France, Saudi Arabia and UAE called for 'restraint' to avoid escalation in the Middle East: Day 304 of the Gaza war

Thank you for following our live updates of the Gaza war and its implications on the region, particularly Lebanon. 

We will resume our coverage starting tomorrow morning.

Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Kfar Kila (Marjayoun), in southern Lebanon, according to security sources.

Here are the latest updates from the southern Lebanese-Israeli border: 

- Israeli artillery fire targeted Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya) and the Dabakeh  neighborhood, northeast of the village of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun).

- At 6:05 p.m., Hezbollah claimed to have targeted with missiles the Israeli artillery positions in Khirbet Ma'ar — opposite the Lebanese town of Boustan in the Sour district.

- Hezbollah also announced that it attacked the Zebdine barracks in the disputed Shebaa Farms at 7pm with artillery shells. 

People bury bodies at a mass funeral in a mass grave near the town of Khan Yunis, in South Gaza, August 5, 2024. (Credit: Bashar Taleb/AFP)

Gaza's Civil Defense said it had received the bodies of 80 unidentified Palestinians from Israel and buried them in a mass grave near the town of Khan Yunis, South Gaza. 

To read more, press here.👈

The Israeli army announced that the head of the U.S. Middle East Military Command (Centcom), General Erik Kurilla, had arrived in Israel today to assess the security situation, amid tensions in the region to avoid military escalation, reports AFP.

Kurilla met with the head of the Israeli army, General Herzi Halevi, and "conducted a joint assessment of the security situation and strategic issues, as well as joint preparations in the region, as part of the response to threats in the Middle East", the army said in a statement.

Royal Jordanian Airlines said it would operate three flights to Beirut to transport Jordanian nationals.

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had called on Jordanian citizens to refrain from traveling to Lebanon at this time and asked its nationals in Lebanon to leave the country as soon as possible.

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to hold urgent talks with his national security team on Monday amid escalating fears of an Iranian attack on Israel, following the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran, reported AFP. 

In a wave of diplomatic efforts to prevent a full-blown conflict in the Middle East, Biden will also speak with Jordan's King Abdullah II.

The U.S. has sent additional fighter jets and warplanes to the region to support Israel, with reports indicating Iran may retaliate as early as Monday for the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Biden's meeting with his national security team will take place in the White House Situation Room, following his return from a weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, according to the White House. Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris will also attend the meeting.

To read more about the U.S.'s diplomatic efforts to avoid escalation, press here. 

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and that all three had called for "restraint in order to avoid escalation" in the Middle East.

"I have spoken to President Mohamed bin Zayed and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the situation in the Middle East. We call on all actors to show responsibility and restraint in order to avoid a regional escalation. An escalation is in nobody’s interest," Macron wrote on X. 

⚡ More information on the strike which targeted a motorcycle in the area between Jebsheet and Abba in the Nabatieh district:

The drone strike killed one person and wounded another, medical source told our correspondent.

The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed the casualties of the Israeli drone strike reported by our correspondent.

In a statement, it said the drone strike targeted a motorcycle in the area between Abba and Jebsheet in the Nabatieh district, leaving one person dead and one wounded. It added that the injured individual was taken to Ragheb Harb Hospital in Nabatieh and is in stable condition.

Speaking at a news conference in Cairo, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said today that Turkey would formally submit its declaration of intervention in South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Wednesday.

The motorcycle targeted by the Israeli airstrike in the Nabatieh district. (Credit: Photo sent by residents to our correspondent in the region)

Here are the latest developments in South Lebanon:

- Three Israeli artillery shells targeted Robb al-Thalathin (Marjayoun), residents told our correspondent.

- Two missiles from an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in the area between Jebsheet and Abba (Nabatieh). Ambulances were dispatched to the scene. The strike resulted in injuries, reported our correspondent. 

Caretaker Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib stressed the need for the UN to "intensify its efforts to stop the Israeli aggression against Lebanon and prevent the region from sliding into a spiral of retaliatory actions that could to an uncontrollable regional war."

At a meeting with the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Bou Habib reiterated "Lebanon's commitment to the implementation of Resolution 1701," believing it to be "the only solution to restore calm to South Lebanon," reported Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).

Following a meeting with Belgium's new ambassador to Lebanon, the Lebanese head of diplomacy also hoped that "Belgium will play an active role, both at European and internationally, to curb Israel's dangerous escalation in the region and put an end to its aggression against Lebanon".

Bou Habib also met with the Spanish ambassador to Lebanon, Jesus Santos, who expressed "his country's support for Lebanon and concern about the region's potential for grave escalation", according to Ani.

German airline, Lufthansa group, has announced that it is extending the suspension of its flights to Beirut until Aug. 8 and to Tel Aviv until Aug. 12, amid fears of escalation in the Middle East.

The German company justified its decision on the grounds of "its current safety analysis."

Today, the Chinese embassy in Lebanon told Chinese citizens to travel to the country with caution, citing "grim and complex" security situation, reported Reuters. 

The embassy also called on Chinese nationals and institutions in Lebanon to stay on high alert and strengthen safety precautions, it said in a statement.

To find out which embassies called on their nationals to take percussions or leave the country, press here.👈

Israeli northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin told local leaders that the army's “offensive plans ... are ready,” ahead of an expected attack by Iran and Hezbollah, reported Haaretz. 

“We are prepared for this in all ranks, from me to the last soldier,” he stresseed.

Firefighters continue to battle the flames, which approaching nearby homes, following an Israeli white phosphorus strike earlier in the day in Tallousa (Marjayoun), according to our correspondent.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced in a press release that a wounded man had been taken to hospital following an Israeli strike at noon on Sunday on the locality of Rubb al-Thalatin (Marjayoun).

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered the seizure of 100 million shekels, which amounts to $26 million, of tax funds intended for the Palestinian Authority, saying it would be used to pay for Israeli victims of terrorism.

The finance ministry statement noted that this was the fifth time it had withheld funds, which Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

To read more about it, press here. 👈

Ireland has called on its nationals to avoid traveling to Lebanon due to the security situation in the region.

"Our travel advice for Israel has changed due to the growing instability in the region. The government now advises Irish citizens not to travel to Israel. The same advice applies to Lebanon and Palestine," wrote Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris on X.

Here are the latest updates from South Lebanon: 

- Israeli fighter jets carried out mock low-level attacks over several areas of southern Lebanon, according to our correspondent.

- Israeli artillery bombarded Wadi Slouki (Marjayoun).

- Israeli artillery phosphorous shells targeted the western outskirts of Tallousa and Bani Hayan (Marjayoun), residents reported to L'Orient Today.

Here are the latest updates from South Lebanon: 

- Israeli fighter jets carried out mock low-level attacks over several areas of southern Lebanon, according to our correspondent.

- Israeli artillery bombarded Wadi Slouki (Marjayoun).

- Israeli artillery phosphorous shells targeted the western outskirts of Tallousa and Bani Hayan (Marjayoun), residents reported to L'Orient Today.

⚡ "We must prepare for all options, including a rapid transition to attack," said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at a meeting with Air Force Chief Tomer Bar and other senior officials, according to Haaretz.

Iran has issued an airline warning (NOTAM) about expected GPS disruptions in the Tehran region and urged planes in western, southwest, southern and central Iran to find alternative flight routes, according to multiple online media reports.

A NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) is an official notification to pilots and airlines, issued to warn of unusual circumstances or temporary changes in airspace that could affect flight safety.

In response to the warning, Lufthansa Airlines announced that it would avoid flying over Iranian and Iraqi airspace until Aug. 7, according to an official statement, AFP reported. The precautionary measure is aimed at ensuring the safety of passengers and crews in the face of possible risks related to GPS disruptions and regional tensions.

According to residents quoted by L'Orient Today's correspondent, Israeli artillery bombarded the localities of Abou Zaneb and Hamames, south of Khiam (Marjayoun), as well as the village of Houla (Marjayoun).

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, called on Monday for "urgent action" to avert a wider conflict in the Middle East, in response to growing fears of a military escalation between Iran and its allies on the one hand, and Israel on the other.

"I am deeply concerned about the growing risk of a wider conflict in the Middle East and urge all parties, as well as states with influence, to act urgently for de-escalation," Turk said in a statement.

This statement underlines the urgency of international intervention to prevent a major confrontation and stabilize the regional situation.

Update on the situation in southern Lebanon:

- Israeli artillery shelled houses in the town of Mais al-Jabal (Marjyoun), residents told L'Orient Today's correspondent.

- Israeli artillery fired a number of shells on the outskirts of Naqoura and Wadi Hamoul (Sour), residents told L'Orient Today's correspondent.

- Hezbollah said it targeted the Israeli Zar'i t Barracks, opposite Aita al-Shaab, with artillery shells at 12:40 p.m.

- Hezbollah said it targeted the Israeli naval site of Ras al-Naqoura with heavy artillery shells at 12:50 p.m.

"It could be justified to let two million Palestinians starve to death," Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, according to several Israeli media outlets and the Middle East Eye.

At a press conference organized by the Israel Hayom newspaper, he complained about the obligation imposed on Israel by the international community to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip .

"We are providing aid because we have no choice," he said. "We cannot, in the current global reality, wage war by starving two million civilians to death, even if it may be justified and moral until our hostages are returned to us. We need international legitimacy for this war," the minister added.

Nearly half of Hamas's military battalions in the northern and central Gaza Strip have "reconstituted their combat capabilities," according to a CNN investigation covering the Palestinian group's activities through July.

According to Donald Trump's campaign managers, the former U.S. president reportedly said in a private meeting that "the only path to peace in the Middle East is a two-state solution" between Palestine and Israel, according to the American media outlet The New Yorker.

The comments were reported by one of the leaders of the group "Arab Americans for Trump," which includes one of the Republican candidate's envoys in Michigan, Massaad Boulos, a businessman of Lebanese origin whose son is married to Trump's youngest daughter, Tiffany. The latter is responsible for wooing the Arab-American electorate in a state with the largest Muslim community in the United States.

Caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati received a call from Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, during which they discussed the situation in Lebanon and developments in the region.

Both sides stressed the need to stop the escalation, resort to peaceful solutions and implement international resolutions, including U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which was adopted on Aug. 11, 2006 to end the hostilities of the 2006 war that had already pitted Israel against Hezbollah.

Mikati also held other meetings at the Grand Serail, including with the Slovakian Ambassador to Lebanon, Marek Varga, and the Lebanese Ambassador to Switzerland, Roula Noureddine.

Japan's foreign ministry has called on its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately due to the deteriorating security situation in the country, according to Reuters.

Japanese authorities strongly recommend that their citizens travel to safe locations and follow safety instructions to avoid potential danger.

This measure reflects growing concerns about regional stability and increased risks for expatriates in the current context of tensions and conflicts in the region, the ministry added.

The Times of London reports that Hezbollah has missiles that could devastate Tel Aviv and Haifa.

"Hezbollah has a cheap version of nuclear deterrence with its thousands of long-range rockets, all targeted at northern Israel. If it fired them all in a few massive salvos, they would immediately overwhelm Israel's air defenses and could devastate population centers and infrastructure throughout the north of the country, including Tel Aviv and Haifa," the British daily said.

Gaza's health ministry announced a new death toll of 39,623 with 40 killed in the last 24 hours.

The ministry added that 91,469 people have been injured since the start of the war.

Smoke billows from a vacant lot, as viewed from the roof of the L'Orient-Le Jour building in Hazmieh (Baabda)

The smoke coming from a fire in Nahr al-Mot, at the northern entrance to Beirut is from a "normal fire" caused by tall grass that caught fire in a vacant lot, according to a statement by the Director General of Civil Defense Raymond Khattar.

According to a report from Axios, multiple sources said that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to G7 foreign ministers on Sunday and told them that Iran's retaliation against Israel could come "within the next 24 to 48 hours."

Update on the situation on the border between South Lebanon and northern Israel:

- Hezbollah announced that it had attacked the Israeli barracks of Ramim, facing the Lebanese village of Markaba (Marjayoun) at 10:05 a.m.

- The second victim of the Israeli strike this morning on Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun) was identified as Ali Ghaleb Choucair, a Hezbollah member born in 1996 in Mais al-Jabal, according to a statement from the party. The victim is also said to be a paramedic from the Hezbollah Health Committee, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in South Lebanon.

Screenshot of the video released by Resistance Trench

Several clashes broke out near the Tel Hashomer recruitment office in central-western Israel, where hundreds of ultra-Orthodox are protesting plans to recruit members of their community.

According to the Resistance Trench channel on the Telegram platform, the first 900 yeshiva students, who were previously exempt, are to report to recruitment offices today.

Photo showing Ukrainian nationals at Rafic Hariri International Airport, distributed by the Ukrainian administration on Telegram and X

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from dangerous areas of Lebanon.

According to a statement posted on X and Telegram, the Ukrainian president said his administration had already organized the repatriation of 30 Ukrainians, mainly women and children, who are now safe.

The evacuated men will be directed to the military registration and enlistment offices upon arrival.

The Israeli army claims to have attacked a Hezbollah weapons depot and facilities used by the party in southern Lebanon on Sunday night, according to a message posted on X by Arabic-language spokesperson Avichai Adraee. Hezbollah has not released any such information.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly decided not to seek to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia before the U.S. presidential elections in November, Israeli channel N12 reports.

This decision would be motivated by the uncertainties that dominate the American political landscape a few months before the outcome of the presidential elections. The Israeli Prime Minister would consider it preferable to wait for the result of the vote, in particular the possibility of a return of Donald Trump to the White House, before defining his diplomatic strategy.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility in a statement for a strike against the Israeli site of Malkia carried out this morning at 8:15 a.m. using kamikaze drones.

Update on the situation in southern Lebanon over the night:

- Hezbollah claimed responsibility on Sunday evening, after 9:30 p.m., for a strike on a military building in the Israeli town of Manara, "in response to the hostilities of the Israeli enemy on villages and homes, particularly in Beit Lif (Bint Jbeil), where civilians were hit."

- Israeli fighter jets struck the town of Kfar Kila (Marjayoun) twice, shortly after 10 p.m., targeting the village and then the ambulances that went there, according to security sources.

- Shortly after 11 p.m., Israeli fighter jets flew over several regions of southern Lebanon at low altitudes.

- At around 3 a.m., Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a strike on a position of Regiment 91 in the Israeli barracks in Eilat, "in response to the attacks and bombings of the Israeli enemy in Bazourieh (Sour), Deir Serian and Houla (Marjayoun)."

- Israeli fighter jets struck Kfar Kila (Marjayoun) twice again shortly after 4 a.m.

Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari announced that a drone exploded near Ayelet Hashahar in the Upper Galilee, about 10 km inside Israeli territory, moderately injuring an Israeli soldier and an officer, Haaretz reported. Following sirens in the Upper Galilee, several suspicious aerial targets were identified crossing from Lebanon, the daily reported.

Several interceptors were launched toward these targets, and one impact was identified near Ayelet Hashahar. Firefighters were deployed to fight a fire sparked by the explosion.

This morning's Israeli strike in Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun) left at least two dead, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent and the Ministry of Health. One of the victims was a member of the Al-Rissala Scouts medics (affiliated with the Amal movement), according to information gathered by L'Orient Today's correspondent.

CENTCOM (United States Central Command) Commander Michael Kurilla is expected to travel to Israel on Monday to discuss the expected Iranian response with Israeli officials and leaders, according to Haaretz. 

According to residents quoted by L'Orient Today's correspondent, Israeli bombings targeted the town of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil). The Israeli army also struck fig fields in Kfar Hamam (Hasbaya).

A strike was also carried out at 7:30 a.m. by an Israeli drone over the cemetery of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun), again according to residents.

In southern Lebanon:

Hezbollah announced this morning the death of two of its members, killed Sunday evening "on the road to Jerusalem" during an Israeli strike that targeted the town of Houla (Marjayoun), according to information from L'Orient Today's correspondent.

They are Mohammad Hassan Farhat, known as "Falah," born in 1984 and from Loueizeh in southern Lebanon, and Ali Moustapha Amar, known under the pseudonym "Abou Al Ahrar" and born in 1985 in Meaisra (Mount Lebanon).

Hezbollah has lost over 390 members in Lebanon and Syria since the start of the conflict, according to a count by L'Orient Today.

The G7 foreign ministers met by videoconference to discuss the situation in the Middle East, expressing their "strong concern" on Sunday evening about the risks of a flare-up, according to the head of Italian diplomacy, Antonio Tajani.

More and more countries have recently called on their nationals to avoid traveling to Lebanon, or if they are already there, to leave the country.

Be sure to read the Morning Brief so you are caught up with what has been happening.

Morning Brief

Heightened tensions amid looming Hezbollah, Iran retaliations: Everything you need to know to start your Monday

Good morning!

Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of the ongoing war in Gaza and its regional and global impacts.