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The "Islamic Resistance in Iraq," a network of Iranian-affiliated Iraqi militias, claimed drone strikes in retaliation for the Israeli "massacres" in Gaza. They announced a new drone attack on an Israeli target in the Jordan Valley, stating that this was their fifth attack of the day.
According to previous statements, the group has launched four additional waves of drones since 7 a.m. this morning targeting various designated sites with little precision, described as "northern occupied territories," "southern occupied territories," and a base in the north.
Israeli planes have flown over several regions of Lebanon at low altitude in the last 20 minutes, including at least Beirut, Metn and Bekaa, according to multiple reporters and correspondents.
Qatar Airways has canceled one of its daily flights connecting Doha to Beirut until Sept. 30, according to a source at Beirut International Airport. This flight (QR 427) no longer appears on the airport's website. The airline continues to operate other flights on this route.
Hamas' second-in-command, Moussa Abu Marzouk, expressed the Palestinian movement's support for Hezbollah, which has suffered heavy losses in its ongoing clashes with Israel, triggered by the explosion of pagers used by the party last Tuesday.
“We offer our sincere condolences to our brothers in Hezbollah and to the brotherly Lebanese people,” he wrote, adding that “the crimes committed by the Israeli enemy in Lebanon are a constant expression of the brutality of the entity and its war against land and humanity.”
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri stated in an interview with the daily Asharq Al-Awsat that he accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of continuing to bomb southern Lebanon "with incendiary phosphorus bombs," which are destroying "arable green areas" and turning localities in this part of Lebanon "into uninhabitable scorched land." He also accused Israel of killing civilians.
"As for us, we do not want war, and we will not be dragged into it, but we have the right to defend ourselves with all our strength and capabilities. We will spare no effort to ensure the resilience of our people in the south to prevent Israel from forcing them to relocate," he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Israeli Chief of Staff Gen. Herzi Halevi stated during a Sunday press conference held at a military airbase that "the price to be paid by Hezbollah is increasingly higher" and that the Israeli army has "significantly intensified the strikes" and "will increase them as much as necessary."
⚡ During a live broadcast on Al-Arabiya FM, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stated that his government is "working to stop the new Israeli war and to avoid, as much as possible, falling into the unknown."
British Foreign Minister David Lammy called for "an immediate cease-fire" between Israel and Hezbollah, in the face of a "worrying escalation" in the situation, AFP reports.
"In recent days, we have witnessed a worrying escalation between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah," Lammy said. "Our message to all parties is clear: we need an immediate cease-fire in order to reach a political settlement."
In the southern suburbs of Beirut a crowd carries the coffin of Ibrahim Aqil, head of Hezbollah's Radwan Force, assassinated in an Israeli strike on Friday. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
Addressing a closed session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly stated that he believes Hamas does not currently want a cease-fire deal and argued that putting pressure on Hezbollah in the north could help force Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to the table, Israel's Channel 12 reports.
According to Israeli media, the prime minister denied “fake reports” that he was responsible for preventing an agreement with Hamas, which would have freed dozens of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.
He claims that Hamas rejected all American proposals — when in fact the group continues to call for the implementation of U.S. President Joe Biden's May 31 proposal, which Israel keeps amending.
At least 41,431 Palestinians have been killed and 95,818 wounded in Israel's war on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the Gaza Ministry of Health said in a statement.
An Israeli strike yesterday afternoon on a school in al-Zeitoun district of Gaza City, home to thousands of displaced, killed at 22 people, many of them women and children, and left many more injured, according to Haaretz. The Israeli army claims to have targeted "a Hamas command center."
Middle East Airlines (MEA) denied rumors this afternoon that one of its planes had gone off the radar. "The company denies this news and announces that it is not true," MEA said in a statement.
The rumor emerged amid heightened tensions between Hezbollah and Israel following intense strikes on southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah's first attack on the Israeli city of Haifa since the conflict began.
A regional military escalation is not in Israel's "best interest," says White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby, as heightening cross-border tensions between Israel and Lebanon are sparking fears of an all-out war.
"We don't believe that escalating this military conflict is in their best interest," Kirby said on ABC's "This Week," adding that the United States was "saying this directly to our Israeli counterparts."
"The tensions are much higher now than they were even just a few days ago," Kirby said. But he added that "we still believe that there can be time and space for a diplomatic solution here and that's what we're working on."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today vowed to return residents of northern Israel to their homes. An escalating war is "certainly not going to be in the best interest of all those people that Prime Minister Netanyahu says he wants to be able to send back home," Kirby said.
First responders and Israeli security forces gather amid debris and charred vehicles in Kiryat Bialik in the Haifa district of Israel, following a strike by Hezbollah earlier today. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem says the group has entered a new phase of its battle with Israel which he describes as an "open-ended battle of reckoning," in comments made today during the funeral for Ibrahim Aqil, leader of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Forces, assassinated in in an Israeli bombing on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday.
Head of Israel's Northern Command, General Uri Gordin, says the Israeli army is "ready to implement additional attack plans against Hezbollah," according to a statement released by the military.
"We have caused considerable damage to Hezbollah, and we will continue and aggravate that damage. We are in a moment of change," Gordin told a meeting with the heads of units deployed in northern Israel. "Alongside the defense mission, we are ready to implement additional attack plans against Hezbollah," he added.
The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has renewed its warning to Jordanians "not to travel to Lebanon for the time being" and asked thos residing in Lebanon to "leave Lebanese territory as soon as possible" as long as commercial links are assured, in a statement quoted by Jordan's official Petra news agency.
In addition to most Western countries, many other Arab states have previously called on their nationals to leave Lebanon due to the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar all issued similar warnings, urging their citizens to leave the country as soon as possible following the assassination of Hezbollah military chief Fouad Shukur on July 30 in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog denied allegations that Israel was involved in this week's exploding Hezbollah pager and walkie-talkie attacks — which resulted in thousands of injuries across Lebanon — for which it is widely seen as responsible.
"I reject out of hand any connection to this or that source of operation," he stated, in a morning interview with Sky News' Trevor Phillips, adding that Hezbollah has "many enemies."
Over 37 people were killed and thousands of others wounded in the two series of explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah for internal communication, including several civilians and children.
Twelve current and former defense and intelligence officials who were briefed on the attack, told the New York Times that the Israelis were behind it.
Hezbollah claims to have "successfully" carried out two air attacks using a swarm of drones against "new Israeli soldier positions" around the Israeli "Manara" site, located opposite the Lebanese town of Houla, and "Yiftah" site, located opposite the Lebanese town of Blida.
The death toll from the major Israeli airstrike on Friday that hit a two-block residential building in the densely populated Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs has risen to 48, with 66 injured and 13 still missing, the Civil Defense announced.
Search and rescue operations are still underway, with Red Cross and Civil Defense teams in their third day of work uncovering bodies from under the rubble of the building, which collapsed after the Israeli air force hit its base with four missiles.
Hezbollah used Fadi-1 and Fadi-2 missiles for the first time this morning in the three rocket barrages sent over the border toward northern Israel as part of the group's response to a deadly week of Israeli attack across Lebanon. The Syrian-sourced, domestically modified rockets had never been mentioned publicly before today.
According to an article in Al-Monitor, the meeting of Hezbollah's Radwan Forces commanders targeted by Israel on Friday was called to discuss "plans for a ground operation" in Israel "in response to the pager explosions."
The Washington-based Middle East news outlet cited "a source close to Hezbollah," in the report, which echoes claims made by Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari as justification for the strike. The meeting was attended by Ibrahim Aqil, the unit leader who was among the 14 Hezbollah members killed in the bombing, which targeted a a residential building in the densely-populated Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs, killing at least 45 people.
"Ibrahim Aqil and the other commanders killed were the architects of a Hezbollah plan to invade the Galilee region in northern Israel," Hagari said in a video posted on X on Friday.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has reiterated the Israeli military's recently instated military goal of shifting focus to the north, saying "Our efforts against Hezbollah will continue until residents of Israel's north can return," according to Haaretz.
Two days ago, Gallant released a statement emphasizing that a shift has occurred within the Israeli army's prerogative, saying, "In the new phase of the war there are significant opportunities but also significant risks. Hezbollah feels that it is being persecuted and the sequence of military actions will continue."
On Wednesday, the Israeli army radio reported that the army's elite 98th Paratroopers Division, a reserve-service infantry, is being moved from Gaza to the northern border with Lebanon.
📰 It's been an intense week in Lebanon. From the pager explosions to a second wave with walkie-talkies, to a major strike on Beirut, and now intensified fighting along the border.
There's a lot to keep track of. To stay informed, join our WhatsApp group, where we send breaking news updates, as well as a daily selection of articles for a more in-depth look.
(Credit: Jaimee Lee Haddad/L'Orient Today)
If you're just joining us, here are some key points from the latest events. (2/2)
• The Israeli army said that "nearly 150 rockets, cruise missiles and drones were fired at Israel during the night and morning, mostly targeting the north."
• Israel claims a large number of these projectiles were intercepted, but "hundreds of thousands of people had to take refuge in air-raid shelters in northern Israel," according to Israeli army spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nadav Shoshani, and several areas were hit, including damage to homes in the north. The shelling also sparked fires and left four people wounded by shrapnel.
• In Israel, all schools in the north, some as far as 80 km from the border, will be closed until Monday, and hospitals in the area have been instructed to transfer their operations to facilities that offer additional protection against rocket and missile fire.
• The "Islamic Resistance in Iraq," a nebulous group of pro-Iranian Iraqi militias, announced having sent drones and missiles into Israel, hitting "an important target," in "retaliation for the massacres" by Israel in Gaza. An official from the group said that "any escalation in Lebanon means an escalation in Iraq." The Israeli army said it had intercepted an "aerial target" from Iraq outside Israeli airspace.
If you're just joining us, here are some key points from the latest events. (1/2)
• Israeli aircraft continue to bombard southern Lebanon and the Bekaa intensively, claiming to have struck "Hezbollah military positions." At least three people have been killed: a Hezbollah fighter in the Saida region, a man in Khiam and a third person in Aitaroun.
• Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for three rocket attacks on the Haifa region, a large port city some thirty kilometers from the Blue Line. The first two, carried out for the first time with "Fadi-1 and 2" rockets, targeted the Ramat David military base and airport, south-east of Haifa. These strikes were in response to the intensive bombardment of southern Lebanon in recent days.
• The third strike, carried out with "Fadi-1 and 2" and Katyusha rockets, targeted the headquarters of a military technology company, Rafael Advanced Defence System, located in Haifa's northern industrial zone. The strike was "an initial response" to Israeli attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday using booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies held by thousands of Hezbollah members, which killed around 40 people.
Hezbollah has announced the death of one of its fighters, Ali Mohammad Banjak, born in 1992 and originally from Shaitieh in southern Lebanon. According to information obtained by our correspondent, he was the victim of the Israeli strike that hit the area between Maalieh and Qlayleh, in Saida district.
Earlier, party also announced the death of Mohammad Jawad Hussein Obeid, born in 1995 and originally from the Bekaa. It is not yet clear where this fighter was killed.
This brings the total number of Hezbollah members killed in Lebanon and Syria since the start of fighting to 504.
An Israeli woman leaves her house after it was damaged by rocket fire from Lebanon, in Kiryat Bialik, northern Israel, earlier today (Credit: Rami Shlush/Reuters)
An official in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which claimed responsibility for cruise missile and explosive drone strikes against Israel at dawn, said the strike was part of a "new phase of our support front" with Lebanon.
"Escalation in Lebanon means escalation in Iraq," he said. The group claims to have struck an "important target" and did not provide further details, but said that its operations would continue.
The Israeli army announced that it had intercepted projectiles fired from Iraq but did not specify how many and if any had managed to hit their target. According to the army, cited by Haaretz, several drones had approached Israel from Iraq, which were intercepted before reaching Israeli territory.
The Israeli army reported that the salvo of Hezbollah missiles ignited fires, with Israeli emergency services reporting that at least four people had been injured by shrapnel, three of them near Haifa.
In a statement, the Israeli army reported that of the more than 100 projectiles fired from Lebanon, "around 85 were identified as crossing into Israeli territory" shortly after 6:00 a.m., with "around 20" from an earlier salvo shortly before 5:00 a.m. These timings correspond to the second strike claimed by Hezbollah against Ramat-David and the one targeting the headquarters of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
"Hundreds of thousands of people had to take refuge in air-raid shelters in northern Israel," army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told AFP.
According to security sources contacted by our correspondent, the Israeli strikes in South Lebanon resulted in one death and another injury in the area between Maalieh and Qlayleh in the Saida district, along with another victim in Khiam (Marjayoun).
In addition to the victim confirmed killed in Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil), this brings the death toll in South Lebanon to three as of this morning.
The Israeli air force has once again conducted consecutive airstrikes on South Lebanon. The airstrikes hit:
- The Zefta valley in the Nabatieh district;
- The outskirts of Bani Hayyane, in the Marjayoun district.
- The heights of Jabbour, in the Jezzine district.
The Lebanese Health Ministry announced that one person was killed in the Israeli attack on a house in Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil). Earlier, locals told our correspondents that two people were injured, one seriously.
"With the region on the brink of imminent catastrophe, it cannot be overstated enough: there is NO military solution that will make either side safer," UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert wrote on X.
Israel says it wants to push Hezbollah back north of the Litani River and carry out strikes against the party in order to ensure the safety of people living on its northern border. Earlier this week, Israel had added returning the residents of the north back home to its war objectives. On the other hand, Hezbollah declared that it will not close its "support front" until the war in Gaza ceases.
The Israeli Health Ministry, cited by Haaretz, announced that all hospitals in the north would "transfer their operations to protected areas."
The media also reported that shrapnel from a projectile fired from Lebanon had landed on a school in Nazareth, some ten kilometers east of the Ramat-David base.
The Lebanese Health Ministry has announced a new death toll of 45 from the Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
It added that "forensic examinations" were underway to identify the unidentified bodies, using DNA tests in particular.
A barber's shop front damaged by an Israeli bombardment in Ansar, in the Nabatieh district. (Credit: Photo sent by our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah)
Here are the latest updates from South Lebanon:
- Two people were wounded in the previously reported Israeli airstrike on a house in Aitaroun, with one person reported to be in "serious condition," locals told our correspondent.
- Material damage was also observed in Ansar, in the Nabatieh district.
- A new bombardment hit an area between Houmin al-Faouqa and Roumin, in the Nabatieh district.
If you've just joined our live feed, here’s a summary of last night’s events and the early hours of this morning:
- Hezbollah claimed responsibility for three missile attacks on the Haifa region, a major port city located about 30 km from the Blue Line. The first two attacks, carried out with Fadi missiles — used for the first time — targeted the Ramat-David base and airport, southeast of Haifa. These strikes were a response to the recent intensive bombardment of southern Lebanon.
- The third attack, executed with both "Fadi" and Katyusha rockets, targeted the headquarters of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, located in Haifa's northern industrial zone. This strike was described as "an initial response" to Israeli attacks earlier this week, which involved tampered pagers and walkie-talkies attacks, which resulted in 40 fatalities.
- The Israeli army reported that 115 "aerial threats" were launched from Lebanon, most of which were intercepted.
- In the Haifa attacks, three people were wounded — one in "moderate" condition and the other two "lightly" — in a locality near Haifa, where at least one house and one car were directly targeted, causing fires. All schools in northern Israel will remain closed, and classes are suspended until Monday.
- The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose coalition of pro-Iranian Iraqi militias, also claimed responsibility for a drone strike "in retaliation for the massacres" carried out by Israel in Gaza. The Israeli army stated that it intercepted an "aerial target" from Iraq outside Israeli airspace.
- Meanwhile, the Israeli air force continued its intensive bombardment of South Lebanon, claiming to have struck "Hezbollah military positions." A series of strikes were reported in both the South and the Bekaa.
Click here to find out all you need to know so far about this morning's strikes against the Haifa region.
Several Israeli strikes also targeted Zellaya, in the western Bekaa, according to our local correspondent.
Here are the latest villages and localities targeted in a series of Israeli airstrikes on South Lebanon:
- Khiam
- A house was targeted in Aitaroun
- Woods and valleys in the Mahmoudieh region, Aaichieh, Mont Rihane — in the Jezzine district;
- An area between Zrarieh and Ansar, in the Nabatieh district.
- The Kfar Melki valley, in the Saïda district.
- Aita al-Shaab
- Zebqine valley.
Yesterday marked the most intense wave of Israeli strikes across South Lebanon, with several villages and localities experiencing attacks for the first time.
"Rockets fired at civilian areas in the north have been intercepted and strikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon are continuing." added the Israeli army.
The Israeli army reported "hundreds of rockets fired from Lebanon in the last few hours."
Haaretz reported fires in the Haifa region, and that a house and a vehicle had been "directly hit."
*This comes after the latest barrage of rockets announced in Hezbollah's third strike on targets in Haifa that targeted a military-industrial site of Rafael, a company specializing in electronic devices, in the Zvulun region of Israel.
In the early dusk to dawn hours, Israeli airstrikes continued to target South Lebanon:
At 2 a.m.:
- A series of strikes were carried out on Deir Seriane, Adsheet, al-Koussayr and Zawtar Sharqieh, all in the Marjayoun caza.
At 4 a.m.:
- One targeted the outskirts of Wadi Slouki.
At 5 a.m.:
- Another on a valley between Roumine and Deir Zahrani, in the Nabatieh district.
- And one on Kounine (Bint Jbeil).
Yesterday evening, the Israeli army has also launched the following strikes on southern Lebanon:
Around 10 p.m.:
- Artillery fire shelled the outskirts of Rmeish (Bint Jbeil) and Labbouneh (Sour).
- A drone strike on Dhaira (Sour).
Around 11:30 p.m.:
- A drone strike on Yaroun (Bint Jbeil).
- Machine-gun fire on Aita al-Shaab and Rmeish (Bint Jbeil).
South Lebanon continued to be pounded by Israeli aircraft and artillery.
Since 7 a.m., the following Israeli attacks have been reported by security and local sources to our correspondent in the region:
- Three airstrikes targeted an area between Maalieh and Qlayleh, south of Sour.
- One airstrike hit the outskirts of Majdal Zoun (Sour district).
- An airstrike hit "Naba'a al-Tasseh" in the Iklim al-Touffah region.
- Several strikes targeted Yater(Bint Jbeil) and Taybeh (Marjayoun).
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a new attack, describing it as a "first response to the massacre" that occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday, which the group referred to as the "massacre of pagers and walkie-talkies."
At 6 a.m., the party fired "dozens of Fadi-1, Fadi-2 and Katyusha" missiles at the military-industrial site of Rafael, a company specializing in electronic devices, in the Zvulun region of Israel. The site is located approximately 10 kilometers from downtown Haifa.
According to journalist Barak Ravid of American news website Axios, this was Hezbollah's longest-range attack since the start of the attrition conflict with Israel.
According to Magen David Adom, the Israeli emergency services cited in Haaretz, the three people injured in northern Haifa were hit by "fragments" of rockets. One person sustained "moderate" injuries, while the other two were "slightly" injured.
At around 5 a.m., the Israeli army announced it had "successfully intercepted aerial targets" aimed at northern Israel, originating from Iraq. These "targets" were intercepted outside Israeli territory.
Since last October, pro-Iranian Iraqi militias have claimed responsibility for several attacks on Israel.
The Israeli army reported that "dozens of rockets" were launched from Lebanon overnight.
The Home Front Command announced that schools across northern Israel would remain closed and classes suspended until Monday.
According to Israeli and regional media, dozens of rockets fired from Lebanon were intercepted by the Israeli military in the Haifa region.
The Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, wrote on X at 1:48 a.m.: "Regarding the warning sirens a few moments ago in the northern region, 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon, most of which were intercepted. One landed in the area. An investigation is underway."
Hezbollah's announcements did not mention the assassination of several of its elite military commanders, killed on Friday afternoon in an Israeli bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs, which killed several civilians and wounded dozens. Also, the party does not mention the pager and walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In two separate announcements, one released on Hezbollah's broadcast channels at 2 a.m. and the other at 6 a.m., the group claimed responsibility for firing dozens of "Fadi-1 and Fadi-2" missiles at the Ramat David military base and airport, southeast of Haifa, Israel.
The strikes were described as "a response to repeated Israeli aggression against various regions of Lebanon," according to the statement.
Good morning!
Thank you for joining our live coverage of the Gaza war and its implications on the region, particularly Lebanon.
This is day 352 of the war in the Gaza Strip. It is also the 351st day since Hezbollah opened a "support" front on Lebanon's southern border.
After the Israeli strikes on Hezbollah's telecommunication devices and the killing of a senior military commander in the southern suburbs of Beirut, tensions have escalated further with Hezbollah's recent strikes on Haifa, about 40 kilometers from the border — targeted for the first since Oct. 8, 2023.
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