Two teenagers killed in Israeli strike on motorcycle in southern Lebanon: Day 341 of the Gaza war

This concludes our live coverage for today. Be sure to return tomorrow for the latest updates.

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Hezbollah announced that its fighters targeted the 8200 military intelligence brigade in the Matat barracks, opposite the Lebanese town of Rmaish (Bint Jbeil) "with a salvo of rockets."

The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, announced that it had "fired a salvo of 30 rockets from southern Lebanon at the headquarters of the Western Brigade 300 in Khirbet Maar in the northern Western Galilee."

"The rockets targeted the brigade's artillery positions, its maintenance center, as well as the gathering of enemy forces there," the brigades added in their statement.

Latest developments on the Lebanese-Israeli border:

- The Israeli air force targeted Marwahine (Sour), a resident reported to L'Orient Today's correspondent.

- The two brothers killed by the Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle in Biyyada (Sour) were named Ishac and Hussein Aalyan, L'Orient Today's correspondent reports. The Lebanese Ministry of Health confirmed their deaths without revealing their identities.

- Hezbollah announced that its fighters targeted at 6 p.m. an Israeli soldier position on the site of Abad, which faces the Lebanese village of Houla.

- The Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike targeting the Khreibeh region, located between Khiam and Rachaya al-Foukhar (Marjayoun), a resident reported to L'Orient Today's correspondent. The area was hit by six rockets.

Gaza's Civil Defense said 14 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school converted into a shelter for Palestinians displaced by war, with the Israeli military saying it targeted Hamas "terrorists."

"There are 14 martyrs and several wounded following the massacre at the Al-Jouni school in the Nusseirat refugee camp" in the central Gaza Strip, Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told AFP. He had earlier specified that "women and children" were among the dead.

Latest developments in southern Lebanon:

- A medical source told L'Orient Today's correspondent that the two brothers injured by the Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle in Biyyada (Sour) succumbed to their injuries. They were 12 and 17 years old and their identities have not yet been specified.

- Israeli aircraft again targeted Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil) as well as Houla (Marjeyoun), according to residents. According to a security source, the attack on Houla targeted a home.

(Credit: Photo sent by residents to our correspondent)

The Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle in Biyyada (Sour) injured two people, one of them seriously, our correspondent reported, citing a security source.

The two casualties are brothers, the source added.

⚡ A security source reported to our correspondent that an Israeli drone launched a strike on a motorcycle on the Biyyada road, in the Sour district. Ambulances were dispatched to the scene.

Israeli artillery also targeted the outskirts of Marwahine, Umm al-Tout and Boustane, in the Sour district, according to residents.

Here are the latest updates from the South Lebanon-Israel border:

- In response to the Israeli attack on the Lebanese southern village of Zibqine, Hezbollah announced that it fired Katyusha rockets at the new headquarters of the 146th Division forces in the new Israeli Abirim base.  

- 30 rockets were launched at Abirim, Haaretz reported citing the Israeli army.

- Hezbollah also announced that it fired Katyusha rockets at the Israeli Zaoura artillery positions in the occupied Syrian Golan. The attack was in response to the Israeli attacks on the villages of Khiam (Marjayoun) and Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil) earlier today. 

The health ministry in Gaza has announced that Israel's military offensive in the enclave has killed at least 41,084 Palestinians and wounded 95,029 since Oct. 7.

At least 64 people have been killed in the last 24 hours, the ministry added. 

Latest updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border:

•⁠ ⁠The Ministry of Health announced that a citizen suffered from breathing problems due to the Israeli phosphorus shelling on the village of Khiam and that he was admitted to the Marjayoun Governmental Hospital for treatment.

•⁠ ⁠Israeli artillery shelling has targeted the village of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), residents told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South.

•⁠ ⁠Sirens sounded in the village of Kfar Szold in Northern Israel, according to Haaretz.

Latest developments in southern Lebanon:

- Israeli artillery fire towards the village of Khiam (Marjayoun) targeted the surroundings of a Civil Defense center of the Islamic Health Committee, linked to Hezbollah, according to the testimonies of residents relayed by L'Orient Today's correspondent.

- Warning sirens sounded in the village of Abirim in northern Israel, according to Haaretz.

- In response to the Israeli attack that targeted a residential building in Nabatieh yesterday, Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli military checkpoint in the village of Dan, across from Khiam. Haaretz previously reported that a man was injured by rocket fire in Dan this afternoon.

The U.N. refugee agency (UNRWA) said nearly 530,000 children had been vaccinated against polio in the Gaza Strip, in a post on X. The organization added that its vaccination campaign was continuing in the north of the Palestinian enclave.

 "We continue to work around the clock to vaccinate all children under 10 years old," the agency added, assuring that "despite all the obstacles ... the polio vaccination campaign continues."

Hezbollah announced the death of one of its members; Ali Abed Ali from the southern Lebanese village of Aitit. According to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South, he was killed in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a motorcycle in the village of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun) earlier today. 438 Hezbollah members have been killed in Lebanon and Syria since Oct. 8.

Latest updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border:

•⁠ ⁠A man was wounded by rocket fire from Lebanon in the village of Dan in Northern Israel this afternoon, according to Haaretz. After the rocket fire, the Israeli army said that its "warplanes attacked a Hezbollah launcher from which projectiles were launched at Israel, as well as another launcher that was ready to be used."

•⁠ ⁠Ten Israeli artillery shells have fallen on the neighborhood of Baraka in the village of Khiam (Marjzyoun), residents told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South.

•⁠ ⁠Israel fired mortar shells towards the Wazzani parks in the Hasbaya district, according to residents. The Israeli army also fired at the same area with heavy machine guns.

•⁠ ⁠Intense Israeli artillery and phosphorus shelling targeted the village of Dhaira (Sour), residents told L'Orient Today.

•⁠ ⁠Continuous sporadic shelling has been targeting the village of Khiam (Marjayoun), according to residents' testimonies relayed by L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South. Moreover, the neighborhood of Asafir in the village has been subjected to phosphorus shelling.

•⁠ ⁠The Upper Galilee Regional Council asked the residents of several northern Israeli towns to "reduce their movements, avoid gatherings, and stay near shelters," according to Haaretz. The towns in question are "Shamir, Kfar Szold, Kfar Blum, Amir, and Sde Nehamia, ... as well as the region's evacuated areas."

Latest updates from South Lebanon:

* Israeli warplanes have targeted Jabal Merimin in the outskirts of Yater (Bint Jbeil district) and have carried out two airstrikes on the outskirts of Rashaya al-Foukhar (Hasbaya) causing forest fires, residents told our correspondent in the South.

* An explosive Israeli drone has detonated in the village of Maroun al-Ras (Bint Jbeil), residents told L'Orient Today. This is the third Israeli drone to explode in this village today. Israel rarely targets South Lebanon with explosive drones; the Israeli army usually carries out drone airstrikes.

* Israeli artillery shelling has targeted the outskirts of Blida (Marjayoun), according to residents.

Hezbollah announced that it fired rockets at a group of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Israeli site of Raheb, facing the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district), at 8:30 a.m.

Moreover, the party said that it fired rockets at the Israeli site of Ruwaisat al-Qorn and the Zebdine barracks in the disputed Shebaa farms at 10:25 a.m.

Finally, Hezbollah claimed that it targeted a barricade where Israeli soldiers were positioned in the Metula site, facing Khiam (Marjeyoun), at 12:25 pm.

Other updates from South Lebanon:

* Two small Israeli drones have exploded in the park of the village of Maroun al-Ras (Bint Jbeil), our correspondent reported citing residents.

* Israeli artillery shelling has targeted the villages of Mhaibib (Marjayoun), Naqoura (Sour) and the heights of Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya), residents told L'Orient Today.

An Israeli drone has targeted a motorcycle in the village of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun district), residents told our correspondent in the South. According to the residents and the Ministry of Health, a person has been killed and another has been injured in the airstrike. The Ministry added that this is just an initial toll. The strike took place in the southern neighborhood near the main road of the village, according to our correspondent.

Hezbollah has announced the death of one of its fighters, Hani Hussein Ezzeddine, born in 2001 and from Deir Kanoun al-Nahr in southern Lebanon. Ezzeddine was killed "on the road to Jerusalem," a term used by the party to announce the deaths of its fighters in Israeli strikes in Lebanon and Syria since Oct. 8. It was previously unclear where he was killed.

Since Hezbollah opened the "support front" in southern Lebanon, the party has lost 437 fighters in Lebanon and Syria.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven others injured in the crash of an Israeli military helicopter in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, Haaretz reports.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported five deaths from Israeli airstrikes in Toubas, in the occupied West Bank, according to spokesperson Ahmed Jibril. These deaths are "the result of Israeli bombardments targeting a group of civilians," the spokesperson said. The Red Crescent specified that the strikes occurred near the Al-Tawhid Mosque.

The Israeli military, for its part, stated that it is "currently conducting counterterrorism operations in the Toubas and Tamoun areas" and that one of its aircraft "struck an armed terrorist cell" in the Toubas area, in northern West Bank.

U.S. President Joe Biden, for his part, described the activist's death as "an accident."

"Apparently, it was an accident; there was a ricochet off the ground and she was hit by accident," Biden said, prompting anger from the family.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, for his part, discussed with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant to express "his deep concern about the responsibility (of the Israeli military) in the unprovoked and unjustified death of an American citizen," according to a Pentagon statement. He also urged Israel to review "the rules of engagement" of the military during its operations in the West Bank.

In the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated that the Israeli military needs to make "fundamental changes" following the "unjustified" killing of an American-Turkish activist during a protest in the occupied West Bank.

The investigation and testimonies indicate that the death of 26-year-old activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi "was not provoked and is unjustified," Blinken told reporters in London. "No one should be shot for participating in a protest," he said. "In our view, the Israeli security forces need to make fundamental changes in their operations in the West Bank, including their rules of engagement," the Secretary of State added.

In Gaza, the Israeli army revealed last night images of the narrow tunnel in which it claims to have found the bodies of six hostages "murdered by Hamas" about 10 days ago in the southern Gaza Strip.

The discovery of the six hostages' bodies, announced on Sept. 1, triggered large-scale protests demanding that the government do more to bring home the remaining hostages still held in Gaza.

Continuing with the Israeli strikes and fire on southern Lebanon during the night:

- Around 11 p.m., flares were fired over Dhaira (Sour) and Jabal Blat, between Ramaya and Marwahin (between the districts of Sour and Bint Jbeil).

- Around midnight, a house in Khiam (Marjayoun) was destroyed by an Israeli drone strike.

- At 1 a.m., a strike targeted the center of Tayr Harfa (Sour).

The night was also marked by a series of raids in southern Lebanon, according to security sources from our correspondent.

At 9:30 p.m.:

- Fighter jets bombarded Kfar Kila, in the district of Marjayoun, twice, destroying five houses.

- Intermittent artillery fire targeted Hanine and its surroundings, in the district of Bint Jbeil.

Around 10 p.m.:

- The areas around Bint Jbeil were flown over by a drone.

- Machine gun fire targeted Aita al-Shaab and Ramieh (Bint Jbeil). Flares were also fired over Aita al-Shaab.

Commenting on this morning's strikes, the Arabic-speaking spokesman for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, stated that "four areas in southern Lebanon" were bombarded to destroy "about 30 missile launch sites and Hezbollah military buildings, which posed a threat to Israeli citizens."

At 7 a.m.:

- New airstrikes targeted the outskirts of Naqoura, according to a security source. Ambulances have been dispatched to the site.

- The Israeli air force bombarded an area between Yohmor and Zawtar Sharqieh, in the district of Nabatieh.

After these raids, a resident of Sour told L'Orient-Le Jour that the doors of his house shook during the strikes “as if during an earthquake,” which caused the children to panic.

In southern Lebanon, the Israeli army launched ten violent strikes at dawn within thirty minutes on wooded areas in Zebqine, Shaatieh, and Qleileh in the district of Sour, according to local and security sources contacted by our correspondent. The explosions were heard as far as southern Saida, Nabatieh, Sour and the Zahrani region, according to residents.

Make sure to read the Morning Brief so you are caught up with what has been happening.

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