Israeli drone strike on Marjayoun, at least two dead and four injured; Stephane Sejourne expected in Beirut on Thursday: Day 313 of the Gaza war

Thank you for joining us for today's live coverage of the Gaza war. Make sure to tune in tomorrow for all the latest updates.

Residential areas in Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun district) have been targeted by Israeli artillery, residents report to our correspondent.

An Israeli drone strike on the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun left at least six people injured, including a child, a security source told our correspondent.

🔴 French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne will visit Beirut tomorrow, several sources have confirmed to L'Orient Today. His last visit to Lebanon was in April.

🔴 An Israeli drone targeted a car in the center of the village of Marjayoun, residents report to our correspondent. This is the first time since Oct. 8 that the village itself has come under attack. Rescue teams are on their way to the scene.

⚡ The Israeli attack on the locality of Blida (Marjayoun district) left one dead and one wounded, a medical source tells our correspondent.

The head of the Southern Council Hashem Haider inspected the Abbasieh junction area that was targeted by Israel earlier today. He also visited the wounded in Sour’s hospitals, and said, "Israeli barbarism does not leave a child, an old man, or a woman without harming them."

“We instructed the teams in charge of inspecting and surveying the damage that resulted from the raid,” Hashem added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he has approved the departure of an Israeli delegation to negotiate in Doha on Thursday an agreement on the release of hostages in exchange for a cease-fire in Gaza.

David Barnea, head of the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence agency, the head of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, and a special adviser to Netanyahu will take part in the talks, which have been requested by the mediators, Qatar, the United States and Egypt, the Prime Minister's office told AFP.

The Civil Defense of the Scouts of al-Rissala (affiliated with the Amal movement) stated that its members helped extinguish the fires following the Israeli strike on Houla (Marjayoun), in a statement cited by our correspondent in South Lebanon.

Update on the situation in southern Lebanon:

- Israeli warplanes targeted the towns of Houla and Blida (Marjayoun district), residents told our correspondent.

- The Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the Lebanese Health Ministry said in a statement that the Israeli raid which targeted the town of Rabb Thalathin injured two people. One case was critical and required admission to the operating room and his condition is now stable.

⚡ Gaza truce talks will take place tomorrow in Qatar, three sources close to the negotiations told AFP, while Hamas's participation remains uncertain.

These new cease-fire talks called for by the mediating countries (Qatar, the United States and Egypt) will take place in Doha, said a source close to Hamas and another close to the negotiations, in the presence of CIA Director William Burns, according to a third source.

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for an attack on Kiryat Shmouna, a town in northern Israel, using a barrage of Katyusha rockets. The party stated that this attack was "in retaliation for Israeli aggressions, particularly the one on Abbasieh, which injured civilians.

"Meanwhile, Haaretz reported that the municipality of Kiryat Shmouna mentioned "two rockets fired from Lebanon, without triggering alarms." A property was damaged, and the Israeli military is currently investigating the strikes.

The Lebanese Health Ministry has updated the official casualty report from the Israeli strike on Abbasieh (Sour district).

"The number of injured has risen to 17, four of whom are in critical condition," the statement said. The injured were distributed between Jabal Amel and Hiram hospitals as follows:

- Jabal Amel Hospital received 11 injured (10 Lebanese and one Syrian), with 3 in critical condition. One of them is "a 17-year-old boy currently being transferred to Rassoul al-Azam Hospital in Beirut." Seven cases were urgent (including a 16-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl), and one required a stable normal admission.

- Hiram Hospital received six injured (two Lebanese, three Syrians, and one Palestinian), including a Lebanese woman who remains in critical condition, while five others were treated in the emergency room.

The political bureau of the Amal Movement issued a statement on “the occasion of the victory of Aug.14,” which marks the end of the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

“The integration between the components and forces of society led to the results of the victory achieved on Aug. 14, 2006, and the issuance of International Resolution 1701, which the enemy continues to persist in violating,” the statement said.“Today, we affirm our continued reliance on our national strength and internal cohesion to thwart the opportunity for the enemy, whose criminal project has been clearly and blatantly exposed,” the statement added.

Israeli warplanes targeted the town of Robb al-Thalathin (Marjayoun district), residents told our correspondent.

Hezbollah said in a statement that it launched “squadrons of suicide drones on a newly formed gathering of Israeli soldiers in northern Abirim, opposite to the Lebanese village Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district) hitting the targets accurately.

In an opinion piece published in Haaretz, Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Barak (1999-2001) called for "shutting down the country ... until this government falls."

He added, "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are assassinating democracy," and that under their rule Israel will turn into a "de facto dictatorship"

"You're living in a dictatorship in which nothing is guaranteed – not individual freedom and individual rights, not minorities' freedom and minority rights, not the government's commitment to its citizens, not the existence of free elections and not the moral authority to send soldiers into battle."

He concluded by criticizing the government, calling it a "rebellious government" that has shed its legitimacy and accused Netanyahu of "working to establish a dictatorship"

The health ministry in Gaza reported that at least 39,965 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants, now in its 11th month, with at least 36 deaths in the past 24 hours, reported AFP.

Additionally, ministry figures list at least 92,294 people as having been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began on Oct. 7.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote X on Wednesday that the country's army and security forces "are on high alert."

"I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to our allies who stand with us in a united front against the hateful threats of the Iranian regime and its terrorist affiliates," he wrote while singling out the U.S. for its commitment in "words and deeds" to the security of Israel. 

After starting his tour in Ain al-Tineh, the American envoy Amos Hochstein held talks with caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Nagib Mikati at the Grand Serail and met with other MPs (Georges Adwan, Elias Hankash, Michel Douaihy and Fouad Makhzoumi) at parliament.

Here are the latest developments in South Lebanon:

- An Israeli strike targeted a home belonging to Ahmad Saleh in the village of Dhayra (Sour). No injuries were reported, according to our correspondent.

- The Central Civil Defense of Islamic al-Rissala Scouts Association, affiliated with the Amal Movement, said they had participated in rescue and fire extinguishing operations following the Israeli strike on Abassieh (Sour).

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein met Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh today.

Hochstein then held a brief press conference, in which he asserted that resolving tensions on the South Lebanon-Israel border was closely tied to the success of the negotiations for a truce in Gaza.

To find out more about what the American envoy said in the press conference, click here.👈

An image of the targeted car. (Credit: Photo sent to our resident in the region.)

Updates from the Israeli drone strike on a Jeep in Abbasieh, in South Lebanon's Sour district:

Ten people were reported injured, three of whom are in critical condition, according to the Health Ministry, in a preliminary assessment.

The victims have been transferred to several hospitals in the region.

(Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein arrived at the Grand Serail for talks with caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Six Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli forces near Jerusalem and in the north of the occupied West Bank last night, the official Palestinian news agency and the local governor announced.

"Five people were killed in Israeli raids, four in the locality of Tamun and one in the town of Tubas," Tubas governor Ahmad Saad told AFP.

The Israeli army, for its part, claimed to have "launched an anti-terrorist operation" in Tubas, "eliminated one terrorist" and "hit others in exchanges of fire". Five kilometers away, in Tamun, it said it had "carried out air strikes on several armed terrorists".

Earlier, Israeli police announced that they had shot a 16-year-old Palestinian who was "climbing the wall" separating Jerusalem from the West Bank "to throw Molotov cocktails." Hit by a sniper's bullet, "he was taken for treatment but was pronounced dead," the police continued.

Israeli warplanes targeted "a Hezbollah military structure in the village of Aita al-Shaab" (Bint Jbeil), the Israeli army claimed, according to Haaretz.

⚡ An Israeli drone targeted a Jeep on the road to Abbasieh (Sour district), witnesses told our correspondent.

One person was seriously injured and four others sustained minor injuries. Ambulances were dispatched to the scene.

Additionally, another car and a nearby motorcycle were damaged, according to our correspondent. The targeted area is typically very busy and features numerous shops.

In southern Lebanon, Hezbollah announced three operations against Israel, all between 10:50 a.m. and 11:50 a.m., coinciding with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein visit to Ain al-Tineh

- Hezbollah said it successfully targeted with rockets the Israeli al-Baghdadi site, opposite the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil) at 10:50 a.m.

- It also targeted the Israeli “Zebdine barracks in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms with rockets," at 11:40 a.m.

- Finally, the party targeted with rockets the Israeli “al-Ramtha site in the occupied Lebanese Kfar Shuba hills," at 11:50 a.m.

(Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)

⚡ Asked in Ain al-Tineh about the possibility of Israel and Hezbollah avoiding a full-scale war, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein said, "I hope so. I believe so," Reuters reported.

He also said, in remarks relayed by Lebanese news channel MTV, that "the Gaza agreement will make it possible to find a diplomatic solution in Lebanon, avoid a larger war and create the conditions necessary for the return of displaced Lebanese to the south of the country and the return of the inhabitants of northern Israel to their homes."

A senior Israeli security official said that a disproportionate Hezbollah response could "lead to an Israeli attack that will lead to a new reality on the northern border," according to the Wall Street Journal. The report indicates that Israel's Northern Command leadership is pushing for a more aggressive approach against Hezbollah.

As Israel anticipates a potential attack from Iran and its ally Hezbollah, there is an ongoing debate within Israel about whether to launch an offensive against the Lebanese militia or to seek de-escalation to prevent a broader regional conflict, observes the Wall Street Journal.

Some, like Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, believe the time has come for a cease-fire in Gaza, which would free the hostages and ease tensions on the northern border so that the thousands of Israelis who have been displaced there can return home.

Here are the latest updates from South Lebanon:

- Israeli warplanes targeted the town of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district), residents told our correspondent.

- The Central Civil Defense Operations Room of the Islamic Risala Scouts Association, affiliated with the Amal Movement, said in a statement that its members participated in the firefighting operations following the Israeli raid last night on the town of Taybeh (Marjayoun).

- Israeli artillery shelling targeted residential areas in Hula (Marjayoun), residents told our correspondent.

⚡Air France and its subsidiary Transavia plan to resume flights to Beirut on Thursday, suspended since July 29 due to the geopolitical situation in Lebanon, a spokesperson for the two airlines announced, according to AFP.

"At this stage, and subject to developments in the security situation at destination, the airline plans to resume its routes between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut suspended since July 29, 2024 as of Thursday, August 15, 2024," an Air France statement said. "The decision also applies to Transavia France," the spokesperson told AFP.

More than 10,000 Israeli soldiers have been wounded in combat and attacks or have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), since October 7, said an Israeli Defense Ministry report, cited by the independent Middle East Eye news site.

According to the ministry's rehabilitation center, almost 37% of soldiers - some 3,700 - have suffered physical trauma to their limbs.

Around 35% suffered from PTSD or similar mental disorders.

Reservists account for almost two-thirds of the 10,056 soldiers who have been admitted to the rehabilitation center since the start of the war, the ministry added. According to the Israeli army, nearly 700 soldiers have been killed since the start of the war, including around 300 on and immediately after Oct. 7.

(Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)

⚡ American envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Ain al-Tineh, according to our photographer Mohammad Yassin.

Hamas said yesterday that it will not send a delegation to the cease-fire talks, which are expected to resume tomorrow, reported the New York Times.

Ahmad Abdul Hadi said in an interview that Hamas decided not to participate in the negotiations because its leaders do not believe Israel was negotiating in good faith, according to the newspaper.

“Netanyahu is not interested in reaching an agreement that ends the aggression completely,” Abdul Hadi said. “But rather he is deceiving and evading and wants to prolong the war, and even expand it at the regional level.”

Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said yesterday that it had no plans to send representatives to the cease-fire talks, Haaretz reported citing AP.

"We have not engaged in the indirect cease-fire negotiations between Hamas and the regime [Israel], facilitated by Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S., and hold no intention for involvement in such negotiations," the mission said.

Iran rejected a call by Britain, France and Germany urging it to refrain from any retaliatory attacks against Israel that would further escalate regional tensions. Iran called it an "excessive request."

⚡ "As the war intensifies, tension mounts and the Israeli enemy persists in committing massacres, we affirm, as a government, our attachment to Lebanon's right to liberate its land and preserve its sovereignty," said caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the opening of the Council of Ministers meeting today at the Grand Serail.

He also "strongly condemned the massacre committed by Israel against innocent people and the death of over a hundred martyrs" in the strike that targeted a school in Gaza City on Saturday.

"We call on the world's conscience to act to put an end to this organized criminal genocide," added the head of the Lebanese government.

Today, the Lebanese Health Ministry published its latest assessment of the clashes that have pitted Hezbollah against Israel along the border between southern Lebanon and northern Israel since Oct 8, 2023.

The reports stated that 547 people have been killed by Israel since Oct. 8.

For more details on the report, press here.👈

On Tuesday, the United States approved the sale of over $20 billion worth of arms to Israel, brushing aside pressure from human rights organizations to halt these deliveries.

In theory, Congress could block this arms sale, but such a process is unlikely to succeed. Last week, Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris said that she does not plan to enforce a weapons embargo on Israel. 

To find out more, press here.👈

The Israeli security forces killed two Palestinians last night near Jerusalem and in the north of the occupied West Bank, the Israeli authorities and the Palestinian agency Wafa announced, reported AFP.

"At dawn, the army entered Tubas," in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, "and shot dead a young man holed up in his house," said Wafa.

To find out more, press here.👈

In South Lebanon, a fragile calm prevailed this morning on the Lebanese-Israeli border following a tumultuous night, according to security sources.

Overnight:

- Starting at 9 p.m., three Israeli airstrikes targeted Kfar Kila in the Marjayoun district, using "heavy-ammunition," reported our correspondent in the region. The explosions were heard as far as Nabatieh, Zahrani, Maghdoucheh, and even Saida, with reports indicating the destruction of three houses and a villa — though no casualties were reported.

-  From 10 p.m. onwards, Israeli artillery targeted the area around Kounin in the Bint Jbeil district.  

*Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Israeli soldiers stationed at Jal al-Deir, opposite the Lebanese village of Aitaroun.

- From 11:30 p.m., Israeli aircraft bombed the area between the villages of Hadatha, Tiri and Rashaf — in the Nabatieh district.

*Around midnight, Hezbollah announced it had launched Katyusha rockets at the Israeli Golani command base on Mount Niria in response to an Israeli attack on the locality of Baraasheet in the Bint Jbeil district.

To read more about the Baraasheet strike and other cross-border attacks that occurred yesterday, press here. 

Yesterday, Hamas’s armed wing reported firing two rockets at Tel Aviv and its suburbs from Gaza, marking the first attack on Tel Aviv in over two months.

According to the Israeli military, one of the rockets landed in the sea.

Also yesterday, an Israeli airstrike killed ten members of the same family in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to a medical official. A three-month-old girl was the sole survivor.

In a highly charged atmosphere, Israeli far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir drew international criticism yesterday by participating in prayers with 3,000 Jewish worshippers at the al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, coinciding with a Jewish holiday.

The United States labeled the action "unacceptable," while the UN, the European Union, and Paris condemned it as a "provocation," with several Arab capitals also voicing their objections.

To find out more about what the international community had to say in response to Ben Gvir, press here.👈

Israel has announced that its negotiators will participate in tomorrow's new talks, focused on a truce and the release of hostages held in Gaza.

These discussions will be part of a three-phase plan outlined by President Joe Biden on May 31. The plan, initially proposed by Israel, includes a six-week truce, an Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas of Gaza, and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel.

On Sunday, Hamas urged the implementation of this plan, stating it preferred action over further negotiations.

U.N. Under-Secretary-General Rosemary Di Carlo yesterday called on "all parties" to de-escalate.

"Ten months into the war, the threat of regional escalation is more palpable and frightening than ever," she said.

Tensions across the Middle East have intensified since the onset of the Gaza war, with Israel facing mounting pressure from Iran and its allied armed groups, including the powerful Lebanese Hezbollah.

Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen have threatened armed reprisals against Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah's military chief, Fouad Shukur, who was killed in an Israeli strike near Beirut on July 30 and the Israeli strike on Yemen's Houdeida earlier in July. 

On Monday, Washington forecasted "a series of significant attacks" by Iran and its allies "this week."

The Israeli military, on high alert at the northern border due to daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah, continues its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Diplomatic Update:

Iran has dismissed a call from Western nations to retract its threats of retaliation against Israel. Tehran accuses Israel of assassinating Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

International pressure for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip is increasing. The ongoing conflict, ignited by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, has resulted in nearly 40,000 fatalities, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

Yesterday, U.S. President Joe Biden suggested that a cease-fire could potentially deter Iran. Negotiations for a truce between Israel and Hamas are set to resume tomorrow at the request of the mediating nations: Qatar, the United States, and Egypt.

Biden stated, “That's my expectation,” in response to questions about whether the potential for a truce in Gaza could deter an Iranian response. He emphasized that he was “not giving up” on achieving a cease-fire despite the increasing difficulty of the negotiations.

Press here to read more about what Biden said, press here.👈

Good morning! 

Thank you for joining our live coverage of day 313 of the Gaza war and its implications on the region. 

This marks day 312 since Hezbollah opened its "support front" for Gaza — with near-daily cross-border exchanges of fire between the group and Israel.