That concludes our live coverage for today. Thanks for joining us. We'll be back tomorrow morning with more updates and analysis, as the news unfolds. Goodnight.
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya denies any involvement in Syria clashes
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya issued a statement today expressing its "surprise that media outlets have relayed Israeli accusations of the group's involvement in the Israeli aggression against the village of Beit Jinn in Syria," categorically denying "any activity outside of Lebanon's borders."
Israeli forces killed 13 people this morning during a military offensive against a southern Syria village. The Israeli army claims to have targeted an Islamist group and pointed the finger at Lebanon's al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya.
The party "strongly condemned this Israeli incursion and offered its condolences to the victims," but reiterated that it "has no presence in the village in question."
Qassem wraps up his speech with talk of unity
“Compromises embolden the enemy,” Qassem said in conclusion. “We will not abandon our dignity."
"Let us all make the courageous decision to preserve it. We will remain free on our land and will not accept Israel deciding our fate."
"The Israelis want us as their backyard. What is the solution? That Israeli aggression ceases, and if not, the government must put forward a plan to confront it and state clearly that this ‘Mechanism’ [the cease-fire monitoring committee] has become a border guard. It can put an end to some empty controversies. We must confront this with unity,” the Hezbollah leader insisted, drawing to the end of his speech.
“Look at Syria. The Israelis left nothing there, and Israel Katz says that Israel doesn’t trust Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, since they take everything without paying any price. Compromises embolden the enemy,” he concluded.
Qassem: 'Threats of major war are political pressure'
"I see Israel’s pro-Lebanon supporters as a minority, but they play a negative role. Our weapons are not the problem, since they kept Lebanon free for 44 years,” Qassem said.
The party is “ready to discuss a defense strategy," he stated, "but not under Israeli pressure or the threat of canceling the truce agreement.”
“The priority right now is sovereignty and liberation. If the Resistance is so weakened, why would Israel still be here? We are still strong, and the threats of a major war are political pressure,” he asserted.
“I tell you that this threat changes nothing. Is it real? So far, no. It’s possible that there will be a war eventually; both options are possible. Israel is making its calculations, but knows that with such a people and such resistance, there is no possibility of victory.”
"We are a people who know neither failure nor surrender. Israel does not only want to fight us but to commit genocide, listen to the Israeli Defense Minister, Katz, who speaks of Greater Israel,” he pointed out.
Hezbollah is preventing Israel from establishing foothold in south Lebanon
“The government should play its role and I tell it that it must invest in our strength and that of the populations along the borders," Qassem said. "There are still groups in Lebanon that oppose the Israeli project, knowing that the American tutelage is trying to promote it.”
"What has the resistance done? It liberated the territory in 2000 and protected the population from 2006 to 2023, when the state was absent," he said.
"Since 2023, we have been confronting Israel by preventing it from establishing a foothold. We are partners with the state on this third point, and we are dedicating our strength to preventing the enemy from establishing itself."
Qassem: 'Israel's aggression is aimed at influencing Lebanon's future'
“Israel's aggression is aimed at influencing Lebanon's future,” Qassem said. “The aggression has spread throughout the country — not just to the Resistance, even though we are the primary targets — because it aims to affect Lebanon’s future and its potential.”
“Isn’t there aggression against the president because he wants to act wisely? Or against the army, or even against the economy? What explains Lebanon’s inability to achieve economic growth? Why are they targeting ordinary people when not all of them are Hezbollah supporters?” he asked.
“There is currently an Israeli air occupation of all of Lebanon,” he added. A recent L'Orient Today investigation found that Israel has violated the cease-fire more than 12,000 times since it came into effect, including hundreds of air violations.
“All of Lebanon is responsible for defending the country, and first and foremost the government, because it approved this agreement and stated that it wanted to take the lead in Lebanon’s defense.”
“I have told the government this: you cannot take these rights without fulfilling your primary duty, which is to protect citizens,” he added.
Cease-fire was thanks to Hezbollah's resistance, Qassem says
"With this agreement, a new phase begins in which the state has assumed responsibility for Israel's withdrawal from the South and the deployment of the army," the Hezbollah secretary-general stated.
"The agreement came about because we resisted, especially the front-line fighters, our allies, and the population... We fought with a strength unmatched by that of the enemy, but with all the determination of those who believe in victory," he said.
Qassem also praised the performance of the Lebanese Army and its alignment with 'the Resistance' line.
Israel's objective was to undermine the party's morale, which will recover, Qassem assures.
Israel's assassination of Tabataba'i was aimed "at undermining the morale of the troops," Qassem said, "because he had become the party's top military leader."
"It is true that this is a great loss for us, but for him, martyrdom is a great honor," he added.
"We are a great party that has produced many great men," Qassem said. "We will recover and replace the fallen commanders, which shows that the objective of the assassination was not achieved."
"He had many comrades who will continue the struggle," Hezbollah's leader insisted.
Qassem pays tribute to Tabataba'i's career in Hezbollah
Tabataba'i fought the Israelis in 2006 in the southern Lebanon village of Khiam, in Nabatieh district, Qassem said, and held several positions within the party's armed wing in both Lebanon and in Syria.
His veteran experience in battle earned him the title "son of the field," Qassem said, and he took on many different responsibilities in his time in the party.
Qassem also praised Tabataba'i's role "in rebuilding Hezbollah's forces and his vision for the future of the struggle against Israel."
According to Qassem, Tabataba'i spent nine years training troops in Yemen. "After the death of the Sayyed [former party leader Hassan Nasrallah, assassinated by Israel last September], he played the role of link between the different Resistance groups, and he was brilliant in this position," Qassem said.
Qassem speaks at ceremony honoring Tabataba'i
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem has begun his first address since the killing of Haytham Tabataba'i, the party's former chief of staff, in an Israeli airstrike last Sunday on the densely populated southern suburbs of Beirut.
His remarks are being broadcast on the party's television channel, al-Manar, as part of a ceremony honoring the five Hezbollah members killed that day.
Israeli settlers who entered Syria apprehended by Israeli military
A group of Israeli settlers who crossed the border into southern Syria in an attempt to set up Israeli settlements have been apprehended and returned by the Israeli military, Middle East Eye reports.
Yesterday, some 13 settlers belonging to a group called the "Pioneers of the Bashan" cut through the border fence in two locations using angle grinders and drove into Syria with the aim of settling there.
Five of the group breached the border in the Mount Hermon area, and another eight near the Syrian village of Bir Ajam in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The Israeli military said in a statement that troops "rushed to the two locations, and shortly afterward the civilians were found" and that some "clashed" with the soldiers.
Israeli army fires artillery shells at Labbouneh, in Sour district
The Israeli army targeted the area around the southern Lebanese village of Labbouneh with artillery shells, our correspondent in the South reports.
The village is located close to one of the outposts illegally occupied by Israeli soldiers inside Lebanese territory, southeast of Naqoura, in Sour district.
Aftermath of Israeli offensive on southern Syrian village
Two youth inspect the damage left by the Israeli army during a military offensive on the southern Syrian village of Beit Jin on Nov. 28, 2025. Israeli forces killed 13 people that day, the deadliest since Bashar al-Assad's fall from power nearly a ye
Transport in Italy disrupted by strikes against PM Meloni's support for Israel
Strikes and protests in Italy today against Giorgia Meloni's government's ramped-up support for Israel caused the cancellation of dozens of flights and disrupted train services around the country, Reuters reports.
The hardline USB union and smaller worker organizations called the one-day action against the government's plans to raise military spending and its support for Israel. Recent years have seen the emergence of the USB as a significantly active grass-roots union which is challenging the traditional dominance of the three main confederations, the left-wing CGIL and the centrist CISL and UIL.
Milan's Malpensa cancelled at least 27 flights, while Bologna scrapped at least 17. Other affected airports include Milan's Linate, Naples and Venice. Italy's flagship carrier ITA Airways said it had cancelled 26 domestic flights due to the strikes.
Israeli drone strike on car in Marjayoun district kills one
An Israeli military drone targeted a pickup truck this afternoon in the town of Kantara (Marjayoun), killing its driver.
Civil defense crews are attempting to extinguish the fire that broke out in the vehicle, according to our correspondent.
Death of two French children in Gaza: Prosecutor's office calls for investigation into "war crimes"
The national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has asked a Parisian investigating judge to investigate "war crimes" following the death of two French children in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza in October 2023, AFP has learned from sources close to the case.
However, the prosecutor's office believes that there is "no reason" to investigate for "genocide" or "crimes against humanity," as requested by the victims' grandmother and the League of Human Rights (LDH) in their complaint.
Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP
Israeli workers are seen putting into place a huge section of a concrete wall along the border with Lebanon on Nov. 23, 2025.
The Israeli prime minister insisted on Nov. 23, 2025, that Israel would do "everything necessary" to stop Hezbollah from regrouping in Lebanon and Hamas from doing the same in Gaza.
Israeli fire in the south
Israeli artillery fired near the villages of Blida and Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil), according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.
'Summary execution' of Palestinians in Jenin: UN calls for investigation
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for a "thorough" investigation after the "apparent summary execution" of two Palestinians by Israeli police on Thursday in the occupied West Bank, while they were apparently surrendering, reports AFP.
"We are appalled by yesterday's heinous killing of two Palestinians by Israeli border police in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, in what appears to be another summary execution," High Commissioner spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told reporters in Geneva, calling for "independent, prompt and thorough investigations" into the incident.
Syria condemns Israeli operation as a 'war crime'
Syria on Friday condemned an Israeli military operation in southern Syria that killed 13 people overnight as a "war crime."
"Syria denounces... the criminal aggression" of the Israeli army in the village of Beit Jin, the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that such acts aim to "ignite the region" in conflict.
According to the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Rami Abdel Rahman, “this is the deadliest incursion since Israel began to carry out operations outside the buffer zone in southern Syria.”
Read more on this story here.
Gaza: Israel kills Palestinian man in drone strike
An Israeli drone strike targeted a location in the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, killing a Palestinian man identified as Abdullah Wajdi Hammad, according to local media channel WAFA.
The killing comes amongst renewed airstrikes on Rafah and gunfire from Israeli naval vessels targeting the city's coast.
Since the cease-fire agreement came into effect on Oct. 11, at least 352 Palestinians have been killed and 896 others injured by Israeli attacks, with 605 bodies recovered from the rubble.
Occupied West Bank: Outrage after video shows Israeli soldiers shooting two Palestinians at point-blank range as they surrender
Two Palestinians were shot dead in Jenin during a joint operation by the Israeli military and Israeli police.
The scene was filmed from several angles, including by an AFP journalist. It shows two men coming out of a building, appearing to be surrendering, with their hands up in the air after a bulldozer had crushed the door.
The two men lifted their shirts to show they are unarmed, before being beaten by Israeli soldiers, falling to the ground and then being executed.
The Palestinian Authority identified the Palestinians killed as Montasser Billah Mahmoud Abdullah, 26, and Youssef Ali Assassa, 37, and denounced the incident as a "summary execution" and accused Israeli forces of a "documented and complete war crime."
These images were widely shared on social media, sparking outcry, with many online denouncing the "impunity" of the Israeli army.
Southern Lebanon: Israeli drone fires explosives on uninhabited house in Houla
An Israeli quadcopter drone fired explosives overnight on an unoccupied house in the al-Marj neighborhood of Houla (Marjayoun) in southern Lebanon, causing significant material damage.
No casualties were reported, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon: Death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the cease-fire agreement reaches 335
The Lebanese Health Ministry announced this morning a new death toll from Israeli attacks since the cease-fire one year ago. According to the statement, these attacks have killed 335 and wounded 973.
Syria: 10 people killed in Israeli operation in southern Syria
A dawn Israeli incursion into Syrian territory in the Damascus countryside has killed at least 10 Syrians, according to state media and quoted by AFP, forcing dozens of families to flee from the town of Beit Jinn to safer areas.
"The number of martyrs from the Israeli attack on Beit Jinn has risen to 10, including women and children, while others remain trapped under the rubble," according to television reports. A previous death toll had been set at nine.
Several Israeli soldiers were also reported wounded in clashes that erupted between residents and the invading Israeli force.
Shortly before, the Israeli army announced the operation in southern Syria to "arrest suspects" belonging to the Jamaa Islamiya organization, according to a military statement by Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli army, on X.
The Israeli army frequently carries out ground incursions into Syrian territory in the Quneitra province of the occupied Golan Heights and Damascus countryside governorates.
The incursions have become more frequent and violent since Israel expanded its occupation of southern Syria following the removal of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Israel seized territory in the Syrian Golan Heights following the 1967 war and has held it ever since.
Good morning and welcome to today's live coverage of events in the region.
Yesterday marked one-year since the supposed cease-fire in Lebanon, which came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024 and has been routinely violated by Israel ever since.
We'll also be covering Israel's violations of the truce in Gaza and its ongoing raids of Palestinian villages in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where residents have been ordered to stay in their homes and helicopters fire on them from above.
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