South Lebanon
The death toll from the Israeli strike on a vehicle in Tayr Debba has risen to at least five, according to the Health Ministry. At least two of them were members of the Amal movement, according to an announcement by the party, which confirmed the identity of Hussein Suleiman Ezzeddine, born in Abbasiyeh, in Sour.
South Lebanon
Seliman Ghassan Daher, one of the victims of the Israeli strike in Tayr Debba, east of Sour, was a member of the Amal movement, according to a funeral announcement published by the Shiite formation allied to Hezbollah.
In addition, the municipality of Tayr Debba issued a statement informing its residents that it was “forbidden to visit the site of the air strike” for safety reasons “due to the presence of unexploded ordnance at the site.”
The latter will be removed on Saturday, the municipality said, adding that it had drawn up this announcement after coordinating with the Lebanese Army's intelligence services.
South Lebanon
The Israeli army confirms that it fired on a vehicle in Tayr Debba, and that it was carrying “Hezbollah weapons.” In a statement, it added that “earlier in the day [Friday], a number of terrorists were identified loading weapons” into the vehicle.
South Lebanon
According to our correspondent, the two people killed by the Israeli strike in Tayr Debba are Hassan Hijazi, originally from the same locality, and Ghassan Daher, born in Toura.
Israel/Hamas
A diplomatic source told Haaretz that negotiations in Qatar for an agreement on the release of the hostages are continuing “intensively.” The source also said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had assessed the situation with security officials.
South Lebanon
The Lebanese Ministry of Health has confirmed, in an initial assessment, that the Israeli strike at Tayr Debba killed two, but has so far only reported two injuries.
Lebanon
The implementation of the cease-fire agreement in Lebanon has entered a “dynamic” phase, enabling the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the deployment of the Lebanese Army in the South of the country to begin “on a large scale,” according to French sources quoted by AFP.
The joint visit by French Armed Forces and Foreign Affairs Ministers Sébastien Lecornu and Jean-Noël Barrot, followed by that of U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein on Jan. 6, helped “inject a new dynamic,” said one French official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
This “gave political backing to the mechanism and enabled a real start to be made on the large-scale withdrawal of Israeli forces and the redeployment of Lebanese forces from south of the Litani (river),” he said.
South Lebanon
According to medical sources contacted by our correspondent, the Israeli strike in Tayr Debba, east of Sour, killed at least two people and wounded four others, some of whom are in critical condition, according to initial reports.
Yemen
The Israeli army has confirmed that its air force has hit targets along Yemen's western coast and deeper into the country, Haaretz reported.
These targets included the Hizyaz power plant, which the army said was a key infrastructure site for the Houthis in Yemen, it added. Other targets included infrastructure at the ports of Ras Isa and Hodeida.
“The strike was carried out in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel, its citizens and civilian infrastructure, including the launching of drones and surface-to-surface missiles in the direction of Israeli territory,” read the army statement.
South Lebanon
According to paramedical sources, the Israeli strike on a van in Tayr Debba caused at least six casualties, including several killed, according to our correspondent.
Secondary detonations are heard near Tayr Debba after the Israeli strike on a van.
South Lebanon
An Israeli drone fired a missile at a vehicle in Tayr Debba, west of Sour. Ambulances are on their way to the scene.
South Lebanon
The Israeli army, which remains deployed in several sectors along the South Lebanon border area, fired automatic weapons in the village of Bani Hayan, located in the Bint Jbeil district, according to our correspondent. Explosions were also reported in the area.
Yemen
The Yemeni news agency (SABA) reported that Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom targeted a major power plant near the capital, Sanaa, in a series of airstrikes on multiple regions across Yemen.
Earlier, the Houthi-affiliated television channel al-Masirah stated that the U.S.-British coalition launched 12 airstrikes on the Harf Sufyan district in Yemen's northern Amran province, while six airstrikes hit the port of Hodeidah on Yemen's west coast and the Ras Issa oil export terminal.
The channel provided no further details on casualties or damage caused by these attacks. U.S. and British authorities have not yet commented on the airstrikes.
Syria
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that fighters affiliated with the Islamist-led transitional administration publicly executed a local official on Friday, accusing him of being an informant for ousted President Bashar al-Assad, according to Reuters.
The official, identified as Mazen Kneneh, was shot in the head in broad daylight on the street. The SOHR claimed he was "one of the most well-known loyalists of the former regime."
South Lebanon
Civil Defense workers recovered the bodies of five people from the rubble in Khiam, South Lebanon, according to a source within the organization who spoke to our correspondent.
Khiam has been the site of weeks of intense fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army. Over 30 bodies have already been retrieved since the Israeli army withdrew from the area and the Lebanese Army deployed there, according to a tally provided by our correspondent.
South Lebanon
The Lebanese Army has removed obstacles that had been placed by the Israeli army in Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil district) prior to their withdrawal, and has reopened the main road leading to it, the municipality's mayor reported to our correspondent in the South.
The mayor of Aitaroun added that a Lebanese Army unit was due to be deployed at a later date in several positions. He also pointed out that the army had been present in the town throughout the war, assuring that it had never left.
Syria
Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad Hassan al-Shaibani announced plans to visit European countries in the coming period, according to Reuters.
He made the statement during a press conference with his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani in Damascus. This will mark the first foreign visit by an official from Syria's new ruling authorities.
Fall of the Assad Regime
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will travel to Syria tomorrow for his first official visit since a coalition led by Islamists assumed power, his press office told AFP on Friday.
"The prime minister’s visit comes in response to an invitation extended by Ahmad al-Sharaa," Syria's new leader, the source explained. Mikati had spoken by phone with Sharaa on Jan. 3, shortly after the new Syrian authorities imposed restrictions on Lebanese entry into the neighboring country. Syria implemented these restrictions at the land border following what the Lebanese army described as a border clash with armed Syrians.
Gaza War
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed the military to present a plan for a "decisive victory" over Hamas in Gaza if the group does not release Israeli hostages before the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a statement from the Defense Ministry.
"We must make the necessary decisions to avoid being dragged into a war of attrition in Gaza," Katz stated. He directed the military to address issues that could complicate "the eradication of Hamas," specifically citing "humanitarian aid." The defense minister stressed that a political solution for Gaza is not viable because "no Arab nation or other authority will assume responsibility for managing civilian life in Gaza until Hamas is completely crushed," the statement concluded, as reported by Haaretz.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has begun a visit to Damascus, where foreign delegations have been arriving since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was ousted a month ago to meet with the new authorities.
In the Syrian capital, the Italian minister visited the iconic Umayyad Mosque, calling it "a fascinating historical site (...) and one of the most beautiful mosques in the world."
Tajani then toured the neighboring souk before heading to the presidential palace to meet the new Syrian leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and his counterpart, Assaad al-Shaibani.
Fall of the Assad Regime
The European Union could "gradually" ease sanctions on Syria if "tangible progress" is made by the new authorities, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on the social media platform X.
Kallas mentioned participating in a meeting in Rome on Thursday to "coordinate efforts for Syria's transition" with Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
France should repatriate French jihadists imprisoned in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a press conference in Istanbul.
"If France has something to do, it is to take its own citizens, bring them to its own prisons, and try them," he said, referring to the French jihadists detained in Syria.
Syria
Turkey has no intent on Syrian territory, Turkish diplomatic chief Hakan Fidan told a press conference in Istanbul.
“Turkey has no sights on the territory of any country, nor does it have a hidden agenda,” he announced, referring to Turkish foreign policy in Syria.
Gaza War
The body of an Israeli hostage who had been held in the Gaza Strip and returned to Israel was identified a few days after its repatriation, the army announced in a statement.
"Following the completion of the examination process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israeli police, this morning (Friday), military representatives informed the Zayadna family that their son Hamza, who had been held hostage in the Gaza Strip, was killed in captivity by Hamas," the statement read.
Fourteen doctors from various countries arrived in Gaza yesterday, according to Turkey's Anadolu Agency. Their aim is to provide medical assistance to injured and ill Palestinians, the agency reported.
"Twelve surgeons and two doctors have come to Gaza to support the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip," said Shadi Zaza, head of Rahma Worldwide, which contributed to the initiative, during a press conference.
Gaza War
Ultra-Orthodox Jews, known as "Haredim," took to the streets in Bnei Brak yesterday to protest against their conscription into the Israeli army.
Images from the protest, where Haredi demonstrators blocked Highway 4 in Israel, show police forcibly removing many individuals amid heated confrontations. At least three people were arrested for attacking two Israeli officers, according to Haaretz.
Israeli authorities have recently increased draft calls for Israel's Haredi population, which has traditionally been exempt from mandatory military service.
Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East, particularly the Gaza War, which has now entered its 462nd day, and its regional repercussions, including in Lebanon and Yemen. We will also follow developments in Syria, over a month after the fall of the Assad regime.
Gaza War
The official Palestinian death toll from Israel’s offensive in Gaza is likely underestimated by 41 percent during the first nine months of the war, according to a new academic study published in The Lancet.
Researchers estimated the number of deaths caused by traumatic injuries from Israeli attacks in Gaza between October 2023 and the end of June 2024 at 64,260. This figure is 41 percent higher than that reported by Gaza’s Health Ministry, with the study noting that record-keeping capabilities deteriorated as Israel's attacks progressed.
Gaza War
Gaza's Health Ministry reported 70 killed over the past 24 hours, pushing the total death toll past 46,000. At least 46,006 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the offensive began 15 months ago, the ministry stated. The number of injured now stands at 109,378.
Medical sources cited by Al Jazeera reported 22 killed across Gaza since Friday morning. The outlet’s local correspondents indicated that several Israeli airstrikes targeted neighborhoods around Khan Younis in southern Gaza. On Thursday, UNICEF announced that at least 74 children were among the 490 Palestinians officially killed in the first nine days of 2025.
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