Thank you for following today's live coverage of the Gaza war and its regional impacts. Make sure to come back tomorrow for all the latest updates.
A White House spokesperson reported Monday on “progress” in the discussions regarding a cease-fire in Gaza despite Sunday’s attack by Lebanese Hezbollah on Israel, and assured that the negotiations were “constructive.”
“We expect these discussions (...) to continue at least over the next few days,” said John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council.
In southern Lebanon: Hezbollah announced that it launched a squadron of drones at the Shraga barracks, the new headquarters of the 146th Command, located on the Israeli coast, more than 10 kilometers from the Lebanese border.
-The party also announced that it launched another squadron of drones at the new headquarters of the 91st Division in Ayelet Hashahar.
Here are the latest developments in southern Lebanon:
- Israeli artillery shelled the areas around Naqoura (Sour) around 7:15 p.m.
- According to the Ministry of Health, a man was hospitalized in intensive care at Marjayoun Hospital after being asphyxiated in Wazzani by phosphorus bombs launched by the Israelis.
The threat of an attack against Israel by Iran and its regional allies still exists, the United States said on Monday following a weekend marked by extensive bombardments by Hezbollah, which is pro-Iranian, on Israeli territory.
“We believe that a threat of attack still exists, and we (...) remain in a position to support Israel's defense and protect our forces if they are attacked,” Pentagon spokesperson General Pat Ryder told reporters.
The U.N. was forced to suspend its humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip on Monday due to a new Israeli evacuation order targeting Deir al-Balah in the center of the Palestinian territory, a senior U.N. official announced.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October, the U.N. has occasionally had to “delay or pause” its operations, “but never to the extent of saying concretely that we can no longer do anything” as is the case now, he added, while still expressing a desire to resume operations as soon as possible.
Latest from south Lebanon:
* The Israeli army struck the village of Alman (Marjayoun) for the first time since the beginning of the war, residents of the village told L'Orient-Le Jour.
* An area between the villages of Rshaf, Hadatha, and Tiri in Bint Jbeil district was struck by Israeli jets, according to residents of the area.
* The Israeli army shelled an area located north of Kfar Kila village in Marjayoun district, residents of the area told L'Orient-Le Jour.
* Sirens were activated twice in northern Israel in the last hour according to Haaretz.
Suspended since Sunday, Air France and Transavia flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut are expected to resume "starting Tuesday," the airline said in a statement sent to AFP on Monday.
Latest from southern Lebanon:
* The Israeli army struck an area between Jisr al-Khardali and Deir Mimas village between the Marjayoun and Nabatieh districts, residents of the areas told L'Orient-Le Jour.
* The outskirts of Deir Siryan (Marjayoun) were also struck according to residents of the area.
* The airstrike reported earlier on Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun) destroyed a house in the village with no casualties being recorded, residents of the area told our correspondent.
Latest from South Lebanon:
* The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Naqoura (Sour), residents of the area told L'Orient-Le Jour.
* The Israeli army launched an airstrike on the eastern neighborhoods of Mais al-Jabal in the Marjayoun district, residents told our correspondent.
(Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
The father of Ayman Kamel Idriss, Amal Movement member who was killed on Sunday in an Israeli bombing in South Lebanon, in mourning. According to our journalist on the scene, the funeral ceremony began in Nabatieh and will continue in Khiam (Marjayoun district). Gunfire echoed during the funeral procession carrying the coffin.
Egypt has reiterated that it has not accepted Israel's presence at the Rafah border crossing or in the Philadelphi Corridor, according to a high-ranking source cited by public broadcaster Al Qahera News TV on Monday and reported by Reuters.
One of the main sticking points in the cease-fire negotiations in Gaza, mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, is Israel's insistence on being present in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow 14.5 km strip of land along Gaza's southern border with Egypt.
Hamas accused Israel of committing “the most heinous forms of genocide known to mankind in the modern era,” before the eyes and ears of the entire world, calling on the international community and the U.N. to put an end to the genocide and crimes against civilians in Deir Balah and against al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital.
In a statement on Telegram, the Islamist party condemned “the criminal escalation, the brutal raids, the forced displacement under shelling, and the crowding of unarmed citizens and without the slightest humanitarian service into cramped areas”. Hamas further denounced “the decommissioning of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.”
“We renew our call to the international community, the United Nations and its organizations to put an end to this genocide, to force the occupation to stop its crimes against innocent civilians in Deir al-Balah and against al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital,” Hamas added.
An Israeli drone targeted the town of Hanine (Bint Jbeil), reports L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south, citing local residents. Artillery fire also targeted Shebaa (Hasbaya).
Hezbollah also announced its first attack of the day which they said took place at 2 p.m. against the surveillance equipment of the Israeli position of Ramieh facing the Lebanese village of Ramieh (Bint Jbeil) using explosive drones.
The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip announced a new death toll of 40,435 in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel, now in its eleventh month.
At least 30 people have been killed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said in a statement, adding that 93,534 people have been injured in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.
Three Israeli airstrikes, reported by local residents to L'Orient Today's correspondent, on Tayr Harfa (Sour), Taybeh and Kfar Kila (Marjayoun).
The identity of the person targeted by an Israeli drone strike in Saida is still unclear, but sources told L'Orient Today that it was a Hamas official. The movement did not confirm, however, but simply referred to a "Palestinian official."
The target of this strike was able to flee the scene at the time of the strike. His location was not immediately clear.
The charred remains of the car targeted by an Israeli drone in Saida on Aug. 26, 2024. (Credit: Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
More information on the targeted strike on a car in Saida, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent:
The car, a Honda CRV off-road vehicle, was hit, but the person inside managed to jump out and escape. It is still unclear who was targeted.
The strike injured three people who were in nearby buildings, which were partially damaged.
The target of the strike was injured before he could get out of the vehicle and is now hiding in a building near the scene. Ambulances and people in civilian clothes have surrounded the building. The condition of the person targeted was not immediately clear.
Israel lost its deterrent power because it was unable to anticipate the time and location of Hezbollah's "limited and managed attack," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a message posted on X on Monday
After Hamas claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Tel Aviv, the Israeli military announced on X that an air force drone destroyed the launchers from which the projectiles were fired at the city of Rishon Letzion in central Israel.
"Last night (Sunday), the Hamas terrorist organization fired a rocket-propelled grenade from a location approximately 25 meters from the area of a school in Khan Younis toward the city of Rishon Letzion," the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, stated on X. "The 98th Air Force detected the source of the fire and ordered an air unit to launch a precision attack on the platform from which the rocket was fired, as well as on other terrorist infrastructure used by terrorists in the area," he added.
A car was targeted by an Israeli drone strike in Saida, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent. No information was immediately available on the toll of this strike or the person targeted.
Caretaker Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib spoke by telephone with the head of European Union diplomacy, Josep Borrell. The two men discussed the latest developments in the region, following Hezbollah's response to the killing of one of its commanders at the end of July, and Borrell said he supported Lebanon's demand for "immediate implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701." Bou Habib stressed the need for the EU to "put pressure on Israel to end its aggression against Lebanon."
The two senior diplomats finally regretted that the last round of negotiations on a cease-fire in Gaza did not result in a "breakthrough."
Sixty international organizations defending the press are calling on the European Union to suspend its association agreement with Israel, after almost eleven months of attacks on media freedom and "unprecedented" deaths of journalists in the war with Hamas.
Since the Islamist movement's attack on Israeli soil on Oct. 7, Benjamin Netanyahu's government has taken a series of measures "to restrict media freedom that has effectively led to the establishment of a regime of censorship," wrote the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), in a joint letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. They call on EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to suspend the association agreement – which notably covers trade – and "targeted sanctions against those responsible" for human rights violations.
A source familiar with the Cairo summit said yesterday that "the discussions took place in a positive atmosphere, and the teams are entering a new phase of the negotiations and an important process aimed at filling the gaps." According to this source, "there are still differences between the parties. Despite the productive discussions, there is still a long way to go."
Hamas said its delegation left Cairo after meeting with Qatari and Egyptian mediators and receiving an update on the results of the negotiations. Hamas demanded that Israel abide by the agreements reached on July 2, in accordance with the framework outlined by President Biden and the U.N. Security Council resolution.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is expected to travel to Tehran later today, Haaretz reports. At a previous summit last week, Al Thani called the Iranian foreign minister twice to brief him on the progress of negotiations with Israel over a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
"Nasrallah in Beirut and Khamenei in Tehran must know that this is a new step on the path to changing the situation in the north" of Israel, declared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night, who was meeting his cabinet in Tel Aviv, after the Hezbollah strikes against Israel, according The Washington Post.
Iran is not seeking to increase tensions in the Middle East, its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani, adding that its retaliation for the assassination of the Hamas leader in Tehran will be "definitive and calculated," Reuters reported.
Yesterday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi called on the U.N. Security Council to take "deterrent" measures against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers who "kill all chances of achieving peace."
Last night, Hamas announced that it rejected the new conditions set by Israel in the negotiations on the cease-fire in Gaza, and its delegation left Cairo, where the latest round of talks were taking place.
The main sticking points in the ongoing talks, mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, are over Israel's presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow 14.5-kilometer strip of land along Gaza's southern border with Egypt. Hamas said Israel has reneged on its commitment to withdraw its troops from the corridor and set new conditions, including control over displaced Palestinians who will return to the more densely populated north of the enclave after a cease-fire takes effect.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least five Palestinians in Gaza City early this morning, according to the state-run Palestinian news agency Wafa. The agency also reported several injuries in the attack.
The strike targeted a house near Patient's Friends Hospital in the western part of Gaza City, Wafa reported, citing medical sources. Israeli military officials did not immediately comment on the strikes.
Along the Lebanese-Israeli border, after a tense day following Hezbollah's retaliatory attack against Israel for its killing of its military commander Fouad Shukur at the end of July, there were no bombings during the night with only one interception being reported so far this morning after an "attempted aerial infiltration."
Hamas announced yesterday evening on Telegram that its armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, bombed Tel Aviv with an M90 missile "in response to the Zionist massacres against civilians and the deliberate displacement of the Palestinian people."
According to Haaretz, rocket sirens sounded in central Israel in the city of Rishon Letzion, a few kilometers south of Tel Aviv, and a rocket landed in an open area. The last rocket sirens activated in Rishon Letzion were in late January.
Make sure to read the Morning Brief so you are caught up with what has been happening.
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