Israeli air force strikes Nabatieh and Bekaa | Live

Lebanon

Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-speaking spokesman for the Israeli army, announced that the latter had “struck a military site containing an underground infrastructure in the Bekaa region, as well as another military site in southern Lebanon housing rocket-launching platforms, where activity by the terrorist organization Hezbollah had been detected.”

Yemen

Houthi media reports new strikes on Yemen, according to AFP

Gaza

Israeli army announces the extension of its ground operation to Rafah, reports AFP

“In recent hours, troops have been conducting ground operations in Shaboura, in Rafah,” the army said in a statement, adding that its operations were also continuing "in the north and center of the Palestinian territory."

Yemen

The Israeli army said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen after anti-aircraft sirens went off in Jerusalem and several areas of central Israel. “A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the air force before it entered Israeli territory,” the army said in a statement.

Earlier, sirens had gone off in Jerusalem, according to AFP journalists, and the army had said they had been triggered because of “a projectile fired from Yemen.”

Yemen

New attacks have been carried out on two Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen, the Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels' Al-Massirah channel reported, citing “U.S. aggression,” according to AFP.

According to Al-Massirah, four strikes hit the governorate of Hodeida, on the Red Sea, while another attack targeted Saada, the cradle of the Houthi movement in the north of the country.

Lebanon

Israeli aircraft carried out two strikes in the Bekaa: the first in Shaara, east of Janta, and the second between the villages of Shmestar and Taraya (Baalbeck), reports our correspondent in the region.

South Lebanon

Israeli warplanes fired four missiles at a wooded area on the outskirts of Jbaa, in Iqlim al-Touffah (Nabatieh), reports our correspondent in South Lebanon.

Israel

Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem, according to AFP journalists.

Yemen

Al-Masirah, the Houthi-affiliated TV channel in Yemen, reported at least four U.S. airstrikes on the al-Mina district in Hodeida, an area that houses the port and the naval forces' headquarters.

The U.S. strikes, launched in response to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, mark the largest American military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January.

Gaza

According to the daily Israel Hayom, the Israeli military "categorically" denied dropping leaflets over Gaza during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, which allegedly told inhabitants of the enclave that "the map of the world will not change (if they) disappear." This statement challenged the credibility of the ABC News report that first relayed this information, which was also picked up by Haaretz and The New Arab.

The Israeli military specifically assured that the leaflet shown in the ABC News report and circulating on social media was a fake. Haaretz had published the information without sharing a photo of the leaflet in question.

Gaza

Donald Trump "fully supports Israel and the Israeli military and the actions taken in recent days" in Gaza, said White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, as reported by AFP.

The U.S. president "has made it clear to Hamas that if they do not release all hostages, they will face hell, and unfortunately, Hamas chose to play a media game with human lives," she added.

Gaza

The Israeli military said it killed Hamas' head of internal security in an airstrike in the Gaza.

"Recently, the Israeli army and the Shin Bet carried out a strike and eliminated the terrorist Rachid Jahjouh, the head of Hamas' General Security Service," said Avichay Ardaee, the army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson, on X. He added that Rachid Jahjouh had succeeded Sami Odeh, who was killed in July 2024.

Lebanon/Syria

The Lebanese Red Cross, accompanied by the Lebanese Army, handed over the body of a Syrian army fighter to Syrian authorities at the Joussieh-Qaa border crossing, according to the state-run National News Agency.

On Sunday, the Lebanese Red Cross had also handed over three bodies to the Syrian authorities, which were found near a border embankment close to the village of Qasr, via the same Joussieh crossing point.

Syria

German foreign minister urged interim Syrian authorities on Thursday to "control the extremist groups within their ranks" during a visit to Damascus, her second since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

"We must now move from words to actions. It is now up to them to control extremist groups within their ranks and hold those responsible for crimes accountable," said Annalena Baerbock, during a press briefing after meeting interim Syrian President Ahmad el-Chareh and Foreign Minister Assaad el-Chaibani.

Israel

Rocket fragments were found in Rishon Lezion, a city located south of Tel Aviv, according to Haaretz, which notes that no injuries have been reported.

Qatar-Egypt-Gaza

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Mohammad bin Abdelrahmane al-Thani, held talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdel Ati, to review the situation in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a Qatari Foreign Ministry statement.

The two officials stressed the need to step up joint efforts to relaunch the implementation of the three-phase ceasefire agreement.

⚡ Gaza

The Israeli air force intercepted a projectile fired towards Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip and two others fell on unpopulated areas, AFP reported.

Earlier, sirens warning of approaching missiles had sounded in central Israel and Tel Aviv. “Following the sounding of sirens a short while ago in the Gush Dan and HaShfela areas, three projectiles were identified crossing Israeli territory from the southern Gaza Strip,” the army said in a statement.

Gaza

The Gaza Strip's Civil Defense said that at least 504 people had been killed since the Israeli army resumed strikes on the Palestinian territory on Tuesday.

“The total number of dead since the resumption of the aggression ... is 504, including more than 190 minors,” Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the rescue service, told AFP, adding that the count had stopped at midday and that 196 people were missing, presumably buried under rubble.

Gaza

The Jenin municipality in the occupied West Bank has reported that Israeli authorities are set to demolish 87 buildings today, each housing between three and six residential units. The municipality claims this move will "change the map" of the area.

⚡ Gaza

The armed wing of Hamas stated that it had targeted Tel Aviv with rockets in response to the "massacres of civilians" in Gaza. Just before, the Israeli military reported that air raid sirens had sounded in Tel Aviv and central Israel following rocket fire from Gaza.

Gaza

The Gaza Civil Defense reported that at least 504 people had been killed since the resumption of Israeli military airstrikes on Tuesday in this Palestinian territory.

"The total number of deaths since the resumption of the aggression [...] is 504, including more than 190 minors," said Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the rescue service, to AFP. He specified that the count was as of noon (10:00 GMT) and that 196 people were reported missing, likely buried under rubble.

Gaza

The head of the U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has deplored “an endless unleashing of the most inhumane hardships” on the population of Gaza following the resumption of Israeli military operations there.

“The bombardment by Israeli forces from the air and sea continues for the third day,” Lazzarini wrote on his X account. “Every day, before our very eyes, the people of Gaza relive their worst nightmare over and over again,” he added, deploring "an endless unleashing of the most inhuman hardships."

Gaza

The Israeli army has announced, through its Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee, that it has launched a ground operation in the north of the Gaza Strip, more specifically along the coastal axis in the Beit Lahia region, north of Gaza.

Israel

The Israeli government is due to meet in the evening to approve Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to dismiss the head of the country's internal security agency, whom he says he no longer trusts, the Prime Minister's Office has announced, according to AFP.

The meeting, scheduled for 9:30, is to “terminate the duties of Shin Bet director Ronen Bar before the end of his mandate,” following a vote, according to the official letter sent by the Prime Minister to members of the government.

The announced dismissal of Bar, appointed in October 2021 for a five-year term, comes after the Israeli army launched a series of massive bombardments and “targeted” ground operations on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

Lebanon-Syria

⚡Shots were fired from Syria into the Lebanese border locality of Hosh al Sayed Ali, in northern Bekaa, during the funeral of a man killed in earlier clashes between Lebanese clans and members of the new Syrian security forces. According to Sarah Abdallah, our correspondent in the Bekaa, who reported the news, no one was injured in the shooting.

Iran-U.S.

Iran will take into account the “opportunities” as well as the threats contained in a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump urging it to conclude a new nuclear deal, and will respond soon, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday, quoted by Reuters.

On Wednesday, Axios reported that Trump's letter gave Iran two months to strike a nuclear deal or face tougher sanctions as part of the U.S. president's new “maximum pressure” campaign.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected Trump's letter last week as misleading, claiming that Trump's excessive demands would “tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran.”

Gaza

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini has reported that at least five members of the UN refugee agency have been killed by shelling in Gaza since fighting resumed.

“In the last few days, five more @UNRWA staff members have been confirmed dead, bringing the death toll to 284. These were teachers, doctors and nurses, serving the most vulnerable,” he wrote on X.

“The air and sea bombardments by Israeli forces continue for the third day. We fear the worst is yet to come, given the ongoing ground invasion separating the north from the south. Evacuation orders forcing people to flee have been issued, affecting tens of thousands of people. The vast majority of these people have already been displaced, treated like 'lumps of dirt' since the war began almost a year and a half ago,” he added.

Yemen

U.S. strikes in Yemen are “a crime that must stop,” says Iran's Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei, quoted by AFP.

Syria

Germany has reopened its embassy in Syria, which has been closed since 2012, German Foreign Ministry sources said as the head of German diplomacy makes a trip to the country, reports AFP.

“The embassy has a small political team and will continue to develop its presence, depending on the situation,” the sources said, adding that visa and consular affairs would continue to be handled from Beirut.

Gaza

The Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued a warning to the population of Gaza on his X account.

“For the past few hours, the Israeli army has begun a limited ground operation in the central Gaza Strip region and the south, to expand its defense zone,” he wrote, noting that this deployment "has reached the center of the Netzarim [Corridor]."

“For your own safety, do not move on the Salaheddine axis, between the north and south of the enclave,” he added. He said that “travel from north to south is only permitted on the al-Rashid coastal road.”

Gaza

Hamas has again said that negotiations are still underway with mediators to end the Israeli offensive on Gaza and push Israel to respect the cease-fire agreement, Reuters reports.

Israel

According to Israeli Channel 12, the cabinet discussion on the negotiations for a hostage deal that was supposed to happen this evening was postponed until Saturday night.

Families of the hostages were furious at the decision, adding that they wanted to schedule an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the beginning of the week, but did not receive a response.

Gaza

The Israeli Foreign Ministry expressed its “sadness” after the death of a Bulgarian U.N. employee in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

“We express our sadness after the death of a Bulgarian citizen, a U.N. employee, today in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on its X account after it was reported that the Israeli army had struck the U.N. headquarters in Gaza, adding that "the circumstances of the incident are under investigation."

At least 70 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, after Israel resumed its bombing campaign on the enclave, a Gaza health official said.

Read more here.

Bekaa

The Lebanese Army announced in a press release that it plans to destroy unexploded ordnance this Thursday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the vicinity of Ras Baalbeck. The area has been intensively bombarded by the Israeli army during the last months of clashes between its troops and Hezbollah.

France-Saudi Arabia

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on his X account that he held talks Wednesday evening with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad Ben Salman on various issues of interest in the Middle East, including Lebanon and Syria.

“In Syria as in Lebanon, France and Saudi Arabia share the same objectives: a fully sovereign Lebanon and a united and stable Syria committed to an inclusive transition,” wrote Macron.

Israel

Hostage families and their supporters are demonstrating in central Tel Aviv to demand an end to the war in Gaza and the immediate release of the captives, Haaretz reports.

“The government is executing the hostages, Netanyahu has decided to bring Ben-Gvir back instead of bringing the hostages back,” the protest leadership said in a statement Thursday.

“War does not bring back hostages, military pressure kills them and at least 41 people have paid with their lives. How many more will pay the price?” it continued.

(Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP)

Activists rally on Wall Street outside a property owned by President Donald Trump following Israel's new attacks on Gaza, March 19, 2025, in New York City.

The protesters blamed the Trump administration and Wall Street banks and financiers for supporting the Israeli government. The Israeli army said today that it had resumed ground operations in Gaza, a day after airstrikes killed more than 400 people, including 130 children, according to UNICEF.

South Lebanon

Despite the cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza, Israel resumed its massive bombardment of the Palestinian enclave on Monday evening and continued its targeted strikes in southern Lebanon. This feverish pace has many Lebanese fearing the worst, while many border villages have been completely razed to the ground, making it difficult for residents to return home.

This morning in Lebanon was calm in all areas bordering Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south.

On Wednesday evening, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Defense Minister Michel Menassa met with the army's Commander-in-Chief, General Rodolphe Haykal, to discuss developments on the northeastern border with Syria.

The army chief informed them of the “measures taken by the army to restore calm and stability to the region” and stressed “the need to stabilize the cease-fire, put an end to attacks and control the borders in adjacent villages,” according to the state-run National News Agency.

The ministerial committee responsible for examining measures to control and monitor the borders also met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

It was also decided to ask Defense Minister Michel Menassa, “to pursue contacts with his Syrian counterpart to resolve the causes of the recent clashes and prevent their recurrence.

Finally, Aoun declared on Wednesday that Israel “has rejected all the proposals made by Lebanon” to withdraw from the five strategic points in the south of the country, as he received in Baabda the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, who had arrived in Beirut the same day.

Although Hamas said it was not “closing the door on negotiations,” it reiterated its demands to begin the second phase of negotiations under the truce agreement.

The first phase of the truce, which expired on March 1, saw the return to Israel of 33 hostages, including eight dead, and the release of some 1,800 Palestinian detainees. Since then, negotiations conducted through Qatar, the United States and Egypt have made no progress.

Hamas wants to move on to the second phase of the agreement, which provides for a permanent cease-fire, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the reopening of crossings for humanitarian aid and the release of the last hostages.

Israel wants the first phase to be extended until mid-April and is demanding the “demilitarization” of Gaza and the departure of Hamas as a precondition for the second phase.

As a means of pressure, Israel has already blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and cut off the electricity supply to this impoverished territory where some 2.4 million Palestinians live.

The Israeli offensive barely conceals the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure, even in Israel.

In Jerusalem, thousands of people demonstrated, accusing him of continuing the war with no regard for the fate of the hostages.

“We have all been taken hostage by a bloodthirsty government,” chanted some demonstrators, while others called for the Prime Minister's resignation.

On Thursday, the Israeli army said it had intercepted a missile from Yemen, while the Houthi rebels said they had targeted Ben Gourion airport, close to Tel Aviv.

On Wednesday evening, the Houthis also claimed responsibility for a fourth attack in just a few days against an American aircraft carrier in response to strikes targeting them. Donald Trump has pledged that the Yemeni rebels “will be completely annihilated,” and has also called on Iran to “immediately” halt the Islamic Republic's support for them.

Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has issued a “final warning” to Gazans demanding that they release hostages and “get rid” of Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007.

“If all the Israeli hostages are not released and Hamas is not completely out of Gaza, Israel will take measures on a scale never seen before,” he said in a video.

Of the 251 people kidnapped during the Oct. 7 attack, 58 are still being held in Gaza, 34 of whom have been declared dead by the Israeli army. Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that any negotiations for their release will now happen “under fire.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that it was investigating “the circumstances” of the death of a Bulgarian U.N. employee, killed by an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Hamas accused the Israeli army, which denied it.

Also in Gaza, “at least 10 civilians were killed and dozens injured in Israeli air strikes targeting six houses east of Khan Younis [in the south of the enclave] early Thursday morning,” Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the territory's Civil Defense, told AFP.

On Wednesday, the Civil Defense had counted at least 470 deaths since the resumption of massive bombardments on Monday night.

Fleeing Israeli fire in the besieged and devastated north of the Palestinian territory, families displaced several times during the war have taken to the streets once again.

Hamas has accused Israel of seeking to “torpedo” the truce agreement that came into force on Jan. 19 after 15 months of war in Gaza, triggered by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

With fears of a resumption of the war growing, the Palestinian movement said it remained open to indirect negotiations with Israel on the modalities for continuing the truce agreement, reiterating demands already rejected by the Israeli government.

Emboldened by the support of its American ally, Benjamin Netanyahu's government said that the resumption of military operations in Gaza was “indispensable” to ensure the release of the hostages still in the hands of Hamas.

Israel's hell continues to break loose on the inhabitants of Gaza. Israel bombarded the enclave early Thursday morning, the day after its government announced an intensification of its military operations, presented as a “last warning” to the inhabitants of the Palestinian territory if Hamas does not release the hostages.

According to Haaretz, the Israeli army dropped leaflets in Gaza on Wednesday night, telling civilians that “the map of the world will not change if all the inhabitants of Gaza disappear,” imploring Palestinians to leave “before the implementation of Trump's forced plan, which will impose your forced displacement, whether you like it or not.”

“No one will have compassion for you and no one will worry about your fate. You are left alone to face your inevitable fate,” the leaflets read.

According to an ABC news report also quoted by Haaretz, the leaflets also offered humanitarian aid in exchange for cooperation with the Israeli army.

Morning!🌅 We are launching our live coverage of events in the Middle East, which is tense today. The situation in Yemen is especially critical; the Houthis are calling for new strikes to protest the resumption of the war in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories.