Two killed in Israeli strike on a motorcycle in Taybeh, South Lebanon: Day 310 of the Gaza war

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

We will resume reporting tomorrow morning. 

⚡ Hezbollah announced the death of two more of its fighters, Mohammad Hani Haidar "Abu al-Fadl," born in 1988 in Blida (Marjayoun district), and Ali Samir Hijazi "Abu Zeinab," born in 1997 from the town of Haddatha (Bint Jbeil).

According to a security source contacted by our correspondent, they were killed in the Israeli strike targeting Taybeh earlier today.

This brings the total number of Hezbollah fighters killed by Israel in Syria and Lebanon since Oct. 8 to 406 — with 364 of them killed in Lebanon.

The second person injured in the Israeli strike on a motorcycle in Taybeh (Marjayoun district) has succumbed to his injuries, our correspondent reported, citing a security source.

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

- One person killed and another seriously injured in the Israeli strike on a motorcycle in Taybeh (Marjayoun), reported earlier today, a security source told our correspondent in the South.

- Heavy Israeli artillery shelling targeted the village of Odaisseh (Marjayoun), a security source told our correspondent.

- Hezbollah announced that it targeted with exploding drones a position point of Israeli soldiers at the Israeli site of Malikiyah, facing the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab.

🔴 Israeli aircraft broke the sound barrier twice over Saida and several regions of South Lebanon, our correspondent reports.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the Israeli Rouaissat el-Alam Israeli site in the disputed Kfar Shuba hills at 4.22 pm.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the "rumor" in Israeli media about the army’s frustration.

Earlier today, Israeli new site Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the military leadership was growing frustrated that “there is no compass from the cabinet, there is no long-term decision on where the government wants the fighting in Gaza and the ongoing and explosive friction in the north” with Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group.

Netanyahu denied these reports at a cabinet meeting today. "I have heard rumors in the media that there is no combat objective and that the political level was preventing the Israeli army from advancing," he said. "This is not true. The objective is victory. The army is systematically crushing Hamas with the aim of eliminating its military capabilities while releasing all those kidnapped."

Today, once again, hundreds of Palestinians fled the northern districts of Khan Younis, a large city in the south of the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army had issued evacuation orders in preparation for new military operations, AFP correspondents reported. 

Early in the morning, Israeli warplanes dropped messages calling on civilians to leave the area of al-Jalaa, while sending SMS messages. Once again, these evacuation orders are pushing families often already displaced several times by the incessant Israeli bombardments on the small coastal territory.

In his first interview since withdrawing from the presidential race, U.S. President Joe Biden told CBS that "it's still possible" to secure a cease-fire deal for Gaza that would lead to the release of Israeli hostages. This interview was conducted before the joint statement from Egypt and Qatar, which urged Hamas and Israel to resume negotiations, was released last Thursday.

Biden emphasized the ongoing efforts to prevent further escalation, stating, "The plan I put together, endorsed by the G7, endorsed by the UN Security Council, et cetera, is still viable. And I'm working literally every single day – and my whole team – to see to it that it doesn't escalate into a regional war. But it easily can."

"Anyone who hurts us in a way they haven't operated before, is expected to be hurt by us in a way we haven't operated before," warned Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, during a visit to Israeli soldiers reported by Haaretz.

He added: "I hope they make their calculations in the best possible way and that we don't reach a point where they make us do things that will cause major damage and increase the chances of war breaking out on other fronts. Those are things we don't want, but we have to be prepared for them, and they might happen," he continued.

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

- The Israeli drone strike on Taybeh (Marjayoun) reported earlier, targeted a motorcycle and injured at least one person, reported our correspondent. Ambulances were dispatched to the scene. 

- Israeli artillery shelled the village of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), according to residents. Around an hour ago, Israeli shelling targeted the hills of Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya) and the village of Odaisseh (Marjayoun).

- Hezbollah announced that it destroyed "spy equipment" at the Israeli site of Ruwaisat al-Alam in the disputed Kfar Shuba hills at 3:05 p.m.

A member of the Amal movement succumbed to his injuries today, a security source told our correspondent in South Lebanon.

He had been wounded last week by an Israeli drone strike on Beit Lif, Bint Jbeil district.

An Israeli drone attacked the village of Taybeh, in the Marjayoun district in southern Lebanon, causing fires to erupt, residents told our correspondent. 

Former Sports and Youth Minister and Hezbollah affiliate Mohammad Fneish stated that "the decision to retaliate against the aggression targeting the southern suburb of Beirut has been made, but its implementation depends on conditions on the ground, which will determine the timing and methods," according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

Fneish made these remarks during a memorial ceremony in the Southern Lebanese village of Jwayya for Hezbollah members recently killed in Israeli attacks.

The NNA also reported that Fneish added that Iran had taken the decision to respond to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, noting that "Iranian officials have indicated they will implement this decision."

The mission representing Palestine at the UN stated on X that "Euro-Med Monitor's initial investigation reveals no evidence of a military presence at the site of the Tab'een school massacre in Gaza," which was targeted by Israel on Saturday.

"According to all available information and testimonies, there was no military gathering or center at the school, and it was never used for military objectives. Survivors testified that the school was providing shelter to hundreds of children whose families felt safe there," the statement added, providing a link to the report.

A man was moderately wounded in a shooting in the West Bank, and the incident is being investigated by the Israeli army as a "terror attack," Haaretz reported citing emergency services and the military. 

China supports Iran in defending its "sovereignty, security and national dignity," Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told Iran's acting foreign minister in a phone call on Sunday, according to a statement by China's foreign ministry and cited by Reuters. 

In the phone call, Wang repeated Beijing's denunciation of the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, saying the strike had violated Iran's sovereignty and threatened regional stability.

"China supports Iran in defending its sovereignty, security and national dignity in accordance with the law, and in its efforts to maintain regional peace and stability, and stands ready to maintain close communication with Iran," Wang was quoted as saying

To read more, press here.👈

Israel's extreme right-wing National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called for the permanent "occupation of the Gaza Strip," adding that Israel must "encourage immigration" of Palestinians from the enclave, in a message posted on hist X account today. 

He also proposed "to stop the transfer of humanitarian aid and fuel" to Gaza until all Israeli hostages are returned.

Firmly opposed to U.S.-backed cease-fire efforts, the far-right Israeli minister reaffirmed his wish to see Hamas "crushed and stomped" until it "completely surrenders."

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Russia from August 12 to 14, where he is scheduled to meet with President Vladimir Putin, the Palestinian ambassador to Moscow, Abdel Hafiz Nofal, announced on Sunday, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.

Abbas’s visit to Russia, originally planned for earlier this year, had been postponed to early November. Nofal indicated that the main focus of the discussions will be "the situation in Gaza," adding, "We will talk about Russia's role and what can be done. The situation here is very difficult, and Russia is a close country for us." Following his visit to Moscow, Abbas, the leader of Fatah, will travel to Turkey to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and address the Turkish parliament in Ankara.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call that it is important to break the destructive spiral of retaliatory violence in the Middle East, and that it is time to finalize a cease-fire agreement and a hostage deal, reported Reuters citing a German government spokesperson.

- Hezbollah announced that it attacked at 11:10 p.m. a "gathering of enemy soldiers" in the Israeli Mitat barracks — facing the Lebanese village of Rmeish — with rockets, hitting it directly. 

- Hezbollah also claimed responsibility for a fifth attack at 12:45 p.m., using exploding drones to strike Israeli "spy equipment" in Malkiya, opposite the Lebanese village of Aitaroun. The group asserted that the target was destroyed.

The Director of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, denounced the "continuous and endless exodus of the Palestinian people" in a post on X. "Over the decades, Palestinian civilians have been caught up in wars and conflicts, far too many times. Just in the past few days, more than 75,000 people have been displaced in southwest Gaza," he wrote.

"Overnight, Israeli authorities issued additional orders forcing more people to flee, again and again. Some are only able to carry their children with them, some carry their whole lives in one small bag. They are going to overcrowded places where the shelters are already overflowing with families. They have lost everything and need everything," continued the head of UNRWA before concluding, "Unlike in other wars, the people of Gaza are trapped and have nowhere to go."

- Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack at 9:15 a.m. on an Israeli position in Raheb, located opposite the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil).

- The group also announced that it conducted an attack at 10:50 a.m. on a 'gathering of Israeli soldiers' in Birket Rishe, situated facing the Lebanese village of Boustan (Sour).

Yesterday, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati denied claims by the al-Jadeed Lebanese news channel that "the United States has told him that the war in Gaza is going to stop," in a statement relayed by the official National News Agency (NNA).

Hezbollah announced its first attack today in a statement stating that it fired artillery shells at the al-Marj Israeli site, facing the Lebanese village of Markaba (Majayoun district), at 7:30 a.m.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said yesterday that the kingdom "will not be a battlefield for Iran or Israel," as the region braces for a possible new wave of attacks from Tehran and its allies following last week's assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Fouad Shukur in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

"We will not be a battlefield for Iran or Israel. We informed the Iranians and the Israelis that we will not allow anyone to violate our airspace and risk the safety of our citizens," the Jordanian foreign minister said in an interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV.

"We will intercept anything that passes through our airspace or think that it constitutes a threat to us or our citizens."

To read more, press here. 👈

(Credit: Oren Ziv/AFP)

Anti-government activists protest outside the Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv calling the government to resign on August 10, 2024.

At least three missiles landed in an open area near the community of Matat in northern Israel, announced the Israeli army cited by Haaretz. The army also said that earlier this morning, an anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanon and struck a house in Moshav Netu'a in the Western Galilee, damaging property there.

A shepherd was injured this morning, at 6 a.m., by Israeli machine gun fire in the outskirts of Wazzani (Hasbaya district), the mayor of the village Ahmad al-Mohammad told our correspondent in South Lebanon. The shots were fired from Israeli sites located in the village of Ghajar, facing Wazzani.

The shepherd was grazing his flock in a field when the incident happened. He was then taken to a hospital for treatment

Hezbollah claimed another attack last night, which targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Israeli site of Birkat Risha, facing the Lebanese village of Boustan (Sour district), with drones. The party said that the attack was in response to Israeli attacks on southern Lebanese villages and houses.

⚡ Yesterday evening, Hezbollah targeted the Israeli base of Mahfat Alon last night with a "squadron of exploding drones." The group added that the attack targeted the positions of officers and soldiers at the base, resulting in casualties. The attack came as a response to the Israeli drone strike on Saida that killed Hamas commander Samer al-Hage on Thursday. 

Hezbollah described Mahfat Alon, located southwest of Safed, as an "assembly and mobilization base for [Israeli] forces" with "contingency stores for the Northern Corps." According to our correspondent in southern Lebanon, the base serves as both a training and land force installation for the Israeli army.

The base is situated west of the Tiberias lake in the Upper Galilee, approximately 17.5 kilometers from the Lebanese-Israeli border. This marks the first time Hezbollah has targeted this base since hostilities began in October.

Gaza's Civil Defense announced on Saturday the deaths of 93 Palestinians, including children, in the Israeli strike on al-Tabeen school sheltering displaced people. The attack, which was carried out while people while praying, provoked an international outcry after 10 months of devastating war in the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli army claimed that the school targeted in Gaza City (North) was used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, stating they have eliminated "at least 19 terrorists" from the two Palestinian armed groups.

After the strike, an independent, U.N.-appointed rights expert accused Israel of committing "genocide" in its Gaza war. To read more, press here.👈

Good morning! 

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