integrate other forces that will make it possible to set up a different government that challenges Hamas," he said during a visit to the Israeli army's southern command.

Hezbollah has issued a statement claiming responsibility for several attacks carried out "in retaliation for Israeli aggression on the Bekaa" against "the headquarters of the 210th Golan Division in Nafah" using dozens of Katyusha rockets.

Image: Smoke billows following rocket attacks from Lebanon, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Katzrin in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, June 2, 2024. (Credit: Gil Eliyahu/Reuters)

Here are the latest developments from south Lebanon:

* Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for an 11 a.m. attack on the Israeli site of Marj, saying that it hit it directly with artillery shells. The site faces the Lebanese village of Markaba (Marjayoun).

* In a separate statement, Hezbollah said it had targeted the Israeli site of Hadeb Yarin, opposite the Lebanese village of Dhaira, at 2:30 p.m., "directly hitting Israeli soldiers deployed nearby."

* Warning sirens sounded several times in northern Israel, reports Haaretz. An air infiltration was reported to have taken place from Lebanon, and more than 10 rockets were fired at the Golan Heights.

Israel's killing of two brothers in a strike on a motorcycle in south Lebanon brings to 69 the total number of civilians killed by Israeli attacks on Lebanon since Oct. 8, according to L'Orient Today's count.

⚡ Israel killed two brothers this afternoon when one of its warplanes targeted a motorcycle in Houla on which they were traveling, our correspondent in the south reports, naming the victims as Ali Kassem, 31, and Mohammad Kassem, 43. The strike took place in front of their house, according to our correspondent.

Locals told our correspondent that the two brothers were walking their livestock before they returned home on their motorcycle.

The missile that killed them also destroyed a big section of their house.

“The two brothers refused to leave the village and continued to work, producing milk and yogurt, and distributing them to residents of neighboring villages,” another local told L’Orient Today.

A third resident told L’Orient Today that the two brothers “were supporting their family, including their other brothers and their elderly father" and asked, "Who will provide for them now?”

An aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that Israel had accepted a framework deal for winding down the Gaza war now being advanced by U.S. President Joe Biden, though he described it as flawed and in need of much more work.

In an interview with Britain's Sunday Times, Ophir Falk, chief foreign policy advisor to Netanyahu, said Biden's proposal was "a deal we agreed to — it's not a good deal but we dearly want the hostages released, all of them." ➡️ Click here for more.

A drone and two missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels were shot down yesterdat in two separate incidents over the southern Red Sea, the U.S. military says.

No injuries or damage were reported by any ships in the busy trade route after the incidents, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a social media post. ➡️ More details here.

Qatar has condemned Israel's move to designate UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, as a "terrorist organization," its Foreign Ministry said, Reuters reports.

Last week, the Israeli Parliament passed a preliminary motion approving a bill designating UNRWA as such.

Gaza casualty update: Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 36,439 Palestinians and wounded 82,627 since Oct. 7, the Palestinian enclave's Health Ministry says, Reuters reports.

There have been 60 Palestinians killed and 220 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry statement added.

"The war in Gaza must end," French President Emmanuel Macron has posted in four languages — English, French, Arabic and Hebrew — on the social media platform X.

Here's what's been happening this morning in the Lebanon-Israel border area: 

* Hezbollah said in a statement that it launched a squadron of assault drones toward the headquarters of an Israeli battalion in the Yardun Barracks in the Golan, targeting its “Iron Dome radar and the places where its officers and soldiers were stationed and positioned.” According to the party, the drones “hit their targets accurately, which led to the destruction and disabling of the radar, leaving the officers and soldiers dead or wounded.”

* Israel launched artillery strikes on the outskirts of Naqoura (Sour), eyewitnesses told our correspondent.

* Israeli artillery shelling targeted Hamames hill and the outskirts of Khiam village (Marjayoun), according to eyewitnesses. The shelling led to small fires in Bab al-Taniya on the Khiam plain and in the forests of al-Mari and Halta.

At the same time, Hezbollah also claimed responsibility for two series of strikes against Israeli territory during the night:

* At around 7:30 p.m., the party launched a missile attack on the locality of Hanita, opposite the Lebanese village of Alma al-Shaab (Sour).

* Two hours later, the "new headquarters of the Israeli army's 411 artillery battalion," located in Ga'aton (a village some 10 km from the border inside Israeli territory), was targeted by rocket fire, according to a statement from the Iran-backed group.

The Israeli army claims to have carried out its operations after a "Hermes 900" drone was shot down on Saturday while flying over eastern Sour district. "In response to the shooting down of a drone operating in Lebanese airspace by a ground-to-air missile belonging to Hezbollah, our fighter jets attacked a military complex used by Hezbollah in the Bekaa region," wrote the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman, Avichay Adraee, referring to the raid carried out by the Israeli air force near Baalbeck last night.

Last night was particularly turbulent in southern Lebanon, with cross-border strikes by both Hezbollah and Israel escalating, according to security sources contacted by our correspondent in the region, Muntasser Abdallah:

* At around 7.30 p.m., Israeli artillery and machine-gun fire targeted the village of Kfar Kila (Marjayoun). According to some sources, white phosphorus ammunition was fired at Khiam (Marjayoun). Artillery fire also targeted the area around the Mais al-Jabal government hospital, which sustained damage to one of its outer walls.

* At 10 p.m., Israeli aircraft targeted a house near the stadium and the public school in the town of Hanouiyeh (Sour), the first time this locality has been targeted since the clashes began on Oct. 8.

* At 11 p.m., a strike wounded four people in an uninhabited house in the village of Baraachit (Bint Jbeil), as well as causing minor injuries from shards of glass in neighboring houses. The outskirts of Ramaya were also hit.

* Finally, shortly after midnight, Israeli fighter jets targeted a square in the old souk of Bint Jbeil.

Late last night, an Israeli airstrike struck west of Baalbek, landing in one of the villages of Beit Msheik, northwest of the town of Taraya. No casualties were reported as a result of the strike.

Another Palestinian teenager has been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa announced yesterday. The Israeli army said that it had opened fire on two suspects.

Ashraf Hmedat, 15, was killed in an Israeli raid on a refugee camp in Aqabat Jabr, near the city of Jericho, according to Wafa. The Israeli army claims that two people threw molotov cocktails towards the nearby settlement of Vered Yeriho, endangering the lives of civilians as well as property. "Soldiers responded in the area by firing live ammunition in the direction of the suspects," the army said. The condition of the second person is unclear, according to the Wafa agency.

Since Oct. 7, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 520 Palestinians — including this teenager — in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian authorities.

Also yesterday, far-right Israeli ministers threatened  to quit Benjamin Netanyahu's government if it went ahead with the agreement on a cease-fire in Gaza, which includes a release of hostages.

In posts on X, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said his party would "dissolve the government," while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he "will not take part in a government that accepts the proposed plan."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that he is "delighted" to have been invited to speak before the US Congress, AFP reports.

"I am delighted with the privilege of representing Israel before both houses of Congress and telling them the truth about our just war against those who seek to kill us," Netanyahu said in a statement released by his press office.

Mediators from Qatar, the US and Egypt called on Israel and Palestinian Hamas on Saturday to "finalize" a cease-fire agreement based on the plan announced by U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday.

"As mediators in the talks to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages and detainees, Qatar, the United States and Egypt jointly call on Hamas and Israel to finalize the agreement on the basis of the principles set out by President Joe Biden," a joint statement issued in Cairo and Doha reads.

Good morning, and welcome back to our live updates from Gaza, south Lebanon and the wider Middle East.