Netanyahu not doing enough to reach agreement on hostage release, says Biden | Day 332 of Gaza War

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A spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, said the Palestinian group issued new instructions to guards regarding the treatment of hostages if Israeli forces approach the detention sites, reiterating Israel's responsibility for the hostages' deaths.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the six hostages found dead in a tunnel in the Gaza Strip and brought back to Israel on Sunday were "executed" by Hamas with a "shot in the back of the head."

"These murderers executed six of our hostages by shooting them in the back of the head," he said at a press conference, with the Israeli Health Ministry indicating on Sunday that they had been killed "at point-blank range."

Benjamin Netanyahu also said that Israel must maintain control of a corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt, AFP reports.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked for "forgiveness" this evening from the families of the six Israeli hostages found dead in Gaza and buried in Israel on Sunday and Monday.

Addressing the families of the hostages at a rare news conference, Netanyahu said: "I apologize for not bringing them back alive. We were close but we did not succeed." 

"Israel will not accept the massacre of six hostages. Hamas will pay a heavy price," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, according to comments carried by Reuters.

He also stressed that Israel must control the Philadelphi corridor. 

The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories, Italy's Francesca Albanese, said that "Israel's genocidal violence" in Gaza risked spreading to the West Bank.

The independent expert, who was mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council but does not speak on behalf of the organization, has repeatedly accused Israel of "genocide" of Palestinians in Gaza.

In a new statement, she said "Israel's genocidal violence risks spilling out of Gaza and spreading throughout the occupied Palestinian territory."

"Israeli apartheid targets Gaza and the West Bank simultaneously, as part of a comprehensive process of elimination, replacement and territorial expansion," she stated. " Israel's longstanding impunity allows for the de-Palestinization" of the occupied territories, "leaving Palestinians at the mercy of forces that seek to eliminate them as a national group."

The Mossad chief traveled to Qatar today to negotiate the release of the hostages, according to Haaretz.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he was "disappointed" by London's announcement of a partial suspension of arms exports to Israel, AFP reports.

"I am deeply disappointed to learn of the sanctions imposed by the British government on arms export licenses," Gallant said on X.

The United Kingdom announced today that it was suspending around 30 of its 350 arms export licenses to Israel, citing a "risk" that the weapons would be used in violation of international law in Gaza.

Thousands of people protested outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in Jerusalem, Haaretz reports.

Police are now blocking the end of the street and have deployed significant forces, including mounted police, to the protest area.

The hostage's brother Ofer Calderon spoke out and addressed Netanyahu: "Your decisions kill hostages. My beloved brother, sorry, we are doing everything to get you back."

Protesters held a sit-in outside the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, according to Haaretz. 

Here are the latest developments in southern Lebanon:

- At 6:50 p.m., Hezbollah targeted the Bayad Blida position (facing the Lebanese village of Blida) with artillery shells, claiming to have hit it directly.

- The Civil Defense affiliated with the Amal movement, the al-Rissala Scouts, claimed to have participated in the rescue and firefighting operations after the Israeli airstrike that targeted Markaba. One injured person was transferred to a hospital in the area, it added.

Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the Israeli site of Manara, located opposite Houla (Marjeyoun), at 6:20 p.m.

The United Kingdom announced that it will suspend around thirty of its 350 arms export licenses to Israel, citing a "risk" that these weapons will be used in violation of international law, reports AFP.

"For some arms exports to Israel, there is a clear risk that they will be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law" in Gaza, Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the British Parliament.

Israeli artillery struck Houla (Marjayoun) twice, according to local residents. One of the strikes targeted a house.

An Israeli drone launched a two-missile attack on the banks of the Wazzani River, adjacent to the southern border, local residents reported.

Israeli forces are continuing their raids across the occupied West Bank, including in Tulkarem. Accompanied by several bulldozers, they entered the city from its western part and further besieged the Martyr Dr. Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital and al-Israa Speciality Hospital, Palestinian state news agency Wafa reported.

Bulldozers began destroying roads around al-Alimi roundabout, “causing widespread destruction to the city’s infrastructure and property."

"This morning, a vehicle driven by an employee of a cleaning company on the Tyre-Naqoura road, which operates with UNIFIL, was targeted, killing the contractor and another person on board who ... was returning from abroad," said the deputy director of the press office of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Candice Ardell.

“Attacks against civilians constitute violations of international humanitarian law and must cease,” she added. “Once again, we urge all parties to lay down their weapons, as a diplomatic solution is the only way forward,” she concluded.

Two casualties have been transferred, so far, from the targeted location in the town of Markaba (Marjayoun), according to a paramedic source.

Here is an update on the Hezbollah attacks against Israeli positions:

- Hezbollah said it targeted the Israeli Ramtha site in the disputed hills of Kfar Shouba at 3:55 pm.

- Hezbollah said it targeted the Israeli Zebdin site at 3:55 pm in the disputed Shebaa farms.

U.S. President Joe Biden said a final deal to release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza was very close, Reuters reports.

According to the agency, Biden does not believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing what is necessary to secure such a deal.

Israeli fighter jets targeted a house in Markaba (Marjeyoun), according to local residents. 

Hezbollah claimed to have bombarded the Israeli towns of Ain Ya'qub, Ga'atun and Yahyam with a series of Katyusha rockets, in response to the Israeli attack on Naqoura this morning.

These towns are located in the Upper Galilee, near Bint Jbeil.

Photo courtesy of al-Rissala Scouts

The Civil Defense affiliated with the Amal movement, the al-Rissala scouts, claimed to have participated "in the operations of clearing rubble and opening roads after the raids carried out yesterday on Tayr Harfa (Sour)."

The Israeli military ordered residents of the Western Galilee in northern Israel to stay close to shelters and avoid large gatherings, Haaretz reports. 

An Israeli labor court ordered an immediate end to a strike that began in the morning to increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.

"After hearing the opinions of the parties and reading the documents filed, we are issuing a national order banning the strike that has been launched, specifying that the strike must end today at 2:30 p.m.," the Tel Aviv Labor Court said in its decision, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

Israeli artillery fire targeted the al-Wadi area on the outskirts of southern Lebanon's Shebaa in the Hasbaya district, residents told our correspondent.

The general strike that began in Israel earlier today ended 2:30 p.m., after a Tel Aviv court ruled in favor of a petition filed against the labor union mobilization, Haaretz reports. The strike was originally set to end at 6:00 p.m.

Yesterday's Israeli white phosphorus shell strike on Khiam resulted in toxic smoke inhalation incidents among residents, with one person requiring hospitalization at the Marjayoun Governmental Hospital, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

At least 40,786 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7, Gaza’s health ministry announced.

Another 94,224 Palestinians have been wounded during the attacks.

According to Gaza's health ministry, 72,611 children were vaccinated on the first day of the anti-polio campaign, launched yesterday in the center of the enclave.

To find out more about the vaccination campaign, press here.👈 

Two projectiles struck a merchant ship off the Yemeni city of Hodeida, which is controlled by Houthi rebels, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The agency reported no casualties and stated that damage assessment is ongoing, with the vessel en route to its next port of call.

No immediate claim of responsibility has been made for the attack, but the area has experienced similar incidents involving Yemeni Houthi rebels in recent months. These pro-Iranian insurgents, who control Hodeida and large areas of Yemen, have targeted ships they suspect are linked to Israel, citing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an artillery strike at 10.10 am against an Israeli position on the "Adather heights," opposite the Lebanese village of Rmeish (Bint Jbeil).

(Credit: Image sent to our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah)

More updates on the drone strike on a car near Naqoura (Sour):

- A source from Naqoura told our correspondent that the targeted vehicle belongs to a cleaning company contracted by the U.N. to conduct various cleaning services.

- Local residents reported that the two people killed in the Israeli strike are: Hussein Mehdi Mehdi, an employee at Techno Building Materials (TBM) and the brother of Abbas Mehdi, who was killed on May 21 in an Israeli strike also on Naqoura. TBM confirmed to L'Orient Today that Hussein Mehdi was one of their employees. 

The second person killed was his cousin, Ali Youssef Mehdi, an expatriate who had arrived in Lebanon two days ago and was eager to visit Naqoura. 

Israeli machine-gun fire this morning hit a truck traveling on the road between Kfar Kila and Odaisseh, in South Lebanon's Marjayoun district, residents told our correspondent in the region. 

The vehicle's tires and driver's door were damaged. However, the driver was uninjured and was able to reach the locality of Taybeh (Marjayoun) — with the help of civil defense personnel affiliated with Hezbollah. 

Passengers wait for flights at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv during a nationwide strike on Sept. 2, 2024. (Credit: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP)

Departures from Ben-Gurion Airport resumed at around 10 a.m. after two hours of interruptions due to the strike, according to Haaretz.

The Israeli media reports that, while most sectors have been closed since this morning, some continue to operate, including hospitals, which are running at reduced capacity, companies in charge of unloading perishable goods and medicines at the ports, reception centers for young people with special needs, fire and rescue services, public infrastructures such as the official electricity and water supplier, but which are running at reduced capacity, supermarkets, railroads and nurseries.

President Joe Biden will sit down today with U.S. negotiators pushing for a hostage-release deal in the Gaza war, AFP reported citing the White House, after the deaths of six captives in Gaza, including an American citizen.

Biden's official schedule was revised to make time for the White House meeting, which will also be attended by Vice President Kamala Harris

To find out more, press here.👈

The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed that two people were killed in the Israeli drone strike that targeted a car near Naqoura.

⚡ Two people were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a car near Naqoura (South), according to medical and local sources.

Israeli demonstrators on a Tel Aviv road on Sept. 1.(Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)

Hundreds of demonstrators continue to block roads throughout Israel, reported Haaretz.

Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters, Hussein Ahmad al-Moussaoui, from Nabi Sheet, in the Baalbeck district. According to information from our correspondent, he was the victim of the Beit Lif strike.

435 Hezbollah fighters have been killed by Israel in Lebanon and Syria since Oct. 8. 2023, according to our count. 

The casualty toll from the Israeli strike on Beit Lif, which targeted a house, rose in the evening, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Health.

In addition to the one killed person announced earlier yesterday, the number of the injured rose to eight: one man and seven girls aged between 10 and 16. One of them, aged 13, is seriously injured.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for two attacks last night: 

- The first targeted a "building used by Israeli soldiers in Avivim", opposite the Lebanese village of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil).

*This morning, Haaretz reported that an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit a house in this Israeli village, without causing any casualties. The house was heavily damaged. Reacting to the strike, Regional Council head Amit Sofer said that "missiles are not on strike," while many Israeli institutions are on strike to demand the release of hostages in the hands of Hamas. "We call on the government to expand its strikes in Lebanon."

-The second Hezbollah strike targeted "a position of the Intelligence Battalion 8200, of the Galilee Division, in the Mattat barracks", opposite Lebanese Rmeish (Bint Jbeil). The attack was "in response to Israeli strikes on localities in southern Lebanon, particularly Beit Lif".

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In South Lebanon, last night was marked by several Israeli strikes, according to security sources contacted by our local correspondent Muntasser Abdallah:

- Israeli artillery fired at Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district) and Houla (Marjayoun).

- Israeli airstrikes targeted houses in Yaroun and Hanine, in the Bint Jbeil district.

- At around 1 a.m., Israeli airstrikes targeted a building in Blida (Marjayoun), while another airstrike bombed an area near the central square of Tayr Harfa (Sour).

This mobilization follows the Israeli army's announcement yesterday of the discovery of the bodies of six hostages in the Gaza Strip, where a devastating war has raged for nearly 11 months.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he was "devastated" and "outraged," while French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his "shock" and called for "an end to the war."

Israeli Police officers detain a protester in Tel Aviv on September 1, 2024. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)

Following the sit-in in Tel Aviv, police are holding 25 demonstrators, with some being questioned, Haaretz reported.

A group of doctors associated with the protest movement has reported that some protesters were "injured by police violence." The group described one protester as having been struck on the torso and head, another as having been hit in the head by a stun grenade, and an elderly woman as having sustained facial injuries.

Yesterday in Israel, tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated in several cities to demand an agreement on the release of the hostages.

In Tel Aviv, protesters blocked a highway.

Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion Airport has been closed to departures since 8 a.m., according to Haaretz.

Hospitals are operating at reduced capacity, and many universities and banks are participating in the strike.

Israelis have called for a "general strike" to pressure the government into securing the release of hostages, after the army discovered six dead hostages in a tunnel in Gaza.

Starting from 6 a.m. (3 a.m. GMT) on Monday, "the entire Israeli economy will be on general strike," Arnon Bar-David, head of the Histadrut trade union, said yesterday, adding, "We must stop this abandonment of the hostages."

Histadrut also announced that the airport will close at 8 a.m., with all take-offs and landings suspended.

To read more about the Israeli strike and protests, press here.👈

Here's the Morning Brief ☕!

Be sure to read it to catch up on all you've missed and what to expect this Monday.  

Good morning! 

Thank you for joining our live coverage of Day 332 of the Gaza war and its implications on the region — particularly Lebanon. 

This is day 331 since Hezbollah opened its "support front" in Lebanon for Gaza.