'Those who play with fire reap destruction,' said Gallant threatening Lebanon: Day 307 of the Gaza war

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

We will continue our coverage starting tomorrow morning. 

The United States criticized Israel's revocation of the diplomatic status of Norwegian envoy to the Palestinian Authority, stating it was not a "helpful" step, reports AFP.

Norway "has a long history of playing a productive role when it comes to engaging with the government of Israel engaging with the Palestinian Authority," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. 

"We don't think steps to prevent them from playing that role are particularly helpful."

Miller pointed to Norway's secret diplomacy in brokering the landmark 1993 Oslo Accords, signed on the White House lawn, and more recently in collecting tax revenue intended for the Palestinian Authority.

Israel announced it was taking punitive measures after Norway, along with Ireland and Spain, recognized a Palestinian state.

Israeli airstrikes targeted Aita al-Shaab, in the southern Lebanese Bint Jbeil district. 

Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip has announced a new death toll of 18 people following the earlier Israeli attack on two schools in Gaza City, AFP reported. 

"The Israeli occupation killed more than 18 citizens in strikes on Al-Zahra and Abdel Fattah Hamoud schools," said a Civil Defense spokesman, Mohammad al-Moughayyir, adding that there were 60 wounded.

For its part, the Israeli army confirmed strikes and claimed they were on Hamas command centers, AFP reports.

Advanced American F-22 stealth warplanes arrived in the Middle East today, the US military said, as Washington boosts its forces in the region ahead of an expected Iranian counterattack on Israel, reported AFP. 

The deployment is part of "force posture changes in the region to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or its proxies," U.S. Central Command said on social media, without specifying the number or exact location of the planes.

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Here are the latest developments on the southern Lebanese-Israeli border:

- The al-Rissala Scouts Civil Defense, affiliated to the Amal movement, reported helping in efforts to extinguish fires after Israeli attacks on Kfar Kila (Marjayoun).

- Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the Ramim barracks with rockets at 7.40pm. The barracks faces Markaba and Houla, southern lebanese villages in the Marjayoun district.

⚡ "Iran and its affiliates like Hezbollah have taken Lebanon and its people hostage, in the service of their narrow confessional and sectarian interests. Israel seeks calm, prosperity and stability on both sides of the northern border and will never let Hezbollah undermine border stability," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on X, in a message addressed to the Lebanese. and written in Arabic.

"If Hezbollah continues its aggression, Israel will wage a very hard war against it. Remember Hassan Nasrallah's regrets during the dangerous adventure of August 2006. Think again before you embark on an adventurous and short-sighted journey to 2024," he added reminding readers of the Israeli 2006 war waged on Lebanon.

"Those who play with fire, reap destruction", he concluded.

(Credit: Al-Rissala Scouts Civil Defense sent the photo to our correspondent in the region)

The Civil Defense of al-Rissala Scouts, affiliated to the Amal movement, reported aiding in extinguishing fires after Israeli attacks on Tayr Harfa, in the Sour district. 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had a telephone conversation with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, urging him to "avoid military escalation" in the region and "reopen the path of dialogue," reports AFP.

Meloni stressed the need to avoid expanding the current conflict in Gaza, with Lebanon in mind, and asked Pezeshkian to avoid further escalation of the conflict. She concluded by reiterating Italy's "constant commitment" to "peace and stability in the region."

Hezbollah announced the death of its fighter Hassan Atef al-Sayyed, born in 1978 and originally from Aitaroun, in South Lebanon's Bint Jbeil district. He succumbed to his wounds after being hit by an Israeli strike yesterday.

This brings to total number of Hezbollah fighters killed in Lebanon by Israel since Oct. 8 to 360, according to our count.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several attacks:

- They launched salvos of Katyusha rockets at "the Israeli Iron Dome, artillery positions and the deployment of Israeli military vehicles" in the Khirbet Manot area in the western Galilee.

- Using the Burkan missiles, they bombed the Zarit barracks, opposite the Lebanese village of Ramiyeh (Bint Jbeil).

- At 5 p.m. they attacked the Samaka site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfar Shuba with missiles.

- Using Burkan missiles, they targeted the Israeli barracks at Biranit, "destroying part of the barracks and setting it on fire." The barrack is located opposite the Lebanese village of Rmeish (Bint Jbeil).

Here are the latest updates from South Lebanon:

- Israeli airstrikes targeted Houla (Marjayoun), residents told our correspondent.

- Two Israeli airstrikes targeted Kfar Kila (Marjayoun), locals reported to our correspondent.

- Israeli aircraft bombed the locality of Wadi al-Azziyeh, near Zebqine in the Sour district.

The Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence service, has revealed that a series of channels, groups and fake accounts on social networks are being used by Iranian intelligence services to recruit Israeli citizens, Haaretz reports.

This is the first time that the Shin Bet has publicly disclosed specific accounts and linked them directly to Iran. "In recent months, Iranian intelligence agents have approached Israeli citizens on social networks in order to recruit them for activities that could harm state security," the organization said in a statement.

(Credit: Turkish presidential press service/AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamed Al Thani, jointly called on the international community to prevent escalation in the Middle East in a meeting in Ankara today.

"President Erdogan said that Israel was trying to increase tensions in the region with its attacks in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, and that the international community should take effective measures to stop Israeli aggression, which has intensified in recent days," the Turkish presidency wrote in a statement.

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

- Hezbollah announced that it attacked and "directly hit" the "spy equipment at the Rouaissat el-Alam site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfar Shuba."

- Rockets were fired at Israeli sites in the western Galilee, a security source told our correspondent. Haaretz reported that some 15 rockets launched from Lebanon into northern Israel and fell in open areas.

- The Israeli army conducted two airstrikes on an area between Haddatha and Tiri (Bint Jbeil district), residents told our correspondent. Ambulances were dispatched to the targeted site.

The Vice-President of Lebanon's Supreme Shiite Islamic Council, Sheikh Ali al-Khatib, has said that "calls for foreign citizens to leave Lebanon constitute psychological warfare against the Lebanese and the State." He made the remarks in an interview with local TV station al-Jadeed, reported by the official National News Agency (NNA).

"All the Lebanese know and international public opinion knows that the Israelis want to take revenge on the resistance," he added. It is "regrettable" that some "are calling on their citizens and embassies to leave Lebanon (...) We do not want a single embassy to leave Lebanon", he insisted, adding that "foreign embassies and citizens will not be exposed to Israeli aggression."

The Israeli army has once again called on the Gazan population to evacuate several areas in Khan Younis, the large town in the south of the enclave destroyed by months of fighting.

The army justified the call by claiming they are evacuating neighborhoods from which "rockets have been fired."

According to AFP journalists, bombardments targeted Gaza City in the north last night. Eight people were killed, according to medics. The Civil Defense said that five bodies were found in a bombed house in Khan Younis.

The leader of Yemen's Huthis said today that the response to the July 20 Israeli attack that targeted fuel storage tanks in Hodeida harbor is "inevitable and will come," Abdul Malik al-Huthi said in a televised speech, adding that the battle with Israel was "at its zenith."

Gaza Strip Civil Defense reported that Israeli bombardment killed 12 Palestinians when it hit two schools: al-Zahraa School and Abdel Fattah Hamoud School, both located in the eastern district of Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, reported al-Jazeera.

The organization added that seven people were killed in the al-Zahraa school and five in Abdel Fattah Hamoud school.

The Israeli army claims to have struck Hamas command centers installed on the premises of two schools in the Gaza Strip, which were being used to carry out attacks against Israeli troops.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant assessed the readiness of Israel's home front command and said, "There is a psychological attempt by the enemy to sow fear and instill terror," reported Haaretz.

Discussing the possibility of an attack by Hezbollah, he added, "We are working to give the public sufficient warning when required, and until then allow them to continue a normal lifestyle."

In an interview with Time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when questioned about his responsibility for the events of Oct. 7, felt that "now was not the time" to address the issue, Haaretz reported.

"I think we'll look at all of this, this question, and examine it in detail: what exactly happened? How did it happen? How did this failure of intelligence, operational capability and other policies contribute to it?" he replied. "We'll have time to look into that. But I think it's a mistake to do it now. We're in the middle of a war, a war on seven fronts. I think we need to focus on one thing: Winning," he declared.

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

- Hezbollah said that it used an exploding drone to target a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the Marj site, located opposite the Lebanese town of Markaba (Marjayoun), causing "confirmed casualties" at 1:20 p.m.

- Israeli artillery shelling targeted the town of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil), residents told our correspondent.

- Hezbollah also announced that they used artillery shells to target the Israeli Site of Malkia, facing the Lebanese village of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil), "hitting it directly" at 3:10 p.m.

- A Hezbollah member died after succumbing to the wounds he sustained in the strike on Aitaroun yesterday afternoon, reported our correspondent. Hezbollah has yet to release a statement announcing his death. 

Many Lebanese have the reflex to pile up food at home, at a time when the sound of boots between Hezbollah and Israel is deafening and the specter of a regional war omnipresent, but caretaker Economy Minister Amine Salam reassured the Lebanese, based on meetings he had with importers.

"The unions assured me that Lebanon has sufficient stocks for three months and that cargoes expected at the port in the coming weeks should be enough for another two months, which means that our stocks cover consumption for the next five months," Salam said in an interview with the media.

Read the full story here.

Israel made a "strategic mistake" that will "cost it dearly" by killing Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week, Iran's acting foreign minister said in an interview with AFP.

"The act that the Zionists committed in Tehran is a strategic mistake and will cost them dearly," Ali Bagheri said in Jeddah after an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). He accused Israel - which has not commented on the death of Haniyeh – of wanting to "expand the war" in the region while judging that it has "neither the capacity nor the strength" to fight Iran. 

Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad in a speech delivered at a ceremony honoring a Hezbollah member in southern Lebanon, Aug. 8, 2024. (Photo provided by our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah)

Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad said that the way to achieve a de-escalation that will end the perpetration of massacres and the spread of corruption and bloodshed is to stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza.

"All other doors are closed and will not lead to the desired result," he added in a speech delivered at a ceremony honoring a Hezbollah member in southern Lebanon. "Whoever truly wants to end this situation that is affecting the entire region must put pressure on the Israeli enemy to end its aggression against Gaza," he added.

Israel's revocation of the diplomatic status of Norwegian representatives to the Palestinian Authority is an "extreme action" and will have "consequences," Norway's foreign minister said.

The decision "will have consequences for our relations with the Netanyahu government. We are examining what measures Norway will take to respond to the situation created by the Netanyahu government," Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement.

Photo sent by residents to L'Orient Today's correspondent Muntasser Abdallah

More details regarding the Israeli drone strike on the area between Jibbain and Yarine (Sour):

The Israeli strike targeted a car, L'Orient Today's correspondent reports.

The Emergency Operations Center of the Lebanese Ministry of Health confirmed the report provided by L'Orient Today's correspondent.

The Israeli air force carried out a strike on the area between Jibbain and Yarine (Sour), a security source told L'Orient Today's correspondent.

Ambulances were dispatched to the scene and transported three injured people.

"The resistance is growing stronger every day, while your entity is becoming weaker as time goes by," Hezbollah MP Hussein Jachi told Israel.

The MP was speaking at the funeral of one of the party's slain members, Mohammad Hussein Taleb, in Bourj Shamali (Sour).

The suspension of Air France and Transavia flights to Beirut has been extended again, until Sunday, Aug. 11 inclusive, due to the geopolitical situation in Lebanon, the airlines confirmed to AFP.

The resumption of operations – interrupted since July 29 due to the "security situation in the Middle East" – "will be subject to a new assessment of the situation on the ground," indicates a press release published Wednesday evening on the Air France website.

The Health Ministry of the government in the Gaza Strip announced a new death toll of 39,699 in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war.

At least 22 people have been killed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said in a statement, adding that 91,722 people have been injured in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

Israel announced the revocation of the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats representing Norway in the Palestinian Authority, in response to what it describes as "anti-Israeli behavior" by Oslo.

The decision follows Norway's recognition of the State of Palestine and its participation in legal proceedings against Israeli leaders at the International Criminal Court.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the revocation would take effect seven days after the official notification was sent to the Norwegian embassy in Israel.

"International law is crystal clear: deliberately starving civilians is a war crime," British Foreign Minister David Lammy said on X, in response to comments by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

The latter had declared that "letting the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip starve to death" could "be justified and moral in order to free the hostages

"There is no justification for Minister Smotrich's remarks. We expect the Israeli government as a whole to retract and condemn them," Lammy added.

"International law is crystal clear: deliberately starving civilians is a war crime," British Foreign Minister David Lammy said on X, in response to comments by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

The latter had declared that "letting the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip starve to death" could "be justified and moral in order to free the hostages

"There is no justification for Minister Smotrich's remarks. We expect the Israeli government as a whole to retract and condemn them," Lammy added.

Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Shebaa (Hasbaya), residents told L'Orient Today's correspondent.

"Israel's goal is to overthrow the Iranian regime," Likud MK Amit Halevi told Ynet, responding to threats from Tehran and Hezbollah. 

On its Arabic-language X account, Israel addressed its “neighbors in Lebanon” directly.

“You have become hostages in the hands of Hezbollah, a terrorist organization that has caused destruction, panic and instability throughout Lebanon,” the post reads.

The Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, published on X photos of publications by Lebanese people against the war waged by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

"The Lebanese people do not want war, nor the adventures of[(Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan] Nasrallah, nor the party of Iran in Lebanon," he stressed.

Israel told the United States that if Hezbollah targets Israeli civilians in retaliation for the assassination of Fuad Shukur, the party's military leader, the Israeli military's response would be disproportionate, two Israeli officials said, according to Axios.

Update on the situation in southern Lebanon last night:

- At 11 p.m., Israeli artillery targeted the region between Alma al-Shaab and Tayr Harfa (Sour) with three rockets, while Israeli aircraft were crisscrossing all the southern regions.

- At the same time, the surroundings of Naqoura (Sour) were also bombed.

- At 1:00 a.m., the Israeli air force targeted with two missiles the Mashaa neighborhood in the village of Mansouri (Sour), hitting a stone-cutting factory. Ambulances were dispatched to the scene.

- At 3 a.m., the Israeli air force bombed the house of Abu Malek Rammal, near the village of Doueir (Nabatieh). The house is apparently unoccupied. Ambulances were dispatched to the scene but no injuries were reported.

According to Haaretz, Israeli Air Force fighter jets targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon overnight.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday accused Israel of being "entirely responsible" for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last week in Tehran.

In a statement issued after an extraordinary meeting in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, the OIC said it "holds Israel, the illegal occupying power, fully responsible for this heinous attack," which it called a "grave attack" on Iran's sovereignty.

In this tense context, Egypt announced on Wednesday that it had asked Egyptian carriers not to enter Iranian airspace on Thursday morning due to "military exercises" planned in Iran.

Fears of a conflagration are also very high in Lebanon, where Israeli military planes once again broke the sound barrier over the territory on Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whose country is Israel's main ally, asked Iran and Israel the day before to avoid a military "escalation."

French President Emmanuel Macron also urged Tehran to "get out of the logic of retaliation," believing that a new escalation "would be of no interest to anyone." He also "called on the Israeli Prime Minister to enter into the same logic" and to "avoid a cycle of retaliation."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on Western countries to stop supporting Israel to "avoid" a regional war.

Faced with the risks of an extension of the war, the international community is trying to find ways of appeasement and relaunch negotiations with a view to a ceasefire associated with the release of the hostages held in Gaza. Diplomatic contacts are increasing, particularly between the mediating countries, the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

"We believe we have never been closer" to an agreement, said the spokesperson for the National Security Council of the American presidency, John Kirby, on Wednesday.

The Israeli army announced today that it killed a Hamas official, Nael Sakhl, in the Gaza Strip on July 24, whom it accuses of having "directed terrorist attacks" in the West Bank.

As all attempts at mediation have failed, the war has rekindled tensions in the Middle East, between Iran and its allies, including Hezbollah, on the one hand, and Israel on the other.

These tensions have been redoubled following the assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh and Fouad Shukur, the military leader of Hezbollah.

Israel has promised to eliminate the new leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, who was appointed on Tuesday evening as head of the Islamist movement to replace Ismail Haniyeh.

Israel accuses Sinwar of being one of the masterminds of the attack of Oct. 7. Hunted by Israel, Sinwar has not appeared in public since the beginning of the war.

"We will increase our efforts to find him, to attack him," Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said on Wednesday.

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

Morning Brief

Cease-fire deal 'never been so close' as regional tensions remain high: Everything you need to know to start your Thursday

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

Morning Brief

Cease-fire deal 'never been so close' as regional tensions remain high: Everything you need to know to start your Thursday

Good morning!

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