The death toll from the Israeli strike on the village of Sarafand now stands at at least 10 people, “mainly women and children,” according to the president of the municipality, quoted by Reuters.
The Israeli raid on Sarafand, in Saida, killed at least eight people and wounded 21 others, announced the Health Ministry in a statement. Search operations under the rubble are still underway, the statement continued.
As regards the attack on Haret Saida, the number of victims now stands at six dead and the number of injured at 37. According to information gathered by our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah, the death toll from this Israeli attack is now seven.
Five people were also wounded in the raid on Bazouriyyeh.
Hezbollah claimed to have fired a salvo of rockets at Israeli towns it had called on Israel to evacuate. These included Kiryet Shmona, Nahariya, Dalton, Ma'alot Tarshiha, Kfar Fradim, Kabri, Meron and Rosh Pina.
An Israeli raid targeted the Bodai jurd, west of Baalbeck, according to our correspondent.
At 8:40 p.m., Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the Israeli towns of Kfar Yuval (opposite Wazzani) and Ma'yan Baruch (opposite Khiam) with a “salvo of rockets."
The Israeli army made official the deaths of four of its soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip, before announcing that one of its reservists had also succumbed to wounds sustained during fighting in southern Lebanon, according to Haaretz. An officer was also “severely wounded” in Gaza, according to the Israeli media.
The total number of Israeli soldiers killed since October 2023 now stands at 777, according to Reuters. With regard to Israeli casualties in southern Lebanon, the Israeli media reported that 32 Israeli soldiers had been killed in fighting with Hezbollah since the launch of the Israeli ground offensive in southern Lebanon.
The party, for its part, has claimed to have killed 70 Israeli soldiers and wounded 600 others since the war began on Oct. 8, 2023.
Violent Israeli raids targeted Jbaa, Roumin and Kfar Hatta, according to our correspondent in South Lebanon, causing loud bangs that were heard in Saida and Iqlim al-Kharroub.
An Israeli reservist has died from wounds sustained in combat in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army has announced.
Staff Sergeant Yedidia Bloch, 31, from Mevo Horon, died after being seriously wounded in combat in South Lebanon on Oct. 24, the troop announced, according to Haaretz.
- At least four people were killed in the raid on Sarafand (Saida), according to our correspondent.
- The Israeli army continues to shell the village of Khiam.
Here are the latest developments in south Lebanon
- Israeli raids on Sarafand (Saida) left several people dead and at least 15 wounded, according to our correspondent.
- An Israeli raid targeted an area between Houmin al-Faouqa and Habboush (Nabatieh).
According to an initial provisional report from the Health Ministry, the Israeli strike on Haret Saida left at least five people dead and 33 injured. Our correspondent reports at least seven dead.
Some 30 shots have been fired from Lebanon in recent hours towards northern Israeli territory, according to the Israeli army, quoted by Haaretz. Haaretz points out that these shots landed in “open areas,” without causing any casualties.
Here are the latest developments on the Lebanese-Israeli border:
- Two Israeli raids targeted Jabal Rihan (Jezzine).
- Three other raids targeted Sarafand (Saida) and destroyed a building.
The Israeli army has announced that it has captured the Hezbollah commander for the Aita al-Shaab area and other fighters from the al-Radwane force, the party's elite unit.
“Golani Brigade forces arrested the Hezbollah commander for the Aita al-Shaab area as well as other fighters from the al-Radwane force,” the troop's Arabic-speaking spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X, noting that interrogation of them "led to the discovery and destruction of numerous terrorist targets in the area."
“During the activities of 36th Division forces in South Lebanon two weeks ago, a force from the Golani Brigade (...) discovered the opening of a tunnel located inside a military headquarters in the area, where a number of terrorists, including the acting commander of the Aita al-Shaab area, terrorist Hassan Akil Jawad, were entrenched,” he said. According to Adraee, the fighters were “arrested and interrogated by investigators from Unit 504 (of the Israeli army), who continued the interrogation inside Israeli territory.”
In recent weeks, he said, “Unit 504 field investigators operating with troops in southern Lebanon have arrested and interrogated dozens of saboteurs who have revealed valuable information for ground operations in southern Lebanon.”
An Israeli raid targeted the Jabbour heights, opposite the village of Maydoun in the Bekaa, according to our correspondent in the region.
Violent clashes and exchanges of fire are underway in the Wadi al-Assafir area, on the outskirts of Khiam, according to our correspondent.
According to the National News Agency, the second raid on Haret Saida targeted an empty apartment.
The appointment of Naim Qassem as head of Hezbollah will “strengthen the resistance” to Israel, said Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, quoted by AFP.
“I am convinced that the presence of a brilliant personality like yours at the head of the movement will lead to a strengthening of the resistance's determination” in the face of Israel, said Massoud Pezeshkian in a statement addressed to the new head of the Shiite party, expressing the hope for "peace, tranquility and security in Gaza, Lebanon and the entire region."
Hezbollah claimed to have fired a salvo of rockets at 7:40 p.m. at a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Tal al-Nahas, on the outskirts of Kfar Kila.
At 6 p.m., it also fired a salvo of rockets at Israeli soldiers gathered in the Wata al-Khiam area (south-east of the village).
The death toll from Israeli army strikes on the Gaza Strip has once again risen, according to local medical sources quoted by Al-Jazeera. At least 143 people were killed as a result of Israeli raids across the enclave on Tuesday, including 132 in the besieged north of the Israeli territory after the bombing of three residential buildings in Beit Lahiya.
At 5 p.m., Hezbollah fired a salvo of rockets at a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the Yaaqoussa area, on the outskirts of Khiam.
Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the Goma intersection south of Kiryat Shmona, claiming to have hit its target. At 4 p.m., it also targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the Abbasiye gate, “with a salvo of rockets.”
(Credit: Mountasser Abdallah)
A new Israeli raid has targeted Haret Saida, according to our correspondent.
The particularly violent strike targeted the al-Thaer neighborhood.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Tuesday that the group was ready to discuss an agreement guaranteeing an end to the war in Gaza and the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army, according to Reuters.
The United States has expressed its “concern” over the Palestinian death toll caused by an Israeli attack on Tuesday on a residential building in Beit Lahya, in the northern Gaza Strip, which killed at least 109 people according to local medical sources.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called the bombing “a horrific incident with a horrific result,” according to Reuters.
U.S. officials had also contacted the Israeli government to find out what had happened, Miller told reporters, adding that he could not comment on the total number of dead but was aware of reports that many of them were children.
“The United States has not seen sufficient progress from Israel on the points raised in the Austin-Blinken letter,” including the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave, the State Department spokesman added.
77 people were killed and 180 wounded on Monday, according to the Health Ministry. This brings the toll of Israeli aggression against Lebanon since the start of the war to 2,787 dead and 12,772 wounded.
Israel's Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, has warned Tehran not to retaliate against the Israeli air force's attack on military sites in Iran on Saturday. “If Iran makes the mistake of launching another missile barrage on Israel, we will again know how to reach Iran, with capabilities we didn't even use this time,” he said, according to Reuters.
On Monday, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, warned that this latest attack by Israel would have “bitter consequences,” according to the Tasnim news agency, which added that it had caused “limited damage” and four military deaths.
On the same day, President Massoud Pezeshkian declared: “We do not seek war, but we will defend the rights of our nation.” Iran “will respond appropriately to the aggression of the Zionist regime,” he added.
Clear-up operations are continuing in Haret Saida, according to our correspondent.
The strike on Sharqiyyeh killed one and wounded three, according to our correspondent.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his “concerns” over the law passed by the Knesset on Monday banning UNRWA operations in Israel, a U.N. spokesman said, quoted by Reuters.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his “concerns” over the law passed by the Knesset on Monday banning UNRWA operations in Israel, a U.N. spokesman said, quoted by Reuters.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for three new attacks on Israeli positions and “infiltration attempts."
- At 4 p.m., the party said it had targeted “an Israeli Merkava tank in the Hamames area, south of the town of Khiam (Marjayoun), using a guided missile, causing it to catch fire and killing its crew.”
- Hezbollah also claimed to have targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Za'arit, opposite the Lebanese village of Marwahine (Sour).
- Hezbollah also claimed to have fired artillery shells at another gathering of Israeli forces at Tal al-Nahas, on the outskirts of the village of Kfar Kila (Marjayoun), at 6 p.m.
The Israeli raid on Haret Saida killed at least seven people dead and wounded twenty, according to our correspondent.
“Hezbollah has exhausted 80 percent of its missile and rocket stockpiles,” claimed Israeli Defense Minister Yaiv Gallant, quoted in Haaretz.
Hezbollah is said to have only 20 percent of the missiles and rockets it had before the war began on Oct. 8, 2023, “which reduces its firing capacity,” the minister said at a situation assessment meeting at Northern Command.
He added that Israel's actions against Hezbollah and Iran were linked. “Iran understands that Hezbollah does not have the capacity to respond, and Hezbollah understands that it cannot rely on Iran,” he said.
A call for blood donations to Saida hospitals has been launched, according to our correspondent.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for two new attacks on Israeli positions
- The party claimed to have fired a salvo of missiles at the locality of Kabbri, opposite Maroun al-Rass (Bint Jbeil), at 5:05 p.m.
- The latter also claimed to have targeted a gathering of Israeli forces in Bar'am, opposite Yaroun, with another salvo of missiles at 5 p.m.
The death toll from the Israeli raid on Haret Saida has risen to at least five, according to our correspondent, who also reports fifteen wounded.
A new update on the security situation in southern Lebanon
- Two Israeli strikes targeted the localities of Aita al-Shaab and Hanine (Bint Jbeil), according to local sources. An air raid also targeted the Bayyada region, located between Sour and Naqoura, according to local residents.
- In addition, Israeli bombardments hit the villages of Doueir and Sharqiye (both in Nabatieh), as well as Aita al-Jabal (Hasbaya) and Jbaa (Saida).
- Residents reported that intensive Israeli air strikes and artillery fire repeatedly targeted the village of Khiam (Marjayoun).
A new update on the security situation in southern Lebanon
- Two Israeli strikes targeted the localities of Aita al-Shaab and Hanine (Bint Jbeil), according to local sources. An air raid also targeted the Bayyada region, located between Sour and Naqoura, according to local residents.
- In addition, Israeli bombardments hit the villages of Doueir and Sharqiye (both in Nabatieh), as well as Aita al-Jabal (Hasbaya) and Jbaa (Saida).
- Residents reported that intensive Israeli air strikes and artillery fire repeatedly targeted the village of Khiam (Marjayoun).
Three buildings were targeted and destroyed in Haret Saida, according to our correspondent, noting that the Israeli raid that targeted the area left a significant number of people injured.
Norway announced on Tuesday that it would submit a resolution to the U.N. General Assembly requesting the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an opinion on Israel's obligations to facilitate humanitarian aid to Palestinians provided by international organizations, including the U.N., in a statement.
Oslo says in a statement that the move was initiated in response to Israel's decision on Monday to ban the activities of UNRWA, and other “obstacles encountered by U.N. agencies in their aid work” in the Palestinian territories since the start of the Gaza war.
The Israeli raid on Haret Saida killed at least one person and injured five, according to our correspondent.
The strike destroyed buildings opposite the Sayyed al-Shouhada complex in Haret Saida, located a few 100 meters from a Lebanese army barracks and housing displaced persons.
This is the second time that Haret Saida, a Shiite suburb of the large city in southern Lebanon, some 60 km from the border with Israel, has been targeted since the start of the war.
On Sunday, an Israeli drone strike in the area killed eight people and wounded 25.
Israeli fighter jets carried out a raid on Haret Saida (South Lebanon), reports our correspondent.
Two loud bangs were heard in the area.
Hezbollah targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Dolev, opposite Bint Jbeil, with a missile strike at 3 p.m.
“The United States rejects any Israeli attempt to starve Palestinians in Gaza,” U.S. envoy to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York on Tuesday, adding that ”Israel's words must be matched by concrete action on the ground. This is not the case at the moment.”.
She also stressed that there was “no alternative” to UNRWA to carry out this mission in Gaza, expressing the United States' “real concerns” about Israel's new law against the U.N. agency.
Meanwhile, the World Food Program today called for immediate action to avert famine in the Gaza Strip, claiming that the humanitarian crisis could soon worsen due to “severe” restrictions on the delivery of aid.
Update on the security situation in southern Lebanon
- Two Israeli air strikes targeted Tayr Harfa and Majdal Zoun (Bint Jbeil).
- An air strike on Khiam (Marjayoun) destroyed seven houses.
- Israel targeted Qaaqaait al-Jisr (Nabatiye), Jibbayn, Ramadiye, Shihine (Sour), residents reported.
Hezbollah claimed to have targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the Israeli town of Yiron, opposite Yaroun (Bint Jbeil), with a barrage of rockets at 3 p.m.
Qatar will work with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration “until the last minute” before the U.S. elections to reach a cease-fire agreement in Gaza, Qatar's Foreign Ministry has said.
“We do not foresee any negative outcome of the elections on the mediation process itself,” said Majed al-Ansari, spokesperon for the Ministry, at a press conference.
“We believe that we are dealing with institutions and that, in a country like the United States, institutions are invested in finding a solution to this crisis,” he added.
Update on the security situation in southern Lebanon
- The Israeli army targeted Khiam (Marjayoun), Ansar and Shahour (both in Sour), residents reported.
- Israeli warplanes targeted the civil defense center of the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Authority in the town of Kfour (Nabatieh), residents reported.
At 3:30 p.m., Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the Israeli military post of Zar'it, opposite Ramaya (Bint Jbeil), with a salvo of rockets. At 4:30 p.m., it also fired a barrage of rockets at a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the Israeli base of Hanita, opposite Kfar Kila (Marjayoun).
According to Axios journalist Barak Ravid, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold talks with his ministers this Wednesday to discuss prospects for a political settlement to end the war in Lebanon.
“Netanyahu will meet today with several ministers and the heads of the army and intelligence services about talks on a diplomatic solution to the war in Lebanon, according to two informed sources,” he wrote on X.
UNIFIL said that the rocket fired earlier at its Naqoura headquarters, wounding eight people slightly, had been sent “from the north,” as Reuters reported. According to local sources, the attack was carried out by “Hezbollah or an affiliated group.”
“This afternoon, a rocket hit the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, setting fire to a vehicle workshop. The peacekeepers were not in the bunkers at the time,” UNIFIL said in a statement. “The rocket was fired from the north, probably by Hezbollah or an affiliated group. We have opened an investigation into this incident,” she continued. She added: “We remind Hezbollah and all actors of their obligation to ensure the safety of U.N. personnel and property. Any deliberate attack against them is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and Resolution 1701."
If confirmed, this would be the first attack since the beginning of the party's war against UNIFIL, which has already come under repeated fire from the Israeli army.
In a statement, the Iranian Embassy in Lebanon welcomed the appointment of Naim Kassem as head of Hezbollah, seeing it as “clear proof of Hezbollah's strength and steadfastness, and of Lebanon's determination to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any aggression or occupation.”
The Middle East is living through the “most dangerous moment” in “decades,” the U.N. envoy for the region warned on Tuesday, referring to the war in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and “escalations” between Israel and Iran, reports AFP.
“We have entered the second year of this horrific conflict, and the region is on the verge of another serious escalation. The violence in the occupied Palestinian territories and the wider region shows no sign of abating,” Tor Wennesland told the U.N. Security Council.
The President of the Palestinian National Council, Rawhi Fattouh, has called for Israel to be expelled from the United Nations if it does not reverse its ban on UNRWA operating in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Fattouh said that Israel's decision was a flagrant violation of the U.N. Charter and that part of Israel's policy was “ethnic cleansing”, Wafa news agency reported. He urged U.N. member states to convene a session of the General Assembly to force Israel to reverse its legislation, or face legal consequences up to and including expulsion from the world body.
Security update
- The al-Rissala scouts association, affiliated to the Amal movement, mourned the death of one of its members, Lara Zaitoun, born in Ramaya (Sour) in 2003, who was killed “following Zionist air strikes on villages in southern Lebanon.”
- The Israeli army targeted Ansar and a building in Ain Baal (both in Sour), residents reported.
- The Israeli army targeted Taalabaya (Bekaa), according to our correspondent in the region.
- An air strike targeted Khiam, coinciding with intermittent Israeli artillery fire on the village, residents reported.
- The Israeli army targeted Kfar Dajjal (Nabatieh), residents reported.
Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the Israeli base at Shargha, opposite Naqoura (Sour), with a precision drone strike at 6 a.m.
Spain's Interior Ministry has announced that it will cancel a contract to purchase ammunition for its police force from an Israeli company, according to Reuters.
Cadena Ser radio had previously reported that the Guardia Civil police had agreed to buy more than 15 million 9mm cartridges for a total of 6 million euros ($6.48 million) from Guardian LTD Israel. Spain had previously declared the cessation of all arms sales to Israel from October 2023, at the start of the Gaza war.
Although this is an ammunition purchase, the Interior Ministry has "initiated the administrative procedure to cancel the purchase,” it said in a statement. "The Spanish government maintains its commitment not to sell arms to the Israeli state since the armed conflict broke out in Gaza.”
He added that Israeli companies would also be excluded from any current tenders.
Spain's Interior Ministry announced it will cancel a contract to purchase ammunition for its police service from an Israeli company, according to Reuters.
Cadena Ser radio previously reported that the Guardia Civil police had agreed to purchase more than 15 million rounds of 9mm ammunition for a total of €6 million ($6.48 million) from Guardian LTD Israel. Spain had previously declared a halt to all arms sales to the Jewish state as of October 2023, at the start of the Gaza war.
"Although this case concerns the acquisition of ammunition, the Ministry of the Interior has initiated the administrative procedure to cancel the purchase," he said in a statement. "The Spanish government maintains its commitment not to sell weapons to the Israeli state since the armed conflict broke out in the territory of Gaza."
The latter added that Israeli companies would also be excluded from any ongoing tenders.
Update on Hezbollah attacks on Israeli positions and infiltration attempts:
- Hezbollah fired artillery shells at a gathering of Israeli forces in the Khallet al-Assafir area of Khiam at 2 p.m.
- It also targeted a Merkava tank in the Hamamis area, south of Khiam, with a guided missile at noon, "causing it to set on fire and causing casualties among its crew, including deaths and injuries."
- The party carried out at 11:30 a.m. "a precision strike using a drone on Beit Hillel (opposite Houla) claiming to have "successfully reached its target."
- It also targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the al-Amara neighborhood, south of Khiam (Marjayoun), with a barrage of rockets at 11 a.m.
- Hezbollah finally targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers on the outskirts of Khiam with a barrage of rockets and artillery shells at 11 a.m.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called on the European Union to "review its trade relations" with Israel after what he called a "shameful" vote on a law banning the activities of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in the country, AFP reports.
The leader was speaking during a visit to Dublin by the future president of the European Council, Portugal's Antonio Costa, who is due to take office by the end of the year.
"The most important step the European Union could take now is to review trade relations at EU level. What Israel and the Knesset did last night was despicable, disgraceful and shameful," Harris said. "More people are going to die, more children are going to starve," he said. "I will be discussing with Antonio Costa this afternoon how I believe Europe must now find the moral courage to act," Harris continued.
Ireland, along with Spain, is one of the European countries most critical of Israel since the start of the war in Gaza. Both countries, along with Norway – a non-EU member – and Slovenia recognized the State of Palestine in May and June.
Israeli tanks carried out their most extensive incursion into southern Lebanon since the start of the war, reaching the outskirts of the town of Khiam, about six kilometers from the border, the state-run National News Agency reported.
"A large number of tanks of the Israeli occupation army" were stationed on a hill east of Khiam, Ani said.
Eight soldiers from the Austrian UNIFIL were injured in a rocket attack on the Naqoura camp, none of them seriously, according to the Austrian Ministry of Defense, reported by AFP.
According to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera, at least 115 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since Tuesday morning.
This figure includes the revised upward toll from the Israeli bombing of a residential building housing around 200 people in Beit Lahia, in the north of the Gaza Strip, which left 109 dead according to the Qatari media.
Separately, according to Haaretz, four Israeli soldiers, including an officer, were killed in a bomb explosion in Jabalia, also in the north of the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been conducting a large-scale ground offensive since early October and carrying out mass arrests. The latter specifies that another officer was "seriously injured" in this attack, which has still not been claimed.
The security situation in south Lebanon:
- An airstrike targeted Jabal Abou Rashed between western Bekaa and Jezzine, residents reported.
- Israel targeted the entrance to Deir Zahrani (Nabatieh), according to residents.
Here is the update on the latest Hezbollah attacks on Israeli positions and infiltration attempts:
- At 2:10 p.m., Hezbollah targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in the southeast of Khiam (Marjayoun) with a barrage of missiles and artillery shells.
- At noon, another group of Israeli soldiers south of the town of Khiam was targeted by a missile barrage.
- At 12:05 p.m. Hezbollah bombarded Kiryat Shmona, opposite Houla (Marjayoun), with a barrage of missiles.
- At 1:15 p.m., Hezbollah announced that it had targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in Jal al-Alam, opposite Naqoura (Sour), with a barrage of missiles.
The French Foreign Ministry joined international condemnations of the Knesset's decision to ban UNRWA activities on Israeli territory, saying it "deeply regrets" the decision.
"The implementation of these laws would have very serious consequences on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which is already catastrophic, but also in all the Palestinian territories," according to a press release from the ministry.
It added that France "reiterates its support for UNRWA and will continue to monitor the implementation of the reforms necessary for the neutrality of its action."
⚡ Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted a photo of newly elected Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on his X account, with the message: "Temporary appointment. Not for long." An indication that he may suffer the same fate as the previous Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, and the man tipped to succeed him, Hashem Safieddine, both assassinated by Israel.
Here are the latest updates on Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon:
- Last night's Israeli strikes on Jbaa (Nabatieh district) and Kfar Melki (Saida) killed three people.
- An Israeli drone struck Habboush (Nabatieh), injuring several people, residents reported.
- An airstrike targeted Hallousieh (Sour), while two airstrikes bombed Khiam (Marjayoun).
- An airstrike on Kafra (Bint Jbeil), injured one person, who was later transferred to a medical center in Ain Baal (Sour), residents reported.
Qatar has condemned Israel's ban on the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), warning of its “catastrophic consequences,” AFP reported. UNRWA plays a “vital role” in Gaza, which has been besieged and devastated by more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas, said Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari. He noted that Qatar had recently pledged $100 million to support the agency. “Stopping support for UNRWA would have catastrophic consequences, as would preventing it from operating in the Palestinian territories,” al-Ansari warned at a press conference in Doha.
⚡ In its seventh statement of the day, Hezbollah said fighters from the "air defense units shot down an Israeli Hermes 900 drone over the Marjayoun region at 1 p.m. using a surface-to-air missile. "The drone was seen burning," the party assured.
The government health ministry in Gaza announced on Tuesday a new death toll of 43,061 in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel more than a year ago.
At least 41 people have been killed in the past 24 hours, it said in a statement, adding that 101,223 people had been injured in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Gaza's civil defense agency said Tuesday that the death toll from the Israeli strike on a residential building in the Beit Lahia district in the northern Gaza Strip had risen to at least 93, according to AFP.
"The number of martyrs in the massacre at the Abu Nasr family home in Beit Lahia stands at 93 martyrs, and around 40 people are still missing under the rubble," agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP in an updated report.
The Israeli military said it was "examining the reports."
Update on the security situation in south Lebanon:
- A very powerful strike hit the center of the town of Khiam (Marjayoun), where intense clashes are ongoing between Hezbollah members and Israeli soldiers, with several Israeli vehicles on fire, a security source reported.
- Israeli planes targeted the towns of Shahabiya, Shihine and Shamaa (Sour).
- Israeli artillery fire targeted Yohmor al-Shakif (Nabatieh), followed by an airstrike on a building already targeted in Shebaa (Hasbaya), according to local residents.
- Israel targeted Tayri, Kunine, Kfar Dunine, Ainata, Majdal Zoun, Kafra, Baraasheet, Rshaf, Haddatha, Yater, Tyr Harfa, and Burj Qalawiyeh, local residents reported.
- Israeli jets targeted a house in the town of Sojod (Jezzine), causing injuries.
A man surveys the damage the day after an Israeli strike on the city of Sour, Oct. 29, 2024. (Credit: Bilal Kashmar/AFP)
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen on Tuesday commented on the appointment of Naim Qassem as the new secretary general of Hezbollah, saying that "any person at the head of [this] party risks being the target of an assassination," according to comments relayed in the Israeli media and taken up by their Lebanese counterparts.
Hezbollah said it targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Ma'alot-Tarshiha, opposite Kfar Kila (Marjayoun), with a barrage of rockets at 10:40 a.m.
The Israeli military said it destroyed the underground command center and another bunker where explosives were stored in southern Lebanon.
The base was built eight meters underground and was discovered during recent ground operations in the area, according to an army statement. Half a ton of explosives was stored in the bunker.
One person was killed on Tuesday following a barrage of rockets fired from Lebanon towards the northern Israeli town of Maalot, Israeli emergency services said.
"We saw an unconscious man, without a pulse and not breathing ... His injury was critical and we had to declare him dead," Magen David Adom, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross, said in a statement.
The Israeli army reported that around fifty projectiles were fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel on Tuesday morning.
According to other statements relayed by Lebanese media, including al-Nashra, the spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry affirmed: "There are parallel lines of action to defuse the situation in Lebanon and Gaza. "
"Qatar is trying to exploit all opportunities to reach a lasting solution and bring justice to the Palestinian brothers," they added, while specifying that "it is not possible to comment on the content of the negotiations in Doha, but a lot has been achieved."
Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman said Qatar will work with the Biden administration "until the last minute" before the U.S. presidential election to reach a cease-fire agreement in Gaza, according to Reuters.
According to the online version of the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronot (Ynet), senior officials in Israel reported progress towards an agreement to end the war in the north.
Hezbollah said it targeted the Israeli town of Kfar Vradim, located about 10 km from the border south of Sour, with a salvo of rockets at 10:40 a.m.
The UNICEF spokesperson said the agency cannot distribute vital supplies without UNRWA's support, stressing that the Israeli Knesset's decision to ban the activities in Israel of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) constitutes a new way of "killing children."
Two people were killed in Yohmor and three injured in Qlayaa (both located in western Bekaa) in Israeli bombardments, according to an updated report reported by L'Orient Today's correspondent.
Here is an update on the security situation in southern Lebanon:
- Contact has been lost between L'Orient Today's correspondent and several families in Khiam (Marjayoun) since yesterday at 5:30 p.m. after Israel targeted the residential neighborhood of Khiam where they were staying. Contact with the head of the municipality and the local mukhtar has also been lost.
- Israel targeted Yater (Bint Jbeil).
- The Amal Movement announced the death of its member Sleiman Merhi, killed by an Israeli strike on Ain Baal (Sour) on Sunday.
- According to a security source, Hezbollah and Israel are clashing on the outskirts of Khiam (Marjayoun).
The Israeli military said 50 rockets were fired at northern Israel on Tuesday, Haaretz reported.
According to the Sabereen media outlet, affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the organization's second-highest ranking officer, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, said the Iranians would launch "deadly attacks on the Zionist entity" in the coming days.
Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a drone attack on southern Israel, where the military said a drone from that country fell in an open area early Tuesday, causing no injuries.
The Houthis "carried out an operation targeting the Israeli enemy's industrial zone in the Ashkelon region" using drones, according to a statement read by Yahya Saree, the military spokesperson for the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility this morning around 10 a.m. for an attack on the Israeli town of Dalton, in northern Israel, near Safed, with a salvo of rockets.
An Israeli drone bombed for the third time since dawn the town of Wadi al Harir on the road to the Masnah-Jdeidet Yabous border crossing, on the Lebanese-Syrian border, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent.
The drone widened the crater further, blocking traffic on the main road, after observing a car crossing the ditch.
The Amal Movement, an ally of Hezbollah, announced this morning the death of one of its members, Ibrahim Ahmed Harb, originally from Jibsheet (Nabatieh), who died yesterday in the strike on the town.
The latest news in south Lebanon over the last hour:
The Israeli air force carried out a strike on the town of Taybeh (Marjayoun) and another on Houmin al-Faouqa in the same district.
South of the city of Sour, the town of Aamirieh was targeted by a drone near a Lebanese army checkpoint, leaving one dead and several injured.
In addition, yesterday's Israeli strikes on the town of Jibsheet (Nabatieh) left a second person dead, Faouzi Bahjat.
In a statement, Hezbollah said that its Shura Council elected Naim Qassem, the party's deputy leader, as its new secretary-general.
The Israeli strike against the town of Qlaya in western Bekaa left three people injured, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent.
The United Nations Interim Force announced in a statement that the peacekeepers are maintaining their positions at all their sites in south Lebanon, and are continuing their operational activities there while adapting them to the current situation.
"Supply convoys and rotations of UNIFIL contingents to and from Lebanon continue as usual, despite the challenges," it added.
The Lebanese Red Cross said in a statement that two of its ambulances were damaged after an Israeli missile landed nearby, while they were in the town of Bouyout al-Siyad (Sour) this morning at 7:20 after having made all the necessary contacts with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
"None of the doctors were injured," the Red Cross said.
Gaza medical officials say 55 people were killed and dozens more missing in the Israeli army's attack on Beit Lahia, north of the besieged Palestinian enclave. Some of the dead were displaced people, the officials were quoted as saying by Haaretz.
In the Bekaa, bombings resumed early in the morning on the villages of Hermel-Sahet al-Kassr, at 6:30 a.m., reports L'Orient Today's correspondent.
Strikes then targeted the towns of Yohmor and Qlaya in western Bekaa at around 9:30 a.m.
In total, Israeli strikes on the Bekaa on Monday left 64 dead and 44 injured, including women and children.
The Israeli air force carried out strikes on the village of Bouyout al-Siyad (Sour); about two hours ago. While the Lebanese Red Cross teams were trying to reach the scene, a missile exploded, damaging two vehicles, without causing any casualties, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent.
In south Lebanon, the night was marked by fierce clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah fighters, particularly on the fronts of Hamamis and Khiam (Marjayoun), where Israeli forces were prevented from advancing towards Khiam, despite the intensity of artillery fire and 30 airstrikes, according to L'Orient Toiday's correspondent.
At around 9:00 p.m., Israeli artillery fired about 10 rockets at the entrances to Rashaya al-Foukhar (Hasbaya). The air force targeted the outskirts of the village of Halta in the same district, as well as the heights of Iklim al-Touffah (Saida), and flares were fired over Khiam.
At 9:30 p.m., artillery and aircraft pounded the plain and the town of Khiam. The sound of helicopters could also be heard. At the same time, the villages of Bastara (Shebaa), Halta, Shanouh (Hasbaya), as well as the outskirts of Kfar Shouba in the same district were bombarded.
Strikes targeted the regions of Wazzani, Al Mari and Sellamieh (Marjayoun), as well as on Sir al-Gharibieh, Kfar Dajjal (Nabatieh), Srifa (Sour) and Kfar Hamam (Hasbaya).
The Israeli air force also carried out three successive strikes on the town of Tebnine, near the government hospital, the house of the son of the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, and the city center. Strikes finally targeted the towns of Arnoun, Yohmor and Rashaya al-Foukhar.
The Israeli military said a drone from Yemen reached the Ashkelon region in southern Israel on Tuesday morning before crashing in an open area, according to AFP.
"Sirens sounded between 6:39 a.m. and 6:42 a.m. in Ashkelon as a drone crossed Israeli territory and fell in an open area nearby," the army said in a statement, adding that "there were no injuries."
The Israeli military also said a drone launched from Lebanon fell in an open area near Nahariya, according to Haaretz. The location is one of 24 that Hezbollah listed in its latest video released Sunday.
On X, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein clarified that he "was in Washington" in response to The New Arab media, which had announced that he was "in Israel today to discuss a possible cease-fire with Lebanon."
In Lebanon, the Israeli army did not carry out any strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut and its surroundings for the second consecutive night.
On the other hand, the night was much different for the inhabitants of south Lebanon, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent,
Machine gun fire and explosions were heard around 8:30 a.m. near the town of Khiam (Marjayoun). The Israeli air force carried out strikes on this town in an attempt to break through the southeastern front. However, according to informed sources, these attempts were repelled.
At 6:30 a.m., two Israeli strikes targeted the towns of Arnoun and Yohmor (Nabatieh).
Israel announced on Monday that it discussed with foreign negotiators meeting in Qatar a new framework for talks on the release of hostages held in the Palestinian territory.
The head of Israel's foreign intelligence agency, Mossad, David Barnea, met with CIA chief Bill Burns and the Qatari prime minister to discuss the "new framework," according to Netanyahu's office, which said that discussions "will continue in the coming days between the mediators and Hamas."
The day before, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country is one of the mediators, proposed a two-day cease-fire during which four Israeli hostages would be exchanged for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
This truce would be followed "within ten days" by negotiations with a view to a "complete ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid."
Netanyahu "did not receive" this proposal: "If this proposal had been made, the Prime Minister would have immediately accepted it," his spokesperson said on Monday evening.
"We must stop this war," U.S. President Joe Biden insisted on Monday.
Several European countries denounced the UNRWA ban, as have the U.N. and the WHO (World Health Organization), while UNRWA is the main actor in humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip, besieged and devastated by more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas.
UNRWA, created by the U.N. General Assembly in 1949, runs health centers and schools in Gaza and the West Bank. Providing shelter, food and basic healthcare, is considered the "backbone" of aid in Gaza, which is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini denounced a ban that will "aggravate the suffering of the Palestinians."
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply concerned" by these two laws "which, if implemented, would likely prevent UNRWA from continuing its essential work", with "devastating consequences". "There is no alternative to UNRWA," he insisted, calling on Israel "to act in accordance with its obligations under the U.N. Charter."
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, denounced an "intolerable" decision. Similar concerns and condemnations were expressed by London and Berlin, but also by Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain, which consider the work of UNRWA to be "irreplaceable."
On the Palestinian side, Hamas denounced a "Zionist aggression" while the Palestinian presidency saw in these texts the confirmation of "the transformation of Israel into a fascist state."
International outcry over the Israeli parliament's decision to ban the activities in Israel of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Israel, long critical of the agency, accused UNRWA employees of participating in the massacre carried out on its soil by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered particularly deadly Israeli reprisals.
Despite the opposition of its American ally and the warning by the U.N. Security Council, the Knesset adopted by an overwhelming majority (92 votes to 10) a text that prohibits "the activities of UNRWA on Israeli territory" including in East Jerusalem, a sector of the holy city occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967.
A second text, also widely adopted (89 votes to 7), also prohibits Israeli officials from working with UNRWA and its employees, which should considerably disrupt the agency's activities, while Israel strictly controls all entries of humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza.
Both laws will take effect 90 days after their passage, according to the Knesset.
Make sure to read the Morning Brief so you are caught up with what has been happening,
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