Unprecedented Israeli strikes on Jabal Akroum, Akkar region near the border with Syria: Day 393 of the war

“The United States and the Zionist regime will receive a crushing response to what they are doing against Iran and against the resistance front,” Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a post published on X in Hebrew.

The Israeli army has announced that two “projectiles” fired from the north of the Gaza Strip, where it is carrying out a major offensive against Hamas, have crashed into southern Israel without causing any injuries, reports AFP.

“Following the sounding of warning sirens in several communities bordering the Gaza Strip, two projectiles were spotted [entering Israeli territory] from the northern Gaza Strip and crashed into the wild. No casualties were reported,” said the army in a statement. These were the first missiles to be launched from Palestinian territory in several weeks.

⚡ The United States has warned Iran in recent days “not to launch another attack against Israel,” adding that Washington “will not be able to hold Israel back if it is attacked again,” the Axios website reported quoting a U.S. official and a former Israeli official, and relayed by Reuters.

Axios had previously reported that Israeli intelligence suggests that “Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days,” possibly before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack carried out at 8:30 p.m. against Israeli soldiers in Avivim, northern Israel, with a salvo of missiles.

One of the previously reported strikes on Mashghara, in the western Bekaa, killed two people, reports our correspondent Sarah Abdallah. Three others are still trapped under the rubble.

“Six people, including four children, were injured” after a polio vaccination center was hit in the northern Gaza Strip, the head of WHO on X quoted by AFP.

According to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “the Sheikh Radwan primary health care center in northern Gaza was hit today as parents brought their children for polio vaccination, in an area where a humanitarian pause had been agreed to allow vaccination to continue.”

⚡ The Israeli army claims to have “eliminated the commander of Hezbollah's missile and rocket unit, Jaafar Khader Faour, in the Jowaya area,” in the Sour district of southern Lebanon.

In a post on X, it adds that “Faour was responsible for several rocket attacks towards the occupied Golan Heights,” including an attack “that resulted in the death of Israeli civilians from Kibbutz Ortal, an attack on Majdal Shams that killed 12 children and wounded many others, as well as the rocket attack on Metula last Thursday, which resulted in the death of five civilians,” the Israeli army adds.

In addition, he was “responsible for the terrorist attacks carried out from eastern Lebanon, from where the first rockets were fired at Israeli territory on Oct. 8, under his command,” concludes the Israeli army.

Israeli strikes on the Jabal Akroum area in Akkar caused two very minor injuries, reports our correspondent in the region. Houses close to the strikes were cracked, as was a school, and windows were broken by the force of the strikes. This is the first time that a locality bordering Akkar has been targeted in this way, adds our correspondent.

The Israeli army said it had killed a “commander of Hezbollah's Nasser Brigade rocket unit” in southern Lebanon, claiming he was “responsible for several attacks against Israel,” Reuters reports.

(Credit: Sent by local residents to our correspondent Michel Hallak)

⚡ Israeli aircraft have struck Akroum, in the Akkar region of northern Lebanon, for the first time, reports our correspondent in the region, Michel Hallak. This town is close to the border with Syria.

The strike targeted a bridge linking Akroum to the locality of Kfartoun near a Lebanese army checkpoint, thus completely cutting off access between the two villages, which is also a road used to go to Syria.

Another strike targeted a nearby village. No casualties have yet been reported, although some houses have been damaged by the successive strikes.

Two Israeli air strikes hit wooded areas in Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, near a Lebanese army center, reports our correspondent.

The Israeli strike on Hezarta (Zahle district) in the Bekaa killed a child, Mohammad Abou Hamdan, according to our correspondent.

Outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati spoke with Lebanese Army Commander Joseph Aoun “about the kidnapping of Lebanese citizen Imad Amhaz in Batroun,” said a Serail statement in the evening. He also held talks with UNIFIL and asked the head of Lebanese diplomacy, Abdallah Bou Habib, to submit an urgent complaint to the U.N. Security Council about the operation.

🔴 “The Israeli army confirms that its 13th fleet unit has arrested a Hezbollah member near a knowledge center in the maritime field,” says Israeli army radio on X. “We will capture key members everywhere and succeed,” the text adds.

The Lebanese Health Ministry has published a death and injury toll from Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, with 71 killed and 169 injured, bringing the total since Oct. 8, 2023 to 2,968 killed and 13,319 injured.

Two Israeli air strikes targeted Khiam, in the Marjayoun district, reports our correspondent in south Lebanon.

The number of people injured in an Israeli air strike targeting a house in Hazerta (Zahle district) has risen to seven, reports our correspondent in the Bekaa. A child is also missing following the strike.

The latest developments in south Lebanon and the Bekaa, according to our correspondents in these two regions:

- An Israeli drone carried out an air strike behind Hiram hospital in the city of Sour and another air strike between the villages of Houmayri and Maaroub (Sour).

- An Israeli air strike targeted the area around Ansarieh (Saida).

- An Israeli air strike was reported in the vicinity of the village of al-Ain in the Bekaa.

- The Israeli air strike reported earlier on a house in Hazerta (Zahle), injured four people. Clear-up operations are continuing on site.

The latest developments in south Lebanon and the Bekaa, according to our correspondents in these two regions:

- An Israeli drone carried out an air strike behind Hiram hospital in the city of Sour and another air strike between the villages of Houmayri and Maaroub (Sour).

- An Israeli air strike targeted the area around Ansarieh (Saida).

- An Israeli air strike was reported in the vicinity of the village of al-Ain in the Bekaa.

- The Israeli air strike reported earlier on a house in Hazerta (Zahle), injured four people. Clear-up operations are continuing on site.

Hezbollah announced that after “the withdrawal of the Israeli armed force” which was targeted today at 3:30 p.m. towards Tallet el-Khazen, near Houla (Marjayoun), the party fired three more rocket salvos at the same force at 4 p.m.

Quoting the Israeli army, Haaretz reports that a “suspicious air vehicle was intercepted over the Mediterranean Sea” and that it did not enter Israeli territory.

The Israeli army has announced that it has updated the defense guidelines of the Home Front Command, raising the alert level from “partial” to “full” in the Lower Galilee and southern occupied Golan regions, while allowing gatherings of up to 2,000 people in some villages, Reuters reports.

The changes reflect “heightened security concerns at a time of hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah,” increasing the level of preparedness in specific areas while allowing limited public activities.

“A new Israeli air strike hit the Joussieh border post, from where many Lebanese and Syrians cross from Lebanon into Syria. Humanitarian structures were also hit,” reports U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on his X account, with photo.

“Even fleeing [and protecting those who flee] is becoming difficult and dangerous as the war continues to spread,” added Grandi. The Joussieh border post links Qaa in Lebanon with Qousseir in Syria.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack carried out at 3:30 p.m. “as an Israeli force was attempting to advance towards Houla” in southern Lebanon, against two Israeli military bulldozers, using two guided missiles. The party claims to have destroyed the bulldozers, caused deaths and injuries and “forced the enemy force to retreat.”

The previously reported Israeli air strike on the town of Nabatieh killed two people, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

Cairo is currently hosting meetings between Fateh and Hamas to discuss “the formation of a committee to manage Gaza in the post-war context,” a senior Egyptian security source told Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV, Reuters reports.

The initiative is part of Egypt's “mediation efforts involving Palestinian and Israeli parties to reach a cease-fire and expand access to humanitarian aid,” the agency added. The source also said that Hamas is insisting that the talks “lead to a comprehensive agreement that ends the war and allows an exchange of hostages for prisoners.”

Hezbollah announced that it had fired rockets at a group of Israeli soldiers at the Israeli site of Jal al-Deir, opposite the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Rass (Bint Jbeil), at 4 p.m.

The party also claimed to have fired a “large volley of rockets” at the Israeli base of “Saint Jean [a logistics base belonging to the Northern Command]” north of Acre, at 4 p.m.

(Credit: Sent by local residents to our correspondent)

The latest developments in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa, according to our correspondents in these two regions:

- Two Israeli air strikes, one by a drone and the other by a warplane, targeted houses at the crossroads in the locality of Abbasieh (Sour district).

- An Israeli air strike targeted a building in Hazerta (Zahle).

Quoting the Israeli army, Haaretz reported that an Israeli military helicopter intercepted a drone launched from Lebanon over Benyamina, in the Haifa region of central Israel.

On Oct. 13, a Hezbollah drone-bomb attack hit a military canteen in Benyamina, killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding at least 61 others.

⚡ The Israeli strike against a building in the “Semaan Gallery” area in Beirut's southern suburbs this afternoon killed one person and wounded 15 others, 6 of whom were hospitalized, the Lebanese Health Ministry announced in a final toll.

The Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman, Avichay Adraee, accused Hezbollah of hitting and targeting Israeli Arab civilians, while the party said it had hit the Israeli military base of Glilot.

“Hezbollah claimed that its rockets had hit the Glilot military base, but these actually hit a civilian residence in the Israeli Arab town of Tira, injuring civilians,” the spokesperson said on X.

“These are the same indiscriminate missiles that Hezbollah launched and that killed many Syrians, Yemenis and Arabs. These are the same missiles that are manufactured in Lebanese homes, stored and launched from areas sheltering civilians ,“ he added.

Israel's Home Front Command said that “the threat of a drone launched from Lebanon has been ruled out,” according to Haaretz. The Israeli army had indicated that it was tracking a drone launched from Lebanon, which set off warning sirens in northern Israel for half an hour.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack carried out at 2:30 p.m. against Israeli soldiers on the Khazen hill near Houla, in the Marjayoun district in southern Lebanon, with a salvo of missiles.

The situation in southern Lebanon:

- Israeli strikes targeted Hariss, and our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah reports casualties, as well as Kounin, in Bint Jbeil. Kounin was bombed twice.

- Khiam (Marjayoun) was again hit by an air raid.

- A strike targeted Halloussieh (Sour).

- The “al-Maslakh” district of Nabatieh was bombed.

- In the western Bekaa, Mashghara was again hit by Israeli aircraft. 

The latest developments on the Lebanese-Israeli front, according to our correspondent:

- A second Israeli air strike targeted Nabatieh.

- An Israeli warplane struck a house in the village of Qana (Sour).

- Rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards Israel.

⚡ At least 11 people were injured in the Israeli strike on a building in the so-called “Semaan Gallery” neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, according to a provisional toll from the Lebanese Health Ministry.

⚡For the first time since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, an Israeli strike in the afternoon targeted the “Galerie Semaan” neighborhood, near the Mall Karout, where the missile fell on a motorcycle store, according to our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah informed by residents.

The site of the strike borders Beirut's southern suburbs and the Christian district of Hazmieh.

⚡For the first time since the start of the war in Lebanon, an Israeli strike in the afternoon targeted the Gallery Semaan neighborhood, near the Karout Mall, where the missile fell on a moped store, our correspondent reported citing residents.

The area targeted by the strike borders Beirut's southern suburbs and the Christian district of Hazmieh.

In the Bekaa, an Israeli airstrike targeted Mashghara (West Bekaa) once again.

Israeli attacks continue in southern Lebanon, reported our correspondent: 

- Airstrikes targeted Shaatieh, Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, both in the Sour district. 

- Three airstrikes targeted Khiam (Marjayoun), however, one missile failed to explode. 

- Airstrikes targeted Sir al-Gharbieh and Abba, in the Nabatieh district.  

Hezbollah announced multiple operations against Israel: 

- It launched exploding drones at Shraga base, north of Acre at 7:45 a.m.

- At 2 p.m., it launched a missile salvo at the regional "logistics" battalion linked to the Northern Command, in the Misgav base northeast of Haifa near Carmiel. Hezbollah's announcement pointed out that this is the first time this area has been targeted. 

- It launched at 2 p.m. barrage of rockets at the headquarters of Alta company, linked to the military industry, also northeast of Haifa.

This brings the total number of operations conducted by Hezbollah today to 20 so far.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several attacks on Israeli positions:

- A rocket strike against Israeli soldiers at Bar Yohai, about eight kilometers from the Blue Line, at 12:30 pm. and another on Safed at 1:30 p.m.

- A squadron of exploding drones at Ramat David base, south of Haifa, around 50 kilometers from the border with Lebanon, adding that the drones "hit their targets accurately."

- The party also claimed responsibility for a new strike on the Israeli intelligence base at Glilot, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, at 7:45 a.m.

Israeli attacks killed 178 individuals in the healthcare sector and injured 292 others, reported the Health Ministry in the latest assessment released yesterday. 

The ministry added that 243 vehicles belonging to the healthcare sector had been hit by the Israeli strikes, as well as 84 health centers or outpatient facilities and 40 hospitals.

Cited by Haaretz, the Israeli army said that in the past hour, approximately 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon towards the northern Israeli city of Carmiel and nearby communities. An additional 10 rockets were fired toward the northern Israeli city of Safed and its surroundings, the military added.

Here's an update on the latest Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon:

- Israeli fighter jets hit the villages of Maaroub and Qlayleh (Sour district). 

- An airstrike targeted a house in Deir Qanoun al-Nahr (Sour), which has been bombarded previously today. So far, no casualties have been reported.

Here are the latest updates on Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa, reported by our correspondents: 

- Israeli airstrikes targeted Shebaa, Berghoz, both in the Hasbaya district, and Mayfadoun, in the Nabatieh district.

- Fighter jets targeted the Mashghara heights, in the western Bekaa.

Hezbollah announced two new operations against Israel: 

- For a second time today, the party announced that it launched a salvo of rockets at the Zofolon air base for military industries north of Haifa, this time at 12:45

- Its fighters launched a barrage of missiles at "a gathering of Israeli enemy forces east of the town of Maroun al-Ras." 

Here are the latest updates on Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, according to our correspondent there:

- An Israeli airstrike has targeted the vicinity of the town of Marjayoun near the Litani River.

- Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier over Saida and Jezzine.

Once again, Israeli fighter jets broke the sound barrier in and around Beirut, causing loud sonic booms.

In response to the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Hezbollah announced that at 11:15 it launched a squadron of drones on the Israeli air base at Palmachim, south of Tel Aviv, which houses a military research center and radar for the Hetz system.

The party also claimed to have fired missiles at the Zofolon air base for military industries north of Haifa at 11:05 am.

These are Hezbollah's 8th and 9th attacks of the day. 

This morning before dawn, Israeli strikes targeted northern Gaza, notably Jabalia and Beit Lahia, and Nousseirat in the center, killing three Palestinians, according to the civil defense, reported AFP.

The Israeli army, which has been concentrating its offensive since Oct. 6 in the north of the territory, claimed to have "eliminated dozens of terrorists in Jabalia." It also reported operations against Hamas in the south and center of the territory.

The entire population of northern Gaza is at "imminent risk of death from disease, starvation and violence," warned the heads of the U.N.'s major humanitarian agencies on Friday. "The situation is apocalyptic," wrote the 15 signatories, demanding that "the State of Israel cease its assault on Gaza."

Latest updates from northern Israel:

- A structure in a building in an industrial area in northern Israel was damaged as a result of an interception of a drone fired from Lebanon, according to Haaretz.

- The Israeli army announced that two projectiles were launched from Lebanon; one was intercepted and the other fell in an open area.

- Rocket sirens have sounded in the Upper Galilee, Haaretz reported.

⚡The "Islamic Resistance in Iraq," a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups, claimed responsibility in a statement for four drone attacks carried out on Saturday against "vital targets" in Eilat, a coastal city in southern Israel on the shores of the Red Sea, reported AFP.

Fighters of the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq attacked four vital targets in Eilat, via four separate operations in one hour, using a number of drones", the coalition said in its statement. Without identifying the attackers, the Israeli army said earlier that it had intercepted three drones over the Red Sea approaching from the east.

Earlier, the Israeli army announced that it had identified and intercepted three drones approaching its territory from the east over the Red Sea.

⚡The Israeli army has announced that it has intercepted three unidentified drones approaching its territory from the east over the Red Sea, AFP reported. "Three drones that had been fired from the east were intercepted over the Red Sea," the army said in a statement, adding that they had been destroyed "before they entered the territory."

In recent weeks, several drone attacks on Israel have been claimed by pro-Iranian groups in Iraq.

Haaretz reported a "rocket barrage targeted northern Israeli cities of Nahariya, Acre and other location," and it cited the Israeli army adding that "some 15 projectiles launched at Israel," with some intercepted and others falling in "open areas."

Hezbollah announced its seventh operation of the day, matching the total number of operations conducted Friday.

In this announcement, the party claimed responsibility for a barrage of rockets at Krayot, a group of coastal towns north of Haifa.

⚡ Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has vowed to respond to any attack by Israel and its ally, the United States, against Iran or its allied groups in the region, AFP reported.

"The enemies, both the United States and the Zionist regime, must know that they will certainly receive a scathing response to their actions against Iran, the Iranian nation and the resistance front," Khamenei said in a speech to students in Tehran.

Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier for the second time within five minutes over Beirut and other areas around the capital, according to local media.

Two sonic booms were heard in and around Beirut, caused by Israeli aircraft breaking the sound barrier.

⚡ According to a source contacted by our correspondent, the Israeli forces that attempted to enter the eastern neighborhood of Khiam (Marjayoun district), withdrew after failing in their attempts to enter the center of this southern Lebanese town.

A military bulldozer was seen towing a destroyed Merkava tank towards the area of Sarda and Al-Amra, south of Khiam, added our correspondent.

⚡The Israeli army announced today that it killed "Hezbollah coastal sector commander Main Mousa Az al-Din and the artillery unit commander Hassan Majed Dhiab in the area of Sour" in southern Lebanon.

According to the military's statement, Dhiab was responsible for the rocket fire towards the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona on Thursday, and together they are responsible for over 400 projectiles launched at Israel in the past month.

In southern Lebanon, the Sour district is witnessing another round of Israeli strikes, reported our correspondent, with new strikes reported in Tayr Harfa and Alma al-Shaab.

Meanwhile, Israel continued its offensive in Gaza. Strikes on homes left nine people killed on Friday in Jabalia (north) and Nusseirat (center), according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.

Israeli Bombardments happen "every day, at noon, in the afternoon, at night," Ezzeddine Abou Shawish, a Nusseirat resident, told AFP. The Israeli army reported that Ezzedine al-Kassab, a local Hamas commander in Rafah (south), was killed. In Beit Lahia (north), men carried bodies wrapped in blankets through rubble-strewn streets after a strike, according to AFPTV footage.

All residents in the north of the territory, where the Israeli army has concentrated its offensive since Oct. 6, face an "imminent risk of death," heads of major U.N. humanitarian agencies warned yesterday.

Also yesterday, Hamas announced it had rejected a proposal for a short truce from mediating countries, demanding instead "a complete and permanent cease-fire."

Hezbollah issued three new statements this morning: the first announced a rocket attack on Yessud Haméala in northern Israel near the Lebanese-Israeli border. The second reported another rocket strike on Bar Yohai, also near the border. The third announced a rocket barrage on Beria, north of Safed.

In southern Lebanon this morning, our correspondent reported Israeli airstrikes on Deir Amas (Sour), Kafra Siddiqine and Aita al-Jabal (both in the Bint Jbeil district).

🔴 The Lebanese Health Ministry announced Friday evening that yesterday 52 people were killed and 72 wounded in Israeli strikes on the Baalbek-Hermel region, all carried out without warning. An updated report from our correspondent in the Bekaa this morning raises the death toll to 57, with the total number of Israeli strikes reaching 40.

In the Bekaa, bombardments also relatively decreased overnight, according to our correspondent, who reported a strike in Nabi Sheet (Baalbeck district) on Fouad Shukur's family house. Shukur was a Hezbollah high-ranking military commander, killed on July 30 by an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs.

Israeli bombardment relatively eased in southern Lebanon, according to our correspondent in the region.

- After 10 p.m., violent airstrikes targeted Shehabieh, in the Sour district, with reports of casualties being recorded. 

- Three additional strikes targeted an area between Deir al-Zahrani and Zefta, in the Nabatieh district. 

- An Israeli drone overflew the Sour district while broadcasting a message claiming that "Hezbollah is in your villages" and "Tehran has abandoned you."

Hezbollah maintained a relatively low profile on Friday (with only seven operations recorded) but announced several operations early this morning, including two daytime strikes. At 2:30 a.m.. The party claimed responsibility for a missile strike on the Glilot base, home to Israel’s 8200 military intelligence unit near Tel Aviv.

The Israeli military reported 19 people injured in Tira, northeast of Tel Aviv.

Later in the morning, Hezbollah said it launched rockets, munitions, and drones at sites in northern Israel, including Dalton and Sha'al. Just before midnight, it targeted Kfar Jaladi and Kiryat Shmona.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government this week rejected a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal accepted by Hezbollah. Netanyahu now faces controversy after several people linked to his office were arrested following an intelligence leak.

The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are gaining strength at an "unprecedented" rate due to foreign military support, the UN report stated on Friday. 

U.N. experts noted, "The transformation of the Houthis from a localized armed group with limited capabilities to a powerful military organization, extending their operational capabilities well beyond the territories under their control."

The report, which analyzed the period from September 2023 through July 2024, said such a transformation was aided by the transfer of military materiel and financial support.

To find out more, press here.👈

The main news overnight coming out of the United States is the Pentagon's announcement of new military deployments to the Middle East, set to arrive "in the coming months" to support Israel's defense and warn Iran. 

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