Israeli army drone targets vehicle in Bint Jbeil district, one killed | LIVE

To read the verbatim of the speech delivered by President Joseph Aoun click👉 here.

“I am presenting these facts to you because today’s situation resembles that of the past,” Aoun continued.

“We are living through a decisive period similar to that which marked the first and second independence, as we are witnessing major developments and shifts in the balance of power around us — all of which suggest that what is happening today is reminiscent of the events that prevailed during the era that saw the founding of the independent Lebanese state.”

“Today, the renewal of our independence is being put to the test,” he emphasized.

“We have mismanaged our independence,” Aoun stated.

“However, let us not lose sight of the explosive external circumstances that marked our path, pushing us, fifty years ago, into complex wars,” he continued.

“We then emerged from them thanks to the Taif Agreement. But it wasn’t long before we fell once again under external tutelage, which distorted our country for more than a decade. Then a new opportunity to regain our independence arose with the end of the occupation and the end of that tutelage.”

“But we then found ourselves once again entangled in regional conflicts over who would inherit that tutelage, or who would hold the ‘Lebanon card’ as an asset in the map of regional spheres of influence,” he added.

“Acts of aggression and the absence of the state have weakened this land, but it has resisted… and it will rise again with the return of the state, which will impose a single authority, raise a single flag, and alone hold the power of decision,” declared Aoun, delivering his speech from south Lebanon.

“The path toward independence begins with the presence of the state — not its absence; with its sovereignty — not a duality of authority — over every part of Lebanese territory,” he added.

President Joseph Aoun has begun his address to the nation on the eve of the country’s 82nd Independence Day.

An Israeli army drone targeted a vehicle at the entrance of Froun, in the Bint Jbeil district.

The man inside the vehicle was killed, according to our correspondent.

Lebanon: 331 killed and 945 injured since cease-fire nearly a year ago

Since the cease-fire took effect on Nov. 28, 2024, Lebanon has recorded 331 deaths and 945 injuries from airstrikes, attacks, and violations carried out by Israel, according to a report published by the Public Health Ministry’s Emergency Operations Center, covering the period up to Nov. 20, 2025.

Palestinian police officer killed in Israeli raid on Tal village

Younis Walid Ashtiya, a Palestinian police officer, was killed by Israeli forces during a raid on his home in the village of Tal, southwest of Nablus, according to Haaretz.

Reports indicate that the Israeli army is currently holding his body.

The incident adds to a series of tensions in the West Bank, highlighting ongoing clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian security personnel. Local reactions are still emerging, and the situation remains tense as families and communities call for answers.

Lebanon: Israel says it killed '13 Hamas terrorists' in Tuesday strike on Ain al-Hilweh

The Israeli military said Friday that its Tuesday strike on the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh in Lebanon killed “13 Hamas terrorists,” while Lebanese authorities reported 13 deaths without specifying identities, AFP reports.

“Thirteen Hamas terrorists were eliminated” in the strike, “including Jawad Sidawi,” who was involved in training fighters to carry out attacks “from Lebanese territory against Israeli troops and the State of Israel,” the army said in a statement.

In a statement published Thursday with photos of 13 young-looking men, Hamas called the strike a “horrible massacre” that killed “several innocent civilians.”

Israeli army announces continuation of its operations in Rafah

The Israeli army announced that it is continuing its operations to destroy tunnels and "eliminate terrorists" with the Shin Bet intelligence service in the eastern Rafah region.

"Six terrorists were killed and five others were arrested as they emerged from an underground terrorist facility," the Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, stated on X.

The army specified that the objective of the intensive operations in Rafah was "to destroy the remaining tunnels" and "to eliminate the terrorists hiding there."

According to the Israeli army, 15 Hamas fighters emerged from an underground facility located in two areas behind the "Yellow Line," east of Rafah. The army also announced the continuation of operations by air and ground.

IAEA resolution: Iran accuses Western countries of seeking 'escalation'

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted that the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France were seeking "escalation" the day after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a new resolution on Iran's nuclear program, AFP reports.

The IAEA adopted a resolution on Thursday calling on Iran to cooperate "fully and without delay," according to diplomats.

The text urges Tehran to provide "full and rapid cooperation" by "providing the information and access" to its nuclear facilities requested by the agency.

"Given that the E3 [an informal grouping of Germany, France and the United Kingdom] and the United States are seeking escalation, they know very well that the official end of the Cairo Agreement is the direct result of their provocations," Araghchi wrote on the social network X.

"Just like the diplomatic route, which was undermined by Israel and the United States in June, the Cairo Agreement was torpedoed by Washington and the E3 countries," the Iranian minister accused.

Israeli army drone dropped sonic bomb on Ras al-Naqoura, south Lebanon

An Israeli army drone dropped a sonic bomb on the town of Ras al-Naqoura (Sour district), reports our correspondent in the region.

Gaza: 2 children killed daily in Israeli attacks since start of truce

At least 67 children have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the cease-fire came into effect, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as reported by Reuters.

"Dozens more have been injured. This represents an average of nearly two children killed every day since the start of the truce," UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires told reporters in Geneva.

South Lebanon: Markaba resident finds crashed Israeli drone in village

A resident of Markaba told our correspondent in southern Lebanon, Muntasser Abdallah, that he found an Israeli drone that had crashed in the village.

The Lebanese Army, which usually recovers these devices, has not yet commented on this information.

Netanyahu restates rejection of Palestinian State, even if in exchange for normalization with Riyadh

Netanyahu restated his categorical rejection of the creation of a Palestinian state, asserting that Israel would not change its position, even to obtain normalization with Saudi Arabia, during the same interview.

"There will be no Palestinian state. It's as simple as that... It's an existential threat to Israel," he insisted.

Netanyahu, however, said he remained "cautiously optimistic" about a possible normalization with Riyadh, believing that the war in Gaza had delayed the process.

"It is possible that the necessary conditions will be met, but they must be acceptable to both parties, beneficial to both sides," he added. "If it comes to fruition, so much the better. If not, we will protect our vital interests."

Netanyahu: Worst of Gaza War is behind us, but Israel 'could still act'

In an interview with the Israeli media outlet Abu Ali Express, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he believes the war in Gaza, "or at least the worst of it, is apparently behind us, even though we might still be compelled to act there."

"The war in the broader sense, with the seven parallel fronts, is behind us," he added, referring in particular to the fronts with Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen.

These remarks were made while the Israeli army continues to bomb southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, despite the cease-fire that is supposed to be in effect there.

Aoun, Haykal on tour in the South, meet with commander of southern Litani sector

On the occasion of the 82nd anniversary of Lebanon's independence, President Joseph Aoun and the Commander-in-Chief of the Lebanese Army, General Rodolph Haykal, visited the southern Litani region, specifically the troop headquarters in the area at the Benoît Barakat barracks in Sour, where they were received by the sector commander, Brigadier General Nicolas Tabet.

South Lebanon: Machine gun fire towards Kfar Shuba

The Israeli army fired automatic weapons from the disputed hills of Kfar Shuba towards the outskirts of the town (Hasbaya district), reports our correspondent in the region.

Israeli artillery fire on Yaroun in the Bint Jbeil district

After a relatively calm day on Thursday, with no major incidents reported in southern Lebanon, preceded by two deadly days, the Israeli army fired three artillery shells on Friday morning towards a wooded area near Yaroun, in the Bint Jbeil district, reports our correspondent in the South.

Two Palestinian youths killed by Israeli army in East Jerusalem

Two Palestinian teenagers were killed by the Israeli army in Kafr Aqab, in occupied East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The two youths were identified as Amro Khaled Ahmad al-Marbou, 18, and Sami Ibrahim Mashayekh, 16.

Two villages in occupied West Bank attacked by settlers, at least 1 injured, vehicles set ablaze

Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked two villages in the occupied West Bank on Thursday evening, injuring at least one person and setting vehicles on fire, according to the Palestinian Authority news agency, as reported by Haaretz.

In the village of Hawara, the settlers set fire to cars and a car garage. A security source quoted by the Israeli daily noted that soldiers were dispatched to the scene.

Later, settlers "attacked Palestinians in a village in the hills south of Hebron, where at least one person was injured, according to Palestinian reports."

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded a peak in "settler attacks resulting in casualties, property damage, or both" in October, in nearly two decades of data collection in the West Bank.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, at least 1,007 Palestinians, including many fighters but also many civilians, have been killed there by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian Authority.

Five people, including a baby, killed in Israeli strikes on southern Gaza Thursday

Five people, including a baby, were killed in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to local authorities.

This death toll comes after Wednesday was one of the deadliest days in the enclave since the cease-fire came into effect on Oct. 10, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violating the truce.

According to the Gaza Civil Defense, quoted by AFP, the five Palestinians killed on Thursday died in Israeli bombardments in the southern part of the territory, in the area remaining under Israeli control at this stage of the truce agreement's implementation.

Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis confirmed the deaths of three members of the same family, including a one-year-old girl.

“We are deeply concerned by the Israeli airstrikes we witnessed yesterday, in which civilians, including children, were reportedly killed and injured,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, last night.

“This is a stark reminder of how fragile the cease-fire is. We need everyone to ensure that the cease-fire holds and continues to hold,” he added.

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

In this live broadcast, we will be following the situation in Lebanon, whose south is being bombed almost daily by Israel despite the cease-fire in place with Hezbollah since the end of November 2024.

We will also be covering developments in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, in Syria, and in other countries in the region.