That concludes our live coverage for the night. Thanks for joining us. We'll be back tomorrow morning with more news updates as the events unfold. Goodnight.
Netanyahu calls defense establishment meeting to discuss Lebanon
Netanyahu has called for a meeting this evening of members of the defense establishment for a situation assessment, Times of Israel reports, given the heightened tensions on the northern border following Israel killing of at least five people in Beirut yesterday, including a senior Hezbollah military commander.
The meeting is set to take place either before or after a separate meeting between Netanyahu and his defense minister, Israel Katz, and the Israeli army chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, who have been locked in a public feud since this morning.
The spat erupted after Katz ordered a renewed examination of the military’s review of its internal probes into the failures surrounding the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack. In an unusually direct public statement, Zamir pushed back, accusing Katz of undermining the army’s readiness by freezing military promotions for 30 days.
Iran Guards urge 'revenge' after killing of Tabataba'i
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called for "revenge" for Israel's killing of Haytham Ali Tabataba'i in an airstrike that also killed at least four others and injured 28 in the densely populated southern suburbs of Beirut yesterday. Tabataba'i was the commander of the party's elite Radwan Forces.
"The right of the Axis of Resistance and Lebanese Hezbollah to avenge the blood of the brave fighters of Islam is unquestionable," the IRGC, Hezbollah's main military and financial backer, said in a statement cited by AFP, referring to Iran-backed armed groups in the region.
Hamas seeking countries that will grant asylum for some of its fighters, Israeli media reports
Over the past week, Hamas has contacted several countries seeking asylum for 100 to 200 of its fighters trapped in tunnels beneath Rafah in an area of Gaza under Israeli army occupation, Times of Israel reports, citing Israeli officials who spoke with Channel 12. All the requests were rejected, the Israeli media stated.
The countries reportedly approached included Turkey and several unspecified African nations. According to the report, the requests were made with Israel’s knowledge.
Under Trump's 20-point "peace plan," Hamas is required to disarm, and, while the plan includes a mechanism for safe passage out of Gaza for Hamas fighters, no country so far has signaled willingness to receive them.
Body of deceased hostage located by Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza
The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a statement saying that it has located a body of a deceased hostage in an area controlled by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports. The group did not provide further details.
A source from the group, who requested anonymity, confirmed to AFP that the body they had located belonged to one of the last three hostages who were being held in Gaza.
Israel kills three people in Gaza for crossing "Yellow Line"
Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinians in Gaza near the so-called "Yellow Line" demarcating areas of Israeli control today, as the ostensible cease-fire that came into effect six weeks ago nears the end of its first phase with little progress toward outlining the second.
Palestinian medics told Reuters that today's attack involved an Israeli drone firing a missile at a group of people east of Khan Younis, killing two and wounding another, and a tank shell killing a person on the eastern side of Gaza City.
Israel's military said it had fired after identifying what it called "terrorists" crossing what is known as the yellow line, which is reportedly poorly marked on the ground, with occasional cement blocks painted in yellow.
Israel has killed at least 342 Palestinians since the truce began on Oct. 10, the Gaza Health Ministry announced today.
Netanyahu meets with Tony Blair, set to oversee Trump's 'Board of Peace'
Netanyahu met with former British PM Tony Blair, Haaretz reports, without specifying when. Blair has been appointed by Trump to oversee his "Board of Peace" for Gaza — a mechanism intended to facilitate the implementation of his administration's 20-point "peace plan" that formed the basis of the cease-fire in the devastated enclave.
Read more about Blair's controversial history in the region here. 👈
Yesterday, Blair visited Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh, who later released a statement on X saying the two had discussed Palestinian statehood as well as the U.N. Security Council resolution approving international armed presence in Gaza.
Israeli FM claims Hezbollah re-arming fast than it is disarming
During a joint press conference given in with is Paraguayan counterpart, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar claimed that Hezbollah is re-arming faster than it is being disarmed.
"We wish to see the Lebanese government implement its decision," Sa'ar said, "and dismantle Hezbollah's arsenal. Hezbollah is re-arming more than it is disarming.
According to a video shared by the Israeli channel i24News, Sa'ar also told reporters that Israel's operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which are in violation of the cease-fire agreement reached last November, are "not a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty."
These attacks have killed around 350 people and have been steadily escalating in the last two months.
"As long as Hezbollah is the strongest force in Lebanon, Israel has no security and Lebanon has no future," Sa'ar stated.
GHF suspends all operations in Gaza
The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — at whose "aid" sites, hundreds of Palestinians were shot and killed — will officially close its operations in the besieged territory, according to a CNN report citing two Israeli sources, after suspending its work in Gaza at the beginning of the cease-fire in October.
“We are winding down our operations as we have succeeded in our mission of showing there’s a better way to deliver aid to Gazans,” said John Acree, the organization’s executive director, in a statement.
The U.S.-funded and Israel-backed foundation operated several sites in southern Gaza and one site in central Gaza where it began distributing humanitarian aid in late May. The distribution effort faced significant criticism before it even opened, as humanitarian organizations and aid experts warned that the GHF's plan was not appropriate for the scale of need and the conditions on the ground.
The operations quickly turned into chaos and, according to several reports, GHF security officials were ordered by their superiors to fire live ammunition at Palestinian aid seekers as a form of 'crowd control.'
According to the United Nations, more than 2,300 people were killed while seeking aid in Gaza during the GHF's operation period.
Body of Israeli captive held by al-Quds Brigades was found in central Gaza
The body of an Israeli hostage, held by the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, was found in the north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, a local source told Al Jazeera.
Israeli army launches incursion into south Syria from occupied Golan Heights
Israeli forces launched an incursion into the Quneitra countryside in southern Syria, with five vehicles crossing into Syrian territory, according to Al Jazeera.
This incursion comes after a similar raid on Sunday and follows the Israeli army's announcement of a large-scale training exercise on the occupied Golan Heights to prepare for "a variety of scenarios" along the Syrian border.
Funeral organized by Hezbollah for its former chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabataba'i, has started
(Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L’Orient-Le Jour)
The funeral ceremony organized by Hezbollah for its former chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabataba'i, killed Sunday by an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, has begun.
SSNP demonstration in Hamra, with Georges Abdallah in attendance
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) held a demonstration on Monday on the main street of Hamra, in western Beirut, to protest the ongoing Israeli airstrikes against Lebanon.
Former prisoner and pro-Palestinian activist George Abdallah was among those seen at the march, according to images of the event shared on social media.
The day before, the SSNP had issued a statement strongly condemning the Israeli strike against Hezbollah military commander Haytham Abu Ali Tabataba'i, offering its "deepest condolences to the Hezbollah leadership, its fighters and the martyr's family."
The party also stated that "Tabaaba'i's death is not the end of his journey, but the beginning of a new phase of commitment, until total victory and the raising of the banner of justice over all land usurped by the occupier."
Israeli army targeting Civil Defense, which came to extinguish fires caused by Israeli bombs in Yarin
The Israeli army targeted Civil Defense personnel who had come to extinguish fires caused by Israeli bombs in Yarin in southern Lebanon.
Israeli artillery fired two shells at Civil Defense members who had come to extinguish fires caused earlier by the dropping of incendiary bombs in wooded areas near the border village of Yarin (Sour district).
Israeli drones flying at very low altitude were also heard and observed over the city of Saida and the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, according to our correspondent.
Meeting between Haykal, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon
Army Commander-in-Chief Rodolph Haykal met with the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, to discuss the situation in Lebanon and the region, according to a statement carried by the state-run National News Agency. No statement was issued after the meeting.
The recent decision by the United States to cancel Haykal's meetings in Washington — a first of its kind — was widely perceived as a humiliating "sanction" in both political circles and within the military.
Fires sparked by Israeli bombs near Yarin, southern Lebanon
Fires broke out in wooded areas near the border village of Yarin (Sour district) after the Israeli army dropped incendiary bombs, reports our correspondent.
Israeli artillery fire in southern Lebanon
After a relatively calm night in southern Lebanon, Israeli artillery fire targeted the western part of the border village of Houla (Marjayoun district), near the Wadi Slouqi area.
Meanwhile, Israeli drones flew at low altitude over the coastal region, extending as far north as Zahrani (Saida district), while drones continued to fly over the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Gaza: Israeli army confirms killing 3 people near Khan Younis
The Israeli army stated in a press release published on its X account that it killed three people in two separate incidents near the "Yellow Line," close to Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
As is its custom, the army claimed that these individuals posed "an immediate threat" after "approaching" Israeli soldiers deployed in the area. The press release specifies that the "air force" carried out the attacks.
Earlier, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis confirmed receiving two dead and three wounded, one of whom was described as being in critical condition, according to Al Jazeera.
Israeli chief of staff visits Lebanese border, orders increased alert level
The Israeli army chief of staff announced that he had ordered an increase in the alert level of the air defense system, the day after the assassination of Hezbollah's military chief, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike that left at least five dead in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
According to Israeli public radio KAN, Chief of Staff Eyad Zamir visited the Lebanese border to oversee military exercises that began Monday morning, where he ordered "increased operational vigilance." "The area is under high tension, the state of alert is at its highest," he stated, according to KAN.
However, the public broadcaster also indicated that recent security assessments conducted by the Israeli army "do not foresee any exchange of airstrikes with Hezbollah."
She added, however, that "Israel is preparing for various possible reactions, such as attacks against Israeli targets abroad or strikes from other fronts like Yemen," referring to the Houthi rebels.
Hamas searching for body of Israeli captive in central Gaza
Hamas members, accompanied by the Red Cross and an Egyptian committee, continued search operations on Monday to recover the remains of an Israeli hostage in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, local sources told Al Jazeera.
Multiple videos of Tabataba'i circulating on social media since Sunday
Several videos of Haytham Ali Tabataba'i have been circulating on social media since Sunday.
A screenshot from one video shows the Hezbollah logo and was posted by a user on X.
Since Sunday, multiple videos have appeared online showing Tabataba'i speaking with party members, addressing the camera, or posing alongside Hezbollah officials — including the party’s current secretary-general, Naim Qassem, and his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah, who was also killed by an Israeli strike on Sept. 27, 2024.
“The spirit of the mujahideen is the main reason for the resistance and the failure of the enemy’s objectives,” he says in one of the videos.
Israeli aircraft fly over southern Lebanon; drones heard in Bekaa Valley, Beirut southern suburbs
Israeli warplanes have been flying at low altitude over several areas of southern Lebanon, according to our correspondent.
As in recent days, Israeli drones have also been heard for several hours in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 4
At least four Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire or airstrikes on Monday morning in the Gaza Strip, hospital sources told Al Jazeera.
Among the victims, one person was killed by an Israeli drone strike in the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the enclave, in an area beyond the "Yellow Line."
VP of Supreme Islamic Shiite Council believes 'usual efforts deployed by Lebanese state no longer sufficient' against Israel
The Vice President of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali Khatib, condemned Sunday's "cowardly" Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs and offered his condolences following the death of the party's chief of staff, who was killed in the attack, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
"The cowardly Israeli aggression against the southern suburbs undeniably reveals the nature of the Israeli enemy and its political and military objectives in Lebanon and the region. The usual efforts deployed by the Lebanese state are no longer sufficient, necessitating a unified effort across all sectors to conduct political, diplomatic, military and security action to stop this ongoing aggression against Lebanon and its people," he stated.
“This aggression came just after the initiative launched by the President of the Lebanese Republic, Joseph Aoun, from the South on the occasion of Independence Day. It constitutes a clear message to all Lebanese … and shows the abandonment of Lebanon by the international community,” he added.
SSNP demonstration against 'Israeli aggression' is still on
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) has apparently decided to maintain its planned demonstration at noon today in Hamra to protest against "increasing Israeli aggression," according to our correspondent. This call was relayed by Hezbollah on Sunday, before the strike on Beirut's southern suburbs.
Hezbollah is also holding the funeral ceremony for the former Chief of Staff, Haytham Ali Tabataba'i, who was killed in the same strike, in Ghobeiri, in the southern suburbs, at 2 p.m. Condolences will begin at 1 p.m., according to the party's announcement.
Tehran condemns Israeli assassination of Hezbollah military chief in Beirut's southern suburbs
Iran on Monday condemned the assassination of Hezbollah's military chief, killed the previous day in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, which left at least five killed and 28 wounded according to the Health Ministry.
"The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemns the cowardly assassination of the great commander of the Lebanese Islamic Resistance, the martyr Haitham Ali Tabataba'i," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Two Palestinians killed in new Israeli attacks on Gaza
At least two people were killed Monday morning in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera's local correspondents.
Multiple airstrikes and artillery fire were reported across the Palestinian enclave despite the cease-fire agreement.
In the north, Israeli forces opened fire on homes in the al-Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City, where an armored vehicle laden with explosives was sent, Al Jazeera reports. Airstrikes and artillery fire also hit Beit Lahiya beyond the Yellow Line, which demarcates the area under Israeli military control.
In the south, similar attacks, as well as attacks by combat helicopters, were reported northeast of the city of Rafah and south and east of Khan Younis.
Hamas delegation is meeting in Cairo to discuss Gaza truce
A Hamas delegation pledged on Sunday in Cairo to respect the "first phase of the truce agreement in the Gaza Strip" during a meeting with the head of Egyptian intelligence, the Palestinian Islamist movement said.
Led by Hamas's chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, the delegation arrived in the Egyptian capital on Saturday for talks on Sunday with Hassan Rashad, two Hamas officials told AFP, adding that the second phase of the truce was also to be discussed.
No new incidents in Lebanon since Sunday's strike on Beirut's southern suburbs
In Lebanon, no new incidents have been reported by our correspondents since the strike that killed Hezbollah's chief of staff and at least five others in Beirut's southern suburbs, with the exception of overflights by Israeli drones and aircraft in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and over Beirut and its surrounding areas.
After several days of escalating attacks in southern Lebanon, as well as in the Bekaa Valley, the Israeli army struck Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday.
This is the first attack against this political and demographic stronghold of the Shiite community since June, when Israel retaliated for a missile fired from southern Syria toward the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, which was attributed to Hezbollah.
This time, however, the Israeli strike targeted Haytham Ali Tabataba'i, commander of al-Radwan, Hezbollah’s elite force, and a leading figure in the hardline wing of the militia.
Catch up on some reading:
Here is a wrap-up of the strike.
Lebanese leaders' response to the strike.
Salah Hijazi's analysis of what this all means.
Main news this morning: Israeli army conducting exercise in northern Israel
The Israeli army has been conducting a scheduled training exercise since this morning in the Eastern Galilee region of northern Israel, the day after the assassination of Hezbollah's military chief in Beirut, according to the Israeli media outlets Haaretz and Ynet. The exercise is called "Shield and Might," Ynet reports.
The army spokesperson warned residents that there would be significant movements of security forces and vehicles in the area, while assuring them that "there is no fear of a security incident. In the event of a real incident, residents will be informed by the security forces," he added.
The army clarified that this exercise is part of its annual training plan for 2025.
The army's chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, also indicated that Israel might be called upon to fight in areas where it has already intervened, in connection with this exercise.
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, the day after a deadly Israeli airstrike hit a building in Beirut's southern suburbs without warning.
The Israeli army, which regularly bombs southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley despite the cease-fire in place since the end of November 2024, had not carried out an airstrike on the capital's suburbs since last June.
We will also be covering developments in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Syria and other countries in the region.
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