Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed concerns over the potential expansion of the conflict in Lebanon and the region, as reported by Al-Jazeera. He said, "There is a shared regional concern about the dangers posed by the conflict in Lebanon and the broader war in the region." Araghchi emphasized that diplomatic efforts are underway to de-escalate the situation and manage the current crisis.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan extended his "condolences" to Hamas officials he hosted in Istanbul, following the announcement of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Fidan "received the president of the Shura (Council) of Hamas, Mohammed Ismail Darwish, and members of the Hamas political bureau," offering condolences for the "martyrdom of Yahya Sinwar," according to a statement from the ministry.
The Israeli army announced on Friday that it had intercepted an “aerial target” approaching its territory from Syria.
According to the army, “a suspicious aerial target approaching Israeli territory from Syria was intercepted by the air force before entering” Israeli territory. For its part, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) reported that two drones fired by the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” had crossed the Syrian sky before being intercepted by Israeli forces.
In its 17th and 18th statements of the day, Hezbollah said it had fired a “guided missile” at an Israeli tank in the vicinity of the Al-Abad site (opposite Houla, in the Marjayoun district) at 9:20 p.m., wounding and killing members of its crew. It then fired several rockets at the Kiryat Eliezer “air defense” base, west of Haifa, without specifying the time.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) "mourns" the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, it announced in a statement, calling for "unity" among Palestinian factions.
The organization "extends its deepest condolences to the leaders and members of Hamas" and "calls for advancing our national unity under our sole legitimate representative, the PLO."
The PLO also urged unity against Israel to "reclaim all our rights, including the right of return (for refugees), the end of the occupation, and the establishment of our Palestinian state encompassing all occupied territories, based on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the eternal capital."
According to security sources contacted by LBCI, the situation in the town of Rmeish (Bint Jbeil district, South Lebanon) is normal, and there is no ongoing evacuation of its residents. The sources added that the Lebanese army escorted an aid convoy into the village near the northern Israeli border today.
Earlier local media reports had indicated that the army was evacuating the village.
⚡ Western democracies — including the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and Belgium — were accused at the U.N. on Friday of "harshly" repressing the right to protest in support of the Palestinian cause, especially at the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.
In a report presented to the General Assembly and the press, Irene Khan, the U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, also accused Israel of "serious attacks" on the media in the occupied Palestinian territories, citing "targeted killings of journalists."
⚡ The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar makes peace in the Middle East "easier," said U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday.
"I’m glad Bibi decided to do what he had to do," he said from Detroit, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A surface-to-air missile, whose origin has not yet been identified, exploded over a mountainous region in Akkar. Fragments of the missile fell on several localities, including Meshmesh and al-Qornet, causing material damage, according to our correspondent in North Lebanon.
Two Israeli strikes targeted the Matraba crossing point at the Lebanon-Syria border, near Jermash and Kald al-Sabeh (Hermel), according to our correspondent in the Bekaa.
The Israeli air force has announced that it has intercepted a “suspicious” object that appears to have been fired from Syria, Haaretz reported, without further details.
Two people were killed in the Israeli strike on Kfar Tibnit (Nabatieh) that was reported earlier, according to our correspondent.
⚡ American, French, German, and British leaders stressed the "immediate necessity" for ending the war in Gaza, following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Siwar.
After their meeting in Berlin today, the leaders released a joint statement from the German government, U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Stramer discussed the "implications" of Sinwar's death, stressing "the immediate necessity to bring the hostages home to their families, for ending the war in Gaza, and ensure humanitarian aid reaches civilians."
The Afghan Taliban authorities have expressed "deep sadness" over the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israel yesterday.
"It is with deep sadness that we have learned of the martyrdom of Yahya Sinwar," said Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement, adding that his assassination "will intensify and strengthen the resistance" against Israeli forces.
Our correspondent in the south has reported two drone strikes on a house in Kfar Tibnit, in Nabatieh district. And, in its 16th operation of the day, Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the "air missile defense base and the regional brigade base" at Ain Shemer, some 50 kilometers south of Haifa.
In its 14th statement of the day, Hezbollah claims to have struck the Krayot residential area north of the Israeli city of Haifa. A 15th statement from the party says that its fighters launched missiles over Haifa at 7 p.m. as part of Operation Khaibar.
Hamas is likely to replace Yahya Sinwar with a new political leader based outside Gaza, while his brother, Mohammad Sinwar, is expected to play a more prominent role in leading the war against Israel in the enclave, according to experts cited by Reuters.
In its deliberations, Hamas will have to take into account not only the preferences of its main backer, Iran, but also the interests of Qatar, where all the main candidates for the post of head of Hamas' political bureau currently reside.
Updates from our correspondent in southern Lebanon:
• Israeli aircraft bombed the city of Bint Jbeil, as well as the towns of Deir Antar, Kafra, Yatar, Hanin and Srebbine, also in Bint Jbeil district, and the industrial zone east of Sour, toward the al-Buss area. The Litani's riverbed was also bombed.
• Israeli artillery bombarded Aita al-Shaab, Qozah and Haddatha, also in Bint Jbeil district.
• According to a security source, missiles were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Hezbollah continues to shell Israeli soldiers in the Aita al-Shaab area.
U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters he believes there is a possibility of working towards a cease-fire in Lebanon but that it will be harder in Gaza, Reuters reports.
Biden, on a visit to Berlin, also said he has an understanding of how and when Israel will respond to the missile attacks by Iran. He declined to elaborate.
Several Israeli attacks were reported in southern Lebanon:
• An Israeli strike targeted the village of Shouakir, in Sour district, according to our correspondent.
• Three people were killed by strikes in Zaoutar al-Sharkieh: Ali Ismail Bou Abbass, Hassan Ahmad Ismail and Ahmad Malek Ismail.
• An Israeli air raid on the Sour marine nature reserve hit an area between the beach and the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp.
The Israeli army announced today that "30 trucks containing humanitarian aid—including food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment—were transferred today by the international community to northern Gaza." on social media platform X.
This comes after the U.S. sent a stern letter to Israel threatening to review military assistance should the latter not follow certain steps within 30 days, including allowing a minimum of 350 trucks to enter Gaza each day, instituting humanitarian aid pauses in fighting and canceling needless civilian evacuation orders.
Two attacks were launched from southern Lebanon targeting Israeli positions and troops.
The first targeted Israeli soldiers in Labbouneh, southeast of Naqoura, inside Lebanese territory, igniting a fire at the site. A second attack targeted Israeli positions in the contested Shebaa Farms.
The attacks are currently unclaimed, however, were reported by our correspondent citing sources.
Here's an update on the latest Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon:
- An airstrike targeted Blida (Marjayoun district)
- Artillery fire shelled Maaqeb neighborhood, near the police station in the town of Houla (Marjayoun), resulting in injuries, reported our correspondent. Ambulances are unable to reach the injured due to incessant shelling in the area and being targeted when approaching, our correspondent added. Residents of the village have called on authorities to assist the civilian victims.
- An airstrike killed a father and his son after bombing a house in Anqoun, southeast Sida.
- An airstrike targeted Yater (Bint Jbeil)
🔴 The Lebanese Health Ministry released a new death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon since the war began, stating that 2,412 people have been killed and 11,267 others wounded.
The statement added that yesterday, 45 people were killed and 179 others wounded. The breakdown of the casualties are as follows:
- In South Lebanon district: 12 killed and 41 wounded
- In Nabtieh district: 25 killed and 88 wounded 3 killed and 14 wounded
- In Bekaa: 3 killed and 14 wounded
- In the Baalbeck-Hermel district: 5 killed and 36 wounded
⚡ "I thank the [caretaker] prime minister for his welcome. I am proud to be the first head of government to visit Lebanon since the escalation began. I express my solidarity with the civilians on both sides who have suffered the consequences of the conflict," said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni upon her arrival at the Grand Serail, where she is set to meet caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
She called the Israeli attacks on the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) "unacceptable" and emphasized the need to reinforce its presence in southern Lebanon as part of efforts to reduce tensions between Israel and Hezbollah and to implement U.N. Resolution 1701.
After she meets with Mikati, Meloni is scheduled to meet with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
The Israeli strike, which targeted the town of Qalya in the western Bekaa, killed at least one person, according to our correspondent.
Below is the aftermath following an Israeli airstrike on Taybeh (Baalbeck district). Follow our account on X to remain updated.
Here are the latest updates on Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa, according to our correspondents:
- An airstrike targeted Qalya, in the western Bekaa
- An earlier Israeli strike bombed an area near a Syrian refugee camp, between Taybeh and Ansar (Baalbeck district)
- An airstrike targeted an area between Anqoun and Banaafoul (Saida), and another strike targeted Tibnin (Bint Jbeil)
Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said that thirty trucks carrying humanitarian, including food, water, medical equipment sent from abroad crossed into northern Gaza through the Erez crossing today, according to a Haaretz report. A letter sent from U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Foreign Secretary Lloyd Austin to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, which was leaked to the press by Axios on Tuesday, demands that Israel increase the number of aid trucks entering Gaza to 350 per day or face restrictions in U.S. military aid.
“To reverse the downward humanitarian trajectory and consistent with its assurances to us, Israel must, starting now and within 30 days, act" on a series of specific steps, the letter reads, including "enabling a minimum of 350 [aid] trucks per day to enter Gaza... through all four major crossings... as well as opening a fifth crossing."
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi claims that 1,500 Hezbollah fighters have been killed so far, Reuters reported, without specifying the period in which they had been supposedly killed. Over 2,400 people have been killed by the Israeli army in Lebanon in the last year. Before Sept. 23, when Israel suddenly stepped up its airstrikes across the country, the majority of casualties were Hezbollah fighters. However since this escalation, the exact number of fighters killed is unknown, though the majority of casualties from the last three weeks of intensified bombing are thought to be civilians, according to Lebanese authorities.
Here is an update from our correspondents in the Bekaa and southern Lebanon:
• An Israeli strike targeted the area of Qalya, in the western Bekaa.
• The earlier strike near Baalbeck district's Taybeh and Ansar villages hit close to a Syrian refugee camp.
• An Israeli air raid targeted the area between Anqoun and Banaafoul, in Saida district, as well as the area around the village of Tebnine, Bint Jbeil district.
• The Israeli strike that targeted the locality of Qalya in the western Bekaa, killed at least one person.
The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood has announced that the two gunmen who entered Israel from Jordan before being killed by the Israeli army earlier today were members of the Brotherhood.
The two assailants were "members of the Brotherhood and have always taken part in events in support of Gaza and the resistance," their spokesman Moadh al-Khawaldeh told AFP, the day after Israel announced it had killed Palestinian Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by chance in ground fighting in Rafah.
The Gaza Health Ministry announced a new death toll today of 42,500 Palestinians killed since the start of the war with Israel on Oct. 7 last year.
At least 62 people have been killed in the last 24 hours, it said in a statement, adding that 99,546 others have been wounded.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the Israeli military, remains a "source of inspiration" for those fighting Israel in the Middle East, Iran's foreign minister stated on Friday. Abbas Araghchi added that the Palestinian leader "is a source of inspiration for resistance fighters in the region," in a statement issued after Hamas confirmed Sinwar's death.
Yemen's Houthi rebels paid tribute to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, asserting that "Gaza and the Palestinian cause will triumph no matter the sacrifice." Their spokesman, Mohammed Abdelsalam, expressed on X, "Our sincere condolences ... to Hamas and the Palestinian people for the martyrdom of the great leader Yahya Sinwar, who fought for the noblest and most just cause."
Israeli airstrikes continued to target southern Lebanon, bombing Maaroub (Sour district), Khirbet Selem, Bir el-Salasel (Bint Jbeil), and Majdal Selm (Marjayoun), according to our correspondent.
Hezbollah reacted to the death of Hamas leader Yahya Siwar, extending its condolences "to the jihadist brothers of Hamas and to the Arab and Islamic nations." The party stated, "Leader Yahya Sinwar, who took up the mantle of resistance after the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh, stood firm against the American plan and the Israeli occupation." The statement emphasized that "Hezbollah's leadership, which faces the repercussions of Zionist hostilities alongside the resistant Lebanese people, stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people."
Hezbollah announced three new attacks:
- At 2:55 p.m. it launched missiles at the Israeli site of Rosh Hanikra — "Ras Naqoura naval site."
- At 3:15 p.m. it launched artillery shells and a barrage of rockets at an Israeli troop gathering "at the Kfar Kila crossing," inside Lebanese territory.
- "At dawn" it launched an aerial attack with exploding drones at Israeli troops in the city of Safed.
Here are the latest updates on Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon:
- New airstrikes have been conducted in Nabatieh, as well as Nmairieh (Nabatieh district) and Aita al-Jabal, Aita al-Shaab and Rashaf — in the Bint Jbeil district.
- An airstrike targeted Qana, in the Marjayoun district, resulting in injuries, reported our correspondent.
President Biden stated after a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it was time to "move on" and end the war in Gaza following the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinouar, according to the U.S. website Axios. Biden has been actively campaigning for a hostage release and cease-fire agreement in Gaza for months and hopes to achieve a breakthrough in the stalled negotiations before he leaves office on January 20.
Israeli and U.S. officials believe that Sinwar's death presents an opportunity to resume negotiations for the release of the 101 hostages still held by Hamas and to establish a cease-fire in Gaza. "The leaders agreed that there is now an opportunity to press for the release of the hostages and stressed that they would work together to this end," said the Israeli Prime Minister's office. The White House noted that Biden and Netanyahu discussed "how to use this moment to bring the hostages home and end the war, ensuring Israel's security and preventing Hamas from ever controlling Gaza again."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar: "The martyrs live forever and the cause of liberating Palestine from occupation is more alive than ever."
The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigade, issued a statement regarding the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, noting that he "died as a martyr on the front line, among his comrades, while wearing his weapon and military garb." The group emphasized, "Despite our pain, we assure that we will continue to fight until the last drop of blood to end the occupation of Palestine and reclaim our occupied lands in Lebanon and Syria."
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) issued a statement following the death of Yahya Siwar, acknowledging that he "fought until the last minute." The DFLP expressed condolences to Hamas and the Palestinian people, stating: "What happened will only be one more motivation for our people and their resistance to continue the struggle against the U.S.-Israeli alliance and its destructive plans."
During a meeting in Ain al-Tineh with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Middle East Airlines (MEA) CEO Mohammad al-Hout reported that MEA had transported 161,000 passengers and operated an average of 35-36 round-trip flights via Beirut international airport since Sept. 24, averaging around 7,000 passengers per day. MEA is the only airline still operating flights to and from the airport since that date. Of the total, 126,000 passengers have departed, and 35,000 have arrived.
Al-Hout added that Nabih Berri had given "the appropriate instructions to maintain operations at Beirut international airport and to ensure Lebanon’s continued connectivity with the outside world." He also acknowledged the support of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and caretaker Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamieh for MEA.
The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzeddine al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed the death of Yahya Siwar in a statement, calling him a "martyr and hero alongside his jihadi brothers." The statement adds: "The criminal enemy believes that by killing prominent resistance leaders such as Siwar, Haniyeh, Nasrallah, and Arouri, they can force us to retreat. The resistance will continue until its objectives are achieved."
The statement refers to the former head of Hamas' political wing, Ismail Haniyeh, killed in Tehran at the end of July, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in Beirut on Sept. 27, and Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas' former number three, who was killed in Beirut in January 2024.
"When the various resistance groups, including Hamas, launched this great battle in Palestinian history, they understood that the price of liberation would be high ... Our jihad will not end until Palestine is liberated, and the last Zionist has left," the al-Qassam Brigades added.
Hezbollah announced that it launched missiles at Israeli soldiers deployed in Zar'it, a locality on Israel's northern border facing the Lebanese village of Ramieh (Bint Jbeil).
Here are the latest updates on Israeli attacks in South Lebanon:
- A violent heavy-caliber airstrike targeted Nabatieh, reported our correspondent in the region.
- Artillery fire hit the heights of Kfar Shuba, Khiam and Taybeh
In a statement, Hamas announced the death of its leader, Yahya Siwar, killed yesterday by the Israeli army in Rafah, in southern Gaza. The Palestinian movement said it was "mourning a man who was one of the most noble and courageous, a man who dedicated his life to Palestine."
Khalil Hayyeh: The Israeli hostages will not be released as long as the aggression against the Gaza Strip continues, and our prisoners in Israeli jails are not released.
Khalil Hayyeh: Hamas will continue its struggle until the establishment of a Palestinian state on all Palestinian land, with Jerusalem as its capital.
In a televised address, Hamas official Khalil Hayyeh stated that the movement's leader, Yahya Sinwar, "died a hero and martyr," fighting against the Israeli army.
The Israeli army has announced that "based on an assessment of the situation," it has decided to deploy "another brigade of reservists" in southern Lebanon. According to a post from Avichay Adraee, the army's Arabic-speaking spokesman, made on X.
He added that this move would allow the "fight against Hezbollah to continue" and help achieve the "objectives of the war," including the return of northern Israeli residents. The army did not specify which brigade would be mobilized. These reservists will join several divisions already stationed along the Lebanese front and participating in the southern Lebanon offensive.
Here are the latest updates on Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon:
- Two members of the Mroueh family were killed in Zrarieh, and three others were killed in Jwayya, where rescue workers are still searching through the rubble, following the morning Israeli strikes on the villages.
- Airstrikes targeted Zrarieh, Sharkieh, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Yohmor al-Shakif, Zaoutar al-Sharkieh, Aita al-Jabal, and Habboush.
- Artillery fire shelled Ramieh, Kawzah, and Aita al-Shaab.
The Israeli army has deployed an additional military unit to Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps, where tanks have reportedly destroyed roads and houses as they advanced further into the territory, Reuters reported.
Residents in northern Gaza said Israeli tanks had reached the heart of the camp, using heavy aerial and ground fire after moving through suburban and residential areas. They also reported that the army was demolishing dozens of houses daily, both through airstrikes and by planting bombs in buildings, which were then detonated remotely. The Israeli military said the operation in Jabalia was aimed at preventing Hamas fighters from regrouping for further attacks. According to residents, Israeli forces have isolated the towns of Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya, blocking movement, except for families who followed evacuation orders and left the area.
The killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is an "opportunity to seek a path to peace, a better future in Gaza without Hamas," said U.S. President Joe Biden, adding that his death is a "moment of justice."
Israel's elimination of Sinwar "hopefully opens up the prospect" of a cease-fire in Gaza and for an "agreement on the release of the hostages" held since Oct. 7, 2023, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz after receiving Biden.
The Israeli army announced it killed the Hezbollah commander responsible for the Taybeh village of southern Lebanon in the Marjayoun district.
In a message on X, the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman Avichay Adraee said that Mohammad Hussein Rammal had been targeted by the air force on the basis of directives from the 98th division, which was present on the ground. Providing an update on the situation in southern Lebanon, Avichay Adraee also reported that "7th Brigade forces have found and destroyed rocket launchers," and that the 36th and 91st Divisions are continuing their ground "operations" in the South, where they have "found large quantities of weapons" belonging to Hezbollah.
A Hamas official said the movement could "not be eliminated" despite the deaths of its leaders, but stopped short of confirming that its leader, Yahya Sinwar, had been killed in Gaza, AFP reported.
"It seems that Israel thinks that killing our leaders means the end of our movement and the struggle of the Palestinian people" but "Hamas is a movement led by people seeking freedom and dignity and this cannot be eliminated," Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas' political bureau, told AFP.
UNIFIL spokesperson in Lebanon Andrea Tenenti said in Geneva that "the devastation and destruction of many villages in Lebanon along the Blue Line and even beyond is shocking." He added that U.N. peacekeepers' positions had been targeted repeatedly in Lebanon, "putting peacekeepers at risk."
"We have been targeted repeatedly, five times deliberately," Reuters reported.
At a press conference, Andrea Tenenti added that UNIFIL should remain in Lebanon, assuring that "the morale of the peacekeepers was still high." Asked about the possible use by UNIFIL of self-defense against the Israeli army, Tenenti replied that it could be used, but that it was important to reduce tensions.
Finally, regarding the drone shot down on Thursday off the Lebanese coast, the spokesperson specified that it had "arrived from the south," had circled the UNIFIL ship, from which it came within "a few meters."
The Kremlin said it was "concerned" about the "consequences for the civilian population" following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, killed in an Israeli operation in Gaza, AFP reports.
"The main thing for us is the consequences for the civilian population that we are seeing," Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. "The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and Lebanon is a matter that concerns us greatly," he added, when asked by Russian news agencies about Russia's reaction to Sinwar's death.
The French foreign minister welcomed a "change" in the rhetoric of the Israeli prime minister, urging to seize the moment after the killing of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the bloody attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 against Israel which triggered the war in Gaza.
"I see a change in the speech of Benjamin Netanyahu who yesterday ... announced ... the beginning of the end" of the war in Gaza, said Jean-Noel Barrot, on France Inter. "I hope that this will be the moment of the end of the war in Gaza, and the moment when the region resolutely commits itself to the direction of peace," he added, stressing that the security of Israel could "only be lastingly guaranteed on condition that dialogue and diplomacy take precedence over force."
The situation in south Lebanon:
- An Israeli airstrike targeted Zrariyeh in the Saida district, killing one person and injuring another.
- Strikes targeted Shaaitieh (Sour) and two houses on the outskirts of Khiam and Ebel al-Saqi.
- Fighter jets broke the sound barrier over Saida, causing two hypersonic booms.
- Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing rockets at the Israeli barracks in Yoav, in the occupied Syrian Golan.
The spokesperson for the U.N. humanitarian office said Israeli forces have used lethal and warlike tactics in the West Bank, raising serious concerns, Reuters reports.
The Israeli army called on residents of around 20 villages in south Lebanon to evacuate north of the Awali Rive, near Saida, in anticipation of armed operations against Hezbollah.
In a message published on X, the army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, called on the residents of Qouzah, Beit Lif, Yater, Jabal al-Botm, Zebqine, Marwahine, Shihine, Umm al-Tout, Boustan, Zaloutieh, Zahirieh, Matmoura, Majdal Zoun, Shamaa, Tyr Harfa, Abu Shach, Jibbain, Bayad, Mansouri, Kafra, Alma al-Shaab and Naqoura to leave. These villages are mainly located in the Sour district, along the western part of the Blue Line.
"Anyone near Hezbollah members, infrastructure or weapons is putting their life in danger," he wrote, saying he "prohibits all travel to the south."
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati spoke out against comments made by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf, published in an interview the day before, in which he suggested that Tehran would be prepared to negotiate with Paris an application of U.N. Resolution 1701 concerning south Lebanon.
In a statement, Mikati said he was "surprised" by the statement made by the head of the Iranian legislature in his interview with the French daily Le Figaro. This position "constitutes a flagrant interference in Lebanese affairs and an attempt to establish an unacceptable guardianship over Lebanon," the caretaker Prime Minister wrote.
He then asked the head of diplomacy, Abdallah Bou Habib, to summon the Iranian chargé d'affaires to Beirut.
In the Gaza Strip, an AFP journalist and the Civil Defense reported several airstrikes during the night.
Three children were killed in northern Gaza, according to the Civil Defense, while a drone strike killed two Palestinians in the same area.
The Israeli army announced that it was continuing its operations in Jabalia, in the north of the territory, which it has been surrounding and shelling since Oct. 6, claiming that Hamas was trying to rebuild its forces there.
The Israeli military said it had spotted and neutralized gunmen it described as terrorists who had crossed the Israeli-Jordanian border south of the Dead Sea.
"[Israeli military] emergency forces recently spotted a number of terrorists crossing the border from Jordan into Israeli territory south of the Dead Sea," army Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee told X. "[Israeli] forces rushed to the scene and were able to neutralize two terrorists who opened fire on them," he added, adding that the army is continuing to comb the area.
The night was marked by a series of bombings on the different regions of the south, notably Zaouter al-Sharqieh, Debaal, Kfar Shouba, Baraasheet, Ramieh, Zrarieh, Yohmor al-Shakif, Haddata and Khiam.
Since this morning, several Israeli strikes have targeted south Lebanon, particularly in Doueir and on the outskirts of Ansar (Nabatieh). The strike in Doueir, which targeted homes, left at least four dead, whose bodies were extracted from the rubble.
In the district of Bint Jbeil, the outskirts of Maroun al-Ras and Yaroun have been targeted by heavy artillery fire since this morning as well.
Following these announcements, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing on Israeli soldiers in Lebanese territory during the night, particularly in Kfar Kila and on the outskirts of Aïta el-Chaab.
This morning, it announced that it launched "a large salvo of rockets" on Zvulun, a town in northern Israel located east of Haifa, around thirty kilometers from the Blue Line.
The Israeli army said that it had identified the firing of 15 rockets at northern Israel, "some of which were intercepted."
During the night, in a statement, Hezbollah announced its move "to a new phase of escalation in the confrontation with the Israeli enemy."
The developments of this new phase "will be announced in the coming days."
The party added it had used "for the first time" precision-guided missiles to target Israeli soldiers. While the party announces daily the details of its operations, against the advance of the Israeli army in Lebanese territory or against its positions in northern Israel, it has never reported firing precision-guided missiles.
Be sure to read the Morning Brief so you are caught up with what has been happening.
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