Over 60 people killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza in the past 24 hours | LIVE

Death toll in Gaza rises: over 60 killed in Israeli strikes

The human toll in the Gaza Strip has now exceeded 60 deaths, as the Israeli army continues its relentless attacks, reports Al Jazeera.

According to hospital sources, 61 Palestinians have been killed since dawn across the territory, including 49 in Gaza City, already devastated by the war. At least three of the victims were among people seeking aid, killed by Israeli forces near a distribution center in Rafah, in the southern part of the enclave.

Since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, the Israeli offensive has caused the deaths of at least 65,208 people and left 166,271 injured. Thousands more are reportedly still trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Southern Lebanon

Hassan Chahrour, who was killed by the Israeli strike on the road known as Khardali, south of the Litani, was originally from Khiam and lived in Kfar Kila (Marjayoun district), according to our correspondent in northern Lebanon.

Gaza: Hamas warns hostages could meet same fate as missing pilot

Hamas’s armed wing released photos of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, warning that they could face the same fate as an Israeli pilot missing since 1986 if Israel continues its assault on Gaza City, AFP reports.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades published old photos of 46 of the hostages on their Telegram channel, each labeled with the name Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force pilot who disappeared after being captured during a mission in Lebanon in 1986, during the Lebanese civil war.

“Due to the obstinacy of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, and the submission of [army chief Eyal] Zamir… here is a farewell photo taken at the start of the operation” in Gaza City, the Brigades’ accompanying text stated.

One killed in Israeli drone strike targeting a car on the so-called Khardali road, south of the Litani River

An Israeli drone targeted a car at the Ain el-Qassab bend, on the so-called Khardali road between the districts of Nabatieh and Marjayoun, south of the Litani River, according to our correspondent.

The driver succumbed to his injuries.

The death toll rises in Gaza

Israeli airstrikes have killed 51 people in Gaza over the past 24 hours, including 43 in Gaza City, Haaretz reported.

Pezeshkian says Iran can withstand any return of sanctions

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed that Iran would overcome any reimposition of sanctions through the so-called “snapback” mechanism, after the U.N. Security Council voted against permanently lifting sanctions on Tehran, Reuters reported.

“Through ‘snapback,’ they block the road, but it is minds and ideas that open or build the road,” Pezeshkian said in remarks carried by state television.

“They cannot stop us. They can strike our nuclear facilities at Natanz or Fordow [attacked by the US and Israel in June], but they don’t know that it is humans who built and who will rebuild Natanz,” he added.

Jordan to partially reopen border crossing with Israel tomorrow

Jordan announced that the Allenby border crossing with Israel will reopen tomorrow for passenger travel, but will remain closed to commercial traffic until further notice, Haaretz reported.

The decision follows yesterday’s armed attack at the crossing that left two Israeli soldiers dead.

Riyadh to provide about $368 million in economic aid to Yemen’s government

Saudi Arabia plans to provide about 1.38 billion riyals ($367.97 million) in economic support to Yemen’s government, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The aid will be delivered through the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen to help support the government’s budget, the source said (1 USD = 3.7503 riyals).

Netanyahu pushes for reduced Egyptian military buildup in Sinai

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the Trump administration to pressure Egypt to scale back its recent military buildup in the Sinai Peninsula, a US official and two Israeli officials told Axios.

33 killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to the Gaza Health Ministry

The Gaza Health Ministry reported 33 deaths in the past 24 hours, including one body found under the rubble.

Among those killed were members of the family of Al-Shifa Hospital director Mohammad Abu Sleima, Haaretz reports.

According to the ministry, 146 people were injured. One of the dead was struck while waiting for humanitarian aid.

The ministry added that since Oct. 7, 65,174 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip and 166,071 have been injured.

Iranian nuclear program: Moscow condemns UN green light for the reimposition of sanctions

Russian diplomacy has condemned the vote by the U.N. Security Council, which approved the reimposition of sanctions on Iran, as Paris, London and Berlin demand commitments regarding its nuclear program, AFP reports.

In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized “the provocative and illegal nature” of the actions by these European countries. “These actions have nothing to do with diplomacy and only serve to exacerbate tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program,” the ministry added.

Portugal to officially recognize the State of Palestine on Sunday

Portugal will officially recognize the State of Palestine tomorrow, its Foreign Ministry announced, according to AFP.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that Portugal will recognize the State of Palestine … The official declaration of recognition will take place on Sunday, Sep. 21,” just before the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly, said a statement published on the ministry’s website.

Already at the end of July, Lisbon had announced its intention to recognize the State of Palestine after “multiple contacts” with its partners and in view of the “extremely worrying evolution of the conflict, both on the humanitarian level and with repeated references to a possible annexation of Palestinian territories” by Israel, detailed a statement from the Prime Minister’s office at the time.

Portugal will not be alone: a summit on Monday in New York co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, will be devoted to the future of the two-state solution, with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security.

Washington announces it has killed an ISIS official in Syria

The U.S. army announced yesterday that it had killed, during an attack in Syria, an official of the jihadist group Islamic State (ISIS) “who directly threatened U.S. territory.” The United States has military bases in Syria and regularly carries out operations against the last jihadist strongholds to prevent any resurgence of ISIS in the region, AFP recalls.

Omar Abdul Qader, killed yesterday, “was a member of ISIS who was actively seeking to attack the United States,” read a statement from Centcom. “His death disrupts the ability of this terrorist organization to plan and carry out attacks against Americans or our partners,” Centcom added.

This is the second attack — a term implying the presence of ground troops — in less than two months carried out by the U.S. army, after another at the end of July against an ISIS leader.

The world must not be ‘intimidated’ by Israel, UN chief pleads

The world must not allow itself to be intimidated by Israel and reduce its support for the Palestinians, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told AFP yesterday ahead of the organization’s annual summit, where he will call for a cease-fire in Gaza as well as stronger action on climate change.

“There has been a steady progression of measures by the Israeli government to completely destroy Gaza and set up an insidious annexation of the West Bank,” Guterres denounced.

For Guterres, whatever the “pretext” used by Israel for its policy in the Palestinian territories or against capitals supporting a Palestinian state, it is in fact “a constant, step-by-step action by the Israeli government to prevent Palestinians from having a state.”

“We must not feel intimidated by the risk of reprisals, because whatever we do, these actions will continue. It is important that they [Israel] feel increasingly isolated in order to change,” he insisted.

Israeli army says it targeted a naval unit used by Hezbollah for intelligence gathering

The spokesperson of the Israeli army claimed on X yesterday that it had “attacked a naval unit used by Hezbollah to gather intelligence on Israeli army forces from the shores of Naqoura.”

“These activities constitute a violation of the agreements between Israel and Lebanon. The Israeli army will continue its action to eliminate any threat against the State of Israel,” he added.

Two Hezbollah members killed by the Israeli army yesterday

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed yesterday on X that the army killed two Hezbollah members in strikes on southern Lebanon.

“The Israeli army carried out an attack that eliminated Amer Hael Qoussaybani, head of Hezbollah’s Sinay complex in southern Lebanon. In another strike, it killed a member of the al-Radwan force in the Tebnine area,” Avichay said on X. According to him, the two targeted individuals were “involved in attempts to rebuild Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the area.”

Leaflets dropped by the Israeli army over Mais al-Jabal:

• This morning, an Israeli drone dropped two sound bombs on an area south of Khiam (Marjayoun).

• Israeli leaflets were also dropped by a drone over Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun). “The owners of these properties have allowed Hezbollah to work in their homes. They have exposed their families and neighbors to danger,” the leaflets read. “Do not rent houses to Hezbollah, and do not allow it to operate in your area. Stay away from its members, particularly the al-Radwan unit,” the warning continued.

Update on the situation in southern Lebanon yesterday evening:

• An Israeli drone flew over several towns in the South, notably Zahrani, the surroundings of Khiam, the southern suburbs of Beirut (notably Haret Hreik and Mreijeh), and Mount Lebanon, including Baabda, Aramoun, Khaldeh, Choueifat and Bshamoun, according to our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.

• Another Israeli drone dropped incendiary grenades on Jabal al-Rafi in the Iqlim al-Tuffah region (Nabatieh), causing forest fires. Civil Defense teams intervened to extinguish them.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of current events in the Middle East.

We will follow here the developments in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, as well as in other countries of the region affected by the conflicts raging since Oct. 7, 2023.