"Nasrallah's threats in Cyprus are just the beginning," says Israeli Foreign Minister: Day 259 of the Gaza war

Thank you for joining us for today's live coverage of the Gaza war and its global impacts.

Good night! 

The latest developments in South Lebanon:

* Israeli aircraft attacked the villages of Taybeh and Tallousa, in the Marjayoun district, according to a security source quoted by our correspondent.

* The Israeli attack on Mais el-Jabal (Marjayoun district) targeted a two-story building in the Kandouli neighborhood. The building was destroyed, and fires broke out in the vicinity of the strike. Rescue teams from al-Rissala are currently putting them out. No casualties or injuries have yet been reported.

The Israeli air force carried out an attack in the Kandouli neighborhood of Mais el-Jabal (Marjayoun district), residents report to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

🔴 "Israel cannot allow Hezbollah to continue attacking its territory and its citizens, and we will soon take the necessary decisions," said Israel Katz, the Israeli Foreign Minister on his X account. He also called on the international community to "unconditionally support Israel against the axis of evil led by Iran and against extremist Islam."

"Our war is your war too. Nasrallah's threats to Cyprus are just the beginning," he added.

The Israeli air force has carried out two consecutive attacks on Khiam (Marjayoun district) in southern Lebanon, a security source tells our correspondent.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asserted that "there is no military solution" to the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah on Lebanon's southern border, calling on both parties to "engage (...) in the diplomatic and political avenues open to them."

These remarks were made during a press conference held at UN headquarters in New York. The UN chief also warned of a possible "rash gesture" and "miscalculation" on both sides, which he said could "unleash a catastrophe far beyond borders and imagination" in the region.

▶️ Click here for Guterres' main comments.

Iran's permanent mission to the UN has warned Israel against a war with devastating consequences in Lebanon and Palestine, in a post on X.

"Undoubtedly, this war will have one ultimate loser, which is the Zionist regime. The Lebanese Resistance Movement, Hezbollah, has the capability to defend itself and Lebanon—perhaps the time for the self-annihilation of this illegitimate regime has come," the statement read.

Caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib reiterated "Lebanon's constant position of demanding the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701," and "the need to adopt a new, more effective approach to the issue of displaced Syrians in Lebanon," according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

Bou Habib's comments were made during a meeting with French Ambassador to Lebanon Herve Magro and UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.

A Palestinian child walks with a stuffed bear recovered from the rubble of a destroyed building following Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis on June 21, 2024. (Credits: Eyad BABA/AFP)

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an exploding drone attack on "an Israeli artillery base" in Za'oura, northern Israel, saying it had "hit its target with precision."

Israeli forces shot and killed two armed Palestinian men during an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank on Friday, Israeli police said.

According to the police statement, the two men belonged to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group and opened fire at the Israeli officers who attempted to arrest them in the town of Qalqilia.

"Handguns were found on the two terrorists. One of the neutralized terrorists was planning to attack the area," the statement claimed.

The Islamic Jihad did not claim the two men as members.

Videos circulating on social media, which Reuters claims it couldn't immediately verify, showed Israeli forces surrounding a crashed car and one security force member pulling the body of a man from the vehicle onto the ground.

The Palestinian official news agency WAFA said Israeli forces prevented local medics from reaching the car and then took away the bodies.

The Qatari government said that it was continuing its mediation efforts to "bridge the gap" between Israel and Hamas to achieve a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of Israeli hostages.

"We have continued our mediation efforts uninterrupted over the past few days," assured Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahmane Al-Thani, during a joint press conference in Madrid with Spain's Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a series of strikes in the early afternoon:

- The party claims to have attacked the Israeli maritime base of Ras Naqoura using several exploding drones in response to an Israeli strike in Deir Kifa (Sour district) on Thursday, which killed one of its fighters. Hezbollah claims to have "destroyed part of the site and caused injuries."

- Hezbollah attacked the Israeli site of Roueisset el-Qaren, in the disputed Shebaa Farms, twice, at 1:12 p.m. and 1:26 p.m.

- The party struck the Sammaka site (Kfar Shuba hills), as well as the Zebdine site (in the Shebaa farms), without giving any further details on when these attacks were carried out.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will visit the Middle East next week, Berlin announced today — as the Gaza war continues and fears of a broader regional conflict increase.

- Baerbock will travel to Israel on Monday.

- On Tuesday, she will meet Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. She will also meet Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Jerusalem.

- Later, Baerbock will visit Lebanon for discussions with officials in Beirut, including the migration minister.

Israeli forces have intensified bombardments across Gaza, with heavy fighting reported in Rafah and other areas, Reuter reported.

Residents and Israel's military confirmed that close-quarter combat is ongoing between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters. They also indicated that Israeli forces seem intent on "capturing Rafah," Reuters added.

Tanks forced their way into the western and northern parts of Gaza after Israeli forces had seized control of other areas of the strip. Bombardments from planes, tanks, and ships have triggered a new wave of displacement in a city already sheltering over a million displaced people.

Palestinian health officials reported that at least 12 Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli military strikes today.

The Israeli military reported conducting operations in Rafah, involving close-quarter combat and the discovery of militant tunnels. 

The World Health Organization warned on Friday that scorching heat in Gaza could exacerbate health problems for Palestinians displaced, reported Reuters. 

The World Food Programme added that a massive public health crisis is looming in Gaza due to the lack of clean water, food and medical supplies.

"We've seen massive displacement over the last weeks and months, and we know that combination and the heat can cause a rise in diseases," said Richard Peeperkorn, WHO's representative for Gaza and the West Bank.

Smoke billowed over Naqoura after Israeli artillery fire. Photo obtained by our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah from local residents.

After a quiet morning in South Lebanon, several Israeli strikes were reported by locals to our correspondent since 12:30 p.m.

- In Yaroun (Bint Jbeil district), Israeli artillery targeted the area around the funeral ceremony for Hassan Saab — a Hezbollah fighter killed in an Israeli strike in the village on Wednesday.

- A drone also fired a missile near the funeral site; no casualties were reported. This is not the first time Israel has targeted the area around a funeral in southern Lebanon.

- Israeli artillery targeted houses, one of which caught fire, in Naqoura (Sour).

Testimonies from southern Gaza:

Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, Alaa, from southern Gaza, lamented that "unfortunately, in reality, nothing has changed" despite the pause, highlighting that "the siege and food shortages" persist as the norm. "We haven't seen any relief. Bombardments continue, and our children remain frightened all the time." She added that southern Gaza is "a war zone."

Fadi, also in the South of the enclave, reported that he "hasn't noticed any difference" on the ground due to the tactical pause. He acknowledged a slight improvement in access to food and drink. "There's an improvement in the products we find;" but he emphasized that prices are "very, very expensive." "The most important thing is that we can eat," he told L'Orient-Le Jour.

The Israeli military's "pause" in southern Gaza has had "no impact" on the arrival of humanitarian aid, affirmed Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, a WHO official for the occupied Palestinian territories, during the regular U.N. briefing in Geneva.

The Israeli military had over the weekend announced a daily humanitarian "pause" in fighting on a key road in eastern Rafah, but a United Nations spokesman said days later that "this has yet to translate into more aid reaching people in need."

⚡The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement announcing its recognition of the State of Palestine, aiming to advance peace in the Middle East and stressing the "critical situation in Gaza."

The statement reads, "Armenia has always advocated for a peaceful and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue on various international platforms and supported the 'two-state' principle for the resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict."

To find out more about the announcement, click here 👈

Asserting in a separate statement that Israel was fighting "a war for its existence," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that his country needed arms from the United States, its historic ally, after lamenting delays in U.S. military aid on Tuesday.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called Netanyahu's comments on delays "deeply disappointing" and "offensive." "No other country is doing more to help Israel defend itself against the threat by Hamas and, quite frankly, other threats that they're facing in the region,” he added. 

“We won't leave the Strip until all the hostages return and we eliminate Hamas's military and governing capabilities,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted, as new demonstrations erupted in Jerusalem protesting his conduct of the war.  

- In Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, fighting continued between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters, alongside Israeli bombardments.

- Strikes also targeted central Gaza, killing two people, according to medics.

- The U.N. warned of the threat of famine in northern Gaza. 

Despite these warnings, shelling continues along the southern Lebanese-Israeli border. 

Last night, several security incidents were reported to our correspondent in South Lebanon, Mountasser Abdallah, by security sources:

- At 11 p.m., interceptor missiles exploded over the central border.

- At around 1 a.m., Israeli aircraft bombed Deir Siryan and Odaisseh in the Marjayoun district. Ambulances were dispatched to the scene of the strikes, but no casualties have been reported.

On her first visit to the headquarters of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura, in southern Lebanon, U.N. Special Coordinator Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said, "It is crucial for all sides to stop the firing."

As tensions and virulent statements from both the Israeli side and Hezbollah raise fears of a full-scale war in Lebanon, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of avoiding "further escalation in Lebanon" in a conversation with Iranian officials. According to remarks reported by Blinken's spokesperson, Matthew Miller, this should be achieved through a "diplomatic solution" allowing Israeli and Lebanese families, displaced by cross-border fire exchanges, "to return home."

Blinken made these comments during a meeting in Washington with Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. During this discussion, Blinken also reiterated "the unwavering commitment of the United States to Israel's security," Miller said.

Good morning ☀️

Thank you for joining us for today's live coverage of the Gaza war and its regional and global impacts.