Brother of Mounir Maqdah, Fatah leader in Lebanon, killed in Israeli drone strike in Saida: Day 320 of the Gaza war

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Israeli jets targeted a house between Shihine and Jibbain (Sour), L'Orient Today's correspondent reports.

Hezbollah said it targeted the Israeli barracks of Ramot Naftali with Katyusha rockets at 7:10 p.m.

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to speak with Benjamin Netanyahu today and focus on a new demand from the Israeli leader that Israel keeps its forces deployed along a land corridor between Egypt and Gaza, Axios reported, citing an unnamed source.

Biden wants Netanyahu to soften Israel's stance on the issue, Axios reported.

In the cease-fire talks, Hamas is seeking a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including the so-called Philadelphi Highway, a narrow 14.5-km-long strip of land along the coastal enclave's southern border with Egypt. Israel wants to retain control of the highway, which it seized in late May after destroying dozens of tunnels it says were used to smuggle weapons to Gaza's militant groups.

"The response to the crime committed by the [Israeli] enemy in the southern suburbs is coming and is inevitable," Hezbollah MP Hassan Ezzeddine said during a tribute to a party fighter killed by an Israeli strike, in a reference to the assassination of Hezbollah military leader Fouad Shukur.

"No one knows the time, place, manner, form or strength of this response, and no one knows whether it will come separately or whether it will be linked to the response of the axis [of resistance] to the aggression that has hit Yemen and Iran," he continued. "We will choose the appropriate target that must deliver a real message to the enemy," he further said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to the Ramat David air base that "the air force is our iron fist," affirming that Israel is prepared to face any scenario, whether defensive or offensive.

Netanyahu met with senior army officers and received an assessment of Israel's northern sector and the base's combat readiness, including a review of combat helicopters and fighter jets, according to Haaretz.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack carried out at 5:50 p.m. targeting "surveillance equipment" in the Israeli site of Birket Risha, opposite the Lebanese town of Boustan (Sour).

The party also carried out a strike at 6:35 p.m. against the Israeli barracks of Zariit (opposite the Lebanese town of Ramieh).

The funeral of Ali Moussawi, killed during the night in an Israeli strike targeting the Nabi Sheet area in the Bekaa, was held this afternoon in this village.

Hezbollah political adviser Hussein Moussawi, members of the party's parliamentary group and other regional officials took part in the procession.

Hussein Moussawi stressed that "targeting citizens in their safe homes will only increase their adherence to the choice of defending their homeland and their support for the resistance," referring to Hezbollah.

Israeli fighter jets broke the sound barrier over Saida, Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the Philadelphi corridor in the Gaza Strip and told troops that Hamas's Rafah Brigade had been defeated and that the remaining tunnels were easy to locate and destroy.

"The enemy's Rafah Brigade was defeated by the 162nd Division [of the Israeli army]," Gallant said, according to Haaretz. "We have reached a point where 150 tunnels have been destroyed ... [of which] about 100 were tunnels dug with engineering tools on the surface, covered with a meter or two of earth, which are also easy to find after the fact because they appear in photographs," he continued, noting that the remaining tunnels will be destroyed by the army.

"What is most important, in my opinion, is to remember the aims of the war, both with regards to Hamas and the hostages, and to look north now," Gallant added.

The Civil Defense in Gaza announced on Wednesday that at least two people had been killed and 10 children injured in a new Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, with the Israeli army accusing Hamas of hiding a base there.

"Two bodies were pulled from the rubble and 15 injured people, including 10 children, were taken to hospital after Israeli airstrikes on the Salaheddine school in Gaza City," Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP.

The Israeli military said it carried out "a precision strike on Hamas terrorists operating in a command center" inside the school.

Hezbollah organized a media tour of the sites hit yesterday by Israel in the Saraine Valley and Nabi Sheet.

The party briefed journalists on the damage to homes near the targeted areas in Nabi Sheet and the impact on farmland in the Saraine Valley, Hellanieh, and Nabi Sheet.

Israeli artillery fire targeted homes in the center of the town of Markaba (Marjayoun), residents told L'Orient Today's correspondent.

Israeli jets also carried out a strike on Kfar Kila (Marjayoun).

Update on the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border early this afternoon:

- Israeli artillery bombarded the surroundings of the town of Alma al-Shaab (Sour) shortly before 2 p.m., reports L'Orient Today's correspondent, informed by residents.

- Around 3 p.m., three shells hit the town of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil), while a salvo of shells was launched on the square of Taybeh (Marjayoun).

- Hezbollah announced it had hit an Israeli Merkava tank with a guided missile at the Abbasieh site, "in support of the Palestinian people of Gaza."

- Hezbollah announced that it had bombed at 2:20 p.m. with Katyusha rockets the military barracks of Ramim (opposite the Lebanese village of Markaba), headquarters of the forces of the Israeli Golani Brigade, in retaliation for the Israeli attack on Beit Lif which left one dead.

- In a second statement, the party claimed responsibility for the bombing of "enemy positions" in Misgav Am (opposite the Lebanese town of Kfar Kila), at 2:45 p.m., using rockets, claiming to have "directly hit" them.

- Hezbollah announced that it had bombarded the Israeli site of Malkia (opposite the Lebanese village of Aitaroun) with heavy artillery at 2:45 p.m.

The final casualties toll from the Israeli strikes on the Bekaa Valley during the night stands at one dead and 30 injured, including 26 Lebanese and 4 Syrians, according to the Ministry of Health.

The strikes resulted in the death of a Lebanese citizen. Among the injured, five people were hospitalized, one of whom is in critical condition. Additionally, there are nine children among the injured, our correspondent in the Bekaa reports.

The Syrian refugee killed in the Israeli strike this morning that targeted a refugee camp in the Mazraat Sarda area near Wazzani was Ahmad Mahmoud El-Assaf, according to a Lebanese resident of Wazzani who knew the victim.

Ahmad had fled Raqqa, Syria, for Lebanon eight years ago. He was the father of five children, ranging in age from 8 months to 11 years. At the time of the strike, Ahmad had taken his five sheep outside near his home.

Ahmad will be buried in Syria. His body remains at Marjayoun Hospital.

The funeral of Khalil Maqdah, a senior commander in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Saïda, will take place at 4 p.m. this afternoon in the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian camp, attended by various Palestinian factions and religious authorities, according to our correspondent.

The deceased's brother, Mounir Maqdah, a key Fatah official in Lebanon, has requested that all attendees refrain from firing gunshots out of respect for the victim and the residents of Ain el-Helweh camp.

The Israeli army confirmed on Wednesday that it carried out an "airstrike" targeting Khalil Maqdah, a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army accuses Maqdah and his brother Mounir of "acting on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard," and of being "involved in organizing terrorist attacks" and "weapons trafficking" to the occupied West Bank.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades announced in a statement the death of one of their leaders, Khalil al-Maqdad. "The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Liberation Movement - Fatah, proudly announce to our Palestinian people and to the free people of the Arab and Islamic nations the heroic martyrdom of Khalil al-Maqdad," the statement reads, praising the deceased's role "in supporting resistance cells against the Zionist occupation in the West Bank."

Maqdad was killed in the Israeli strike on a vehicle in Saida.

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for an aerial attack using drone swarms on the reserve headquarters of the Israeli army's northern command in Ami'ad, which also serves as the reserve base for the Galilee Division and its logistical depots.

According to the party's statement, the command posts and positions of officers and soldiers were directly targeted. The attack is said to be in response to Israeli aggression against the Bekaa region.

Ami'ad is located about 20 kilometers from the Lebanese border, north of the Sea of Galilee.

The victim in the vehicle targeted by an Israeli drone in Saida is reported to be Khalil al-Maqdah, the brother of Mounir al-Maqdah, a leader of the Palestinian Fatah movement in Lebanon, according to preliminary information from our correspondent.

This information was confirmed by a Palestinian source, who also noted that the victim was a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The Palestinian camp of Ain el-Helwe has also announced the death of the Palestinian leader.

Mounir Maqdah is the leader of Fatah movement’s military wing Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in Lebanon. He is based in the Ain el-Helwe Palestinian refugee camp in Saida, southern Lebanon. He has been accused multiple times through Israeli statements of smuggling weapons to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the Palestinian West Bank in Palestine.

An Israeli drone killed one person in the villas neighborhood of Saida after targeting a utility vehicle in front of the Imam Ali mosque, according to our correspondent. The information was confirmed by the Ministry of Health, which provided a preliminary death toll.

The car caught fire. Witnesses on the scene transported the driver to the hospital, while the military established a security cordon and security forces began an investigation.

Photo provided by our correspondent.

The vehicle hit by an Israeli drone strike in the villas neighborhood of Saida.

A drone targeted a car in the villas neighborhood of Saida, according to our correspondent.

The deal to end the fighting in Gaza is on the verge of collapsing, with no clear and immediate alternative in sight, according to two American and two Israeli officials cited by Politico on Monday. This comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a Middle East tour, emphasized the urgency of securing a cease-fire.

The current proposal, developed by the U.S., Israel, Egypt and Qatar, is described as the "strongest" version of the agreement to date, tailored to meet the demands of both Hamas and Israel. American officials are increasingly concerned that this proposal might fail like the previous ones, with continued disagreements between Hamas and Israel and no clear path to ending the fighting or securing the release of hostages.

Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters, Hussein Moustapha, born in 1975, who was killed by the Israeli strike on Beit Lif, according to our correspondent.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health has confirmed two people were killed in this morning's strikes in the south. In a statement, the ministry reported that the strike on a vehicle in Beit Lif killed one Lebanese national, and the artillery fire near Wazzani resulted in one death in the targeted refugee camp.

The Israeli army reported that it identified around 50 rockets fired from Lebanon, some of which were intercepted, according to Haaretz. It added that a 30-year-old man was lightly injured, two homes were directly hit in Katzrin in northern Israel, and fires broke out in the area.

The Israeli army also announced that its air force killed a Hezbollah militant overnight in Beit Lif, southern Lebanon.

The clashes in southern Lebanon resumed at dawn on Wednesday after a particularly tumultuous night marked by intensified Israeli attacks and Hezbollah responses, according to our correspondent:

From 3 a.m., Hezbollah announced in a statement that it had targeted a group of moving Israeli soldiers near the Zareit barracks with artillery shells.

By 4 a.m., Israeli aircraft were flying over the city of Saida and its surrounding villages at high altitude.

By 5 a.m., Israeli artillery fired five shells at the vicinity of Khiam (Marjayoun district).

From 7 a.m., new bombings targeted the Bird Plain in Khiam. Additionally, an Israeli bombing hit a Syrian refugee camp in the Mazraat Saradat area (near Wazzani, Marjayoun district), killing one Syrian national and destroying several tents. A drone also targeted a vehicle in Beit Lif (Bint Jbeil), killing its driver, according to medical sources.

Around 8 a.m., an Israeli drone flew over the city of Saida and the Palestinian camps. Israeli artillery bombarded the banks of the Litani River and the surrounding area of Deir Mimas (Marjayoun).

Hezbollah immediately retaliated, launching shells from the south towards Israeli positions in the occupied Golan. The party claimed in a statement to have attacked the Tsnobar logistics base in the occupied Syrian Golan with Katyusha rockets in response to the Israeli attacks on the Bekaa. This is the second time this northern command base of the Israeli army has been hit. Located 18 km from the Lebanese border, it is an infantry training site and includes an artillery ammunition center. It is protected by the Israeli Iron Dome.

In a second statement, Hezbollah announced it had directly targeted a site at Hadab Yaron using an explosive drone in retaliation for the Israeli attacks on Beit Lif.

In a message on X, the Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli military, Avichay Adraee, stated that the air force targeted “Hezbollah weapon and ammunition depots in the Bekaa” during the night.

“Secondary explosions were observed immediately after these raids, indicating the presence of combat material in the targeted warehouses.” Adraee also mentioned bombing “a complex used by the party’s air defense system.” He accused Hezbollah of deploying its combat equipment in the heart of civilian residential areas.

In Lebanon, the night was marked by intense Israeli strikes on the Baalbeck region, resulting in at least one death according to the Health Ministry, and two according to our local correspondent Sarah Abdallah. About twenty others were injured, including children and a pregnant woman.

More details here.

A senior official accompanying Blinken earlier criticized the remarks attributed to the Israeli Prime Minister, stating that they were "not constructive" during ongoing negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told the families of the Oct. 7 attack victims that Israel would insist on maintaining control over the Philadelphi corridor, a border area between Gaza and Egypt that Israeli forces have controlled during the war. In response, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the U.S. has "very clearly" established from the start of the conflict that it does not accept a long-term Israeli occupation of Gaza. He added that recent negotiations were "very clear" about the schedule and locations for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza, which Israel has agreed to, without explicitly addressing Netanyahu's comments.

Israel captured Gaza in 1967 but withdrew its troops in 2005, while maintaining a blockade on the Palestinian territory.

After his ninth trip to the Middle East in ten months, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the urgency of reaching a cease-fire in Gaza during a statement in Qatar. "Time is running out" for a cease-fire agreement, he told reporters before leaving Doha's airport. "It needs to happen, and it must happen in the coming days," he stressed.

Israel has agreed to a compromise proposal submitted by the U.S. on Friday after two days of negotiations in Doha. "We expect Hamas to do the same," Blinken stated.

Overnight developments on the Lebanon-Israeli border:

At 9:30 p.m.:

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for two attacks on Tuesday evening. The first targeted the Yaara barracks, home to the headquarters of the 300th Western Brigade, with Katyusha rockets in response to Israeli attacks on Naqoura. The second hit the Birket Richa military position with heavy artillery shells, resulting in a "direct hit." The party also announced that its air defense unit fired a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli aircraft that had violated Lebanese airspace, forcing it to retreat.

From 11 p.m.:

The Israeli Air Force carried out a series of raids on homes in the towns of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district), Ramieh (Bint Jbeil), Houla (Marjayoun), and Naqoura (Sour district). The homes were destroyed, but no casualties were reported.

Around midnight:

Hezbollah announced the death of four of its fighters who were killed in the airstrike on Dhaira (Sour district): Raed Ali Khattab from Aita al-Shaab, Ziad Mohammed Qashmar from Halloussiyeh, Ali Ahmed Daqmak from Nabatieh, and Mohammad Ghazi Chahine from Sour.

Make sure to read today's Morning Brief to catch up on yesterday's key events and today's upcoming ones.

Good morning! Thank you for joining us for today's live coverage of the Gaza war and its regional impacts.