No indication second phase of Hezbollah retaliation imminent

Hezbollah says it carried out its much-awaited and promised retaliation for the killing of its top commander in late July. Israeli media are saying it appears that Hezbollah did strike a strategic target.

The Israeli army is saying it carried out preemptive strikes, destroying rocket launchers across southern Lebanon. It was one of the biggest attacks carried out by the Israeli military since the start of this conflict – a widespread attack targeting up to 40 locations.

In the past hour or so, there have been two further strikes by the Israeli military: one targeting a car behind me in the border village of Khiam, killing a Hezbollah fighter, and an overnight attack in which two Hezbollah fighters were killed.

So it seems that this round is over, but Hezbollah is saying this is just the beginning of its promised retaliation. But there is no indication to suggest that a second phase is imminent.

Of late, Israel has been acting with little restraint in Lebanon, taking out Hezbollah assets, whether it’s critical infrastructure, whether it’s fighters, not just along the border but deep inside Lebanon in the east.

But the messaging from Israel since the early hours of the morning is that the ball is now in Hezbollah’s court when it comes to further escalation because we heard the Israeli military spokesman say at least three times they acted in self-defence.

Israeli military says it struck more Hezbollah targets

Israel’s military said it carried out further attacks against Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon hours after it announced a preemptive strike against the Lebanese group.

UN official, peacekeepers in Lebanon urge ‘all to cease fire’

In a statement, the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) described the developments on the Lebanon-Israel border as “worrying”. They called on all parties to cease fire and refrain from further escalation.

Lebanon is working to ease tensions: PM Mikati

Following a ministerial meeting, the Lebanese prime minister says efforts are being made to “stop the escalation”, adding that “what is required is to stop the Israeli aggression first”.

Mikati made the statement after the meeting to follow up on the developments in the south of the country, after Hezbollah and Israel’s army exchanged new attacks.

The aftermath of Hezbollah’s retaliatory attack on Israel

_{Official property surveyors assess the damage to a residential building following a direct hit from a projectile in northern Israel on August 25}

_{A view of a damaged residential building in Acre, northern Israel, August 25}

‘You don’t interest us’: Northern Israeli leaders fume at gov’t

Leaders of regional councils in areas across northern Israel which have been targeted by Hezbollah have said they are cutting off contact with the government in protest to being neglected.

“We haven’t interested you for 10-and-a-half months, and from now on, you don’t interest us. Don’t call, don’t come, don’t send messages. We have managed alone until now, we will manage,” reads a joint statement by Mateh Asher Regional Council head Moshe Davidovich, Metula Mayor David Azoulay, and Upper Galilee Regional Council head Giora Zaltz, according to The Times of Israel.

The regional leaders have repeatedly called for a reliable plan to bring tens of thousands of Israeli citizens who have been displaced from the north amid the escalating conflict.

The leaders are also angry because the Israeli military has not engaged in large-scale “preemptive strikes” on Lebanon in defence of northern communities, as it did today after perceiving that Hezbollah may be considering hitting central Israel.

_{A member of a rapid response team walks near a residential building in northern Israel that was damaged by a direct hit from a projectile, after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones}

‘Yemeni response is coming’: Houthis praise Hezbollah attacks

The Houthis have congratulated Hezbollah’s leaders for the “major” attacks on Israeli positions.

“This powerful and effective response deep within the entity that remains vulnerable reaffirms that the resistance is capable, steadfast, and sincere in its promises and threats,” the Houthis’ political bureau said in a statement.

“We stand by the hands and shoulders of the heroes of the Islamic resistance, congratulate and support all options and retaliatory operations against the Zionist enemy. “We also reaffirm that the Yemeni response is inevitably coming, and the coming days and nights and the battlefield will prove this.”

حـ.ـزب الله ينشر فيديو لقواعد وثكنات إسرائيلية يقول إنه استهدفها في المرحلة الأولى من ردّه على اغتيال فؤاد شكر، في الضاحية الجنوبية لبيروت #حرب_غزة #فيديو pic.twitter.com/5ynCUBIVV0

— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) August 25, 2024

Translation: Hezbollah publishes a video of Israeli bases and barracks that it says it targeted in the first phase of its response to the assassination of Fuad Shukr in a southern suburb of Beirut.

Netanyahu says strikes against Hezbollah ‘not end of the story’

Israel’s prime minister says his country took pre-emptive action against Hezbollah and air defences had intercepted all rockets and drones launched against Israel.

He said in his opening remarks for the cabinet meeting that the leaders of Hezbollah and Iran should know that the response was “another step towards changing the situation in the north and returning our residents safely to their homes”.

“This is not the end of the story,” he added.

Hezbollah response ‘delayed by political considerations’

A Hezbollah official has said that the group’s rocket and drone attack against Israel in retaliation for a top commander’s killing last month was delayed by “political considerations”, chiefly among them the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and captive-prisoner exchange deal for Gaza.

The official, in written comments shared with media outlets, said the group had “worked” to make sure its response to the killing of Fuad Shukr on July 30 would not trigger a full-scale war.

Palestinian teen from Tulkarem dies in Israeli hospital

Zaher Tahseen Raddad, 19, from the occupied West Bank, who had sustained serious injuries on July 23 in an attack on Tulkarem, has died in Israel’s Meir Hospital.

Raddad was taken by Israeli forces along with three other young men after a drone attack on the house they were in. The Wafa news agency and other Palestinian sources confirmed his death.

A joint statement from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said Raddad was shot by Israeli forces and used as a human shield in front of an Israeli military vehicle during the raid.

BREAKING: Zaher Tahseen Raddad, a Palestinian prisoner from Tulkarm, has died from injuries sustained in Tulkarm weeks ago, due to medical neglect at an Israeli hospital, according to his family. pic.twitter.com/bYeaIdDmaO

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 25, 2024

Israeli forces arrest 35 Palestinians in occupied West Bank

At least 35 Palestinians have been detained in the past two days across the occupied West Bank, according to the latest joint statement by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.

The arrests also came with attacks on detainees and their families, along with “widespread vandalism and destruction of citizens’ homes”, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israel announces death of soldier in Gaza

The Israeli military says Sergeant Amit Tsadikov, 20, was killed in a battle in southern Gaza.

WHO, other UN agencies to launch polio vaccination drive in Gaza

UNRWA says that, in the coming days, it will launch a polio vaccination campaign with WHO, UNICEF and other partners for more than 600,000 children under 10 years old.

Egypt warns visiting US general of Lebanon risk

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has warned a US general of the dangers of a major conflict in Lebanon.

CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Egypt hours after a significant missile exchange between Israel and Hezbollah. Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel after Israel struck Lebanon in some of the biggest fighting in more than 10 months of cross-border warfare.

El-Sisi’s office said the Egyptian leader told Brown the international community needed to “exert all efforts and intensify pressures to defuse tension and stop the state of escalation that threatens the security and stability of the entire region”.

“[El-Sisi warned] in this regard of the dangers of opening a new front in Lebanon, and stressing the need to preserve Lebanon’s stability and sovereignty,” a statement read.

British Airways, Wizz Air halt UK to Tel Aviv flights

Flights between the UK and Tel Aviv have been cancelled after an escalation of hostilities overnight. British Airways halted its flights between London’s Heathrow and Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airports from Sunday to Wednesday, the airline said.

Wizz Air also said it is “temporarily suspending” flights to and from Israel “due to the escalating situation in the region”.

Hezbollah attack hits Israeli military boat off Nahariyya

Footage shared online and verified by Al Jazeera shows a Hezbollah projectile hitting an Israeli military boat off the coast of Nahariyya, Israel’s northernmost coastal city.

More videos and images circulating online purport to show the damaged interior of the Israeli navy’s Dvora-class fast patrol boat. Reports in Israeli media indicated there were casualties, but the Israeli military has yet to comment.

مشاهد توثق لحظة سقوط صاروخ أطلقه حـ.ـزب الله على نهاريا وآخر أصاب زورق حربي إسرائيلي قتل على إثره أحد الجنود ضمن ما قيل إنه المرحلة الأولى للرد على اغتيال القيادي فؤاد شكر #حرب_غزة #فيديو pic.twitter.com/ca1pH8Hvh0

— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) August 25, 2024

Translation: Scenes documenting the moment a rocket fired by Hezbollah fell on Nahariyya and hit an Israeli military vessel, killing one soldier, as part of what was said to be the first phase of the response to the assassination of leader Fuad Shukr.

Israeli military confirms 1 navy officer killed

The Israeli military says a member of its navy was killed and two others wounded in combat in northern Israel, after Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets at Israel.

“Petty Officer First Class, David Moshe Ben Shitrit, aged 21… fell during combat in northern Israel,” the military said in a statement, adding that he was from the navy and that two others were also wounded.

Hezbollah targeted military base near Tel Aviv: Nasrallah

The chief of the Lebanese group Hassan Nasrallah has just given a televised address on Hezbollah’s large drone and rocket attacks. Nasrallah said the group had targeted an Israeli base near Tel Aviv. He said this was the first time Hezbollah had sent drones to Israel from the Bekaa region.

The Hezbollah chief says the Israeli military base targeted was about 100km (62 miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border. The “main target for the operation” inside Israel was “the Glilot base – the main Israeli military intelligence base”, Nasrallah said.

He said the Israeli military had started striking Lebanon 30 minutes before the group’s operations, adding the areas targeted had nothing to do with the operation.

In his televised speech, the Hezbollah chief said the group had no plans to hit targets in Tel Aviv, including Ben Gurion airport and the Israeli Defence Ministry building. He added that while the Lebanese group had no intention to use precision missiles in today’s attack, it may use them in the near future.

Israel says ‘no hits’ on base near Tel Aviv targeted by Hezbollah

The Israeli army says Hezbollah has failed to strike a military intelligence base near Tel Aviv that the Lebanese armed group’s leader says was the target of a rocket and drone barrage.

“I can confirm that there were no hits at the Glilot base,” a spokesperson for the Israeli military told the AFP news agency.

Nasrallah denies Israel destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers

The Hezbollah chief rejects Israeli claims that its military has destroyed thousands of the Lebanese group’s rocket launchers.

“Talk about how the resistance [Hezbollah] was going to launch 8,000 or 6,000 rockets and drones and that [Israel] thwarted this … are false claims,” Nasrallah said, adding that “dozens of rocket launchers” were destroyed.

He said the armed group would assess the impact of its rocket and drone attack on Israeli military targets before determining whether it would carry out further attacks to avenge its slain commander Fuad Shukr.

Nasrallah said the group had been able to carry out its attack “as planned”, denying statements by the Israeli military that its preemptive strikes had stopped a wider attack.

Homes damaged in northern Israel after Hezbollah attack: Report

An AFP news agency’s photographer in Acre, an Israeli city 20km (12 miles) from the Lebanese border, reported damage to three homes from a Hezbollah rocket that struck a roof, with shrapnel smashing windows and destroying a bed.

“There were explosions in the area of Haifa,” said Abigail Levy, a resident of the coastal city further south. “I was stopped and was told not to go to the beach.”

AFPTV footage from early on Sunday showed dozens of interceptor rockets being launched into dense clouds above the Upper Galilee in northern Israel.

US to keep two aircraft carrier strike groups in Middle East: Pentagon

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the presence of two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East, the Pentagon says as it strengthens the US military presence amid soaring regional tensions.

The announcement, made in a summary of a call between Austin and his Israeli counterpart, represents a shift. The Pentagon had initially deployed the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group into the region with a plan to replace the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group.

UN chief calls for ‘immediate’ de-escalation

Guterres says the exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel puts both Lebanese and Israeli populations at risk and threatens “regional security and stability”. “I call for immediate de-escalation and appeal to the parties to return to a cessation of hostilities,” the secretary-general posted on X.

Israeli forces carry out raid in southern Lebanon

Britain says escalation must be avoided ‘at all costs’

Britain has called for restraint after the largest clashes between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza.

“Further escalation in the Middle East must be avoided at all costs,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy posted on X after a call with Israel’s minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer.

“I reiterated the UK’s support for Israel’s security, the importance of restraint, the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages.”

In a separate post, Lammy said: “All parties must work to prevent an escalation in conflict across the Middle East. I expressed my deep concerns over today’s events in a call with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and stressed the need for restraint from all sides.”

Canada backs Israel after Hezbollah attacks

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly says she has been in touch with her Israeli counterpart as she “reiterated Canada’s support for Israel’s security, including against Hezbollah”.

“The international community must continue to do everything it can to prevent further escalation,” she posted on X. “We continue to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, alongside the complete release of hostages.”

The Canadian government, along with other Western countries that provide military support for Israel, most notably the US, is facing growing calls to impose an arms embargo on Israel.

Israel approves 2024 budget hike to fund displaced citizens

Israel’s cabinet has approved an expansion of $923m in the 2024 state budget to help fund evacuees until the end of the year, its Finance Ministry says.

Thousands of Israelis in the north have been moved to hotels in the wake of daily rocket fire exchanged between Israel and Hezbollah since October 8. Those living close to the line separating Gaza from Israel are also included in what the cabinet called “conflict zones”.

The ministry said it was working to bring the budget adjustments for a vote in parliament as soon as possible.

Due to a spike in military spending, the budget deficit hit 8.1 percent of Israel’s gross domestic product in July over the prior 12 months, it said.

Israeli soldiers shoot Palestinians in occupied West Bank

Israeli soldiers have shot two Palestinians near an army outpost in the occupied West Bank, with at least one being confirmed killed by the military and the other wounded. The Israeli military claimed the Palestinians were trying to ram a vehicle into army outposts near the illegal Ariel settlement without releasing further details.

According to Israeli ambulance service Magen David Adom, a 39-year-old Israeli man is “in very mild condition with a superficial abdominal injury” after the incident.

Injuries after settlers attack village in occupied West Bank

Several people have been injured and several arrested during an attack by Israeli settlers and forces on the village of al-Buwaib in Masafer Yatta, the Wafa news agency reports.

According to the head of the Birin village council, armed settlers with the support of Israeli forces tried to steal sheep from the village, Wafa said. After the residents confronted them, the settlers pelted them with “stones and clubs”, Wafa added.

Israeli raid injures two people near Hebron: Red Crescent

Two Palestinians have been injured by Israeli gunfire near the Tarqumiyah checkpoint close to Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the Palestine Red Crescent Society says.

Medics distribute portable toilets to displaced Palestinians

The Israeli military’s destruction of much of Gaza’s infrastructure and blocking of humanitarian aid has left most Palestinians with little to no access to sufficient water or toilets.

As about 90 percent of the enclave remains internally displaced, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has released these images of distributing 500 portable toilets to al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.