Hezbollah announces it's moving into a 'new phase of escalation' in its war with Israel: Day 377 of the Gaza and Lebanon wars

That concludes our live coverage of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon for today. We'll be back tomorrow morning. Thanks for joining us.

Houssam Zaki, Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League, says that U.N. Resolution 1701 "contains numerous provisions which must be implemented in full."

Giving a statement following the death of Sinwar, Zaki offered his condolences to the Palestinian people and proposed that if resolution 1701 is implimented, " it will be the real entry point to end the war in Lebanon."

"The priorities are to stop the war as quickly as possible, to allow aid to flow to the Palestinian people, to stop the unjust violence against Palestinians in northern Gaza and to stop the war in Lebanon," Zaki said, adding that "international contacts with the Israelis have all failed, as they continue to repress the Palestinian people."

Eight days ago, the White Houses' Brett McGurk said the U.S. believed Sinwar to be in a tunnel somewhere underneath Gaza, "with hostages in his vicinity," echoing similar statements from Israeli officials that Sinwar was in hiding, fearing assassination and using captives as a shield.

On Wednesday, Sinwar, armed and wearing a bullet-proof vest, t-shirt, and his head wrapped in a keffiyeh, was with two other Palestinian fighters whose identities remain unknown when they encountered what the New York Times described as a unit of trainee squad commanders in the besieged Strip's southernmost city.

Here's what we know about what happened on Wednesday, in the operation in which the Israeli army accidentally killed its most wanted man.

For the second time, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack on Israeli soldiers deployed near Aita al-Shaab, in the Bint Jbeil district, by launching "a large salvo of missiles." This strike, according to the party, took place as Israeli soldiers tried to evacuate troops that had been wounded or killed.

In another statement, Hezbollah announced that its fighters, "after monitoring the movements of Israeli enemy soldiers on the outskirts of Kfar Kila," targeted the troops with artillery shells at 1:05 a.m.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar marked "the beginning of the end" of the war.

"Yahya Sinwar is dead. He was killed in Rafah" by the Israeli army, Netanyahu said in a video message in which he spoke in English, adding: "this does not mean the end of the war in Gaza, but the beginning of the end."

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack carried out by its fighters against Israeli soldiers deployed on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab, in the Bint Jbeil district, using "a large salvo of missiles." Israeli Channel 12 news had broadcast images showing, it said, the Israeli flag raised atop a tower in this village, surrounded by rubble.

⚡ Hezbollah announces in a statement that it is moving into a "new phase of escalation in the confrontation with the Israeli enemy."

"Based on the directives of the Resistance command, the operations room of the Islamic Resistance announces the passage to a new phase of escalation in the confrontation with the Israeli enemy, the developments and events of which will be announced in the coming days," the statement, released on the party's "War Media" Telegram channel, reads.

The party claims to be inflicting "enormous losses on the Israeli army in terms of equipment and personnel, on the lines of confrontation from the southern front in Lebanon to the areas where it is present deep in occupied Palestine."

"Since the start of the ground operations, the Israeli army has mobilized five military brigades with more than 70,000 officers and soldiers, as well as hundreds of tanks and military vehicles," the statement says. "In response, hundreds of Islamic Resistance fighters were fully prepared and ready to face any Israeli ground incursion into the villages of southern Lebanon."

Hezbollah claimed that its fighters targeted two Israeli Merkava tanks at 10:50 p.m. in Jal al-Deir, near Avivim in northern Israel, opposite the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras. According to Hezbollah, its fighters used "guided missiles," which caused the tanks to catch fire, killing and injuring the crew.

Several politicians are referring to Sinwar's death as an "opportunity" in what appears to be a concerted effort by key players in the international community to renew negotiations for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, and by extension, Hezbollah.

Macron, Harris, and now U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have all called for Sinwar's death to be used as a turning point toward ending the war. "Sinwar's death represents a unique opportunity to achieve a lasting cease-fire, end this terrible war, allow Israelis to return safely to their homes, dramatically accelerate humanitarian aid to alleviate suffering in Gaza, and bring relief and hope to Palestinians who have endured so much under the oppressive Hamas regime," Austin said.

Axios has reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to visit the Middle East in the coming days to discuss ways of promoting a cease-fire and a Gaza hostage agreement. As of Oct. 7, 2024, a total of 97 hostages taken captive during Hamas' al-Aqsa Flood operation a year earlier remain unaccounted for.

Echoing earlier comments from U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, French President Emmanuel Macron has called the death of Sinwar an "opportunity" that must be seized to bring military operations to an end.

"This opportunity must be seized so that all the hostages can be freed and the war can finally be brought to an end," Macron said a press conference following the first summit between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council in Brussels today. He pledged to work "with Israeli, Arab and American partners" for a "cease-fire in Gaza" and "to finally open up a credible political perspective for Israelis and Palestinians alike."

Macron also called on Israel to end its military operations in Lebanon, "not to extend its ground action there" and to "respect the sovereignty" of the country. "For France, Lebanon's sovereignty is an essential cause that it will always defend," he said, adding that he believes Iran and Hezbollah carry a "heavy responsibility" for triggering Israel's operations.

In an interview with Le Figaro in Geneva, the President of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Ghalibaf, hinted that Teheran would be willing to negotiate with Paris to implement U.N. Resolution 1701, which stipulates that only the Lebanese Army can be deployed in southern Lebanon.

Ghalibaf told the French daily that he would like to see a cease-fire in southern Lebanon as soon as possible and that his country would be ready to negotiate concrete measures to implement 1701 with France, which would act as a mediator between Hezbollah and Israel.

The Iranian politician, also a former military officer, defended the Iranian ballistic missile strikes on Israel on Oct. 1, saying, "History has taught us that the Zionist regime only understands the language of force. It attacked our diplomatic representation in Syria, martyring several high-ranking Iranian officials. Despite our response on April 13, 2024, it did it again, assassinating Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the middle of Teheran, while he was our guest for an official ceremony. If we didn't retaliate, this Zionist regime would continue to attack us."

Israeli media has released a photo reportedly showing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar the moment before a drone strike killed him. According to Times of Israel, the Israeli army had struck the building where Sinwar and two other fighters had taken cover. The army sent a surveillance drone inside the semi-demolished building to confirm whether the three fighters, anonymous to them at the time, had been killed. The report says that Sinwar then hurled a wooden stick at the drone in an attempt to bring it down. The army fired again, with the strike that ultimately killed him.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says Washington hopes that "whoever the next leader of Hamas is," they will "pursue a different path forward," Israeli media reports.

“What we would hope, is that whoever the next leader of Hamas is, he will look at what has happened over the past year and look at the suffering that Hamas’s actions have brought upon the Palestinian people who they aim to represent, whose cause they aim to advance, and decide that they ought to pursue a different path forward,” Miller says during a press briefing.

Israel has long listed among its top military objectives in its war on Gaza the goal of dismantling Hamas. Numerous times in the last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated the war will not end until Hamas is "destroyed."

Updates from our correspondent in the Bekaa, in eastern Lebanon:

• An Israeli air raid targeted Beit Shama

• Six people were injured in the Israeli strike on Safri, according to the Ministry of Health.

• In Yammoune, two people were killed and nine injured in another Israeli airstrike

The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar offers an "opportunity" to "end" the war in Gaza, said U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also a candidate for the U.S. presidency.

“This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza," Harris told reporters. "And it must end such that Israel is secure; the hostages are released; the suffering in Gaza ends; and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”

“It is time for the ‘day after’ to begin — without Hamas in power," she said. "We will not give up on these goals."

Yesterday, a letter was leaked to the press in which the Biden administration gave Israel 30 days to improve the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where the delivery of aid has reached an all-time low, or face a retraction of military support from the U.S., Israel's number one ally.

The Israeli army announced the death of five of its soldiers in South Lebanon, according to AFP.

The mosque of Majdal Selm (Marjayoun) was targeted by five Israeli raids, which completely destroyed the mosque and the surrounding houses in the village square, our correspondent reports.

Hezbollah targeted "large gatherings of Israeli soldiers in the locality of Shtula, across from the Lebanese village of Aïta el-Chaab," claiming to have caused injuries.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called for swift action to "bring back" the hostages still held in Gaza following the announcement of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's death, AFP reports.

"Now, more than ever, we must act by all possible means to bring back the 101 hostages who are still being held in horrible conditions by Hamas terrorists in Gaza," he said in a statement posted on X, where he referred to Yahya Sinwar as "responsible for heinous acts of terrorism." 

An update on the situation at the Lebanon-Israel border:

Israeli warplanes again carried out a raid on Wardanieh, targeting the building whose residents had received an evacuation call, according to our correspondent.

Hezbollah targeted "large gatherings of Israeli soldiers" south of Kfar Giladi, in northern Israel, across from the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras, claiming to have inflicted casualties.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the kidnappers that "they will be spared if they release the Israeli hostages," AFP reports.

The U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, contacted the Qatari Prime Minister to discuss the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and negotiations surrounding the release of hostages, according to Axios, cited by Reuters.

Following Sinwar’s death, France is demanding the release of "all hostages still held by Hamas," reports AFP.

Here’s an updated report on the situation in southern Lebanon:

- An Israeli raid targeted a three-story building near a public school in Kaouthariyet al-Sayyed (Saida).

- Another raid struck Wadanieh in Iqlim al-Kharoub.

A spokesperson for the Israeli army informed the residents of a building in the village about the strike a few hours in advance, according to a local source. It remains unclear whether the specified building was hit. Ambulances have been dispatched to the scene.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Thursday, in his first remarks since the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, that "Hamas will not govern Gaza; this is an opportunity for the people of Gaza to free themselves from its tyranny," according to Reuters. However, Netanyahu emphasized that "the war is not over."

He added that the region has an opportunity to stop the "axis of evil" and bring peace and prosperity to the Middle East.

Here is the update on the situation in southern Lebanon between 6:30 p.m. and 7:40 p.m., according to our correspondent:

Israeli airstrikes have intensified on the area, targeting almost a dozen towns:

Bint Jbeil district: Tebnine, Haddatha, Aita al-Shaab

Nabatieh district: Aita al-Jabal, Baissariyeh, Mayfadoun, Kaouthariyet al-Sayyed, Kfar Roummane, al-Hosh, Bir al-Salasel and an area between Nmairiyeh and Sharqieh.

Here is the latest update on the situation in the Bekaa, according to our correspondent:

- Israeli raids targeted Hrebta and al-Ain in the Bekaa.

- Strikes also hit Wadi Faara, Hosh al-Sayed in Hermel, and Zboud, north of Baalbek.

- A man has died from injuries sustained in yesterday's strike on Yammouneh (Baalbek).

The Israeli army also claimed to have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The Israeli army has issued a new evacuation notice to residents of a building in the Beit Shama area of the Bekaa.

“You are in the vicinity of Hezbollah installations that the Israeli army will soon attack,” warned the troop's Arabic-speaking spokesman Avichay Adraee on X. “For your safety and that of your family members, you must immediately evacuate this building and nearby buildings and move at least 500 meters away,” he added.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed, according to Reuters.

"The mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the massacre and atrocities of Oct. 7, was killed today by Israeli soldiers," Katz said in a statement.

Here’s an update on the security situation in southern Lebanon:

*An Israeli airstrike targeted a house in the Marza neighborhood in Baissariyeh, in the Saida district, which had been previously targeted, locals reported.

*Three intense airstrikes targeted Aita al-Shaab, Jabal Blatt on the outskirts of Ramieh (all located in the Bint Jbeil district), as well as the eastern outskirts of Touline (Nabatieh district).

The Intelligence Directorate of the Lebanese Army and the Lebanese Special Forces have arrested an individual on charges of collaborating with the Israeli enemy in the Marj area of Western Bekaa, a security source told L'Orient Today, noting that the arrested man is a resident of Central Bekaa.

According to Haaretz, former U.S. President Donald Trump said on Patrick Bet-David's podcast that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "did not listen to Biden. Biden wanted everything to just sort of foment. They wouldn't listen to him…he'll listen to me, 100 percent."

Trump added "It's become more interesting because Israel didn't listen to Biden and put themselves in a pretty strong position. Who would have thought this was going to happen? Everyone was very afraid of Iran, they're less afraid of Iran now. What they did to Hezbollah and Hamas…the whole thing with the pagers. Those were the leaders."

Here are the latest developments in South Lebanon, according to our correspondent:

- Hezbollah announced in a press release that at 5 p.m. it had targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the Avivim region of northern Israel, opposite the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras, with a salvo of rockets.

- In southern Lebanon, the Israeli air force bombed the village of Harouf (Nabatieh) for the second time that day, at around 5:50 p.m., then a third time a few minutes later.

- Israeli raids pounded the villages of Aita al-Shaab and Tiri in the Bint Jbeil district shortly before 6 p.m., then again a few minutes later.

U.S. President Joe Biden has been informed about Israel's efforts to verify the possible death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, according to a senior U.S. official, as reported by Reuters.

"Israel should seize the opportunity to take decisive action regarding the kidnapped individuals. It should aim for a comprehensive agreement and offer monetary rewards and safe passage to anyone who returns hostages to our soldiers," wrote Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on X.

The intelligence services of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) arrested an individual on Thursday for making a false alert about an Israeli threat at a school in Zghorta, our North Lebanon correspondent reports.

Read more here.

According to Israeli army radio on X, the battle that killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar took place at Tell Sultan, Rafah. He was wearing military garb and was in the company of another Hamas military leader, according to the radio station. The Hebrew-language Yediot Ahronot newspaper also reported that Hamas officials Mahmoud Hamdan and Hani Hmaydan were killed with Sinwar.

An Israeli drone strike targeted Khiam (Marjayoun district) and an uninhabited house in Saksakieh (Saida district), local residents reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his country will “reach every terrorist and eliminate them,” shortly after the army announced it was checking whether Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had been killed in an operation in Gaza.

“We will reach every terrorist and eliminate them,” he wrote on social network X.

An Israeli security source told AFP earlier that the army was “carrying out DNA tests on the body of a Hamas fighter” to confirm the death of Hamas political leader Yahya Sinwar.

An Israeli source confirmed to Israeli army radio that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “has been eliminated.”

Members of the Israeli security cabinet have been notified that he “has most probably been killed,” two officials told Reuters. In addition, several local and Arab media relayed a report from Israeli channel 11 confirming Sinwar's death.

Israeli warplanes raided the center of Harouf (Nabatieh), targeting several houses in the village, according to our correspondent.

The Israeli army has issued a new evacuation notice to residents of a building in Wardanieh, Chouf.

“You are in the vicinity of Hezbollah installations that the Israeli army will soon attack,” warned the troop's Arabic-speaking spokesman Avichay Adraee on X. “For your safety and that of your family members, you must immediately evacuate this building and nearby buildings and move at least 500 meters away,” he added.

While the Israeli army investigates the possible killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, here is a chance to read Clara Hage's portrait of him, written after his nomination as leader.

Read more here.

At least 28 Palestinians, including children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a shelter in northern Gaza, according to a Gaza Health Ministry official. Israel claimed the strike targeted dozens of militants at the site, Reuters reported.

Medhat Abbas, a health official, stated that dozens more were injured in the attack, adding: “There is no water to put out the fire. There is nothing. It's a massacre.” He continued, “Civilians and children are being killed, burned under fire.”

The Israeli military issued a statement saying the strike was aimed at Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants operating inside the Abu Hussein school in Jabalia, which served as a shelter for displaced people. Hamas denied the presence of fighters in the school, calling the claims “lies” and labeling it part of the enemy’s “systematic policy” to justify the attack.

Israeli channel N12 broadcast images showing, it claimed, the Israeli flag raised to the top of a tower in Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), southern Lebanon, surrounded by rubble.

“The Israeli flag in the heart of the Hezbollah stronghold: the 74th Battalion (of the Israeli army) has completed the capture of Aita al-Shaab," wrote the channel on its X account, with a video to back it up.

🔴 The Israeli army and Shin Beth are investigating the possibility that Yahya Sinwar, the new leader of Hamas, was killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman, Avichay Adraee.

“In the course of Israeli weapon activity in the Gaza Strip, three terrorists were eliminated. The IDF and Shin Bet are investigating the possibility that one of the terrorists killed was Yahya Sinwar. At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be definitively confirmed,” he stressed.

“In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there is no indication of the presence of kidnappers in the area and IDF and Shin Bet forces continue to operate on the ground with the appropriate precautionary measures,” the spokesman added.

Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli soldier gathering in the southern town of Blida (Marjayoun district) at 3 p.m. It also claimed to have targeted the Israeli town of Ramot Naftali at the same time. Both attacks were carried out with “salvos of rockets.”

Threats made to buildings housing Al-Jazeera and the Norwegian Embassy in Beirut were determined to be fake, a Lebanese security source and another diplomatic source told Reuters.

The Lebanese Army detonated an unexploded heavy rocket left over from the aggression in the shooting ranges of Taybeh, east of Baalbek, the municipality of Zahle said in a statement. The explosion shook the area, leading to concerns that an Israeli raid had been carried out in the region, local residents told our correspondent.

Israel targeted Khiam (Marjayoun district) and Tayr Debba (Sour district), local residents reported.

The Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman Avichay Adraee issued a new evacuation warning on his X account for the village of Harouf (Nabatieh district), and more specifically for a building he said he had marked in red on a map. As usual, Adraee said that the residents of this building “are near sites used by Hezbollah,” asking them to “move more than 500 meters away from the location.”

Hezbollah stated that it targeted a "gathering at the entrance of the Israeli town of Misgav Am, [facing the Lebanese town of Odaisseh in the Marjayoun district] with a rocket barrage at 2 p.m." This marks the second time this location has been struck today.

Norway's embassy in Lebanon's capital Beirut was evacuated on Thursday following a bomb threat, the Norwegian ministry of foreign affairs said.

"We can confirm that the building where the Norwegian embassy in Beirut is located has received a bomb threat today," the Norwegian ministry said in an emailed statement.

"Only a few Norwegian diplomats are now in Beirut, and everyone at the embassy is safe and sound," it added.

Al-Jazeera's Beirut office has been evacuated after receiving warning calls from an unknown source, several employees confirmed to L'Orient Today.

Al-Jazeera's Beirut office has been evacuated after receiving warning calls from an unknown source, several employees confirmed to L'Orient Today.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed rising tensions in the region with Egyptian officials in Cairo, on the first visit by a senior Iranian official to the North African country in a decade, Haaretz reports.

Araghchi held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi on efforts to defuse the conflicts between Israel and Gaza and Lebanon. Sissi reiterated his calls for an end to Israel's war in Gaza to prevent it from turning into a regional conflict. An expanded war would have serious repercussions on the security and capabilities of all the nations in the region, he added.

Araghchi's visit to Egypt is part of a diplomatic tour of the region aimed at easing tensions. This month, he has met officials in Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, Oman and Iraq, and is due to visit Turkey after concluding his talks in Egypt.

The Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, urged residents of a building in Tayr Debba (Sour district) to evacuate the building indicated on a map he posted on X, stating, "You must evacuate this building and the nearby buildings immediately and stay away from them at least 500 meters."

A 60-year-old Palestinian woman was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the village of Faqqua, northeast of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The director of the Red Crescent Society in Jenin, Mahmoud al-Saadi, told Wafa that the woman was shot while she was picking olives with her family in the area near the separation and expansion wall built on the lands of the village.

The attack comes after Israeli forces opened fire on an event organized by the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission to help farmers from the village of Kafr al-Labad, east of Tulkarem, pick olives from their lands.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have vowed to retaliate after the United States carried out several strikes with B-2 heavy bombers on weapons storage facilities in areas controlled by the Iran-backed group, Reuters reports.

"We confirm that the U.S. aggression will not go unanswered," the political office of the Houthis said.

The situation in south Lebanon:

- An Israeli airstrike targeted an area between Kfar Kila and Odaisseh (Marjayoun).

- Bombings targeted Hanine, Beit Lif and Ramieh (Bint Jbeil).

- A building in Hosh was destroyed by two missiles. This area in the south of Sour was the subject of two evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army in the last hour. 

A German navy ship participating in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has shot down a drone off the coast of Lebanon, a military spokesperson said.

The corvette "Ludwigshafen am Rhein," deployed off the coast of Lebanon as part of the U.N. force, repelled the arrival of a drone amid growing tensions in the region, a spokesperson for the Bundeswehr (German national army) operational command told the German news agency DPA in Berlin.

"The unmanned missile was shot down in a controlled manner off the coast of Lebanon using a defense system," the command spokesperson said, as quoted by several German press titles quoting DPA, but also by Haaretz.

Hezbollah announced that it targeted with artillery fire Israeli soldiers who were located "between Kfar Kila and Odaisseh" (Marjayoun), in south Lebanon. 

An Israeli strike on Burj al-Shemali, near Sour, in south Lebanon. (Photo obtained by L'Orient Today's correspondent Muntasser Abdallah)

A new evacuation order was issued by the Israeli army to residents of a building in Abbasieh, about eight kilometers east of Sour.

Almost at the same time, an Israeli strike was carried out on Burj al-Shemali, at the southern exit of Sour. An attack that followed an Israeli evacuation order. 

The Israeli army announced in a message posted on X that it had killed Hussein Mohammad Awada, a "commander of a Hezbollah battalion in the Bint Jbeil region." The latter was "responsible for launching rockets from several positions in the region," according to the army. 

Hezbollah said it launched a salvo of rockets at Israeli soldiers stationed at the "Metula barrier," which faces Khiam (Marjayoun). 

New calls for evacuation have been issued by the Israeli army in the Sour region for the inhabitants of a building in Burj al-Shemali, located near the "Horizon International School," and another in Hosh , where another call to evacuate had already been launched in the morning, to move 500 meters away from the place.

These places are "located near Hezbollah infrastructures, which will be targeted in the near future," according to the army.

Israeli airstrikes targeted Yohmor in the Bekaa, following other bombardments in the region following evacuation orders, including in Tamnin, Saraine and Safri.

In south Lebanon, airstrikes targeted Yohmor (Nabatieh) as well as Hosh. The Israeli army had called on residents of a building in Hosh (Sour) to evacuate shortly before. 

Caretaker Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Hector Hajjar is currently touring North Lebanon, visiting centers hosting people displaced by the war, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the North, Michel Hallak, reports.

Nearly 65,000 people are currently displaced in the North due to Israeli strikes, according to official figures. Hajjar began his visit with a meeting at the government serail in Halba, where he discussed the needs of the region. He is then expected to visit centers hosting displaced people in the area. 

The health ministry in Gaza announced on Thursday a new death toll of 42,438 in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel more than a year ago.

At least 29 people have been killed in the past 24 hours, it said in a statement, adding that 99,246 people have been injured in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, triggered by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In a fourth evacuation order since this morning, the Israeli army called on residents of a building in Hosh (Sour), to evacuate. This building, on the edge of the road leading from the south to Sour, is located opposite the "Smart Mart" department store. 

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a rocket strike on Kfar Vradim, carried out at 8:30 a.m. Kfar Vradim is located in northern Israel, east of Nahariya, about 10 kilometers from the border .

The party also announced that it fired a "guided missile" at two Israeli Merkava tanks located on the heights of Labouneh (Sour). According to the statement, the crew of these two tanks was killed and wounded. During the night, Hezbollah had already announced that it had destroyed two Merkava tanks in the same place.

In south Lebanon, Israeli jets bombed Arab Salim and Nabatieh al-Faouqa, as well as Houla. Artillery fire also targeted Houla, according to information from L'Orient Today's correspondent. 

The Israeli air force bombed the Safri building, which it had called for evacuation, about twenty minutes after its evacuation order. 

As new strikes targeted Saraine in the Bekaa, a village in which the Israeli army had called on the residents of a building to evacuate. The Israeli army spokesperson issued a third evacuation order in the Bekaa, this time in Safri. The residents of a building located along the main road, next to the "Hamzeh" car dealership, were called to move at least 500 meters away from the scene.

Israeli jets struck Tamnin and Saraine al-Tahta in the Bekaa, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent. It was in these villages that the Israeli army had called on residents of buildings to evacuate. It was not immediately clear whether the Israeli air raids targeted these buildings or not.

The Israeli military said 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Haifa and Acre during a recent barrage, Haaretz reported.

The Israeli army called on residents of a building in a second village in the Bekaa, in the village of Saraine el-Tahta, to evacuate the premises. Also arguing that this building is "near Hezbollah infrastructure," it called on residents of this building and those nearby to move away "at least 500 meters."

The building is located, according to the map published by the army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, in an agricultural area, between fields and near greenhouses, opposite an "AFT Petroleum" gas station. 

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, threatened to strike Israel "painfully" if it attacks Iranian targets in response to Iranian missile strikes on Israeli territory on Oct. 1, AFP reports.

"If you make a mistake and attack our targets, whether in the region or in Iran, we will strike you again painfully," warned Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, during the funeral of a general of the guards killed by an Israeli strike that also cost the life of the former leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, at the end of September in Lebanon.

The Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, called on residents of a building in Tamnin, in the Bekaa, to evacuate at least 500 meters away. This building is "close to Hezbollah installations," according to him. According to the published map, it is next to the "Yassine pharmacy," on the main road of the village.

These evacuation orders are regularly issued by the spokesperson. They usually concern buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut or entire villages in south Lebanon. This is the first time that a specific building in the Bekaa has been called for evacuation since the start of the Israeli army's expanded offensive on Sept. 23. Tamnin has, however, been hit several times.

A B-2 stealth strategic bomber at an air base in Palmdale, California, on July 17, 2024. (Credit: Fredric J. Brown/AFP)

The United States struck five underground Houthi rebel munitions depots in Yemen using B-2 stealth strategic bombers, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said late last night. “U.S. forces targeted multiple Houthi underground facilities housing multiple types of weapons that the Houthis have used to target civilian and military vessels throughout the region,” Austin said in a statement.

During the night, the state-run Syrian agency SANA reported an Israeli airstrike that caused fires in the coastal city of Latakia, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights referring to a strike on an "arms warehouse".

"Anti-aircraft defenses intercepted hostile targets over Latakia," reported SANA, referring to "fires started by the Israeli aggression" at the entrance to this city, stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Hezbollah in the war against Israel. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on X an "Israeli strike targeting an arms warehouse in Latakia."

Hezbollah, this morning, struck with rockets Israeli soldiers who were in the disputed Shebaa Farms, at the level of the position of "Sadaneh" and that of "the farm of Berkhata."

This morning, shortly before 9:00 a.m., an Israeli strike targeted Qanarit, southwest of Saida, a house in Deir Kanoun al-Nahr, west of Sour, and Rihane, in the caza of Jezzine. Artillery fire targeted Kfar Shouba and Wadi Berghoz (Hasbaya).

In the Bekaa, the town of Qelya was bombed.

The Lebanese photojournalists' union has paid tribute to two of its members killed in recent days in south Lebanon: Mohammad Bitar, killed in the strike on the Nabatieh Serail yesterday, and Mohammad Ghadboun, killed in a strike on Qana on Tuesday. 

Throughout the night, airstrikes targeted Jwaya, Matarieh, Majdal Zoun, Haoush, the road leading to Ras al-Ain, Aita al-Shaab, Khiam, Kfar Hammam, Qabrikha, Habboush, Kfar Kila, Ramieh, Kouzah, Baraasheet, Hanine, Shaqra, Kadmous, Sultanieh and Burj al-Shemali.

Artillery fire suspected by observers to contain white phosphorus also targeted areas where the Israeli army is trying to advance, including Rab al-Thalathine, Markaba, Aita al-Shaab, Kouzah, Ramieh, as well as Kfar Kila, Beit Lif and Khiam. 

Last night's strike on Tyr Debba in Tyre district left at least four dead. The Health Ministry had reported three victims, but a new body was pulled from the rubble in the morning.

Throughout the night, fighting was heard in Rab al-Thalathine (Marjayoun), Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil) and Labouneh (Sour) in the face of the attempts to advance by the Israeli army, according to local and security sources of L'Orient Today's correspondent.

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

Morning Brief

Nabatieh under heavy bombardment; Israel destroys Mohaibib: Everything you need to know this Thursday

Good morning.

Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of the ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon.