Israeli military repeating Gaza tactics in Lebanon attacks

An unprecedented number of rockets [have been] launched from southern Lebanon into northern Israel. The initial army estimate is at 300. The military says that most of them were intercepted or fell in open areas, but there were several that made impact.

Additionally, the Israeli army is saying that they conducted a series of air strikes in four waves, one of the largest in the Israeli military’s history, with 250 fighter jets participating, dropping some 2,000 munitions across Lebanese territory.

It’s important to remember the rhetoric of Israeli politicians from the very top that they were not afraid to bomb Lebanon back to the stone age. They were not afraid to turn Beirut into a second Gaza.

And we are seeing some of the policy that the Israeli military has when it comes to the Gaza Strip being implemented across Lebanese territory, with a lot of international condemnation.

Gallant visits troops conducting drills for Lebanon ground invasion

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says he visited Israeli “armoured fighters and paratroopers” recently transferred from the Gaza Strip to the northern border with Lebanon, in a post on X.

“We are willing to take any action” to achieve our goal of returning residents to the north of Israel, Gallant said in the post. The troops were conducting drills for a ground invasion of Lebanon, The Times of Israel reported.

Israeli army says Hezbollah ‘not going to get a break’, attacks to intensify

We’ve been hearing from a wide variety of Israeli officials.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that the Hezbollah that stands today is not the Hezbollah that was standing a week ago, that Israel had dealt severe blows to the Lebanese group and that there are more on the way.

The Israeli army spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, had noted that he didn’t want to divulge a lot of information or intelligence about what exactly the Israeli military was targeting in Lebanon, which is interesting because just a few hours prior to that, the Israeli army had released a quantitative list of what type of munitions and how many [targets] they had struck in several different areas.

The army chief of staff is also saying that Hezbollah is not going to get a break and the attacks are going to intensify until the war goal of bringing back those evacuated Israelis to those northern towns and settlements is achieved.

So we’re hearing from a wide variety of Israeli officials but the rhetoric remains the same. That they don’t want this escalation to last for a long time but that they are prepared to enter into a full-scale war.

Israeli army says warning sirens sound in Tel Aviv after missile fired from Lebanon

The Israeli army says, on X, that it has intercepted a surface-to-surface missile fired from Lebanon after warning sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, as well as to the north of the Israeli city.

Fighter jets shoot down drone over northern Israel

Israeli fighter jets intercepted the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) south of the Sea of Galilee after sirens sounded earlier today in the occupied Golan Heights. The Israeli military said the UAV was launched from the east and entered Israel from Syria. No damage or casualties have been reported.

Israeli air strikes around Tyre

In the past few minutes, there have been several Israeli air strikes around Tyre. The air strikes have been hitting several villages and towns around the city and this is part of the relentless Israeli military campaign.

Right now, strikes are targeting the residential neighbourhood of al-Hosh in the eastern suburb of Tyre. We can see plumes of smoke rising. We don’t know what the target was and if there are civilians there.


_{Smoke billows over southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Tyre, Lebanon}

Israeli strike hits mountain town north of Beirut

We earlier reported the Israeli military is carrying out “extensive” air strikes in south Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley.

It’s now being reported that a strike hit the Lebanese town of Maaysrah, according to state media, referring to a place in the mountains of the Christian-majority Keserwan region.

Three killed, 9 wounded in Israeli attack on Keserwan

Three people have been killed and nine wounded in an Israeli air strike in the mountains of the Keserwan region, north of Beirut. The initial casualty toll issued by Lebanon’s Health Ministry comes after reports of an air raid targeting the town of Maaysrah.

Cameraman killed by Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon

Al-Manar TV cameraman Kamel Karaki has been killed in an Israeli air raid on Qantara town in south Lebanon, local media reports say. Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem, reporting from Tyre, said Karaki was well-known within the journalist community.

“I’ve known him for the past 22 years,” Hashem said. “It shows how this wave of strikes has been indiscriminate.”

Another journalist, Hadi al-Sayed, who worked for the Lebanese TV channel Al Mayadeen, was killed on Monday in an Israeli air raid on his home in southern Lebanon.

Karaki is the fifth journalist to be killed in Lebanon since October 7. The International Federation of Journalists documented the death of four more journalists, including Reuters’s Issam Abdallah, who was killed as an Israeli tank fired at a group of journalists in Alma el-Shaab on October 13.

Three killed, 13 injured in Israeli strike on southern Lebanon

At least three people have been killed and 13 injured in an Israeli air strike on southern Lebanon’s Ain Qana, in the Nabatieh governorate.


_{Smoke rises from Israeli air strikes in the southern village of Soujod, seen from Marjayoun, south Lebanon}

‘Disastrous failure’: How Biden emboldened Israel to attack Lebanon

A week before the Israeli government unleashed a barrage of attacks on Lebanon – killing nearly 500 people in a single day – the US sent a diplomat to Israel with the stated goal of promoting de-escalation.

Amos Hochstein, US President Joe Biden’s envoy, landed in the region on September 16 with the aim of preventing daily exchanges of fire at the Israel-Lebanon border between Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israeli forces from leading to all-out war.

But a day after Hochstein’s arrival, booby-trapped communication devices linked to Hezbollah were detonated across Lebanon, killing and injuring thousands in an attack widely believed to have been carried out by Israel. Further assaults would follow.

Four killed, 7 wounded in Israeli strike on Joun

The Health Ministry says at least four people were killed and seven wounded in an Israeli attack on Joun village in the mountainous Chouf area of southern Lebanon.

Three killed in Israeli strike on Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil

At least three people have been killed in an Israeli air raid on Bint Jbeil, in southern Lebanon, the Health Ministry has said in a statement.

More casualties from Israeli attacks on Lebanon

The Health Ministry says at least two people have been killed and 27 wounded in an Israeli air raid on Tebnine, in southern Lebanon.

Four killed, 38 wounded in Israeli strike in Lebanon’s Baalbek-Hermel

At least four people have been killed and 38 injured in consecutive Israeli strikes in northeastern Lebanon. The Health Ministry said in a statement that several Israeli strikes targeted towns in the Baalbek-Hermel area.

Videos show extent of damage by Israeli attacks on Lebanon today

Death toll in Lebanon’s Baalbek-Hermel rises

The number of people killed in the Israeli air attack on the Baalbek-Hermel area of northeastern Lebanon has now risen to seven, according to the country’s Health Ministry. The previous update said at least four people were killed and 38 were wounded.

Death toll in Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil rises

The death toll in an Israeli strike on Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil has risen to four, the Health Ministry said. Two people were also wounded in Maroun al-Ras and one person in Ainata, the ministry added.

Traumatised and exhausted, Lebanon’s internally displaced uncertain about future

I’m at a public school that has been turned into a shelter.

The charity in charge has told me that they’ve had really no assistance from the government – everything that they’ve done for the nearly 250 people who are now in this school and calling it their home has come from donations from the community.

There is a sense here that things are quite dire. The classrooms have been turned into bedrooms, with wooden desks put together to make beds without any mattresses or pillows or blankets. People are making do really with whatever little they have in this facility.

One family with five children originally from Syria said they fled their home in the south near the border with Israel very quickly under heavy Israeli air strikes. They were only able to gather their documents and get their five children into a vehicle and drive 150km (93 miles) to Beirut – normally it takes just over an hour, it took them 20 hours to get here.

They are traumatised, exhausted, scared and uncertain about what their future holds. Many people here are grateful for the assistance that they’ve been able to get so far but they are really worried about how long they will be here and whether they will be able to return to their homes in the south – and if there will be anything to return to.

So there is a lot of concern that they are going to be here indefinitely because clearly there is no end in sight in this conflict.

Displaced Lebanese recounts ordeal of deadly Israeli strikes

After evacuating her family from the village of Seddiqine in southern Lebanon, Feryal Mehsen went back to fetch belongings. It was then that an Israeli air strike hit close by.

Now in a shelter in Beirut, she sits scrolling through messages from friends and relatives checking if she survived the blast. “All the people rushed out but I don’t panic easily so I helped my neighbours get out. Then I came inside again and helped my family to leave with me,” Mehsen said.

She left with her daughter and grandchildren, taking them to the southern city of Tyre, before returning to Seddiqine to collect their belongings. “The rocket landed in front of me. I was shocked. I couldn’t hear or see after that. Dust was everywhere. So I drove off quickly.”

Israeli army must be ‘strongly prepared’ for Lebanon ground operation: General

The head of the Israeli army’s Northern Command has said the military should “strongly prepare” for a ground offensive into Lebanon.

Speaking to troops simulating a ground operation, Major General Ori Gordin referred to the launch of Israel’s new military campaign in Lebanon, saying it “began with a very significant blow to Hezbollah’s capabilities” with a focus on rocket capabilities and causing significant damage to the Lebanese group’s commanders and members.

He added that the Israeli army needed “to change the security situation” and be “strongly prepared to enter Lebanon in a [ground] manoeuvre”.

‘Even in Beirut, there is an atmosphere of war’

Souad Mahde, 63, was registering her name at a shelter in Lebanon after fleeing her village Qsaibah in the south. “The day before yesterday, strikes started getting closer and planes were in the sky. We were scared,” she said. As the strikes started to creep closer into the village from the fields outside, Qsaibah’s residents fled.

“The first thing I thought of was to take some clothes, so I could change if we got somewhere. Just the basics, and medicine, of course. Nothing more than that. No one cares any more about things like the house because fear takes over,” she said.

As people across southern Lebanon headed north, the roads filled with crawling traffic. A journey that would normally take two hours turned into a daylong journey.

“Our way out was very slow. The traffic was horrible. It was really hard. We moved for a bit and stopped for a bit. There were strikes here and there until we reached Beirut. It took us until evening.”

“Even in Beirut, there is an atmosphere of war. Of course, we are in a war.”

Hezbollah claims strike on Israel’s Sa’ar

Hezbollah has claimed missile strikes targeting the Sa’ar kibbutz (communal settlements in Hebrew) near Nahariya, in northern Israel. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two people were injured, according to local media reports.

Israeli army drafting reservists for war in Lebanon

The Israeli military has issued a statement saying it is “calling up a number of reserve brigades for operational activities in the northern arena” in a reference to the ongoing conflict in Lebanon, which borders Israel to the north.

“This will enable the continuation of combat against the Hezbollah … defence of the Israel … and create the conditions to enable the residents of northern Israel to return to their homes,” it added.

Greece to urge EU to provide medical support to injured Lebanese

Greece will call on the European Union to provide medical treatment to injured Lebanese citizens, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis told his Lebanese counterpart at a meeting in New York, according to a statement by the Greek foreign ministry.

“It is absolutely necessary to stop the vicious cycle of violence and confrontation,” the statement read, citing concerns about escalating tensions in Lebanon.

Greece will try to get the EU to provide “centrally and at a European level medical aid to Lebanese citizens who have been injured and are in need of treatment”, the statement said.

Israeli forces claim attacks on 60 targets linked to Hezbollah intelligence

Israel’s military says it struck 60 targets linked to Hezbollah’s Intelligence Directorate after a barrage of air raids hit Lebanon. “The strikes destroyed intelligence-gathering tools, command centers, and additional infrastructure used by the enemy to build an intelligence situational assessment,” the statement said.

More than 90,000 newly displaced in Lebanon

The International Organization for Migration says at least 90,530 people have been newly displaced in Lebanon in recent days due to Israeli attacks. Nearly 40,000 of them are sheltering in 283 sites, the UN agency added.

Hezbollah attack on Tel Aviv ‘deeply concerning’: White House

The White House has said that a missile launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon at Tel Aviv in Israel was “deeply concerning” to the US, Israel’s top political and military backer, but that a diplomatic offramp remains to avoid “all-out war”.

“It’s certainly deeply concerning, obviously to the Israelis, of course, but also to us,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN.

“There is still time and space for a diplomatic solution here to de-escalate the tensions and to prevent an all-out war.”

The double standards are disgusting.

Lebanon says 51 killed, over 220 injured in Israeli strikes

Lebanon’s Public Health Minister Firass Abiad has said that 51 people have been killed and 223 injured in Israeli air raids on Wednesday.

Five children and their mother killed in Israeli bombing in Rafah

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that a woman and her five children have been killed in an Israeli bombing of a house in the town of Hay al-Nasr, northeast of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli military bombs home in Gaza City, killing at least 3

The house, located in the Zinjo neighbourhood south of Gaza City in northern Gaza, belongs to the Jundi family, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence. It is not currently known how many people remain under the rubble.

Man’s body recovered from Gaza’s Khirbet al-Adas area

Gaza’s civil defence is reporting that one body was recovered from the Khirbet al-Adas area north of Rafah this morning. The man found was 70-year-old Khalil Salim al-Nahl, the civil defence said.

Israeli military carries out arrests across occupied West Bank

Israeli forces have stormed the villages of Beit Furik and Salem to the east of the city of Nablus, as well Asira ash-Shamaliyato the north of Nablus, and arrested five Palestinian men, the Wafa news agency reports. Israeli forces have also arrested nine Palestinians from the Deheishe refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, Wafa reports.

Israeli forces arrest six in Hebron

Israeli forces have raided Hebron in the occupied West Bank, and arrested six residents, security sources told the Palestinian Wafa news agency. The military also arrested one man from Idhna, west of Hebron.

We reported earlier that Israeli forces also stormed the Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron, raiding a number of neighbourhoods and homes.

More arrests reported across occupied West Bank

The Palestinian Wafa news agency is reporting more arrests across the occupied West Bank:

Two critically injured in occupied West Bank

The Palestinian Health Ministry says a doctor was seriously wounded in the occupied West Bank town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya, after being shot in the back by Israeli forces.

The ministry said in a separate statement that one person was shot in the chest at the Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron. He was brought to the Yatta Governmental Hospital, where doctors were able to resuscitate him, but remains in a critical condition.

We earlier reported that Israeli forces stormed the camp, raiding many neighbourhoods and homes.

Israeli forces storm Jenin, besiege hospitals

We’re getting information that Israeli forces have stormed the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Military vehicles entered the city from the Jalameh military checkpoint and surrounded the Jenin Government Hospital and Ibn Sina Hospital. Ambulances at the Jenin Government Hospital were searched, Wafa news agency reported.

Thirty-five arrested in the West Bank in last 24 hours

Israeli forces detained at least 35 people in the occupied West Bank during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of arrests since October 7 to more than 10,900.

The Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society in a joint statement said the arrests were made across most of the West Bank governorates and were often accompanied by raids.

US lawmaker sends letter demanding investigation into killing of US-Turkish activist

Democratic Congressman Adam Smith said he penned the letter, along with more than 100 lawmakers, to US President Joe Biden, urging him to launch an independent investigation into the Israeli military’s killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi earlier this month in the occupied West Bank.

“Today, I sent a letter, cosigned by 102 of my colleagues, to urge the US to investigate the fatal shooting of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi. Given the evidence, we believe the United States must independently investigate whether this was a homicide,” he wrote in a post on X.

“To walk away without asking further questions gives Israeli forces unacceptable license to act with impunity. There must be accountability for Ms. Eygi’s death,” he added.

Muslim body calls for Blinken’s resignation over Gaza aid report

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a US Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, is calling on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to resign after it was revealed he ignored assessments by US government agencies and officials indicating that Israel blocked US aid to Gaza earlier this year.

Investigative news outlet ProPublica reported yesterday that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) told the State Department in April that Israel was subjecting US humanitarian aid destined for Gaza to “arbitrary denial, restriction and impediments”.

In May, Blinken delivered a State Department report to Congress stating the opposite.

“When a senior American official lies to Congress in the middle of genocide so that the government can keep funding that genocide, he is deliberately flouting the law and prolonging the suffering of millions of innocent people who desperately need our government to stop funding their slaughter,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.

Amnesty chief says Israel closing Al Jazeera Ramallah office is ‘censorship’

Agnes Callamard, the secretary-general of Amnesty International, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli military raid on Al Jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, “is an example of censorship”.

“It’s an example of violations of press freedom,” she added, and “of how Israel is preventing the entire world from accessing crucial information”. “It is coming on top of the attacks on journalists in Gaza,” she added, noting that more journalists had been killed there than in any other recent conflict.

UN chief calls for international community to ‘mobilize’ for ceasefire

Antonio Guterres said “nothing can justify” the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7 or the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people” by Israel that followed as he called for an end to hostilities.

“The international community must mobilize for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate & unconditional release of all hostages, and the beginning of an irreversible process towards a two-state solution,” he wrote on X.

On Tuesday, Guterres said at the UN General Assembly that Lebanon is close to becoming another Gaza, saying the crisis has “become a nonstop nightmare that threatens to take the whole region down”.