'I spoke of a cease-fire, not the end of the war,' says Netanyahu: Day 419 of the Gaza war

In his interview with Israeli Channel 14, discussing a cease-fire in Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu also declared: “I think conditions have changed a lot, and for the better, not only thanks to the separation of the two fronts (Gaza and Lebanon) but also thanks to the combination of several factors, including the elimination of Yahya Sinwar,” the Hamas leader killed in October.

Benjamin Netanyahu says he will do “everything” to prevent Iran from getting the atomic bomb, reports AFP.

⚡ For the first time since the cease-fire began, Benjamin Netanyahu held a security debate on “the continuation of the war on several fronts,” reports Israeli Channel 13.

In addition, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz promised that Israel “will react harshly” to any violation of the cease-fire agreement, according to the same media outlet.

The Israeli army has lifted restrictions on gatherings in central and northern Israel, according to Reuters.

During Jean-Yves Le Drian’s visit to Beirut, French President Emmanuel Macron held phone conversations today with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati regarding the implementation of the cease-fire and the presidential election.

⚡ The Israeli military claims over 2,500 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since the war began, reports Haaretz.

More than 200 people, mostly fighters and around 20 civilians, have been killed in battles between jihadists and their allies and regime forces in northwest Syria since Wednesday, an NGO cited by AFP reported.

The toll "has risen to 182 (fighters), including 102 members of HTC (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham), 19 from allied groups, and 61 pro-regime forces," according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Civilians are among the casualties, with 19 killed Thursday in Russian airstrikes, the Observatory added. One civilian was killed by Syrian regime shelling the previous day.

The body of a young man, Hassan Ibrahim Taoubeh, was recovered from the rubble of a building in the village of Arnoun in Nabatieh district. His family had not heard from him for over a month.

Israeli bulldozers were observed clearing terrain in the eastern sector of Khiam, in the Marjayoun district of southern Lebanon, according to our correspondent. Meanwhile, an artillery shell struck the vicinity of Houla.

Nineteen civilians were killed in Russian airstrikes on northern Syria, according to NGOs cited by AFP.

The Amal Movement announced the death of one of its members, Mohammad Hassan Saad, born in Burj al-Barajneh in 1986, “who died defending Lebanon and the South,” without specifying the circumstances in which he was killed.

Hezbollah, for its part, announced the funeral of one of its members, Hadi Kassem Kawtharani, on Friday at 1 p.m. in his village of Saksakieh.

In a press release, the Royal Jordanian airline has announced the resumption of its Amman-Beirut routes starting Sunday, Dec. 1.

The Lebanese Army said that today and yesterday, the Israeli army violated the cease-fire agreement several times "through air violations and targeting Lebanese territories with different weapons."

The army added that it is following up on these violations in coordination with the competent authorities.

Israeli artillery shelling has been targeting Lebanese border villages and an Israeli airstrike was reported in the Saida district earlier today.

Israel notified the U.S. in advance of the Israeli airstrike that targeted Tebna (Saida district) earlier today, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said citing an Israeli official. The Israeli army said earlier today that it struck a Hezbollah rocket compound in the area.

All airlines, Arab and foreign, are expected to resume normal flights to and from Beirut between Dec. 5 and 15, 2024, Rafik Hariri International Airport Director Fadi al-Hassan told local channel LBCI.

Israeli artillery shelled an area west of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun) in southern Lebanon with four artillery shells.

In southern Lebanon's Bint Jbeil district, Israeli artillery fired on the areas around Aita al-Shaab, Yaroun and Ataroun, as well as the Hasbaya district village of Shebaa.

In a new assessment of the war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reports 3,961 killed and 16,520 wounded, including 78 killed and 266 wounded on Tuesday alone, on the eve of the cease-fire.

Almost 36 hours into the cease-fire an Israeli drone launched an airstrike against the village of Tebna, between Baissarieh and Kaakaieh al-Snoubar, in Saida district, southern Lebanon, but north of the Litani River. On Thursday afternoon, residents reported the attack and ambulances have been dispatched to the scene.

Shortly before the strike, the Israeli army told people living in the area, via a post on the X account belonging to its Arabic-language spokesperson, to make “absolutely no movements south of the Litani River from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. tomorrow,” urging those already in the area “not to leave their homes.”

Read the full report here. 👈

In an “urgent statement” on the X social network, the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee announced, for the second day running, a cease-fire from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. for the inhabitants of southern Lebanon. “Absolutely no movement south of the Litani River from 17:00 to 07:00 tomorrow,” he wrote, urging those already in the area "not to leave their homes."

“For your safety, you must respect the following instructions” concludes the message posted at 3:10 p.m.

On the second day of the cease-fire in Lebanon, Israel stepped up its bombardment of central Gaza. According to Reuters, Thursday's strikes killed 21 people.

After reporting a hit on a suspected aerial target in Lebanon, the Israeli army says it was a false alarm, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.

In southern Lebanon, Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Halta (Hasbaya), according to our local correspondent Mountasser Abdallah.

Three wounded were also reported in an Israeli artillery bombardment on Taybeh (Marjayoun), again according to our correspondent.

(Credit: Michel Hallak)

Work to reopen the Arida border crossing in northern Lebanon has begun, reports our local correspondent Michel Hallak.

Three crossing points with Syria, including Arida, had been successively destroyed and put out of service by Israeli strikes a few hours before the cease-fire on Tuesday evening.

Army forces preparing to head south. (Credit: The military institution's X account)

At dawn on Wednesday, the Lebanese Army embarked on its mission to maintain the truce in southern Lebanon. As part of the (this time strict) application of Resolution 1701, the military is tasked with taking the place of Hezbollah militiamen and overseeing the withdrawal of Hezbollah weapons south of the Litani River.

(Credit: The Lebanese Army)

The Lebanese Army has announced that several of its units have begun to carry out their missions in parallel with the reinforcement of the army's deployment in the southern Litani sector.

“In parallel with the reinforcement of the army's deployment in the southern Litani sector, units have begun to carry out their missions in the South, the Bekaa and Beirut's southern suburbs.”

These missions include “establishing temporary checkpoints, opening roads and detonating unexploded ordnance,” reads a statement from Army Command. 

The Bekaa, meanwhile, continues to be permanently overflown by Israeli drones, according to our correspondent Sarah Abdallah. 

According to our correspondent's information, a drone fired a missile at Taybeh, which was also targeted by artillery fire that left one person wounded.

A security source reported that shells had been fired at several unnamed villages in the border area, “to prevent people from returning to their villages.” 

Following reports from our correspondent in the South of gunfire in Markaba, Taybeh, Khiam and Rmeish, the Israeli army said that “over the last few hours” it had observed “the arrival of suspicious persons, moving in vehicles” in several areas of the South, “which is considered a violation of the cease-fire agreement.” The army then “fired in their direction.” 

Despite the cease-fire, 10 Israeli artillery shells also fell on the outskirts of Taybeh (Marjayoun), according to our correspondent in the South.

In addition, Israeli fire can be heard continuously in Khiam (Marjayoun).

Israeli fighter jets are also flying over South Lebanon and have reached the town of Saida.

Three Israeli artillery shells were fired at Rmeish (Bint Jbeil) at 10:30 a.m., damaging a supermarket, village mayor Milad Allam told our correspondent in the south. No casualties were reported.

Rmeish, a Christian village, has rarely been targeted since October 2023. Artillery fire has occasionally targeted the outskirts of the village.

Mukhtar Hashem Zaraket, from Markaba, in the Marjayoun district of southern Lebanon, told our correspondent that two people were wounded in the village after artillery fire was fired at the central square. This locality was also targeted by small arms fire, according to  Zaraket. Other sources reported a drone strike on a car in the same village. 

The Israeli army fired artillery shells at the Fatima Gate in Kfar Kila to ward off people trying to approach the village, according to information from our correspondent in the South Mountasser Abdallah.

Read our ☀️Morning Brief☀️ to know what happened yesterday (first day of cease-fire in Lebanon) and what to expect today.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, has sent a letter to Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem, in which he states that a cease-fire in Lebanon could be the beginning of a cease-fire and the end of the war in the Gaza Strip, reports Hezbollah-affiliated television station Al-Manar. 

In the South, several episodes of gunfire this morning shook the precarious calm that had prevailed overnight, notably in Maroun al-Ras (Bint Jbeil) and Aitaroun. Artillery fire targeted Aita al-Shaab and the central area of the Blue Line, as well as the villages of Zawtar Sharqieh and Zawtar Gharbieh, Yohmor and Arnoun (in the Nabatieh district) were also intensively overflown by drones.

During the night, machine-gun fire had already been heard in Aitaroun and Khiam (Marjayoun), while artillery shells had targeted Khiam. 

The cease-fire will last for 60 days, during which time the Lebanese Army will gradually deploy south of the Litani River, and the Israeli army will withdraw.

The Israeli army has once again issued a notice forbidding the inhabitants of villages in the border strip to return to their homes, and forbidding anyone to travel south of a zone covering some 10 kilometers from the Blue Line. This strip is bounded to the north by the villages, from west to east, of Mansouri, Yater, Braasheet, Shaqra, Yohmor, Arnoun, Marjayoun and Hebbarieh. “Anyone moving south of this line is putting themselves in danger,” wrote the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, in a post on X. 

Good morning!🌅

We are launching our live coverage of the second day of a cease-fire in Lebanon and day 419 of the Gaza war and their implications in the Middle East.

The cease-fire in Lebanon comes after 14 months of cross-border strikes and more than two months of a deadly Israeli campaign on the country.