Thank you for joining us for our live coverage today. Be sure to come back tomorrow for all of the latest updates on the war in Gaza and the Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed fresh concerns about the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, in his sixth call with his Israeli counterpart in less than a week, Reuters reports.
The Pentagon said in a statement that Austin reiterated to Gallant "his concern over the ongoing escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah."
"The secretary of state stressed the importance of reaching a diplomatic resolution that allows residents to safely return to their homes on both sides of the border," the Pentagon said.
U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council that “the risk of a further expansion of the cycle of violence is extremely serious and poses a grave threat to the stability of Lebanon, Israel and the entire region.”
She also said that following the explosions of Hezbollah communications devices on Tuesday and Wednesday, the exchanges of fire along the Blue Line were showing “worrying signs of escalation.”
“I echo once again the words of the U.N. Secretary-General: We need an immediate cease-fire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and a massive increase in humanitarian assistance to Gaza,” she continued.
“States have developed international human rights law and humanitarian law precisely for moments like these when life, dignity and humanity itself are at risk,” Turk stated.
“I urge Israel and Hezbollah to immediately cease hostilities,” he concluded.
Before the Security Council, Turk said that “war has rules.”
“Armed force can only be used if it is necessary to achieve a valid military objective. In doing so, the fundamental distinction between civilian and military targets must be at the center of concerns,” he explained. “All possible precautions must be taken to spare civilians.”
"International human rights law exists to protect the equality and dignity of every human being, even in times of war," the diplomat noted. "Targeting thousands of people simultaneously, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowing who was in possession of the targeted devices, or where they were, or in what environment at the time of the attack, constitutes a violation of international human rights law and, where applicable, international humanitarian law," he stated.
“I am appalled by the scale and impact of the attacks on civilians in Lebanon on 17 and 18 September,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told the U.N. Security Council. “These attacks represent a new development in warfare, where communication tools become weapons, exploding simultaneously in markets, on street corners and in homes.”
“This situation has triggered fear, panic and horror among the Lebanese population, which has already been suffering from an increasingly unstable situation since October 2023 and is collapsing under a serious and long-lasting economic crisis,” he added. “This cannot be the new normal.”
The Foreign Ministry in Syria condemned the "continued Israeli crimes in the region" after the strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as the "American military and political support for Israeli aggression."
Denouncing Israel's "flagrant disregard" for "international law," Damascus said that the latest Israeli operations in Lebanon and Gaza "constitute a danger for the region and beyond."
Teams from the Civil Defense, the Lebanese Red Cross and the al-Rissala scouts affiliated with the Amal movement continue to clear rubble from the area targeted by the Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reports. Rescue teams recently managed to pull out a young man alive.
According to the NNA, the residential building in question consisted of 10 floors.
The Israeli embassy in Washington, quoted by Haaretz, said that “on the 41st anniversary of the bombing that targeted him, Ibrahim Aqil, one of the masterminds of the attack, who headed Hezbollah's operations unit, was eliminated by the Israeli army in a targeted intelligence-led strike in Beirut”.
20 members of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force were targeted in the Israeli strike in the southern suburbs, according to a Lebanese security source contacted by al-Jazeera. The strike targeted a meeting of the "Radwane Force command committee," attended by more than 20 people.
The attack, which involved four missiles, including at the parking lot of the targeted building, caused the building to collapse down to the second basement. While the fate of Ibrahim Aqil, the commander targeted by Israel, remains uncertain, other commanders of the Radwan Force survived the bombing and were evacuated injured, according to the same source.
The Supreme Political Council of Yemen's Houthi rebels expressed support for Lebanon and Hezbollah after the strike on Haret Hreik and said the escalation would not "deter Hezbollah from supporting the Palestinians."
The death toll from the Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut has risen to 14, the Health Ministry announced.
Clearing and search operations are continuing, it added, and "the number of casualties is expected to rise further."
U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the U.N. was "extremely concerned by the increased escalation of violence across the Blue Line, as well as the deadly strike in Beirut. The region is on the brink of catastrophe," he added.
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"Our enemies have no place to take refuge, not even the [southern] suburbs of Beirut," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on the social network X.
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri during a meeting in Ain al-Tine. (Photo provided by Berryis press office)
Walid Jumblatt, former head of the Progressive Socialist Party, spoke after a meeting in Ain al-Tine with Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri about the national catastrophe that has struck Lebanon, due to the repeated and continuous Israeli attacks."
He said he went to Ain al-Tine to "present [his] condolences to the families of the fighters killed or wounded and express his solidarity with the affected families."
The Amal Movement, led by the head of the legislature, said it had been involved in fighting along the southern border and had lost several fighters since Oct. 8, 2023.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement following the strike on the southern suburbs that Israel's objectives were clear and its actions spoke for themselves, according to Israeli media reports.
The Israeli military said it had no intention of increasing tensions in the region following its airstrike in Beirut.
"We are not aiming for a broad escalation in the region. We are operating in line with the defined objectives (of the war) and will continue to do so," army spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a news briefing, according to AFP.
"We will undoubtedly win," wrote caretaker Minister of Agriculture Abbas Hajj Hassan, affiliated with the Amal Movement, on X.
Israeli Army Radio reported on X that the attack on Beirut's southern suburbs was "not a long-planned elimination" but an "operational opportunity" that was seized.
"In the afternoon, information about Ibrahim Aqil and senior officials hiding in an underground operational apartment, under a building in the southern suburbs of Beirut, reached us. Despite the complexity of attacking an underground apartment, the air force quickly planned the attack plan as soon as the intelligence appeared," she said on X.
The Israeli army chief of staff, visiting northern Israel, was informed of this, "approved the attack and submitted it for approval at the political level," the troops continued, noting that it was for them "a necessary execution opportunity."
After the assassination, Israeli security officials said: "Hassan Nasrallah no longer has the two most important people who were at his side in all situations. When we talk about a new phase of the war, this is exactly what we mean. Beirut was the red line, today there is no red line," Israeli Army Radio concluded.
Caretaker Lebanese Minister of Health Firas Abiad will hold a press conference tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m.
He will discuss the health situation in Lebanon following this week's Israeli attacks.
Teams from the Civil Defense, the Lebanese Red Cross and the al-Rissala scouts, affiliated with the Amal Movement, are continuing their search and rescue operations in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The Lebanese army established a security cordon in the area.
In a statement, Islamic Jihad condemned the "underhanded aggression" perpetrated this afternoon against the southern suburbs of Beirut.
"The Zionist government continues its crimes against the brotherly Lebanese people, seeking to drag Lebanon into open war or impose humiliating conditions on it, including stopping Hezbollah's support for the Palestinian people," it said while affirming "deeply appreciating the sacrifices of Hezbollah and the Lebanese people in the face of the Zionist enemy."
U.S. President Joe Biden, who had not commented this week on the situation in Lebanon, said he was "working" on the return of civilian populations on both sides of the border, displaced by hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, according to AFP.
The American president said he wanted to "ensure that the people of northern Israel and southern Lebanon can return home."
He added, during a brief exchange with the press on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting at the White House, "The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, all of our teams are working, with the intelligence community, to make this happen."
Asked about the prospect, which seems more distant by the day, of a cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip, he replied: "Many things do not seem realistic until they are accomplished. We must not give up."
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement that Israel would continue its "series of actions in this new phase" of the conflict with Hezbollah until the tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by the fighting can safely return home.
"This afternoon's strike in a densely populated area of Beirut's southern suburbs is another alarming escalation. We are witnessing an extremely dangerous cycle of violence with devastating consequences," warned the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
"This must stop immediately," she added, assuring that "a diplomatic solution is still possible."
Calls for searches were launched on social media after fifteen people were reported missing following the Israeli strike.
"The entire senior command of Hezbollah's Radwan Force was eliminated in the strike, about 20 commanders," Barak Ravid, a journalist for the American website Axios, claimed on X.
Rescue workers and people gather at the scene of the deadly Israeli strike in Haret Hreik, a southern suburb of Beirut, on Sept. 20, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine)
Hezbollah announced the death of its member Hussein Ali Mohsen Ghandour, nicknamed "Nidal," born in 1962 and originally from Nabatiieh al-Faouqa, in southern Lebanon. As usual, the party did not specify the exact date or place of his death but according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in south Lebanon, the man succumbed to his injuries after the Israeli attacks on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The death toll from the Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut has risen to at least 12, according to the Health Ministry.
The number of injured rose to 66, including nine in critical condition. Clearing operations are continuing, the ministry added.
A body was pulled from the rubble in the hit area, bringing the death toll to 10, according to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar channel. Search operations continue among the rubble.
The Israeli army spokesperson said about "ten Hezbollah commanders" were killed alongside Ibrahim Aqil, Reuters reports.
Fatima Bangura, 24, a domestic worker from Ethiopia, stands at the door of the emergency room at St. Theresa Hospital with her hands wrapped in bandages. She told L'Orient Today's reporter on the scene that she was alone at home when she heard “three explosions.” The building next to hers had completely collapsed, and she had to fight her way through the rubble outside. She was on the third floor.
The Ministry of Health issued a statement announcing that "the generous donation of blood bags received during the recent attacks [on Tuesday and Wednesday] helped prepare blood banks with many units ready for emergency use ... This currently eliminates the need for additional units," the ministry said.
The statement also stressed "the need to avoid random blood donation campaigns on roads and in public places," warning that "such campaigns are totally dangerous." The ministry reiterated "the importance of donating blood through official channels, such as the Lebanese Red Cross and blood banks approved by the Ministry of Public Health in hospitals."
Rescuers and people gather near the site of the Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Sept. 20, 2024. (Credit: João Sousa)
The Israeli army confirmed in a statement that Ibrahim Aqil, Hezbollah's military "operations chief," was killed in the strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, according to Haaretz.
"Several senior officials of the operations directorate and the Radwan force were eliminated during the attack," it added.
"Aqil and the other killed leaders were involved in planning a Hezbollah invasion of the Golan, aimed at invading Golan towns and killing civilians," it said, comparing their alleged plans to the Oct. 7 attack. It also stated that "the Israeli army will continue to act to disarm Hezbollah's capabilities and strike on all fronts to protect Israeli citizens."
A father, injured and with blood on his clothes, told L'Orient Today's reporter at the Sainte-Therese hospital in Hadath that he was in the building at the time of the strike and miraculously survived. He is looking for his 4-year-old son, who is missing. With tears in his eyes, he rushed to another hospital to try to find him.
Hamas issued a statement condemning "the terrorist aggression launched by the Zionist enemy's planes on the southern suburbs of Beirut."
"We consider this a new crime in the continuing series of Zionist crimes, a violation of Lebanese sovereignty and an escalation of Zionist aggression," the movement denounced.
It accuses Israel of " obvious war crimes that require urgent action by the international community" and said it stands in "solidarity" with Hezbollah.
"We affirm that this fascist aggression will not achieve any of its goals and that the resistance will continue on its path until complete liberation and the elimination of the Zionist project in the region," the Hamas statement said.
Chris Osieck, a researcher specializing in data verification on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, published images on X showing the extent of the destruction at the site of the strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
"Visible damage was observed on a building, geolocated in Hadath Street, south of the al-Qaem Mosque in Beirut (33.846394, 35.517897)," he wrote on X.
The Iranian embassy in Lebanon condemned on X "the Israeli madness and arrogance that crossed all lines by targeting residential areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut, causing dozens of martyrs and injuries, including children and women."
Caretaker Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi will hold an exceptional meeting of the Central Security Council tomorrow, Saturday, at noon, in his office at the ministry, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reports. Mawlawi will speak after the meeting.
The death toll from the Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut has risen to at least nine, according to the Health Ministry.
The number of injured remains at 59, including eight in critical condition.
Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the headquarters of the air traffic control unit and the air operations department of the Meron base, located a few kilometers inside Israeli territory opposite Yaroun (Bint Jbeil), with Katyusha rockets.
It also claimed responsibility for a new attack on the headquarters of the main intelligence service in the northern region, responsible for the assassinations at the Mishar base, located just north of Safed, eleven kilometers from the border, opposite Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil).
The party made the announcements in statements released after the Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
This is the third strike of this type on the southern suburbs of Beirut since the start of the war in Gaza and the opening of the front by Hezbollah against Israel in support of its ally, Hamas.
The first two strikes targeted senior figures from both groups. The first, on Jan. 2, killed Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas' second-in-command in its political bureau, and six others. The second, on July 30, killed Hezbollah's senior military commander, Fouad Shukur, as well as two children and three women. Today's strike reportedly targeted Ibrahim Aqil, a senior Hezbollah military official. The party has not yet confirmed his condition.
“I am leaving the southern suburbs with my cat until further notice,” nine-year-old Ranim Sabbah told L'Orient Today's reporter at the scene, clutching her kitten as she left her building. Some children, leaving their buildings, were crying hysterically.
According to the Tagesspiegel daily, Ibrahim Aqil "had just been released from hospital on Friday after being injured in an attack on Hezbollah technical equipment." Hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday in an unprecedented attack that left over 30 dead and nearly 3,000 injured.
Hezbollah mourned two of its members: Ali Sobhi Mansour, born in 1985 in the town of Taybeh in the Marjayoun district, and Hussein Hassan Fakih, born in 1996 in the town of Rab El Thalathine in the Marjayoun district, both of whom were killed "on the road to Jerusalem." A security source told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south that they were killed along Lebanon's southern border on Monday, and their bodies were taken hostage by the Israeli army.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that "American citizens are strongly urged not to travel to Lebanon," Reuters reported. The White House is engaged in diplomatic efforts to "prevent an escalation of the conflict along the Lebanese-Israeli border," he added.
He also said that U.S. President Joe Biden has asked his team to continue to seek the release of the hostages and a cease-fire proposal that Hamas and Israel can agree on.
"The most recent Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut is evidence that Israeli forces feel emboldened by the unwavering support of the United States," Rami Khoury, a professor at the American University of Beirut, told al-Jazeera.
According to two security sources cited by Reuters, Ibrahim Aqil, a senior Hezbollah commander, was killed in the Israeli strike on the southern suburbs.
Sirens continue to sound in the southern suburbs of Beirut, while the roads are almost deserted. Some people can be seen leaving their buildings with large suitcases, according to L'Orient Today's reporter at the scene.
The Israeli attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut has left eight dead, according to an updated report announced by the Ministry of Health. Lebanese hospitals have so far received 59 wounded, eight of them in critical condition.
Hanan Ashqar, 12, who was also on Jamous Street, told L'Orient Today that she was "buying a notebook in a bookstore across the street " because she had a math exam the next day when the strike rocked the store.
"The owner told me to run home, which I did. I hope the exam will be canceled tomorrow because I don't have the courage to take it. I think I've forgotten everything I learned and in any case, I'm not good at math," she told L'Orient Today's reporter at the scene.
Issam Ayoub, owner of a pastry shop in Jamous Street (southern suburb of Beirut):
"I escaped death. The strike targeted the same street that I had taken less than five minutes ago to go home."
According to researcher Randa Slim of the Middle East Institute think tank in Washington, Ibrahim Aqil, a senior Hezbollah official who was reportedly targeted by Israel according to several security sources, replaced Fouad Shukur, the military leader of the party killed on July 30 in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Here is what is known so far about the Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs:
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said he was "not aware of any prior notification regarding Israeli strikes on Beirut," Reuters reported.
"We continue to believe that a diplomatic solution is the best way forward in the Middle East," added Kirby, who affirmed that "no one has lost hope" regarding an agreement to release the hostages and a cease-fire in Gaza between Hamas and Israel.
Hezbollah claimed to have bombed the new headquarters of the 91st Division in Ayelet Hashahar and the Northern Command headquarters at the Ein Zeitim base with Katyusha rockets. It also targeted the headquarters of the main intelligence service in the northern region, which was responsible for the assassinations at the Mishar base, according to statements released after the Israeli attack in Beirut's southern suburbs.
On the Lebanese side of the border, Israeli jets carried out two airstrikes on the outskirts of Yater (Bint Jbeil).
Sara Farhat, 31, resident of Haret Hreik:
"I heard the noise of planes, a huge noise that tore the sky apart. I also heard a very heavy, deep sound, but at first, I thought it was something other than a strike because it was so heavy. Then I heard voices screaming, ambulances. My phone rang several times and I understood that something was happening."
"We can't even keep up with the emotional shocks we're going through. We can't absorb the shocks anymore, but the anger is building up inside us. If they think they're going to silence us like this, they're wrong. They're only making our anger worse."
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the Israeli strikes showed that Israel "does not attach any importance to humanitarian, legal or moral considerations," according to comments reported by Reuters.
After the collapse of two residential buildings on Jamous Street in the southern suburbs of Beirut, specialized search and rescue teams from the Civil Defense were mobilized, the latter said in a statement. The teams began operations on the ground to find the missing persons under the rubble.
According to L'Orient Today's journalist at the site:
Ambulances are circulating in the targeted area, where new rescuers and firefighters have just arrived. An injured woman was transported by three people, on foot, to a stretcher.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will delay his trip to the United States due to the security situation in northern Israel, AFP reports.
According to two security sources cited by Reuters, the Israeli strike targeted Ibrahim Aqil, a senior Hezbollah official, whose fate is still unknown.
Calls for blood donations in hospitals near the southern suburbs of Beirut are circulating on social networks.
The Israeli attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut killed three people, according to a preliminary report announced by the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Lebanese hospitals have so far received seventeen wounded.
According to L'Orient Today's photojournalist in the southern suburbs, barriers were set up by Hezbollah to prevent access to the affected building, which is located right next to the al-Qaem mosque. Hundreds of people gathered near these barriers.
According to the state-run National News Agency, the targeted building in the southern suburbs of Beirut was hit by four missiles.
Ambulances transport the dead and wounded from the densely populated area.
(Credit: Jaimee Haddad/L'Orient Today)
The U.K. Foreign Office said British Foreign Minister David Lammy chaired an emergency meeting on security in Lebanon, according to Reuters.
According to an initial report released by the Al-Manar channel and relayed by Reuters, the Israeli strike on the southern suburbs left at least "one dead and 14 injured."
According to L'Orient Today's reporter on the ground in the southern suburbs, in the moments following the strikes, members of Hezbollah went up to people on the streets telling them to return to their homes "immediately."
⚡ According to the state-run National News Agency, the Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut left at least five dead, all of them children.
The Israeli strike targeted a senior Hezbollah official, two security sources told Reuters.
According to the Al-Manar correspondent, there were several missiles launched given the extent of the damage.
The Israeli army maintained that "there is for the moment no change in the directives ... of the Home Front Command," in reference to its military goals along Israel's northern boarder with Lebanon, where it has been engaged in fighting with Hezbollah for almost a year.
According to Hezbollah's al-Manar news channel, several dead and wounded, including children, have been reported after the Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Ambulances are reportedly on their way to the scene.
Two security sources told Reuters that the Israeli strike hit an area close to "key Hezbollah installations in the southern suburbs of Beirut."
A security source told AFP of an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The Israeli army also confirmed the strike in a statement but did not provide further details.
At least three explosions were heard in the southern suburbs, and as far as Saida, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south reports. Witnesses in the southern suburbs also reported three explosions. Videos and photos sent by residents show smoke near the al-Qaem mosque in Haret Hreik.
Explosions were heard in the southern suburbs of Beirut and ambulances are on their way to the scene of suspected strikes.
Israel has announced that it has officially challenged the decision announced in May by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to request arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
"The State of Israel today presented its official challenge questioning the [jurisdiction] of the ICC, as well as the legality of the prosecutor's request," writes Oren Marmorstein, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry in a message on the social network X.
Hezbollah announced four new attacks targeting Israeli positions using Katyusha rockets:
- The headquarters of the missile and artillery battalion in the Yoav barracks, opposite Lebanese Kfar Shuba in the Hasbaya district.
- The headquarters of the Golan Division's military group in the Yarden barracks, opposite the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila.
- The headquarters of Golan 210 Division in Nafah.
- The new headquarters of the 91st Division's in Ayelet Hashahar, facing the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila in the Marjayoun district.
The Israeli army said that around 60 missiles had been fired at mid-day towards Israel from Lebanon, reported AFP.
"A salvo of around sixty rockets was fired at 13:02 (10:02 GMT)," an army spokeswoman told AFP. Yesterday, the Israeli army claimed it struck hundreds of rocket-launching guns ready to be used to fire projectiles into Israel overnight.
Israeli fire and rescue services, cited by Haaretz, reported fires in the occupied Syrian Golan after rockets were fired from Lebanon.
The three Israeli position Hezbollah announced it attacked with Katyusha rockets:
- "The main air and missile defense headquarters of the Northern Command, in the Birya barracks." The barracks is located 12 kilometers from the Blue Line, north of Safed. According to Hezbollah, it is home to the battalions responsible for operating the Patriot anti-aircraft batteries and the Iron Dome.
- The "air and missile defense headquarters located in the Kilaa barracks" in the occupied Syrian Golan.
- The third was launched against the "headquarters of the 188th armored brigade of the 36th division, in the al-Aliqa barracks", also located in the occupied Syrian Golan, north of Qatsrin, around 20 kilometers from the border. This is the first time this barracks has been targeted.
Earlier in the day, residents of northern Qatsrin and the Safed region had been asked to stay close to the air raid shelters, Haaretz reported.
Hezbollah announced three new attacks "in response to Israeli bombardments in southern Lebanon" using Katyusha rockets against Israeli positions in the early afternoon.
The Israeli army, quoted by Haaretz, reported "70 rockets" launched from Lebanon in "two strikes" in less than an hour.
Ambulances arrive after the detonation of a device during the funeral on Sept. 18, 2024, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (Credit: AFP)
Tuesday’s pager attack, widely attributed to Israel, was shocking and unprecedented. But then the next day, another wave of explosions, this time implicating walkie-talkies, targeted Hezbollah for a second time. Why the two-staged operation? Read about some theories here. 👈
A militant from Iraq's Hezbollah Brigades armed group was killed Friday in an Israeli-blamed attack targeting pro-Iran factions near Damascus airport in Syria, reported AFP.
The Hezbollah Brigades member said the Israeli raid hit one of the group's premises, killing Abu Haidar al-Khafaji, a senior member, an official of the group told AFP — speaking on condition of anonymity. He added that a second member of the organization had been wounded.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has a vast network of sources across Syria, was unable to confirm the bombing, but reported that "an Iraq Hezbollah Brigades member was killed."
In southern Lebanon, Israeli artillery fire targeted several localities, including Hanine, Yater and Beit Lif, in the Bint Jbeil district. It also shelled Zibqine (Sour), Blida and Kfar Kila (Marjayoun).
Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters, Mohammad Ali Hassan, born in 1996 in the town of Qabrikha in the Bint Jbeil district.
While the party did not disclose the details of where he was killed, according to our correspondent's information, he was killed in the recent explosions of telecommunications devices targeting Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah's statement described him as having "ascended as a martyr on the road to Jerusalem," a phrase used by the party to refer to its members killed in Israeli strikes since October 8, 2023.
As of this morning, he is the second Hezbollah member announced killed after succumbing to injuries our sources believe were sustained during the wave of telecommunication explosions — bringing the total death toll to 39, following Tuesday's pager blasts and Wednesday's walkie-talkie blasts.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Hezbollah is investigating the possibility of being "infiltrated" by individuals allegedly working for Israel, who may have leaked information about the procurement process for the pagers used by its members.
According to the American media outlet, which cites "officials within Hezbollah," this internal investigation also includes concerns that "files" may have been handed over to Israel.
The WSJ article added, citing a person "familiar with the matter," that among the targeted operatives in Tuesday's operation was "the head of Hezbollah’s signals unit, which runs the group’s communications systems."
(Credit: Photo sent by the al-Risala Scouts to L'Orient Today)
Civil defense members of the al-Risala Scouts, affiliated with the Amal movement, participated in clearing a road from debris after yesterday's Israeli strike on Maroun al-Ras, in the Bint Jbeil district.
Air France has announced the cancellation of its flights to and from Beirut until Sept. 24, 2024.
"We would like to inform you that flights AF564/AF565 have been canceled until Sept. 24 inclusive due to the situation in the Middle East," Air France Team said in a press release.
Passengers seeking further details on Air France's rebooking policy are encouraged to visit the AFKL.biz website, which "will be updated with the latest information," it added.
Israeli residents of several localities in northern Israel and the occupied Syrian Golan have received warnings to stay close to shelters, reported Haaretz. The messages were sent to the residents of: Kiryat Shmona in the "Finger of Galilee" region of northern Israel, Safed, on the shores of Lake Tiberias and northern Qasrine, in the occupied Syrian Golan.
Over the past two hours, Israeli airstrikes targeted several villages in South Lebanon, according to residents contacted by our correspondent.
- Israeli airstrikes targeted houses in Aitaroun, in the Bint Jbeil district, Kfar Kila, and Mais al-Jabal, both in the Marjayoun district.
- Israeli warplanes also targeted the Marj area in Mais al-Jabal in another strike.
- Israeli warplanes targeted Taybeh in the Bint Jbeil district.
Israeli strikes continue to ravage besieged Gaza, which has been plunged into a major humanitarian crisis, reported AFP.
According to the Civil Defense in the strip, two Israeli strikes killed at least 14 people this morning.
One targeted a house in the Nuseirat camp, center, killing eight people, and the other killed six people, including children, in a building in Gaza City, north.
Yesterday, A U.N. committee accused Israel of severe breaches of a global treaty protecting children's rights, saying its military actions in Gaza had a catastrophic impact on them and are among the worst violations in recent history.
Palestinian health authorities say more than 41,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7. Of those killed in Gaza, at least 11,355 are children, Palestinian data shows, and thousands more are injured, reported Reuters. "The outrageous death of children is almost historically unique. This is an extremely dark place in history," Bragi Gudbrandsson, Vice Chair of the Committee, told reporters.
Hezbollah announced the death of one of its members, Youssef Mohammad al-Sayyed, born in 2003 and originally from Beit Lif in southern Lebanon. The party did not provide any further details about the circumstances of his death — as usual, the announcement simply said he had died "as a martyr on the road to Jerusalem."
According to our correspondent in South Lebanon, the young man succumbed to injuries sustained during the series of explosions of telecommunications equipment.
Hezbollah announced earlier this morning it had targeted and directly hit with a guided missile an Israeli soldiers' position in Metula, facing the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, in the Marjayoun district.
According to Metula's regional council, cited by Haaretz, "Dozens of houses in northern Israeli town were hit by 'heavy' Hezbollah missiles." Around six and eight "heavy missiles" hit the town, and one woman was "lightly" injured, according to the head of Metula council, David Azoulay. He added that some of the targeted houses were "completely" destroyed and others "severely" damaged, while power was cut off in the town and fires broke out.
Last night, Hezbollah announced that it had targeted Metula with a "salvo of Falaq missiles."
After thousands of pagers used by members of Hezbollah were detonated on Tuesday, many people wondered why, in this age of smartphones, Hezbollah is using ostensibly outdated 90s technology to communicate within its ranks. Find out more here 👈
The Israeli army lifted the restrictions imposed yesterday evening on residents of northern Israel. Residents had been instructed to remain in protected areas and to avoid using main roads.
Here are this morning's updates from South Lebanon:
- Israeli artillery targeted the outskirts of Alma al-Shaab in the Sour district and Aita al-Shaab in the Bint Jbeil district
- Israeli drones flew at low altitudes over villages in the Sour district, our correspondent reported.
Two representatives of Taiwanese companies have been questioned in Taiwan as part of the investigation into the origin of Hezbollah's pager explosions in Lebanon, the Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed without disclosing any names.
"We instructed the Investigation Bureau's national security station to further interview two people from Taiwanese companies as witnesses yesterday," said the Shilin District Prosecutors' Office in Taipei.
To find out more about the details of the ongoing investigations, press here.👈
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a video message addressed to the Lebanese last night, assured them that "a diplomatic path exists" and that "war is not inevitable."
Earlier, Macron had called the caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, and Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Joseph Aoun, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Despite the ongoing strikes along the border, which left two Israeli soldiers dead yesterday, and the large-scale attacks on Hezbollah telecommunications equipment earlier this week, U.S. President Joe Biden believes a diplomatic resolution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is "feasible."
"The conflict along the Blue Line [which separates Lebanon and Israel] has gone on for too long," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. "A diplomatic resolution is the best option," she added, noting that Biden "thinks it's feasible."
Last night, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for its 17th strike of the day, "in retaliation for Israeli attacks" on South Lebanon. The party said it had fired "a salvo of Falaq missiles" at the Metula site in northern Israel, opposite Lebanese Kfar Kila in the Marjayoun district.
The Falaq is an artillery rocket with a reinforced warhead and extended range. However, these Iranian-made rockets "are not accurate" and "have a margin of error" of just over three kilometers, according to military expert Riad Kahwagi.
To find out more about some of Hezbollah’s military capabilities, click here.👈
Following the strikes, the Israeli army said it had targeted Hezbollah rocket launcher systems "ready to be used immediately to fire on Israeli territory."
"Since this afternoon, the Air Force has hit around 100 launchers and other terrorist infrastructure, representing about 1,000 guns," an Israeli army statement said, reaffirming its commitment to "continue demolishing Hezbollah's infrastructure and capabilities to defend the State of Israel."
By the time Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah delivered his speech, shortly after 5 p.m. yesterday, Israeli fighter jets had already carried out a series of heavy strikes along the border.
To read our detailed account of yesterday's cross-border attacks, press here.👈
At approximately 9:30 p.m. last night, South Lebanon saw a barrage of violent Israeli airstrikes on several border areas.
Security sources told our correspondent that over 50 missiles were fired within a span of 20 minutes.
The strikes targeted mainly wooded areas on the outskirts of Aishieh and the Rihan heights in the Jezzine district, as well as the Berghoz valley in the Hasbaya district. The strikes ignited fires across the region.
Explosions from the bombardment were heard throughout the region.
Good morning!
Thank you for joining our live coverage of the Gaza war and its implications on the region, particularly Lebanon.
Today is day 350 since the war in Gaza started and day 349 since Hezbollah initiated its "support front," for its Palestinian ally, Hamas.
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