Massive protest in Saida for Gaza; Israeli army claims it eliminated 'Hezbollah artillery commander' | Live

Netanyahu visits White House, but no press conference

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House on Monday for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on tariffs and the war in Gaza.

Shortly before his arrival, the White House announced that a planned press conference between the two leaders, which was to follow their meeting, had been canceled, without giving any reasons.

Shots fired at ambulances in Gaza: Israeli army chief orders "more thorough" investigation

The Israeli chief of staff has ordered a "more thorough investigation" into the Israeli soldiers' shooting at ambulances in southern Gaza on March 23, an incident that reportedly killed 15 paramedics, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir "has given instructions for a more thorough and complete investigation in the coming days," the Israeli army said in a statement.

"The preliminary investigation revealed that the troops opened fire due to the perception of a threat," the statement added, assuring that "all allegations related to this incident will be examined during the investigation and presented in detail and thoroughly to determine how to address this event."

For Macron, Sissi and Abdallah II, governance in Gaza must "solely" be the responsibility of a "strengthened" Palestinian Authority

Governance in the Gaza Strip must "solely" be the responsibility of a "strengthened" Palestinian Authority, said Emmanuel Macron, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Abdallah II of Jordan on Monday, calling for an "immediate return to the cease-fire."

“Governance and the maintenance of order and security in Gaza, as well as in all the Palestinian territories, [must] rest solely with the authority of a strengthened Palestinian Authority, with strong regional and international support,” said the French, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders in a joint statement, after holding a tripartite summit in Cairo.

Macron organizes call with Trump, Sissi and Abdullah II of Jordan on Gaza

French President Emmanuel Macron has organized a call from Cairo, where he is visiting, with U.S. President Donald Trump, his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Jordanian King Abdullah II on the subject of Gaza, the Elysée Palace announced on Monday.

“At the initiative of the [French] President, a call was organized today with President Trump, President Sissi, the King of Jordan and the President of the Republic to discuss the situation in Gaza,” the Elysée said.

An Israeli drone dropped two bombs targeting the village square of Taybeh, in the Marjayoun district, reports our correspondent in south Lebanon.

'A crime against God,' says Khalaf about Israel's military campaign on Gaza

"What is happening in Gaza is a crime against God: a genocide of children, women and civilians, in a shameful global silence," denounced Lebanese MP Melhem Khalaf on X. "From Palestine to Lebanon, these crimes reveal the failure of international law. Despite our pain, we remain attached to our humanity, refusing to sink into the law of the jungle," he added. "Palestine is the compass of morality and the conscience of the free, and truth cannot be defeated, even if injustice prevails."

55,000 pregnant women in Gaza face lack of access to medical care

The World Health Organization (WHO) marked World Health Day by issuing a statement on the situation of the 55,000 pregnant women in Gaza, where “pregnancy is overshadowed by fear due to ongoing violence, displacement and lack of access to medical care.”

A third of pregnant women in Gaza face high-risk pregnancies, according to the WHO.

Around 20 percent of newborns are born premature, underweight or with complications requiring advanced care that is difficult to find.

“Partners report that essential equipment and medicines, such as portable incubators, ventilators for neonatal intensive care, ultrasound scanners and oxygen pumps, as well as 180,000 doses of routine childhood vaccines, enough to fully protect 60,000 children under the age of two, have not been allowed in, leaving sick newborns and young children without the vital care they urgently need,” the organization said.

2 killed and 1 wounded in Khiam

The Israeli strike on the plain of Khiam killed two Syrians and wounded one Lebanese, reports our correspondent.

Israeli drone strike in Khiam; 2 injured

Two people were injured in an Israeli drone strike targeting the road near Nabaa al-Dardara, in the Khiam plain (Marjayoun), while a vehicle and a motorcycle were crossing, reports our correspondent in south Lebanon.

Ahmad al-Sharaa in Turkey on Friday

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, will travel to Turkey on Friday, one of the main supporters of the new authorities in Damascus, AFP reported, citing a Turkish official.

Sharaa will take part in a diplomatic forum in Antalya, southern Turkey, Ömer Çelik, spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP, Islamo-Conservative), told reporters on Monday.

The Syrian interim president is also due to visit the United Arab Emirates this week, according to the Syrian Foreign Ministry.

Demonstration in Saida in solidarity with Gaza. (Credit: Mountasser Abdallah)

A march in solidarity with Gaza in Ain al-Mreisseh. (Credit: Emmanuel Haddad)

March in solidarity with Gaza in Ain al-Mreisseh

Several 100 people marched in Ain al-Mreisseh. Yasmine al-Islamiye, a resident of Beirut, came with her three children to demonstrate for the first time since Oct. 7. "Because they're going crazy. To show that public opinion in Lebanon is against what's happening in Gaza, where they want to forcibly displace two million inhabitants," she tells our local journalist, Emmanuel Haddad.

Ziad al-Saheb, a member of Dar al-Fatwa's cherished High Council, denounces the crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, but also its Western supporters: “Where are the rights of man, women and children, when thousands are being killed in silence?” he asks.

After a drone strike on Taybeh in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army claimed to have eliminated “Hezbollah's artillery commander.”

(Credit: Mountasser Abdallah)

Solidarity march with Gaza in Saida

A solidarity march with Gaza began in Saida, bringing together participants from the Palestinian refugee camps of Saida and Sour, reported L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent in South Lebanon.

Families joined the march to express their anger, fathers carrying their children and sporting kuffiyehs, while women were dressed in traditional Palestinian dresses.

The rally began in Saida Square. The demonstrators, holding Palestinian flags and portraits of martyrs, chanted slogans such as “We sacrifice ourselves for you, Palestine” and “Death to Israel and America.” They called for an end to the massacres and respect for the cease-fire.

Polio vaccines prevented from entering Gaza

The Gaza Health Ministry said that Israel is preventing the entry of polio vaccines into the Gaza Strip, threatening the progress made in seven months of efforts to combat the spread of the epidemic.

On the occasion of World Health Day, the Ministry reported that health conditions in Gaza were deteriorating due to the interruption of water pumps and the ban on food and medical aid.

It added that Palestinians, especially children, were exposed to malnutrition and the spread of diarrhea, skin diseases and epidemics.

1 person wounded in Beit Lif

The Lebanese Health Ministry has announced that an Israeli drone strike has injured one person in Beit Lif, south Lebanon.

An Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in the town of Beit Lif (Bint Jbeil), injuring two people, according to residents quoted by L'Orient Today's correspondent in south Lebanon. The targeted car caught fire.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) called for an international investigation into the deaths of 15 rescue workers killed on March 23 by Israeli gunfire on ambulances in the southern Gaza Strip, AFP reported.

"We call on the world to form an independent and impartial international commission of inquiry into the circumstances of the deliberate killing of ambulance crews in the Gaza Strip," PRCS chairman Younis al-Khatib told reporters at a press conference in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.

Berlin called for an "urgent" investigation into the deaths of rescue workers in Gaza after Israeli fire on their ambulances, following a video released Saturday that rekindled questions about the circumstances of the deaths, AFP reported.

"If we take note of the video from the weekend ... it is truly terrible and the shocking accusations must be clarified urgently," a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry said at a regular press briefing in Berlin.

"There are very serious questions about the actions of the Israeli army," said spokesperson Christian Wagner, when asked about the video released Saturday by the Palestinian Red Crescent. "That is why it is urgent to investigate and hold the perpetrators accountable," he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron said during a visit to Egypt that he "firmly opposes the displacement of populations and any annexation of Gaza and the West Bank."

"This would be a violation of international law, a serious threat to the security of the entire region, including that of Israel," he said at a press conference in Cairo alongside his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Hezbollah announced the death of one of its members, Mohammad Adnan Mansour from Taybeh, who was killed in the drone strike earlier this morning. 

At least 57 people were killed and 137 wounded in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the enclave's government media office announced in its latest update.

Since Israel resumed its offensive against Gaza on March 18, the death toll has risen to 1,391 killed and 3,434 wounded, while the total number of confirmed Palestinian casualties has reached 50,752 killed and 115,475 wounded, the statement added.

Gaza's government media office announced that 210 journalists have been killed in the enclave since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023. The latest figures follow an Israeli strike on a tent housing reporters near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave. The strike killed one person.

The Israeli army issued an evacuation order for residents of several neighborhoods in Deir al-Balah: Sahaba, Samah, Aoudat, Zawaida and Salah, in the Gaza Strip, telling them to leave their neighborhoods and head south toward shelters in the Mawassi area.

"This is a final warning before the attack. We will attack any area used to launch missiles. Terrorist organizations, led by Hamas, are entirely responsible for the displacement and suffering of civilians," the Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said on X.

"For your safety, you must immediately head south, toward the identified shelters in Mawassi," he added.

The evacuation order came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a "strong response" to rocket fire from Gaza. 

The Gaza government announced that 210 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, following an Israeli strike on a tent housing reporters near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave. The strike left one person dead. 

At least 57 people were killed and 137 wounded in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the enclave's government media office announced in its latest update. The death toll since Israel resumed its offensive against Gaza on March 18 now stands at 1,391 killed and 3,434 wounded, while the total number of confirmed Palestinian casualties has reached 50,752 killed and 115,475 wounded, the statement added.

All businesses have closed in Ramallah, al-Birah, Nablus and Tulkarm, as well as in the occupied part of East Jerusalem, according to Al Jazeera, in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. 

A team of British lawyers plans to file a war crimes complaint today against 10 citizens who participated in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, The Guardian reported. The complaint accuses the Britons of participating in "indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas" and "coordinated attacks on protected sites, including historical monuments and religious sites," among other crimes, the newspaper reported.

Barrister Michael Mansfield, who is one of the lawyers involved in the case, said: "British nationals have a legal obligation not to collude in crimes committed in Palestine. No one is above the law."

"If one of our nationals commits an offense, we should do something," Mansfield said. "Even if we cannot prevent foreign governments from behaving badly, we can at least prevent our nationals from behaving badly."

The man who was targeted by the Israeli strike outside a shop in Taybeh, on the Odaisseh Road, has died, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent and the Ministry of Health.

The ministry did not mention any injuries in its report.

Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on Monday morning killed at least nine Palestinians, according to medical sources cited by al-Jazeera.

The latest casualties include two people killed in an Israeli strike in Jabalia, in the north of the enclave, while three people were killed in a bombing that targeted the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, local correspondents for the Qatari media reported.

A relative mobilization took place in several regions of Lebanon, where a general strike was observed in response to the call for a "day of rage" launched from the Gaza Strip by Palestinian factions.

The Makassed Islamic charity in Lebanon previously issued a statement calling for denunciation of Israel's "genocidal war" against Palestinians in Gaza and "the savage massacres and crimes against humanity targeting children, women, and rescue teams," as more than 1,300 people have been killed since the Israeli army resumed its offensive against the enclave on March 18.

This was particularly true in Saida, Sour and the Palestinian camps in the region, where classes were suspended in several schools, while many businesses and official or civil institutions closed their doors, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in south Lebanon. 

Israeli fighter jets are flying low over the Bekaa, particularly the surrounding villages of Baalbeck and North Bekaa, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent. 

The Israeli army bombarded Naqoura, on the coast of south Lebanon several times last night according to information from L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region.

On Sunday evening, between 10 and 11 p.m., Israeli helicopters flew over the sea off Naqoura, as the sirens of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in the area sounded. Shortly afterward, an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at a prefabricated structure near a Lebanese army center in Naqoura. The prefabricated structure was completely destroyed. Another strike, also carried out by a helicopter, hit the same village an hour later. 

Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), in the central sector of the border strip, was also targeted by Israeli strikes. Shortly after 10 p.m., an Israeli helicopter dropped a stun grenade on the village, which was then targeted by a missile, also fired from a helicopter. Two missiles were then fired at the area around a gas station and then at the outskirts of the village. 

Emmanuel Macron is devoting his visit to Egypt, today and tomorrow, to Gaza, with a political component of supporting the Arab plan for the Palestinian enclave in the face of Donald Trump's contested ambitions and a humanitarian component of calling for the lifting of the aid blockade. The French president wants to "signal his mobilization" in favor of "a cease-fire in Gaza" and respond "to the emergency," the Élysée Palace explained. The return of war, with the resumption of military operations by Israel on March 18 after a two-month truce, had been described by Macron as a "dramatic step backward."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently in Washington, where he is scheduled to hold talks with President Donald Trump, particularly regarding the Gaza offensive and, above all, the increase in customs duties announced by Trump. 

Netanyahu is expected to discuss the war in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli hostages held in the Palestinian territory and the growing "Iranian threat," his office said.

Find the details here.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a "strong response" after a dozen rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel yesterday.

"The prime minister instructed a strong response and approved the continuation of the Israeli army's intensified operations in Gaza against Hamas," his office said in a statement, adding that Netanyahu had spoken to Defense Minister Israel Katz on the plane carrying him to Washington.

A Palestinian official told AFP that Israeli forces killed a teenager with American citizenship in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, with the Israeli army claiming to have killed a "terrorist" who was throwing stones at vehicles. A 14-year-old boy, Omar Muhammad Saadeh Rabee, "who was killed in Turmus Aya, held American citizenship," the town's mayor, Adib Lafi Shalabi, told AFP.

In a statement, the Israeli army announced that it had killed "a terrorist" who was throwing stones towards the highway in the Turmus Aya region during an operation.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar made a rare visit to the United Arab Emirates yesterday, where he discussed the situation in Gaza with his counterpart, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Emirati government announced. The Emirates and Israel formally established diplomatic relations in the Abraham Accords in 2020, but high-level reciprocal visits have been rare since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.

New reports from south Lebanon suggest that the target of the Israeli drone strike in the Taybeh/Odaisseh (Marjayoun) area was the owner of the moped shop that caught fire. He was riding a two-wheeler in front of his shop, located on Odaisseh Road, near the village of Taybeh. The two victims, whose conditions were not immediately clear, were the shop owner and another person. 

A deserted alley in the souk of Saida. (Credit: Muntasser Abdallah)

While Palestinian factions in Lebanon have called for a general strike in solidarity with Gaza, as is happening in other countries around the world, several initiatives have been launched in different sectors of the country. In Saida, in south Lebanon, the souks were deserted this morning and the shutters were closed on the shop windows. In north Lebanon, the Medical Association called for a solidarity sit-in at 4 p.m. in front of the organization's headquarters.

Education Minister Rima Karameh called on schools to devote time during their day to explaining the "international conventions that prohibit the murder of children" as part of this strike, "in the face of the systematic murder of children in occupied Palestine." The Nasserist Popular Organization's union bodies called for a demonstration at 5 p.m. in Saida.

Good morning! Thank you for joining us for our live coverage.

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Deputy US Middle East envoy visits Lebanon and a draft bank restructuring law under review: Everything you need to know this Monday

Deputy US Middle East envoy visits Lebanon and a draft bank restructuring law under review: Everything you need to know this Monday