'Israeli attack will not hinder mediation in Gaza war': Qatari prime minister | LIVE

An Israeli drone strike on a car near Touline has killed at least one person, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

An Israeli drone targeted a car between the towns of Touline and Burj Qalaway, in the Marjayoun district, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

Rescue teams immediately responded to the scene, and initial reports indicate that the strike caused injuries.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Joe Rajji participated in a meeting with his Arab League counterparts in Doha, in preparation for the extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit to be held on Monday, devoted to reviewing the Israeli attack on Qatar, and which will be attended by President Joseph Aoun.

In the paragraph on Lebanon in the draft final statement, the ministers called for "the need for urgent action by the international community to limit repeated Israeli aggression in the region and put an end to its continued violations of the sovereignty, security and stability of states, including the Lebanese Republic, which constitute flagrant violations of international law and a clear violation of state sovereignty," the state-run National News Agency reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that a visit to Israel by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio underscored the strength of ties between the allies, days after the unprecedented Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar, which drew fierce criticism, Reuters reported.

Arriving in Israel Sunday morning, Rubio traveled to Jerusalem to pray at the Western Wall alongside Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, according to an AFP correspondent.

The Israeli prime minister then said the visit demonstrated that the Israeli-American alliance was "as solid and enduring as the stones of the Western Wall we just touched." Under Rubio and President Donald Trump, "the alliance has never been stronger," he added.

(Credit: Muntasser Abdallah)

An Israeli drone dropped a grenade on a backhoe loader in the town of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil district), according to our correspondent in South Lebanon.

The municipality of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun district) announced in a statement relayed by our correspondent in southern Lebanon that it has established a temporary school complex to allow students to attend classes, as the school year has just begun.

The facility is currently being deployed in the locality, in cooperation and coordination with the Southern Council and the Union of Jabal Amel Municipalities. The project has received funding from Iraq, notably from the al-Saadi tribe, the municipality stated.

Work on sanitation and electrical infrastructure, as well as the construction of a sports field, is still to be completed in the coming days.

'Israeli attack will not hinder mediation in Gaza war': Qatari Prime Minister

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said Tuesday's Israeli attack targeting Hamas officials in Doha will not prevent Qatar from continuing its efforts, alongside Egypt and the United States, to mediate to end the war in Gaza.

MP Walid Baarini, a member of the National Moderation bloc (composed mainly of fromer Hariri Sunni MPs), hoped that the Arab leaders who will meet on Monday in Doha "will reach a clear vision ... that preserves the security of the Arab region and its peoples" in order to confront the Israeli tendency to carry out strikes on the soil of Arab countries, as happened in Qatar on Sept. 9, according to the state-run National News Agency.

Funeral of Hezbollah fighter in Aitaroun, southern Lebanon

A member of the party, Hussein Khalil Mansour, killed Friday by an Israeli drone strike near his home in Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil district), was buried in his native village this Sunday during a funeral ceremony attended by several hundred people.

Slogans condemning the United States and Israel and supporting Gaza and Palestine were chanted by participants on the sidelines of the funeral and the funeral procession held through the streets of Aitaroun, in the presence of Shiite religious scholars, local political figures, Imam Mehdi's scout teams and families of Hezbollah "martyrs."

At least 68 Palestinians killed in Gaza in past 24 hours, according to enclave's Health Ministry

In a message posted on Telegram, the Gaza Strip's Health Ministry announced this Sunday at 2 p.m. (local time) that 68 bodies of those killed and 346 injured were transported to hospitals in the Palestinian enclave over the past 24 hours.

These new victims include 10 people seeking medical help, in addition to 18 injured during the same period.

Since the start of the Israeli offensive in October 2023, at least 64,871 Palestinians have been killed and 164,610 injured by Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, according to the latest death toll released by the enclave's Health Ministry.

Additionally, since the establishment of the U.S.- and Israeli-backed GHF humanitarian aid distribution sites in late May, at least 2,494 people have been killed in or near these sites, and more than 18,135 people have been injured.

Gaza: Israeli army issues new evacuation order targeting residential tower in Gaza City

After 1 p.m. (local time), the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson issued a new evacuation order, the second of the day, targeting a residential tower in Gaza City.

The statement called on people in tents near the building, in the al-Rimal neighborhood, to evacuate south to the so-called "humanitarian" area of ​​al-Mawassi, near Khan Younis.

As it has been stated for every other residential tower in Gaza City that it has previously destroyed, the Israeli army stated that it would attack the building "due to the presence of Hamas infrastructure inside or nearby."

(Credit: Muntasser Abdallah)

A new drone has crashed in southern Lebanon, in the village of Houla, Marjayoun district, according to our correspondent.

This type of incident has become relatively common in recent weeks.

Referring to the Sept. 5 Cabinet meeting, during which the Lebanese Army presented its disarmament plan, Hezbollah MP Hassan Ezzeddine stated that once the Lebanese government "achieves" sovereignty, the group will be able to "sit down and discuss the defense strategy as well as the national security strategy," according to the state-run National News Agency.

The MP made these remarks during a memorial ceremony in the southern village of Khirbet Selm (Bint Jbeil district), marking the first anniversary of the death of scholar Sayyed Abdel Saheb Fadlallah, son of Ayatollah Sayyed Abdel Mohsen Fadlallah.

"We affirm here that the priority is sovereignty and its achievement above all else. This means the government must realign its national priorities and reaffirm its focus on the fundamental demands agreed upon by the three presidents, namely: ending the aggression, withdrawing the enemy, releasing prisoners and beginning reconstruction,” he added.

He finally emphasized that “this is the responsibility of the government, which must work to achieve it as a national priority in its agenda.”

Israeli forces have reinforced and erected protective barriers at the new military site inside Lebanese territory, at the Jabal Blat site, bordering the towns of Aitaroun and Maroun al-Ras in the Bint Jbeil district, our correspondent in southern Lebanon reported.

This work appears to reflect Israel's determination to maintain this position — one of six deemed "strategic" along the border — from which it is supposed to withdraw since the cease-fire reached with Hezbollah at the end of November.

They also reinforced surveillance facilities and cameras installed on poles at the Al-Abad site, opposite the village of Houla (Marjayoun district).

Death toll from Israeli strikes in Gaza continues to rise

According to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera, the number of victims of Israeli strikes since this morning has risen to at least 44.

The pan-Arab media outlet reported that a raid on a building in Tal al-Hawa, in western Gaza City, located near a displaced persons camp housing hundreds of families, left "several dead and injured," without specifying the exact number.

"Due to the explosion, shrapnel and debris were thrown into the camp, and many people were killed or injured inside the tents," Al Jazeera reported.

The Israeli army announced that it had intercepted a drone launched from Yemen near Ramon Airport in the Arava region of southern Israel, according to Haaretz.

Hezbollah MP Hussein Jicshi declared that "a state incapable of protecting the lives and livelihoods of its citizens has no right to demand that its people abandon the resistance," as the party continues to oppose the Lebanese government's desire to reestablish the state's monopoly on weapons.

He was speaking at a ceremony in Sour, southern Lebanon, organized by the Islamic Educational and Teaching Foundation to honor students who had successfully passed their baccalaureate exams.

"Today, we are facing the American project to bend the region to its will and control its resources, particularly oil and gas, as well as longer-term objectives."

"The United States seeks to achieve these goals through Israeli aggression against the countries of the region, on the one hand, and through its policies based on cunning, deception, pressure, threats and false promises, on the other," the MP continued, accusing the American project of converging with that of the creation of 'Greater Israel.'

"What is happening in Gaza exceeds all descriptions of massacres and war crimes. The enemy seeks to destroy everything related to human life, as part of its desire to control the territory and empty it of its population," the MP added.

The Israeli army announced that it had attacked a residential tower in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, which it claims is being used by Hamas.

According to a statement, it claimed the building was being used "to set ambushes, monitor the position of army forces in the area, and promote terrorist plots against the State of Israel and our forces."

In southern Lebanon, our correspondent reported new incidents that occurred last night, as Israel continues to occupy at least six strategic points that it refuses to vacate.

After 10 p.m., the Israeli army opened machine gun fire toward Birket al-Nakar, in the hills above the contested Shebaa Farms, on the outskirts of the Hasbaya district.

An Israeli helicopter then launched a sound bomb targeting a house in the village of Aita al-Shaab, in the Bint Jbeil District.

Around 2 a.m., Israeli soldiers entered Aita al-Shaab to dynamite a house.

Israeli warplanes were flying over the Bekaa region at around 11 a.m., according to our correspondent in the region.

While the diplomatic dance continues after the Israeli strike on Doha and despite the U.N. General Assembly's decision to support a future Palestinian state without Hamas, the death toll in Gaza continues to rise, while Israel continues its bombardments of residential areas in Gaza City.

This morning, the Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, issued a warning to Palestinians in Gaza, asking them to evacuate a tower and surrounding tents in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, which the Israeli army intends to destroy, claiming that the building would be targeted "due to the presence of Hamas terrorist infrastructure inside or nearby."

The death toll from the conflict now stands at 64,803 and 164,264 injured, according to the latest figures from the enclave's Health Ministry, released Saturday.

The main news this morning was the arrival in Tel Aviv of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to my Israeli media.

He was greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet Huckabee. Before his departure, Rubio told reporters that he was visiting Israel to understand how last week's events in Qatar, namely the Sept. 9 Israeli strike in a civilian area targeting Hamas members, could affect the ongoing war in Gaza.

He also claimed that Israeli statements on settlement expansion and sovereignty in the occupied West Bank constitute "an Israeli reaction to efforts around the world to recognize a Palestinian state," adding that the United States had warned countries that "the Israelis would respond, and I think that's what you've seen."

On Monday, Rubio is scheduled to attend the inauguration of Pilgrims' Road in the City of David, an archaeological site buried beneath the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem. The visit is being organized by the right-wing City of David Foundation, better known as Elad.

Before his departure, Marco Rubio also told reporters that President Donald Trump was "not happy" with the Israeli attack in Qatar, but that "it will not change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis," and that this relationship would remain strong, Haaretz reported.

He reiterated that the president's goal is to simultaneously release all hostages, living and deceased, to defeat Hamas, end the war and rebuild Gaza, and that there are concerns that the attempted assassination of the Hamas leadership in Qatar could undermine these goals.

He did not directly respond to questions about whether he would ask Israel not to attack Qatar again, nor about his view on whether Israel should withdraw from Gaza, according to Haaretz.

We are now launching our live coverage of news from the Middle East.

We'll be following developments in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria and other countries in the region affected by conflicts that have raged since the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza.