Lebanese soldier killed in incident involving army vehicle; Netanyahu instructs delegation to go to Doha | Live coverage

Southern Lebanon

The Civil Defense confirmed in the early evening that its teams had recovered the remains of two people from under the rubble of Israeli bombardment in Khiam (Marjayoun district). Rescue teams also found remains belonging to 11 other victims in Naqoura, Bayada and Tayr Harfa, all in Sour district, according to a statement released by Civil Defense with an updated tally from its search operations.

“The bodies have been handed over to the relevant authorities for DNA testing to identify them,” Civil Defense said in its statement.

Lebanon

The Ghobeiri municipality, in Beirut's southern suburbs, announced in a press release the establishment, in cooperation with the army, of checkpoints at several access points to this area, which was heavily bombarded by Israel during its devastating aerial campaign launched in late September. 

“This measure is part of the launch of the rubble removal work in the southern suburbs, with the aim of speeding up and facilitating the movement of vehicles and trucks and ensuring the smooth flow of traffic,” the municipality said.

Gaza

The Israeli army has authorized plans to swiftly withdraw troops from large areas of the Gaza Strip, amid ongoing hostage talks, Haaretz has learned. The army has studied numerous ways to withdraw troops from Gaza, the outlet reports, including via the Netzarim Corridor, which crosses from the sea to the opposite border with Israel, dissecting the besieged enclave and isolating northern Gaza.

Southern Lebanon

The Lebanese Army has confirmed that one of its troop transport vehicles had “overturned in the Haddatha area,” in the Bint Jbeil district, “causing the death of one soldier and slightly injuring another," in a statement published on its X account. Further details were not provided.

Photo shared by the municipality of Jbeil al-Botm

Southern Lebanon

A Lebanese Army soldier was killed in an incident involving an armored personnel carrier (APC) this afternoon, according to residents of the soldier's hometown, Jbeil al-Botm, cited by our correspondent in the South. Sergeant Ibrahim Ali Ahmad Mhanna died when the vehicle overturned on the Tiri road, in Bint Jbeil district. The army has not yet commented on the incident and the circumstances are not clear although reports indicate it was an accident.

Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed a negotiations delegation to go to Doha in order to advance efforts toward a cease-fire and hostage release deal, Haaretz reports, citing an official statement from the Prime Minister's Office. The delegation will include Mossad Chief David Barnea, Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon (head of the Missing and Captive Soldiers Division in the Israeli army), and political advisor Ophir Falk.

Netanyahu made the decision after holding an emergency situation assessment discussion earlier this evening on the topic of hostages and missing persons with Defense Minister Israel Katz, senior security officials, and outgoing and incoming representatives of the U.S. administration.

Southern Lebanon

An armored personnel carrier (APC) belonging to the Lebanese Army rolled over on the side of a road linking the localities of Tiri and Haddatha, in Bint Jbeil district, our correspondent in the South reports. The reason for the accident is unknown and it's still uncertain whether there were any injuries. The army has not commented on the incident yet.

Southern Lebanon

The Ministry of Health has confirmed that the Israeli drone strike on a car in Kounine, in the Bint Jbeil district, injured two people, as reported by our correspondent earlier today.

Southern Lebanon

An Israeli drone fired two missiles at a car in Kounin, in the Bint Jbeil district, our correspondent reported. According to residents, the car was not hit, but two people were slightly injured by missile shrapnel.

Gaza

The Israeli army stated that it targeted "Hamas operatives" in an airstrike in Jabalia, northern Gaza, who "were operating in a command complex that previously served as a school," Haaretz reported.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Civil Defense reported eight fatalities, including two children, in the airstrike on a school building in the northern part of the Palestinian territory.

"Eight people, including two children and two women, were killed in an Israeli strike on the Halwa school, which shelters thousands of displaced people in Jabalia," said Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal. "30 people were injured, including 19 children," he added.

Southern Lebanon

An Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade on Lebanese citizens moving furniture from one house to another in Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil district), southern Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Additionally, an Israeli bulldozer conducted a sweeping operation near a Lebanese Army center in the village of Hamra, in the Nabatieh district.

🔴 "We are giving ourselves the opportunity to build a positive relationship for the future, based on the sovereignty of Lebanon and Syria," said Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa following his meeting with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Damascus, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

"In Syria, we will maintain equal distance from all parties in Lebanon and solve the issues at hand," added al-Sharaa, who leads the Islamist coalition that ousted Bashar al-Assad. He noted that discussions with Mikati covered "the issue of Syrian savings that fled to Lebanese banks."

For his part, Mikati praised the "good neighborly and close relations between our countries," NNA reported. "We must manage our relations based on the national sovereignty of both countries and prevent anything that could harm this relationship," the caretaker prime minister added.

Mikati emphasized the importance of addressing the return of Syrian nationals currently in Lebanon to their home country. "This visit is pioneering, and what I have seen from Mr. Sharaa regarding the relationship between our two countries reassures me," Mikati concluded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet later today with Steve Witkoff, the designated Middle East envoy for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, in Jerusalem, Haaretz reported.

Wh

At least 46,537 Palestinians have been killed and 109,571 injured since the start of the Israeli offensive in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry said, according to Reuters.

The ministry reported that 32 Palestinians were killed over the past 48 hours.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (left) received in Damascus by Syria’s new leader Ahmad al-Sharaa on Jan. 11, 2025. (Credit: Photo X/@grandserail)

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has arrived in Damascus for his first official visit to Syria since an Islamist-led coalition took control, AFP reported. His visit is also the first by a Lebanese prime minister since the outbreak of the conflict in neighboring Syria in 2011.

🔴 Syrian intelligence services claim to have thwarted an attempted Islamic State (ISIS) attack on the Sayyida Zeinab shrine in Damascus, according to the Syrian state news agency, as reported by Reuters.

A Hamas spokesperson, Jihad Taha, told the Qatari newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that the outcome of ongoing negotiations for a hostage deal and cease-fire in Gaza "is in Israel’s hands" and that the Palestinian movement is awaiting a response, Haaretz reported. Taha added that Hamas "seeks to end all hostilities."

In southern Lebanon, Civil Defense recovered the bodies of three people in Khiam, in the Marjayoun district, according to a source within the organization quoted by our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.

The U.S. president-elect's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, held talks in Doha with the Qatari prime minister regarding mediation efforts toward a cease-fire in Gaza, according to a statement from Qatar’s Foreign Ministry cited by AFP.

Friday’s discussions between Witkoff and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani "focused on the latest developments in the region, particularly efforts to reach a cease-fire in Gaza," the statement said, without providing further details.

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas resumed last weekend in Qatar, focused for now on securing the release of hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

⚡ Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has departed from Beirut for Syria on a one-day official visit, according to a statement from the Grand Serail.

Mikati is leading a delegation that includes caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, acting General Security chief Elias Baissari and army intelligence chief Tony Kahwaji.

The Israeli army detonated several homes in Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district) in southern Lebanon this morning, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. The sound of the explosions echoed throughout the region, ANI added.

Despite the cease-fire that took effect on Nov. 27, Israel continues to carry out operations in southern Lebanon, and its forces still occupy parts of the region.

The media outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted a source saying that Hamas proposed "postponing decisions on contentious points of the agreement" with Israel to later stages, Haaretz reported.

The same source added that the proposal currently under negotiation is backed by Egypt, Qatar and the United States.

An Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in Tayr Debba, southern Lebanon, yesterday left at least five people dead, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

At least two of the victims were members of the Amal movement, the party said in a statement.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, is expected to visit Syria today for his first official trip since the fall of the Assad regime.

"The prime minister’s visit comes in response to an invitation from Ahmad al-Sharaa," Mikati’s office said in a statement. Mikati had spoken by phone with Chareh on Jan. 3, shortly after Syria’s new authorities imposed entry restrictions on Lebanese citizens traveling to the neighboring country.

Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East, including the Gaza war, now in its 463rd day, and its regional repercussions, particularly in Lebanon and Yemen. We'll also be following the latest developments in Syria, more than a month after the fall of the Assad regime.