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Members of the Spanish UNIFIL peacekeepers forces patrol in the southern Lebanese village of Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, on Jan. 7, 2025, amid a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)

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Israeli Merkava tanks fire on homes in Bint Jbeil | Live

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Three Syrian shepherds are missing in the outskirts of Meis al-Jabal after explosions were heard in the area. 

Turkey threatened on Tuesday to launch a military operation against Kurdish forces in Syria. 

Israeli strikes targeted Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip last night, killing 11 people, including seven children.

18:58 Beirut Time

Gaza

An agreement for a truce in the Gaza Strip is “very close,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as cited by Reuters.

18:57 Beirut Time

Gaza

The Israeli army reported it has brought back to Israel the body of only one hostage held captive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, and not two as announced earlier by the Defense Minister.

The army and the Internal Intelligence Agency “located and recovered the body of hostage Youssef al-Zayadna from a tunnel in the Rafah region of the Gaza Strip, and brought it back to Israel,” the army said in a statement. Minister Israel Katz had claimed that the body of Youssef al-Zayadna's eldest son, Hamza, had also been found.

18:15 Beirut Time

Gaza

Gaza's rescue services reported 14 killed in several Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory.

Five people were killed and several others injured in an airstrike on the Barghout family home in Gaza City, according to Gaza's Civil Defense. Later in the day, the agency reported five additional victims in the same city in the northern part of the besieged Palestinian territory.

Local rescuers also reported the deaths of three members of the al-Banna family in the bombing of their home in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza: Ahmed, 17, Huthaifa, 22, and Heba, 48. The same source stated that the body of a child was found following another Israeli strike in central Gaza, targeting the Washah family home in the Bureij refugee camp.

Civil Defense also reported treating nine injured individuals in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, where the Israeli army claimed to have attacked "Hamas terrorists" operating from a "former school" using a combat helicopter.

18:14 Beirut Time

Lebanon

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken envisions a "lasting peace" in Lebanon with the beginning of the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

"Since the establishment of the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, we have witnessed the withdrawal of more than a third of Israeli forces from Lebanon," said Blinken, quoted by Reuters.

18:13 Beirut Time

Gaza

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday that the bodies of two hostages who had been held captive in the Gaza Strip since the Palestinian Hamas movement's attack on Oct. 7, 2023, were brought back to Israel.

"I wish to express my deepest condolences to the al-Zayadna family following the discovery of the bodies of Youssef and Hamza, who were abducted by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and brought back thanks to a heroic operation by our brave soldiers," the minister wrote on X.

17:35 Beirut Time

Syria

Italy's head of diplomacy Antonio Tajani has announced that he will travel to Damascus on Friday, after chairing a meeting on Syria the previous day in Rome with European counterparts and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“I will be going to Damascus on a mission on Friday,” he told the Chamber of Deputies, adding that he would be announcing "a first-aid package for development cooperation" with Syria, which has carelessly emerged from more than ten years of conflict.

“Italy is at the side of the Syrian people to promote political stabilization and guarantee the protection of human rights,” he said. “It is essential to preserve Syria's territorial integrity and prevent its territory from being exploited by terrorist organizations and hostile actors.”

15:11 Beirut Time

The municipality of Rmeish (Bint Jbeil) said, in a statement, that it had requested the evacuation of the village's Civil Defense center after several Israeli bombings near the building. These strikes damaged several houses. The Israeli army regularly targeted rescue teams or ambulances of the Civil Defense and relief organizations of the Amal Movement and Hezbollah during the 14 months of war. 

14:56 Beirut Time

Several Israeli vehicles are moving towards the Debesh area and conducting searches on the western outskirts of the village of Meis al-Jabal (Marjayoun), according to L'Orient Today's correspondent.

14:43 Beirut Time

Israel is obstructing a U.N. investigation into alleged sexual violence during the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, according to a report in Haaretz. The Israeli outlet reported that officials were opposing the investigation because it would also examine allegations of sexual crimes committed by Israelis against Palestinians.

Pramila Patten, the U.N. under-secretary-general for sexual violence in conflict, called for Israeli detention centers to be investigated as a prerequisite for an investigation into alleged sexual crimes committed on Oct. 7, 2023. The request, which was rejected by Israel, would have given the U.N. access to Israeli prisons to conduct investigations into the treatment of Palestinians held there.

14:43 Beirut Time

"Safe and unhindered" access to the Gaza Strip, ravaged by more than a year of war, is urgently needed to deliver humanitarian aid, with babies dying of cold, the International Red Cross said.

Heavy rains and flooding have left makeshift shelters uninhabitable for thousands of people in the territory, with up to 30 centimeters of water inside tents, according to a statement from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

“Without safe access, children will freeze to death. Without safe access, families will starve to death. Without safe access, aid workers cannot save lives,” IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain warned in the statement.

14:22 Beirut Time

The U.S. Central Command(CENTCOM) issued a statement saying it had carried out an airstrike against a  Houthi weapons depot in Yemen.

"The Houthis have used these facilities to carry out attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," the statement said.

13:52 Beirut Time

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian called on Israel to withdraw from Syrian border territories where it deployed troops after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, a long-time ally of Tehran, according to AFP.

Pezeshkian made the remarks during a visit to Tehran by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, which focused on recent events in Syria after the overthrow of the regime a month ago by the rebel offensive.

"The need for the Zionist regime to withdraw from the territories it occupied and the importance of respecting religious sentiments [in Syria], especially in Shiite holy places, were among the issues of concern," the Iranian president said during a press briefing with Sudani before warning against "the reactivation of terrorist cells" in Syria.

13:29 Beirut Time

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump posted a video on Truth Social in which Columbia economics professor Jeffrey Sachs describes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "maniac" and a "dark son of a ..." who is trying to drag the United States into war with Iran.

"Even today, he's trying to get us to fight Iran," Sachs said. "He's dragged us into endless wars," referring to the U.S. intervention in Iraq in 2003 and Syria.

13:07 Beirut Time

South Lebanon 

 A huge explosion was heard on the outskirts of Markaba and Tallouseh (Marjayoun), although it was not immediately clear whether it was a strike or the destruction of buildings by explosives by the Israeli army. 

The Israeli army blew up houses in Tallusseh, Bani Hayane, Taybeh and Rab el-Thalathine (Marjayoun).

- Israeli forces released four people who were kidnapped on Monday in the Mjaydieh plain (Hasbaya), the mayor of Wazzani, Ahmad el-Mohammad, told L'Orient Today's correspondent. One of the released people is a soldier of the Lebanese army belonging to the Abd al-Aal family.  

12:41 Beirut Time

The mayor of Alma al-Shaab, Jean Ghafari, stated in a statement relayed by L'Orient Today's correspondent that there is "no trace of life in the village because the infrastructure – including water and electricity networks, solar energy and electric generators – has been seriously damaged" by Israeli attacks in recent months.

The Lebanese army announced yesterday its redeployment to Alma al-Shaab and other villages in the western sector of the border, after the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the area.

Ghafari also spoke of "attacks" targeting the village church, which was hit by shelling and vandalized with Hebrew phrases and a Star of David painted on a wall. He announced that the municipal headquarters had been destroyed, as well as a large number of houses and a water reservoir. It would take "at least a year" to rebuild and restore the village, he said.

12:22 Beirut Time

At least 28 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip since midnight, health officials told Haaretz.

This brings the human toll of the Israeli offensive in the Palestinian enclave to 45,936 Palestinians killed and 109,274 wounded since Oct. 7, 2023 , the Gaza health ministry announced.

12:22 Beirut Time

After the artillery bombardment of two buildings in Bint Jbeil, including the house of the mayor of Bint Jbeil, a third building was destroyed by fire from an Israeli Merkava tank, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent.

Two shells were also fired by the Israeli army against the outskirts of Burj al-Moulouk (Marjeyoun). In the same region, Israeli forces destroyed infrastructure in Markaba with explosives. 

Further east, in the Hasbaya district, Israeli soldiers opened fire with automatic weapons in the morning against shepherds who were on the outskirts of Halta, near Kfar Shouba, forcing them to flee the area. 

12:22 Beirut Time

"In recent days, UNIFIL has supported the redeployment of the Lebanese armed forces to their positions in southwestern Lebanon following the withdrawal of Israeli forces," the UN force said in a statement on Wednesday.

On Monday, the Lebanese army announced its entry into the border village of Naqoura (Sour), which is "almost completely destroyed" according to the head of the municipal council, Abbas Awada. Despite the entry into force of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah on Nov. 27, 2024, the Israeli army has continued to dynamite daily homes in occupied villages along the border area.

“Peacekeepers will continue to support the cessation of hostilities and the full implementation of resolution 1701 as a path to peace,” the statement added.

12:22 Beirut Time

Two children were killed in an Israeli drone strike in Tamoun, in the occupied West Bank, Haaretz reported, citing Palestinian sources. The Israeli army announced for its part that it had "opened an investigation," confirming an airstrike against "terrorists who were planting explosives."

Al-Jazeera added that three Palestinian fighters were also killed in an airstrike on the town in the northeastern West Bank, near Nablus, according to Israeli Army Radio.

11:47 Beirut Time

President-elect Trump's new Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoffwill take part in negotiations in Doha, Qatar, today on a deal to release Gaza hostages and a cease-fire, according to the American news site Axios.

Witkoff’s trip is part of a last-ditch effort by the outgoing Joe Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration to reach a deal to free hostages held by Hamas and establish a cease-fire in Gaza before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. At a news conference yesterday at Mar-a-Lago, Witkoff said negotiators were making “a lot of progress” toward a deal.

11:47 Beirut Time

Ireland earlier this week joined South Africa's genocide case against Israel, according to a statement from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) released yesterday.

“Ireland, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, has filed with the Registry of the Court a declaration of intervention in the case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip,” the court said in a statement on Tuesday. The United Nations allows countries to “intervene” in proceedings if they are parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention.

South Africa brought its case to the ICJ in December 2023, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. In an initial ruling in January 2024, the court ordered Israel to limit its attacks in Gaza, and in May it demanded that the country immediately end its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

11:14 Beirut Time

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that a report in the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar that Israel would receive a list of Hamas hostages in exchange for a ceasefire of up to eight weeks was "completely false."

11:01 Beirut Time

(Credit: Michel Hallak)

An Israeli fighter jet has been making circular flights at medium altitude over various regions of northern Lebanon, reports L'Orient Today's correspondent.

10:24 Beirut Time

On the outskirts of Bint Jbeil, an Israeli army Merkava tank fired an artillery shell this morning at the house of the mayor, Afif Bazzi, reports L'Orient Today's correspondent. The mayor's residence caught fire, while another nearby home was also hit.

10:23 Beirut Time

European Union (EU) sanctions on Syria that are hampering the delivery of humanitarian aid and the country's recovery could be lifted quickly, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told France Inter public radio.

He added that discussions were ongoing with EU partners on the possibility of lifting further sanctions, depending on progress in areas such as women's rights and security in Syria.

09:55 Beirut Time

"I think the American president needs to make more disciplined and diplomatic statements," Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, said after Donald Trump warned the Palestinian group that "all hell will break loose" if Israeli hostages held in Gaza are not released before his inauguration on Jan. 20.

The Palestinian movement official added that Israel was to blame for undermining all efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement, according to Reuters. Although he declined to give details about the latest round of talks in Qatar, he reiterated the conditions set by Hamas, namely "a complete end to the aggression and a complete withdrawal from the lands invaded by the occupation."

09:43 Beirut Time

Turkey yesterday threatened to launch a military operation against Syrian Kurdish forces if they do not accept Ankara's conditions for a "bloodless" transition after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"We will do what is necessary" if the People's Protection Units (YPG) do not meet Ankara's demands, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview with private television channel CNNTurk. Asked to clarify his remarks, he replied: "Military operation."

09:42 Beirut Time

According to the Gaza Civil Defense, two other people were killed when a strike targeted a car in Khan Younis. Five other people, including three children, were killed and several injured in a separate strike on a house, also in Khan Younis, the same source said.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army did not immediately comment.

09:42 Beirut Time

Medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that several Israeli strikes targeted the southern city of Khan Younis last night, killing 11 people, including seven children. At least five strikes hit areas of Khan Younis, including one in the Al-Mawassi area, where thousands of displaced Palestinians live in tents. Four children were killed when a drone strike hit their tent in the Al-Mawassi area, the Hamas health ministry reported. A witness told AFP that several tents caught fire from the strike, which also injured more than 20 people.

09:41 Beirut Time

Three Syrian shepherds were reported missing overnight near Meis al-Jabal, according to security sources quoted by L'Orient Today's correspondent. They are a father, Hammoud al-Hamad and his two sons, Bilal and Mohammad. 

09:39 Beirut Time

Machine gun fire and detonations were heard this morning in Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), according to L'Orient Today's correspondent.

During the night, the Israeli army blew up buildings in the center of Meis al-Jabal (Marjeyoun). The explosion was heard in the surrounding villages.

09:38 Beirut Time

The U.N. and the Lebanese government launched yesterday a new appeal for $371.4 million to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the population. In October, an initial appeal for $426 million was launched to assist people displaced by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, which raised approximately $250 million, according to the UN.

Since then, "while the cessation of hostilities offers hope, more than 125,000 people remain displaced, and hundreds of thousands more face immense challenges in rebuilding their lives," Imran Riza, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, said in a statement. In these conditions, an additional $371.4 million is needed "to support efforts to save lives and prevent the deterioration of an already dire situation," he added. This appeal is mainly intended to help until March one million Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian refugees, and migrants most affected by the humanitarian crisis.

09:31 Beirut Time

Good morning!

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