New Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs and southern Beirut: Day 384 of the Lebanon and Gaza wars

This concludes our live coverage for today. Be sure to come back tomorrow for the latest updates of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Goodnight!

Three successive strikes targeted the Sainte-Therese district in the Hadath neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs. The total number of strikes this evening is thirteen, according to several local media.

The New York Times reported that four Iranian officials said this week that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the military to develop several military plans to respond to an Israeli attack. The scale of any Iranian response, they said, would depend largely on the severity of the Israeli attacks. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

A drone approaching Israeli airspace from the east was shot down over the Red Sea, the Israeli military said, according to Haaretz.

A loud explosion was heard in the Sainte-Therese area in Beirut's southern suburbs.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati in London on Friday, a U.S. official was quoted as saying by AFP.

Blinken arrived in the British capital in the evening after a tour of the Middle East, his 11th since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, during which he insisted that Lebanese civilians be spared but stopped short of demanding an immediate cease-fire from Israel.

According to NNA, this evening, the Israeli air force has so far struck once in Shoueifat al-Amrousieh, twice in Hayy al-Amerken (the American neighborhood) in the southern suburbs of Beirut, three times in Haret Hreik and once in the Jamous neighborhood in Hadath. 

Israeli fighter jets carried out a series of air strikes in the district of Sour, reports the National News Agency.

Three buildings in Hadath and Burj al-Barajneh were ordered to evacuate by the Israeli army. According to maps shared on X by the Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, the building in Hadath is located near Allam Pharmacy, while the one in Burj al-Barajneh is between the Seven Moons School and the Burj al-Barajneh Public School. The third threatened building is located across from the Gustoso Juice Bar in Hadath.

In an interview with Sky News Arabia, as reported by the National News Agency (NNA), Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri stated that "the Lebanese army will deploy in South Lebanon and take full responsibility for maintaining stability, in accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701."

He emphasized the need for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon, noting that he is "awaiting a response from U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein regarding remote negotiations with the Israeli side." Hochstein had visited Beirut on Monday.

Berri also expressed his "concern and skepticism about the positions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who continues to take escalatory stances and declares his rejection of diplomatic solutions."

Another loud explosion heard in the vicinity of Beirut.

In an interview with Euronews, as reported by the National News Agency (NNA, official), the deputy spokesperson for UNIFIL described the situation at the Israeli-Lebanese border as "very dangerous and concerning," referring to the widespread destruction of villages along and beyond the Blue Line. "There is no sign of easing in the conflict," she stressed.

Candice Ardell also stated that UNIFIL had prepared for the possibility of escalation long before the ground incursion into the south and had taken all necessary measures to protect its troops and fortify positions.

"We are limited in certain activities, with peacekeepers sometimes having to remain in their positions or even in shelters. Our ability to monitor and report violations of Resolution 1701 is restricted. Although we have observation towers, we need to go out to fulfill our role as effectively as possible, but our patrols are very limited due to the current situation," she explained.

A new detonation was heard on the outskirts of Beirut, just a few minutes after a third warning from the Israeli army to the inhabitants of Haret Hreik.

The Israeli air force has just bombed the localities of Choueifat Amroussieh in the southern suburbs of Beirut, according to the National News Agency (NNA).

Hezbollah announced in a statement that it targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at 9 p.m. with a salvo of rockets, east of the town of Markaba (Marjayoun district), in Lebanese territory.

The Israeli army has called on residents of buildings in Haret Hreik, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and Choueifat Amroussiyeh, south of the capital, to evacuate to "at least 500 meters" ahead of future strikes.

In Choueifat, the targeted building is located between the "Imam Zein el-Abidine complex" and the "Auto Rabih" car dealership. In Haret Hreik, the building is situated across from the "City Towers."

⚡ Hamas is ready to halt hostilities in Gaza if Israel agrees to a cease-fire, a senior official of the Palestinian movement told AFP.

The Hamas official said the group "is prepared to stop the hostilities, but Israel must commit to a cease-fire, withdraw from the Gaza Strip, allow the return of displaced people, agree to a serious exchange of Israeli hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners, and permit the entry of humanitarian aid" into Gaza. A Hamas delegation discussed "ideas and proposals" for resuming negotiations for a cease-fire during talks in Cairo, according to the official.

Shortly before 9 p.m., Israeli airstrikes hit the locality of Qaaqaaiyet al-Snoubar in the district of Saida, targeting and destroying the "Rahaf" supermarket, our correspondent reported.

The Israeli air force also launched strikes on the locality of Dibbine (Marjayoun).

Additionally, the air force bombed the locality of Arab Salim (Nabatieh), and reports suggest there may have been casualties.

Finally, another raid targeted the localities of Horsh Abbassieh and Burj al-Shamali (Sour).

The Israeli government welcomed Egypt’s willingness to propose a deal for the release of hostages in Gaza, according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, reported by Reuters.

The Israeli army announced the deaths of four soldiers in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility in its 24th and 25th statements of the day for two rocket swarm attacks. The first was at 10 a.m. on a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Malkiya, opposite the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab, and the second was at 6 p.m. on the city of Safed (opposite the Lebanese locality of Yaroun).

Update on the situation in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley during the last hour:

In southern Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes targeted the Shebba Valley (Hasbaya), Khiam (Marjayoun), and Tayr Harfa (Sour), according to our correspondent.

In the Bekaa Valley, a strike on the village of Hawsh al-Rafqa west of Baalbeck killing one person, according to our correspondent.

Israeli strikes in the Bekaa Valley killed 14 people and injured 16 others today. Specifically, the bombings killed seven in Khodr, six in Hallanieh, and one person in Hawsh al-Rafqa.

The Forum of Families, the main association of relatives of hostages held in Gaza, on Thursday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement with Hamas for their release after new talks were announced for a cease-fire in the Palestinian territory, according to AFP.

"We are asking the Israeli Prime Minister to give the negotiating team full authority to reach this agreement. Time is running out for the hostages," the Forum said in a statement, urging "international leaders to exert maximum pressure on Hamas to accept this agreement and end the humanitarian catastrophe."

Russia is concerned about events in the Middle East and believes it has a role to play in creating the necessary conditions for resolving the conflict in the region, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the BRICS summit in Kazan, according to Reuters.

Putin said Moscow did not want the conflict to escalate and believed no country in the region wanted a "major war."

Hezbollah announced that its air defense units fired at 4:30 p.m. on a Hormuz 450-type drone above the Beaufort Castle area (Nabatieh district) with a surface-to-air missile, forcing it to leave Lebanese airspace.

⚡ The Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, Herzi Halevi, estimated that Israel could bring a quick and decisive end to the conflict with Hezbollah, according to reports from Israeli media, including the Times of Israel.

"In the north, it is possible to reach a swift conclusion. We have completely eliminated Hezbollah's command chain," he said during an assessment in northern Gaza, according to a video released by the Israeli army.

Security update from southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley:

- A series of raids targeted the towns of Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya) and Ansar (Nabatieh), according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

- Israeli airstrikes carried out four raids on the village of Khiam (Marjayoun).

- Additionally, an afternoon strike on Kfar Tebnit (Nabatieh) resulted in four deaths and two minor injuries.

- In northern Bekaa, a raid targeted the outskirts of Hawsh al-Rafka, west of the Baalbek district, and another hit the road in Nahleh near the village of Riadiyat, according to our correspondent in the Bekaa, who noted that rescue teams were heading toward Beit Shama.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed 19 people in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 2,593 since the start of the conflict, according to the Lebanese authorities, quoted by Reuters.

The Israeli delegation will travel to Doha on Sunday, said the spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, quoted by Reuters.

Here’s an update on Hezbollah attacks against Israeli positions:

*Hezbollah targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at Manara, opposite Markaba (Marjayoun district) with a barrage of missiles at 2:30 p.m.

*Hezbollah targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the Malikiya site, opposite Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district) with a barrage of missiles at 12:00 p.m.

*The party also targeted the Nasherim base southeast of Haifa with missiles at 11:30 a.m.

Here’s an update on the security situation:

*Five people were killed and two were injured in an airstrike on Helanieh, east of Baalbek. They were all transported to Riyak General Hospital in the Bekaa, according to our correspondent in the region.

*Intense artillery shelling targeted Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya district) and Khiam (Marjayoun district), according to our correspondent in the south.

*Baalbeck and Taraya (Baalbeck district), our correspondent in the Bekaa reported.

Mossad chief David Barnea will participate in a summit in Qatar on Sunday with the head of the CIA, the director of Egyptian intelligence and the Qatari prime minister in an attempt to renew negotiations on a hostage release deal, according to Haaretz.

Hezbollah said it launched this afternoon "an aerial attack with a squadron of assault drones on the Ramot Naftali barracks [located in the Upper Galilee], hitting their targets with precision."

The Israeli army has targeted:

Jmaijmeh, Tiri, Braasheet, Ainata, Kounin (all located in the Bint Jbeil district), Tayr Harfa, Majdal Zoun (both located in the Sour district), Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya district), and Khiam (Marjayoun district), local residents reported.

Here’s an update on Hezbollah’s attacks against Israeli positions and attempted infiltrations:

*Hezbollah said that at 4:45 pm its fighters targeted gatherings of Israeli soldiers in Metula, opposite Khiam (Marjayoun district) "with a rocket salvo."

*The party also said it targeted gatherings of Israeli soldiers on the eastern outskirts of the southern town of Markaba (Marjayoun district) with a rocket salvo.

Here’s an update on the security situation:

*Israel targeted Shamaa, Maarakeh, Tayr Harfa, Shihine, Dhaira, Toul, and Yarin (all located in the Sour district), local residents reported. Six people were injured in the strike on Maarakeh, including one who is in a critical condition.

*An airstrike targeted Sareen (Bekaa district) and another area between Boudai and Falawa (Baalbek district), local residents reported.

The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called for an immediate reinforcement of Lebanon’s army and the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country (UNIFIL) amid the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Al-Jazeera reported.

“We know who is attacking UNIFIL. I’ve been watching videos where it’s clear that [Israeli military is] attacking UNIFIL, and it is completely unacceptable,” he told reporters during an aid conference for Lebanon in Paris, according to Al-Jazeera.

Calling for stronger international support for the peacekeeping mission, he also called for urgent support for the Lebanese army.

“The Lebanese army has to be reinforced, and once there is a ceasefire, the Lebanese army has to deploy in the south,” he said.

Israel has killed 770 people in less than three weeks in northern Gaza, according to the territory’s Civil Defense, as new discussions on a cease-fire loom.

The war in Gaza has displaced nearly all of the 2.4 million residents of the besieged territory, who are preparing for a second winter amid increasingly severe shortages, according to AFP.

“We did not expect to live through another winter at war,” 32-year-old Salah Abou al-Jabeen, who is living in an overcrowded camp in Nusseirat, told AFP.

Hezbollah claims to have hit an Israeli Merkava tank at 4 p.m. near the southern village of Odaisseh (Marjayoun) “with a guided missile, setting it on fire and causing casualties among the crew, both dead and wounded.” Just minutes earlier, the group claimed responsibility for attacking another tank northwest of the village.

Latest information from our correspondent in South Lebanon:

An air raid targeted the village of Baissariyeh, in the Saida district, destroying a shopping center on the main road in the village center.

Israeli airstrikes hit Kfar Tibnit four times (Nabatieh district).

Airstrikes also targeted Aita al-Shaab, Marwahine, and Ramieh (Bint Jbeil district).

Hezbollah announced it had targeted Karmiel, east of Acre, at 3:20 p.m. “with a volley of rockets.” At 3:55 p.m., Hezbollah fighters also struck a Merkava tank northwest of Odaisseh (Marjayoun) “with a guided missile, setting it on fire and causing casualties among the crew, both dead and wounded.”

A strike in Khodr, in the Baalbeck-Hermel region, killed seven and wounded 14, reports our correspondent in the Bekaa. Debris-clearing operations have ended.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States is considering “different options” to end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which has been ongoing for over a year.

“We are considering different options,” Blinken told reporters during a visit to Qatar. “We have not yet determined whether Hamas is ready to engage, but the next step is to bring negotiators together… We will certainly know more in the coming days,” he added.

The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) should be used to its full extent rather than reformed or having its mandate changed, according to European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, as quoted by AFP.

“What do we have? We have 10,000 men deployed at the border. We could have 15,000 because that is the authorized number for UNIFIL,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the international conference on Lebanon held Thursday in Paris. “I think we should explore all possibilities to make UNIFIL more operational within its mandate,” he added, noting it was possible to ask it to do more.

The international conference for Lebanon in Paris raised over $800 million in humanitarian aid and $200 million in assistance for the army, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Thursday.

“We have responded to the call from the United Nations by announcing substantial contributions, $800 million plus significant in-kind contributions,” he said, stressing that the international community had “risen to the challenge.”

The international conference for Lebanon in Paris raised over $800 million in humanitarian aid and $200 million in assistance for the army, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Thursday.

“We have responded to the call from the United Nations by announcing substantial contributions, $800 million plus significant in-kind contributions,” he said, stressing that the international community had “risen to the challenge.”

The Government Media Office in Gaza has announced that the direct Israeli air strikes on the Shuhadaa al-Nuseirat school in the central part of the enclave brings the number of displacement centres hit since the start of the war to 196.

At least nine children are among the 17 people confirmed killed so far, the office said in a statement, adding that 52 wounded Palestinians have arrived at hospitals in the area.

“The occupation army knew that the school housed thousands of displaced persons and that the majority of them are children and women who were displaced from their bombed homes and residential neighborhoods.”

The Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed ben Abdelrahmane Al-Thani, has declared that his country, a mediator between Israel and Hamas, has “resumed contact” with the Palestinian Islamist movement following the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar, killed by Israel, reports AFP.

Asked at a press conference about exchanges with Hamas following the death of Sinwar on Oct. 16, he said: “We have resumed contact with them, there have been exchanges with representatives of the political bureau (of Hamas) in Doha (...) It is not yet clear how we will proceed” in the future.

U.S. negotiators will meet Israeli negotiators in Doha to try to achieve a breakthrough on a Gaza cease-fire, according to the Qatari foreign minister, quoted by Reuters.

According to a tweet by Israeli-American journalist Barak Ravid, a contributor to the Axios media, the head of U.S. diplomacy Antony Blinken announced that American, Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli negotiators will meet “in the next few days” to discuss the release of Israeli hostages still in the hands of Hamas and the cease-fire.

Hezbollah announced that it had attacked with “machine-gun and rocket fire” Israeli army units advancing in the area between the towns of Adaisseh, Rabb Thalathine and Taybeh. The Israeli soldiers “withdrew,” according to the party.

The situation in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa

Two strikes targeted the outskirts of Anqoun and Bnaafoul, in the Saida district. Others targeted Taybeh, Deir Siryan, Froun, Beit Lif, Jibsheet and Toul.

One strike targeted Sireen (Bekaa), and another Khodr, in the Baalbeck-Hermel region. According to the National News Agency, two people were killed.

A previously announced strike on Jouwaya killed two people.

At least 17 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a school converted into a shelter for displaced persons in Nousseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, the Civil Defense of the war-torn territory told AFP.

“The Israeli occupation targeted the Martyrs' School in Nousseirat and the initial toll is 17 dead. There are dozens of wounded, some of whom are in critical condition,” the organization's spokesman, Mahmoud Bassal, told AFP. This figure was confirmed by the town's Al-Awda hospital, which said it was an air strike.

The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, accused Israel of wanting to “empty” the Gaza Strip of its population after more than a year of war against Hamas, described as the “greatest catastrophe” since the 1948 Nakba.

“For more than a year, the Palestinians have been suffering the greatest catastrophe since the 1948 Nakba, the Israeli war in which crimes of genocide and ethnic cleansing were committed,” he told the Brics summit in Kazan (Russia), accusing the Israeli army of wanting to ‘empty’ the Gaza Strip, ‘particularly now in the north’ of the territory, the target of a military offensive. 

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for new strikes

At noon, it attacked Israeli soldiers east of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil), on Lebanese territory, with rockets and artillery fire.

At 12:15 p.m., it attacked the “Saint Jean” base, a logistics base linked to the Israeli army's Northern Command, located between Nahariya and Acre.

It also fired rockets at Israeli soldiers at the “Malkiya” border position, opposite Houla.

An airstrike targeted the Almat highlands in the Jbeil area, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the North reported. 

More details here.

An update on Hezbollah's attacks against Israeli positions

Hezbollah said it targeted Kiryat Shmona, opposite Houla (Marjayoun district) "with a salvo of rockets at 2:30 a.m."

The party also said it targeted Misgav Am, opposite Kfar Kila (Marjayoun district), at 5:30 a.m.

Israel targeted Ansariyeh (Saida district), Majdal Zoun, Jibbayn, Taye Harfa, Jwaya Mansouri (all located in the Sour district), and Khiam (Marjayoun district), local residents reported.

After claiming responsibility for three rocket strikes on three major towns in northern Israel, Haifa, Safed and Nahariya, Hezbollah announced a series of attacks on border villages, all facing the Marjayoun district.

In particular, it fired rockets at Israeli soldiers in Menara, Kiryat Shmona and Misgav Am. 

Hezbollah stated that its fighters were "engaged in combat with Israeli soldiers in Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district)" and that they destroyed a Merkava tank with a precision missile, which set it on fire and caused deaths and injuries among the tank's crew.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Doha for talks with the mediating country’s leaders surrounding the war on Gaza, according to AFP.

This follows talks in Israel and Saudi Arabia as part of Blinken’s 11th visit to the region since the start of the war on Gaza last year.

More details here.

Gaza's Health Ministry has announced a new death toll of 42,847 in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel over a year ago.

At least 55 people have been killed in the last 24 hours, it said in a statement, adding that 100,544 people had been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.

Germany has pledged a further 96 million euros in aid to Lebanon, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced at the Paris Conference.

Baerbock, who was in Beirut yesterday, stressed the importance of supporting “those seeking stability and peace.”

In the northern Bekaa and Hermel regions, telephone exchanges have been at a standstill for three days, according to the official National News Agency (NNA), due to a lack of fuel to power the generators.

Residents of these regions have called on the Telecommunications Ministry and telecom companies to supply them, so that they can get back up and running.

Jean-Noel Barrot to ‘L'Orient-Le Jour’: No one in the region has an interest in Lebanon's collapse

The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, addressed the key issues of the International Conference in support of the Lebanese population and the country’s sovereignty, which is being held this Thursday in Paris.

Read the full interview with L'Orient-Le Jour here.

The situation in southern Lebanon, according to information from local residents gathered by our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah

Israel struck Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), Shehabieh (Sour) and Houla (Marjayoun). Three bombings targeted Deir Qanoun al-Nahr (Sour) and Kfar Dounin (Bint Jbeil).

One person was killed and another injured in a drone strike on a motorcycle near one of Sour's archaeological sites. A drone strike also took place in Majdel Selm (Marjayoun). No information was immediately available on casualties. 

“Our challenge in Lebanon today is twofold, as we have one eye on southern Lebanon and another on the interior of the country,” added General Haddad in Paris.

“The Israeli aggression has created a major humanitarian crisis and great damage,” said Mikati.

Najib Mikati assured that Lebanon expects solidarity from the international community, action towards a cease-fire and urgent humanitarian aid.

Hezbollah launched a third attack with “a very large salvo of rockets” on Nahariya, on Israel's northern coast, according to the party.

According to Mikati, “we could have avoided this violence and carnage if Israel had accepted the Franco-American ceasefire proposal.”

A representative of the Commander-in-Chief of the Lebanese Army, General Youssef Haddad, told the conference that the army and the government have decided to recruit 1,500 new soldiers, stressing that these new elements require investment for their training and salaries.

“We support UNIFIL and its role in south Lebanon,” Najib Mikati also declared in Paris, calling on the various nations involved in the U.N. force to continue their support for Lebanon.

Mikati said, “the recruitment of additional soldiers in the Lebanese Army shows our commitment to the implementation of 1701,” the resolution adopted in 2006 by the U.N. Security Council and which put an end to the July war between Hezbollah and Israel. 

In his speech, outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed the need for an immediate cease-fire, the full implementation of 1701 and the deployment of Lebanese army soldiers on the borders.

During the opening session of the Paris Conference, U.N. chief Antonio Guterres expressed his “concern for the safety of civilians on both sides of the Blue Line.”

🔴 At the Paris Conference in support of Lebanon, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that “the war must stop immediately."

The Paris Conference “will support the recruitment of 6,000 additional military personnel for the Lebanese army,” Macron assured. “The Lebanese army has a more important mission today than at any time in the past,” he said. 

Hezbollah also announced that it had hit the town of Safed, some 15 kilometers from the border, with “a large salvo of rockets.” 

An Israeli drone raid targeted the Kahale-Dahr al-Wahsh road in Aley, according to our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah.

It was apparently a car that was targeted and appears to be on fire in the photos.

Hezbollah announced that it had targeted an Israeli military base north of Haifa for the second time in 24 hours.

In a statement, the party claimed responsibility for the strike against the “Zvulun” base, linked to Israel's military industry, north of the major port city. It claimed to have used “rockets” to carry out the attack.

This base had already been hit at midday on Wednesday, according to Hezbollah.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has expressed to his Israeli counterpart “deep concern” about Israeli army fire that has killed Lebanese armed forces.

In a call last night with Yoav Gallant, Lloyd Austin “expressed deep concern about reports of strikes against Lebanese armed forces and stressed the importance of taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety of the Lebanese armed forces” and UNIFIL peacekeepers, according to a Pentagon statement.

An Israeli drone strike targeted Bourj Qalaway, in Bint Jbeil. The shot, fired from a motorcycle, killed Hassan Mreyti, the village's mukhtar, according to local residents.

According to local residents, the mukhtar and another person were on their way to the site of the strike to help local residents. 

The situation in southern Lebanon as of 9 a.m., according to information from our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah

Israeli air strikes targeted Taybeh, the outskirts of Yohmor, Deir Siryan, Hanine, Mais al-Jabal and Qlayle.

Artillery fire targeted Shebaa, Taybeh and Adaisseh. Around these two villages and near Rabb Thalathin “violent” fighting took place between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, which is attempting to advance into the area. Firing of white phosphorus shells was reported on the outskirts of Taybeh.

A strike targeted a house in Zaboud (Bekaa) at 4 a.m.

After the overnight strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, which caused destruction and fires, the Israeli army stated that it had targeted "weapons production and storage sites" belonging to Hezbollah.

Prior to the strikes, which were preceded by four evacuation warnings in the neighborhoods of Laylaki, Burj al-Barajneh, and Haret Hreik, the Israeli army also hit an apartment in Jnah, resulting in at least one death, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

"The military confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel is causing an unacceptable number of civilian casualties and an unbearable level of destruction throughout the country, making Lebanon's situation — a country already affected by multiple crises — even more fragile," said Josep Borrell, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs.

According to him, the international conference in support of Lebanon, organized by France in Paris, is "an important opportunity to mobilize urgent political and economic support for the Lebanese people and the country's sovereignty."

"As the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission, I will deliver a message outlining the key steps needed to achieve this goal and the European Union's contribution in this regard," he concluded.

The Hezbollah-affiliated TV channel al-Manar announced last night the death of one of its cameramen, Ali al-Hadi Yassine, in an Israeli strike. According to the information available to us, Ali Yassine was killed in one of the strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut.

During the night, the Israeli air force also struck Taybeh, Khiam (Marjayoun), Jbaa (Nabatiyeh), and a center of the Islamic Health Committee in Bazouriyeh (Sour). Three rescuers were slightly injured in the latter raid.

This morning, in addition to the strike on Yater, Israeli machine gun fire targeted the Kfar Kila and Khiam (Marjayoun) areas, and several airstrikes were reported: on homes in Aitaroun, Tebnine (Bint Jbeil), Bnaafoul (Saida), and Kfarchouba (Hasbaya). Artillery fire also hit Khiam.

On the ground in southern Lebanon:

An Israeli airstrike targeted Lebanese soldiers at dawn who were on the outskirts of Yater (in the Bint Jbeil district), where they were evacuating the wounded from a previous strike.

Three soldiers, including an officer, were killed in the raid, the army announced: Commander Mohammad Farhat, and soldiers Mohammad Bzal and Moussa Mehanna.

The Lebanese army is not involved in the fighting. However, it has been targeted more frequently since the launch of the expanded Israeli offensive on Sept. 23.

For now, the only concrete announcement expected will concern humanitarian aid, with the collective goal of reaching 500 million euros ($538 million), according to a diplomatic source. The UN has requested at least $400 million.

The French president, who will speak at 10:00 AM (08:00 GMT), will announce new financial support, the amount of which has not yet been disclosed.

In the presence of outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, and EU High Representative Josep Borrell, this conference in Paris will bring together over 70 participants, including around 15 international organizations.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will deliver a speech remotely. The conference will have three main components: diplomatic, humanitarian, and political.

France, like many Western countries, believes that a diplomatic solution is "the only viable option for both Lebanon and Israel," where 60,000 people have also been forced to leave their homes. However, with the absence of key players — Israel and Iran were not invited, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will not be attending — diplomatic progress in Paris is expected to be limited.

Today, French President Emmanuel Macron is opening a conference on Lebanon with the hope of mobilizing the international community to raise at least $400 million, as requested by the United Nations, to help those displaced by the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

"This country, a friend of France, is now on the brink of collapse," summarized French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot in a message posted on X. "Its people are being dragged into a war they did not choose. Taking action is a duty, and this is why France has taken this initiative," he said.

Hello,

We are beginning this new live coverage of the events on the 384th day of the Gaza war, which is also the 383rd day of the war in Lebanon, between Hezbollah and Israel, as well as their repercussions in the region.