Teenager killed by Israeli strike on Deir Siryan, south Lebanon: Gaza war, day 302

Thank you for following our live coverage.

We will continue our coverage of the conflict tomorrow morning.

Hezbollah claims to have successfully targeted the Israeli Metula settlement at 6:45 p.m.

Here's an update from south Lebanon:

* An Israeli strike on Deir Siryan has killed one person and injured several others. A source said the strike targeted an area in front of a small shop in the center of the town. The Public Health Emergency Operations Center attached to Lebanon's Public Health Ministry said in a statement that strike killed a 17-year-old boy and wounded six civilians. Five of the injured were transferred to Ragheb Harb Hospital, where they are in stable condition, it added. One person, who is in moderate condition, was taken to Nabih Berri governmental hospital in Nabatieh, according to the statement.

* Three Israeli artillery shells targeted the town of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district).

* Missiles were launched toward the Metulla settlement in northern Israel, opposite Kfar Kila, a security source told our correspondent.

* Israeli artillery shelling targeted Kfar Kila with four shells and Khiam with five shells (Marjayoun), residents told our correspondent.

Haaretz is reporting that the Mossad and Shin Bet chiefs have returned to Israel from the hostage negotiations in Egypt.

Hezbollah said in a statement that it targeted the al-Samaka site in the Kfar Shuba hills at 5 p.m.

* Al-Risala scouts, an Amal-affiliated medical organization, has said in a statement that it took part in firefighting operations following artillery fire on Bani Hayyan (Marjayoun).

* Israeli drones have targeted the center of Deir Seriane (Marjayoun), residents tell our correspondent. Ambulances rushed to the scene and five wounded were hospitalized.

Gaza's Civil Defense has announced that an Israeli strike on a school complex in Gaza City has killed 10 and wounded several others. The Israeli army claims that the complex was being used as a "hideout for Hamas terrorists."

Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza's Civil Defense, said in a statement that there were "10 martyrs and several wounded" following "an Israeli bombardment of the Hamama school" in Gaza City. The Israeli army said in a statement that it had "struck terrorists operating in a Hamas command and control center," which in the past was "known as the Hamama school, in the north of the Gaza Strip."

Hezbollah says it targeted buildings in the settlement of Shlomi at 4:50 p.m., in response to Israeli attacks on Tayr Harfa.

The UK government has urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country immediately, AFP reports.

"Tensions are high, and the situation could deteriorate rapidly," Foreign Minister David Lammy said in a statement. "While we are working round the clock to strengthen our consular presence in Lebanon, my message to British nationals there is clear — leave now."

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut has issued a new advisory to its citizens in Lebanon, urging them to take any available flight out of Beirut.

Due to the suspension or cancellation of certain flights and high demand, the embassy urges travelers to take any available flight out of Beirut international airport, even if it does not correspond to their preferred schedule.

For those unable to pay, the embassy offers financial assistance in the form of "repatriation loans."

➡️ Find out more here.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) has also reported that one person was killed in the Israeli strike against a vehicle "on the Damascus-Beirut road near the Zabadani area," according to AFP.

Syrian state media did not report an Israeli strike, and the identity of the person killed was not immediately known.

Here are the latest developments in south Lebanon:

* Israeli artillery fire targeted Maroun al-Ras and Yaroun (Bint Jbeil).

* Fires broke out in Markaba and Rab al-Thalathine (Marjayoun) after these villages were targeted by Israeli artillery fire.

* Hezbollah claimed to have successfully targeted the Hadeb Yaroun site at 4:10 p.m.

The head of the Progressive Socialist Party, MP Teymour Joumblatt, has denounced "Israeli savagery, which continues to violate the rules of engagement in the conflict, to destroy and murder, and which has put the whole region at risk of an unprecedented war." He warned of "the worst, if the current escalation is not contained with a view to avoiding a war that Lebanon does not want."

"The Israelis are creating pretexts, such as the Majdal Shams incident, to sow discord, implement destructive and expansionist plans and pursue aggression against Gaza and aouth Lebanon," Joumblatt stressed, referring to the strike against a soccer pitch in the mainly Druze town of Majdal Shams, in the occupied Golan Heights, which left at least 12 people dead, all of them children, a week ago.

Finally, the PSP leader called on the international community "to assume its responsibilities to find serious solutions for a rapid cease-fire, to give priority to the armistice agreement and to respect resolution 1701." In this context, he affirmed his support for the Lebanese army, "the fundamental guarantor of national unity."

Thousands of Moroccans took to the streets of central Rabat today to support the Palestinian people and denounce normalization with Israel, carrying portraits of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who was killed this week in Iran, AFP journalists observed.

Thousands of people marched to Parliament, black and white keffiyehs on their shoulders, responding to Hamas' call on Friday for "a day of anger" after the group's leader's killing.

"Greetings from Rabat to our Gazan friends and the Qassams," "The people want an end to normalization," shouted the crowd, echoing what could be read on many placards, according to an AFP team on the scene, who saw an Israeli flag being burned.

Here's an update on the situation on the Lebanon-Israel border:

* Hezbollah claimed it targeted a building used by Israeli soldiers. The strike came in response to the Israeli attack on Kfar Kila, it added.

* Israeli artillery fire targeted Houla (Marjayoun) and the surrounding area.

* An Israeli attack targeted the village of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), according to local residents.

Two Israeli strikes in the occupied West Bank have killed a total of nine people, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, with the Israeli army indicating that it had targeted two "terrorist cells" as part of a counterterrorism operation in Tulkarem.

Five people were initially killed in a drone strike, according to Wafa, with the Israeli army saying it had targeted "five terrorists" who were preparing to commit an attack.

Later in the day, Wafaa reported that four Palestinians had been killed by another Israeli strike that hit a vehicle they were in. The Israeli army confirmed the airstrike, adding that "an additional terrorist cell had been eliminated" as part of the anti-terrorist operation in the Tulkarem governorate.

The vehicle targeted by an Israeli strike, totally destroyed. (Credit: Photo provided by our correspondent Sarah Abdallah)

⚡ Israeli fire has targeted a vehicle near Masnaa, on the Syrian side of the Lebanese-Syrian border, our correspondent in the Bekaa, Sarah Abdallah, reports.

According to preliminary information, the strike caused one casualty, a Lebanese national.

Here are the latest developments in south Lebanon:

* Hezbollah said it targeted a building used by Israeli soldiers in the settlement of Mattat, opposite Rmeish (Bint Jbeil), using missiles.

* The Amal-affiliated medical organization, al-Risala Scouts, took part in rescue operations following an Israeli strike on Tayr Harfa (Sour). One person was injured and taken to hospital, according to the Emergency Operations Center of the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Commenting on the drone strike on Bazourieh, which killed one person, the Israeli army claimed, according to Haaretz, to have eliminated Hezbollah member Ali Nazih Abed Ali, "one of the [group's] main agents in southern Lebanon."

According to the Israel army, the victim was "involved in the planning and execution of various operations in southern Lebanon."

"His death will have a significant impact on the functioning of the organization's southern front," it added.

Hezbollah earlier today announced the death of one of its fighters, naming the deceased as Ali Nazih Abed Ali.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran by a short-range projectile with a warhead of about 7 kg, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement released today, Reuters reports.

Tehran's revenge for the attack will be "severe and [taken] at an appropriate time, place, and manner," said the statement, which blamed Israel — "the adventurous and terrorist Zionist regime" — for his death. 

(Credit: @IranEmbassyLB)

The Iranian Embassy in Lebanon has announced on X that Qassem Soleimani's office has put up a "huge billboard" on the road to the Beirut international airport showing Hezbollah military chief Fouad Shokur and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh standing alongside Soleimani. 

Soleimani was an Iranian military general and commander the country's Quds Force, the a wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responsible for foreign operations, who was killed in Iraq in January 2020.

"We are avenged," the banner reads..

The heads of Mossad and Shin Bet have landed in Egypt for negotiations on a hostage release and cease-fire agreement, Haaretz reports.

Sources familiar with the negotiations say that Hamas has not "aborted" the talks and remains committed to them, even if, according to Israeli estimates, the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the expected reaction will delay progress. The heads of Mossad and Shin Bet are due to meet the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamal.

Israel is engaged in discussions with Egypt on a range of security issues, including the future of the Philadelphi Corridor, inspection of the Netzer Road and monitoring of the Rafah crossing, which have continued over the past two weeks. These issues are linked to the terms of the hostage agreement on the table.

Hezbollah has announced the death of one of its fighters: Ali Nazih Abed Ali, born in 1984 and originally from Aitit (Sour) in southern Lebanon.

According to our correspondent, the man was killed earlier today in an Israeli drone strike on Bazourieh.

Here are the latest developments in south Lebanon:

* Israeli artillery fire targeted the western district of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun), residents told our correspondent.

* Two Israeli raids targeted the village of Tayr Harfa (Sour). Two homes, belonging respectively to the village mukhtar Hassane Hussein Haydar and Mohammad Kassem Gharib, were targeted and completely destroyed. No injuries were reported.

* Hezbollah claimed it targeted the Israeli site of al-Assi, which faces the Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, at 11:45 a.m.

Iranian officials issued a series of warnings yesterday evening, following the killing of Hamas leader Isamil Haniyeh on Wednesday. Here's a roundup of what they said:

* Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated, "The Zionist regime has come to an end."

* "I invite everyone to leave Israel," Iran's Foreign Ministry said.

* "Our response will be decisive and unforgettable," the Iranian defense minister said.

* "In the coming hours, the world will witness very important developments," warned an Iranian official quoted by Iran International.

Iranian officials issued a series of warnings yesterday evening, following the killing of Hamas leader Isamil Haniyeh on Wednesday. Here's a roundup of what they said:

* Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated, "The Zionist regime has come to an end."

* "I invite everyone to leave Israel," Iran's Foreign Ministry said.

* "Our response will be decisive and unforgettable," the Iranian defense minister said.

* "In the coming hours, the world will witness very important developments," warned an Iranian official quoted by Iran International.

"The United Nations under-secretary-general for peace operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, yesterday concluded the Lebanese leg of his Middle East visit, during which he strongly emphasized the need for de-escalation and a return to the cessation of hostilities," UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, announced in a statement reported by the Lebanese state-run National News Agency.

Lacroix warned against the risks of a widening of the conflict and called for the utmost restraint and an end to the intense and sustained exchanges of fire on both sides of the Blue Line. "Contacts with the authorities on both sides must be intensified and sustained, encouraging a return to a cessation of hostilities and a recommitment to Resolution 1701 as the path to a long-term diplomatic solution," he said. "Current events prove that the resolution is even more relevant today and remains the appropriate framework for progressing towards a long-term diplomatic solution," Lacroix added.

Arriving in Lebanon on July 30, the head of U.N. peacekeeping operations also met members of the diplomatic corps, as well as representatives of the U.N. and peacekeeping forces.

The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip says 39,550 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war nearly 10 months ago with Israel, AFP reports.

At least 70 people have been killed in the last 48 hours, the ministry added, saying that 91,280 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah will speak on Tuesday at 5 p.m., a week after the assassination of the party's military chief, Fouad Shokur.

Turkish Airlines postponed its flights to Iran last night due to tensions between Israel and Iran, Turkey's state-owned Anadolu news agency reported, without specifying its source.

It said flights planned to different cities in Iran would resume starting this morning.

Turkish Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue.

As of this morning, there was no clear update on whether Turkish Airlines flights to Iran resumed. The Turkish Airlines website showed the earliest available flight from Turkey to Iran is scheduled for Aug. 15. No visible Turkish Airline flights to Iran or to Israel were detected on Saturday morning on flight tracking websites like FlightRadar.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation at Rafik Hariri International Airport denied in a statement yesterday evening “the cancellation of all flights to and from Beirut Airport."

Iran has said that Hezbollah should strike Israel in "depth" and "not limit itself to military targets" in response to the assassination of the party's military chief, Fouad Shokur, on Tuesday near Beirut.,

After this strike, "we expect Hezbollah to choose more targets and [strike the] depth [of Israel]", the official Iranian news agency Irna quoted Iran's representative to the United Nations as saying today.

"Hezbollah and the [Israeli] regime had observed certain lines which the attack [on Tuesday evening] crossed", the Iranian representation said. From now on, the Lebanese movement "will not limit its response to military targets," it added.

⚡ Sweden has announced the closure of its embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, after advising thousands of its citizens to leave the country, amid fears of a conflagration in the region beyond Gaza.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked staff to leave Beirut and go to Cyprus, and … is planning a temporary transfer of its embassy," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told Swedish radio.

The decision was taken "initially for the month of August, but could be extended depending on the security situation," he added, adding that the ministry was "closely monitoring developments". According to him, up to 10,000 Swedish nationals may have visited Lebanon this summer, defying the travel warning in force in the country since October 2023.

"I invite Swedes who are in Lebanon to leave the country by all possible means, while they can," the minister added.

Iran has arrested dozens of suspects in connection with the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, The New York Times reports, citing two Iranians familiar with the investigation. The newspaper reports that among those arrested are senior intelligence officers, military officials and staff workers at a military-run guesthouse in Tehran.

Haniyeh was killed by an explosion at the high-security guesthouse in the early hours of Wednesday morning, where the Hamas chief was staying while in the Iranian capital to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president. He’d stayed at the guesthouse multiple times previously.

The NYT earlier this week reported that the explosion that killed Haniyeh was caused by a bomb planted two months prior in the room in which he was staying. Iran says Israel is behind Haniyeh’s assassination. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack. ➡️ Find the NYT report here.

And here is what has been happening in south Lebanon this morning:

* Israeli drones targeted Rab al-Thalathine (Marjayoun) at 8 a.m., local residents told our correspondent.

* An Israeli drone fired two missiles at a car in the Bazourieh-Wadi Jilo plain (Sour), which was near warehouses, killing a person traveling in the vehicle, security sources told our correspondent.

According to local residents, one of the ambulance drivers from the Islamic Health Committee, affiliated to Hezbollah, was working on freeing the occupant of the car before discovering that it was his brother.

Here's an update on what happened in relation to the Hezbollah-Israel conflict in Lebanon last night:

* Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike on Hoch al-Sayyed (Hermel district) along the Lebanese-Syrian border. No casualties were reported, rescue teams told our correspondent in the region, Sarah Abdallah.

* After 10 p.m., Israeli warplanes flew at low altitude over the western, central and eastern sectors of south Lebanon, according to our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.

* Israeli artillery bombarded Aita al-Shaab and Ramaya (Bint Jbeil district).

* After 1:30 a.m., Israeli warplanes carried out two strikes, dropping missiles on Kfar Kila (Marjayoun district).

Tensions also remain high in Lebanon, where Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in deadly fighting since Oct. 8. Two sit-ins in solidarity with Hamas and Hezbollah were held yesterday in Beirut and Saida.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, five people were killed in an Israeli army strike, the Palestinian news agency Wafa, a hospital director and a witness reported to AFP, with the Israeli army indicating that it had struck a "terrorist cell" in the Tulkarem governorate.

This announcement comes as Iran and its allies prepare their response to Wednesday's assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, attributed to Israel by the Palestinian Islamist movement, Hezbollah and Tehran. Haniyeh's death came a day after an Israeli strike killed Hezbollah's military chief, Fouad Shoukur, near Beirut.

"Secretary [of Defense Lloyd] Austin has ordered a change in U.S. military posture designed to improve the protection of U.S. armed forces, boost support for Israel's defense and ensure that the U.S. is prepared for a variety of contingencies," a Pentagon spokeswoman announced in a statement yesterday.

The department expressed concern about "the possibility of regional escalation by Iran and its partners."

Austin "ordered the aircraft carrier USS Abraham-Lincoln to replace the aircraft carrier Theodore-Roosevelt currently deployed" in the region. He also "ordered the dispatch of additional ballistic missile defense cruisers and destroyers" and the "deployment of an additional squadron of fighter aircraft."

Amid rising tensions in the Middle East, the United States has announced the deployment of more warships and fighter jets to the region to protect its troops and its ally Israel from threats from Iran and Iran-backed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Hello,

This is day 302 of the war in the Gaza Strip. It is also the 301st day since Hezbollah opened a "solidarity" front in southern Lebanon.

Follow our live updates here.