France expresses concern over Israel's intensification of strikes on south Lebanon | LIVE

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A local Hezbollah official in Odaisseh has succumbed to his injuries after an Israeli drone strike targeted him on Nov. 4 on the road to Kfar Dajjal (Nabatieh), according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

EU pledges €88 million to the Palestinian Authority

The countries of the European Union will contribute some €88 million to assist the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is under pressure from Europeans to reform, concerned about its future role in the Trump plan for the region, according to AFP.

"We have signed more than €82 million," in addition to the €6 million already announced, European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica told reporters after a donor conference in Brussels.

"Today, we presented the progress made under our national reform program, which is being implemented, not just promised, but implemented and ahead of schedule, which has been recognized by our partners," said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa.

And this "despite an unfavorable environment," he added, accusing Israel of seeking "to weaken the Palestinian Authority and its ability to function."

Hezbollah retains between 20 and 30% of its military capabilities, according to an Israeli military official

When questioned by AFP, an Israeli military official stated that the mechanism for monitoring the cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel "is working, but not as quickly as we would like, and not in the places we would like."

UNIFIL: More than 7,500 air violations since the November 2024 cease-fire

Since the cease-fire came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has recorded "more than 7,500 air violations, nearly 2,500 land violations north of the Blue Line, and more than 360 abandoned weapons depots that have been handed over to the Lebanese army," UNIFIL said on X.

A soldier in the Lebanese army was injured in the abdomen due to the explosion of a suspicious object (possibly a landmine) in the Safarjal area, on the outskirts of the town of Majdal Zoun (Sour), our correspondent reported.

When contacted by L'Orient Today, the army was unable to confirm the information.

A woman mourns her son, killed in Israel's strike on Ain al-Hilweh camp. (Courtesy of Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)

Adraee comments on Hamas flags at Ain al-Hilweh funeral

The Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, shared photos on his X account of the funeral of the 13 Palestinians killed Tuesday in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, commenting on the fact that the victims' coffins were draped with Hamas flags.

France expresses concern over intensification of Israeli strikes in south Lebanon

France has expressed concern over the intensification of Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and is also calling on the Israeli army to respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, a representative of the French Foreign Ministry told Reuters.

"We are concerned about this intensification of Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. We condemn the Israeli strikes that are killing civilians in the South. Our position is to respect the cease-fire of Nov. 27, 2024," the official stated.

On Wednesday, Israel launched a barrage of attacks on southern Lebanon, striking several towns in the region, following online warnings and calls to evacuate.

In two days, Israeli bombings in the south have killed at least 16 people, including 13 in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp on Tuesday evening.

The Israeli army continues its almost daily bombings, which it justifies by the need to prevent a military resurgence of Hezbollah in the border area.

Regarding Syria, the representative stated: “We are following the evolving situation on the Golan Heights with great concern. France calls for the withdrawal of the Israeli army and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.”

Iranian President calls for relocating the capital

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian said the country’s capital should be moved out of Tehran due to overpopulation and a worsening water crisis, AFP reports.

Pezeshkian had previously raised the idea as the city experienced its lowest rainfall in a century. “The reality is that we have no choice. This relocation is a necessity. We cannot overload this region with more population and construction,” he said, according to the official IRNA news agency.

“We can develop the capital, but we cannot solve its water problem,” he added.

Nuclear: Iran says new IAEA resolution 'disrupts' ongoing cooperation

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized a Western-backed resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, saying it “disrupts” ongoing nuclear cooperation between Iran and the agency, AFP reports.

“By taking this action and disregarding Iran’s interactions and goodwill, these countries have undermined the credibility and independence of the IAEA and disrupted the process of engagement and cooperation with Iran,” Araghchi said in a ministry statement.

The IAEA adopted the resolution Thursday, calling on Iran to cooperate “fully and without delay,” according to diplomats. The text, passed with 19 votes in favor, three against, and 12 abstentions, urges Tehran to provide the requested information and access to its nuclear facilities.

Saida Mufti orders prayers as Ain al-Hilweh funeral begins

The Mufti of Saida and the South instructed mosques across the city to recite Quranic prayers before and during the funeral for the 13 Palestinians killed in Tuesday’s Israeli strike, our correspondent in the south reported.

Representatives of all Palestinian factions, along with delegates from Lebanese parties, attended the ceremony.

Heavy gunfire was heard inside the Ain al-Hilweh camp as the funeral procession moved through the area, according to our correspondent.

Father of young killed Palestininan man Amjad Khashan during the funeral procession of his son in Ain al-Hilweh. (Credit: Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today) 

Ain al-Hilweh prepares for funerals of 13 Palestinians killed in Israeli strike

The funeral procession for the 13 Palestinians killed in Tuesday’s Israeli strike on Ain al-Hilweh will take place at 3 p.m. after Asr prayer, our correspondent in the south reports.

The bodies were transported from Saida's Palestinian Red Crescent-run Hamshari Hospital in 13 ambulances belonging to the Palestinian al-Shifaa organization. Each ambulance carried a photo of the victims at its front.

Large crowds gathered at the entrance of Ain al-Hilweh to receive the convoy, greeting it with flowers, music, scouts and chants honoring the dead. The ambulances made their way through several neighborhoods around Saida before entering the camp.

Families and residents gathered to receive the bodies. Each family held private funeral rites at home in preparation for the communal prayers and ceremonies. Shops and schools inside the camp remained closed in mourning. Coffins were wrapped in Palestinian and Hamas flags, as crowds chanted Islamic prayers and calls for revenge, according to our correspondent.

Burial is scheduled for after 3 p.m. at the Darb al-Sim cemetery inside the camp.

Qatar condemns Israeli strikes in Gaza, Ain al-Hilweh, and visit to occupied Syrian territory

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip that caused deaths and injuries, warning they threaten to undermine the cease-fire agreement. Doha urged regional and international efforts to preserve the truce.

Qatar also denounced Israel's airstrike on the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Saida on Tuesday, saying it caused casualties and violated Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Separately, the Gulf state condemned the Israeli prime minister and senior officials' tour of occupied Syrian territory, calling it a violation of international law and a threat to regional security.

Damascus condemns Netanyahu’s visit to ‘Syria buffer zone’

Syria on Thursday denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Israeli troops stationed in the so-called “Syrian buffer zone” in southern Syria, calling it a “dangerous violation of Syrian sovereignty and unity” and an attempt to “impose a fait accompli.”

The visit took place in areas where Israel expanded its military presence after Bashar al-Assad’s ouster last December, seizing positions east of the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syrian territory.

A Syrian military official told Reuters the visit signaled Israel’s unwillingness to relinquish any of the positions it seized: “Netanyahu's visit sends a message: we won’t withdraw from the areas we entered after Dec. 8… Regardless of the security deal, its future or its fate, this is the message they’re sending Syria.”

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government.

(Credit: Matthieu Karam/L’Orient-Le Jour)

Since this morning, an Israeli army drone has been flying over Beirut and the southern suburbs, according to several residents.

Doha and Paris condemn latest Israeli strikes on Gaza

Qatar, acting as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, condemned the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza, saying they threaten the fragile truce in the war-torn territory.

The Gulf country “strongly condemns the brutal attacks carried out by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip (…) and considers them a dangerous escalation that threatens to undermine the ceasefire agreement,” the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement cited by AFP.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, arriving at a European Union foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, said Paris “condemns” the recent Israeli strikes on the enclave, which killed at least 34 people in 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Palestinian children in Israeli prisons

Palestinian prisoner organisations have accused Israel of carrying out “physical and psychological destruction operations” against child detainees.

In a joint statement marking World Children’s Day, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, and Addameer said more than 1,630 children have been arrested in the occupied West Bank since the Gaza conflict began.

Currently, about 350 children — including two girls — are held in Israeli prisons, with over 90 in administrative detention without charge.

The groups allege that children face “torture, starvation, medical crimes, systematic looting and deprivation,” and that Israel treats them as a “security threat” rather than as children in need of protection and care.

Hamas calls for international action to protect Palestinian children

On Thursday, marking Universal Children’s Day, the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas urged international prosecution of Israeli leaders for “crimes against children,” demanding “the protection of our children, and the empowerment of their legitimate rights, just like children everywhere else in the world,” Middle East Eye reports.

In a statement, Hamas said Palestinian children continue to be denied the rights guaranteed under U.N. conventions. The group highlighted the contrast between the U.N. celebration and the “tragic reality” faced by children in Palestine.

A Palestinian child looks on at the site of an Israeli strike in Gaza City, on Nov. 20. (Credit: Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)

Two Syrian soldiers killed in clashes near Raqqa

The Syrian Defense Ministry reported that two Syrian army soldiers were killed Wednesday night in clashes with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the outskirts of Raqqa, Reuters reports.

The ministry provided the update on Thursday, highlighting ongoing tensions and sporadic fighting in the region.

34 Palestinians killed on overnight strikes

Israeli forces killed at least 34 Palestinians in overnight strikes, including 18 children and women, in Gaza City and Khan Younis, Al Jazeera Arabic reported on Thursday, quoting hospital sources.

The report said that since Thursday morning, Israeli aircraft targeted Rafah and Khan Younis, beyond the yellow line, with intense strikes using heavy artillery.

Gaza: Three killed in Israeli strike on Bani Suhaila, Civil Defense says

Gaza’s Civil Defense reported that three people were killed in an Israeli strike early Thursday in the southern part of the enclave, as Israeli artillery fire continued in the Khan Younis area, according to an Interior Ministry source.

The rescue organization said it recovered “three martyrs and 15 injured” after an Israeli bombardment hit a home in Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, around 4 a.m. (2 a.m. GMT). The incident comes as Hamas and Israel continue to accuse each other of violating the one-month-old truce.

Asked for comment by AFP, the Israeli army said it was checking the reports. According to the Interior Ministry source, airstrikes stopped around 5 a.m. (3 a.m. GMT), but Israeli artillery fire has continued in the Khan Younis area.

South Lebanon: a relatively calm night

The night from Wednesday to Thursday was reportedly calm in South Lebanon, with no gunfire or strikes recorded, according to our correspondent in the region, Mountasser Abdallah. This brief respite comes after the beginning of the week was marked by intense Israeli bombardments that killed at least 17 people since Monday. Thirteen of them — mostly young people — were killed in strikes on the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, near Saida.

Gaza: Over 10,000 children vaccinated in eight days, says WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it hopes to vaccinate more than 40,000 children as part of a campaign launched on Nov. 9, with over 10,000 already vaccinated.

“WHO and its partners vaccinated more than 10,000 children under the age of three in Gaza during the first eight days of a vaccination campaign launched on Nov. 9 and extended until this Saturday,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said overnight on X.

The goal is to reach more than 40,000 children. The campaign is being carried out with UNICEF, UNRWA and the Gaza Health Ministry run by Hamas. It aims to protect children against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, polio, rotavirus and pneumonia. Phases two and three are planned for December and January.

Gaza: Wednesday was among the deadliest days since the start of the truce, with 27 killed

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza killed 27 people yesterday, according to local authorities, as Israel and Hamas traded accusations of violating the fragile cease-fire. It was one of the deadliest days since Oct. 10 and the implementation of a U.S.-pushed truce after more than two years of war.

According to Gaza’s Civil Defense, 14 people were killed in Gaza City and 13 in the Khan Younis area. Two hospitals contacted by AFP confirmed the toll.

The Israeli army said it “struck Hamas terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip” in response to fire “toward the area where our soldiers operate in Khan Younis.” The fire caused no injuries but constituted “a violation of the cease-fire agreement,” the army said.

Hamas denounced “a poor attempt to justify ongoing violations,” calling it “a dangerous escalation” and urging the U.S. to “apply immediate and serious pressure” to force Israel to respect the truce.

Civil Defense reported that Wednesday’s strikes killed, among others, a couple and their three children in Gaza City and two minors in Khan Younis. Spokesman Mahmoud Bassal appeared in a video showing the bodies of three young children.

HRW: Accused Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity

Human Rights Watch accused Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in its mass expulsion of around 32,000 Palestinians from the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps earlier this year.

In a 105-page report released today, HRW said Israeli forces forcibly displaced residents during “Operation Iron Wall” in January and February and have since barred them from returning, while hundreds of homes were demolished.

“Ten months after their displacement, none of the families have been able to go back,” HRW researcher Milena Ansari told Reuters, calling for urgent international action to hold Israeli officials accountable and prevent further abuses.

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

In this live blog, we will be following the situation in Lebanon, where the South came under heavy Israeli strikes on Wednesday despite the cease-fire in place since late November 2024 with Hezbollah.

We will also cover developments in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, in Syria, and across the wider region.

Catch up on everything you missed yesterday and what to keep an eye out for today by reading our 👉Morning Brief.