Protests in Tel Aviv to demand Gaza ceasefire deal and free captives

More than 1,000 people took to the streets of Tel Aviv to demand a deal with Hamas to return the Israelis held in Gaza.

Sadly it's just a minority and even so, not opposed to the war beyond the hostages.

Protests in Kashmir after Hassan Nasrallah’s killing

Thousands in Pakistan protest killing of Hezbollah leader

Thousands of people have staged protests across Pakistan after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah by Israel on Friday. Around 4,000 people gathered in the capital Islamabad and another 3,000 protested in the southern port city of Karachi.

“We stand against what Israel is doing in Palestine and Lebanon, this is why we are here today,” 27-year-old Taskeen Zafar said during the rally in Islamabad, according to AFP news agency.

Jared Kushner says Israel must ‘finish the job’ in Lebanon

Jared Kushner, who served as a senior adviser during former US President Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House, has said calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon is “wrong”. In a post on X, Kushner said Israel “cannot afford now to not finish the job” and dismantle Hezbollah completely.

“They will never get another chance. After the brilliant, rapid-fire tactical successes of the pagers, radios, and targeting of leadership, Hezbollah’s massive weapon cache is unguarded and unmanned,” said Kushner, who is also the Republican candidate’s son-in-law.

He added that the “right move” for the US is to allow Israel to “finish the job. It’s long overdue”.

Should Trump be re-elected to the US presidency in November, Kushner could again feature prominently in his administration. In March, he sparked controversy when he publicly praised the “very valuable potential” of “waterfront property” in Gaza, in comments that gave a window into what Trump’s policy on Palestine could be during his second term.

During Trump’s presidency, Kushner played a major role in negotiating the “Abraham Accords”: normalisation deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Palestinians slammed the agreements as “a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people”.

Pope Francis says Israeli attacks on Lebanon go ‘beyond morality’

Asked about Israeli air strikes in Lebanon that killed Hezbollah officials as well as civilians, the pontiff criticised military attacks that go “beyond morality”. On a flight from Belgium to Rome, Francis said countries cannot go “over the top” in using their military forces.

“Even in war there is a morality to safeguard,” he said. “War is immoral. But the rules of war give it some morality.”


_{Pope Francis talks to journalists during his flight back to Rome at the end of a four-day visit to Belgium and Luxembourg}

Pope flying coach?

British, French FMs agree to work on ‘diplomatic solution’ in Lebanon

British Foreign Minister David Lammy says he spoke to his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot, about the situation in Lebanon. “We agreed on the need to end the bloodshed, enable humanitarian support and to work towards a diplomatic solution which ends the conflict,” Lammy wrote on X.

Barrot is expected to arrive in Lebanon tonight to bring “French support, especially humanitarian”, his ministry said in a statement.

Ground invasion of Lebanon unlikely: Israeli analyst

Israeli analyst Ori Goldberg says that Israel is not preparing for a ground invasion, but instead focusing on aerial bombings in Lebanon and assassinations of senior Hezbollah leaders.

“I don’t think the troop build-up shows indications of preparations for a ground invasion,” he said, referring to the massing of Israeli ground troops on the country’s northern border and adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “does not want soldiers dying”.

“Soldiers have not been dying in Gaza recently. In fact, the fighting in the Gaza ground war is almost over, and a war in Lebanon would renew what would amount to real political criticisms for the prime minister,” Goldberg said, adding that facing Hezbollah on the ground would be a “formidable challenge”.

“[The Israeli army] didn’t do too well in 2006, it hasn’t done too well in Gaza. The [army] and the prime minister would, for all these reasons, continue a campaign of ariel bombing, as far-flung as it may be.”

They can't defeat Hamas, Hezbollah is much tougher. So just keep bombing the defenseless populations :/

US-made weapons ‘likely’ used in Friday attack: Report

US newspaper The Washington Post has reported that Israel “likely” used US-made weapons in its attack on Beirut on Friday, which flattened at least six residential buildings in pursuit of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

According to analysts who reviewed a video shared by the Israeli army of the attack, the newspaper found that the fighter jets were carrying 2,000-pound (907kg) class bombs – some of which were BLU-109s with JDAM guidance kits, both US-made.

The report added that in photos released by the army of the attack, fighter jets are seen fitted with at least three to six BLU-109s each. A former explosive ordnance disposal technician for the United States Army told the Post that the weapons are designed to go through up to two metres (six feet) of reinforced concrete.

Israel used US-made bomb in attack on Hezbollah chief, US senator says

The bomb that Israel used to kill Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week was an American-made guided weapon, a US senator has said.

During an interview with NBC News, Mark Kelly, chair of the US Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee, said Israel used a 900kg (2,000 pound) Mark-84 series bomb. His statement marks the first US indication of what weapon had been used in the attack.

“We see more use of guided munitions, JDAMs, and we continue to provide those weapons,” Kelly said, using an abbreviation for Joint Direct Attack Munitions. “That 2,000-pound bomb that was used, that’s a Mark 84 series bomb, to take out Nasrallah,” he said.

Using fins and a GPS guidance system, JDAMs convert a standard unguided bomb into a guided weapon.

The Israeli military has declined to comment on what weapons were used in the attack. The US Pentagon was not immediately available for comment.

And the White house still claims they didn't know about the attack...

Twenty-one killed in Baalbek-Hermel: Health ministry

Lebanon’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center, affiliated with the country’s Ministry of Public Health, says that a preliminary death toll from Israeli strikes on eastern Lebanon’s Baalbek-Hermel, in the Bekaa Valley, shows that 21 people were killed and 47 wounded.

Israel has been pounding Lebanon with air attacks all day, killing scores of people.

In Lebanon, ‘more families continue to flee’

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said more people are fleeing their homes in Lebanon due to the ongoing Israeli air attacks. “Over 1,400 Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian refugees are now sheltering in seven UNRWA facilities,” the agency said in a post on X.

“Many are traumatised and scared.”

Israel army says about 120 Hezbollah targets hit in latest Lebanon strikes

The Israeli military has said it hit dozens more targets in Lebanon during a new barrage “a short while ago”. “The [air force] struck approximately 120 Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon and deep inside Lebanese territory,” a military statement said.

It claimed that the targets included Hezbollah’s infrastructure and “significant headquarters used by Hezbollah’s different units”.

At least 69 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli attacks today alone, including 24 who were killed when two adjacent buildings were bombed by Israeli warplanes in the southern village of Ain al-Delb a short while ago.

Death toll in Israeli attack on Ain al-Delb, Lebanon rises

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says that an earlier Israeli attack on the southern town of Ain al-Delb, in which two adjacent buildings were flattened by air attacks, has killed more people than initially reported.

The ministry says that the attack killed 32 people, up from the originally reported 24.

Second French national killed in Lebanon: Ministry

A second French national has been killed in Lebanon, France’s Foreign Ministry has said, as Israel carried out fresh strikes against the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, killing many civilians in the process.

The announcement came as French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot flew into Beirut on Sunday evening to hold talks with local authorities and to bring humanitarian aid.

Israeli air raids on Bint Jbeil kill five: Ministry

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health has said that Israeli strikes on the southern district of Bint Jbeil have left five dead. It said that three were killed in Aita al-Shaab, and another two in as-Sawana – both towns in Bint Jbeil.

The ministry said another 10 were injured in various other towns nearby.

Israeli forces carry out more strikes in Lebanon: State media

Israeli forces have conducted a number of attacks on Kafr Tibnit, Deir al-Zahrani, and the region between Arabsalim and Haboush, Lebanon’s National News Agency is reporting.

According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, Israeli attacks across Lebanon have killed at least 82 people today.

Israeli army announces new strikes on Bekaa

The army says on X that it has unleashed a wave of air attacks on eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. At least 33 people were killed today in attacks on Hermel, a city in the region, part of Lebanon’s total of more than 105 killed by Israel in the last 24 hours.

Protesters take to streets against Nasrallah’s killing


<sub>A man holds a picture of Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah during a symbolic funeral in Basra, Iraq


Pakistani Shia Muslims carry flags as they protest the killing of Nasrallah</sub>

_{Kashmiri Shia Muslims shout slogans during a protest against Israel on the outskirts of Srinagar}

Lebanese sovereignty must be preserved: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia says it stands by the Lebanese people in light of current events, making its first comment since Israel’s killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry emphasised that Lebanon’s sovereignty must be preserved.

Cuba denounces Israel’s recent military movements

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez says on X that his country condemns Israel’s “bombings of Palestine, Lebanon and Yemen, which encourage large-scale war in the Middle East”.

He also spoke out against US support for Israel. “We reiterate that the only solution to the conflict is to recognize an independent Palestinian State with borders prior to 1967,” Rodriguez added.

Houthis emptied fuel storage facilities in Hodeidah, Ras Issa before attack: Report

As we reported earlier, Israeli forces attacked Yemen’s Hodeidah and Ras Issa today. Media outlets affiliated with the Yemeni Houthis said the group emptied the fuel storage facilities in the two locations before the Israeli attack as a precaution.

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have reported that the destruction of the oil storage facilities is significant. Not only are they used to store imported fuel, but they are old and outdated, so they cannot be easily replaced.

_{This screen grab from a video posted on social media shows Israeli strikes in Hodeidah, Yemen, on September 29}

Israel’s Gallant says ‘no place is too far’ after Yemen attack

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says he monitored the country’s attack on Yemen from a control room. “The message is clear – for us, no place is too far,” Gallant wrote on X.

The army said earlier that “dozens” of airforce aircraft were used to attack the areas of Ras Isa and Hodeidah in Yemen.

Iran condemns Israeli strikes on Yemeni port of Hodeidah

In a statement by Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, Iran denounced the attacks, saying they targeted a power plant and fuel tanks.

Yemen’s Health Ministry gives update on death toll from Israeli attacks

As we’ve been reporting, Israeli warplanes hit Yemen’s Hodeidah and Ras Isa earlier today. The Health Ministry for the Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen says that four people were killed in those attacks and 29 wounded.

Israel’s strikes on Yemen could disrupt aid flow: HRW

On X, Niku Jafarnia, Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), has said that 80 percent of humanitarian aid to Yemen entered through the ports of Hodeidad, Ras Isa and as-Salif.

As we reported earlier, Israel carried out air strikes on two of the above places, Hodeidah and Ras Isa, killing at least four people.

“The majority of [Yemen’s] population suffers from hunger,” Jafarnia said, adding that Israel’s attack on the port of Hodeidah in July this year was a potential war crime, per an HRW report, due to the “humanitarian significance” of the locations bombed by Israel.

You can read more about the importance of Hodeidah to both the economy and aid flow in Yemen in our article here.

80% of aid in #Yemen enters through Hudaydah, Ras Issa, + Salif ports. The majority of the population suffers from hunger. @hrw found that Israel's last attack on Hudaydah port (in July) was possibly a war crime because of the humanitarian significance. https://t.co/hip6GrpNef. https://t.co/xHesQLSMzg

— Niku Jafarnia (@NikuJafarnia) September 29, 2024

Yemen’s Houthis may target offshore gas platforms in response to attacks on Hodeidah

Israel has attacked the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, targeting key infrastructure including the Ras Issa seaport and power stations.

Yemeni analyst and journalist Hussein Al-Bukhaiti says the Houthi rebels may expand their offensive to Israeli ports and offshore gas platforms, escalating their operations.

Survivor of Israeli strike on school speaks of attack

Nawal Salama, a survivor of a deadly Israeli air raid on a school in western Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, has described a scene in which the floor caved in. The raid killed at least four people and injured many others.

Salama told Al Jazeera she was setting the table for her family to have lunch when she suddenly “felt something hot, [I didn’t] know what it is, fall here, and I felt waves of sand pushing me back.

“I started screaming in fear even though I felt fine and not injured. Also I heard my son screaming but I saw that he was fine and so was my daughter,” she said.

She said she couldn’t see anything and it was difficult to breathe. “I totally lost the plot. Everything happened suddenly. I pulled myself together a little bit and I went outside. I found people on the ground, some in severe pain, and some were injured.

“Thank God we are still alive. Four people were killed in the school and I know nothing more.”

More than 20 killed in separate Israeli attacks in Gaza

Medical sources have told Al Jazeera that at least 28 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza Strip since dawn today.

Most recently, our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues report, one person was killed and others were injured as a result of an Israeli attack targeting a house west of Gaza City.

_{Palestinians search for survivors underneath the rubble of a building in Gaza City}

Casualties in Israeli assault on central Gaza

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report that two people were killed and others injured in an Israeli attack targeting a house in the Nuseirat camp. At least 28 additional people have been killed in the coastal enclave since dawn, according to medical sources who spoke to Al Jazeera.

Casualties reported after another Israeli attack on central Gaza: Civil Defence

An undetermined number of people have been injured after Israeli forces targeted a tent sheltering displaced people on al-Baraka Street in Deir el-Balah, the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza has said. Earlier, we reported that an Israeli attack on a home in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza killed two people.

PRCS crews remove bodies of Palestinians killed in Gaza City

Earlier, we reported the killing of two people in an Israeli strike near the Municipal Park in Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has shared video of its crews removing the bodies of the two people killed from the scene of the attack.

More than 28 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza today.

Netanyahu adds new minister to cabinet: Report

Israeli opposition politician Gideon Saar is joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, Israeli media reports. Netanyahu and Saar are due to deliver a statement later today, the prime minister’s office has said.


Why analysts believe Netanyahu is bringing his former rival into the Israeli government

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to bring former rival Gideon Sa’ar into his government is intended to shore up his domestic power base, analysts say.

Nadav Shtrauchler, a political strategist who worked closely with Netanyahu, told CNN that the move was intended to have three effects:

Netanyahu announced Sunday that Sa’ar would join the government as a minister without portfolio.

Sa’ar said Sunday that “there is no point in continuing to sit in the opposition, in a situation where the positions of most of its members on the subject of the war are different and even far from my position. This is a time when it is my duty to try and contribute at the decision-making table.”

More background: Prior to Israel’s escalated war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Netanyahu had intended to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and elevate Sa’ar to the position. Sa’ar has little national security experience, and the scheme to appoint him defense minister drew widespread ridicule from national security heavyweights. “It’ll take him months on end to train for the job,” Gadi Eisenkot, a highly respected former Israeli military chief and member of the opposition, said at the time.

Sa’ar quit Netanyahu’s Likud party in 2020 to form his own party, New Hope, but failed to find a stable support base. He joined the emergency government after October 7, but quit this spring. He had since then been in talks with Netanyahu to re-join the government for some time.

Israel says it ‘needs to keep hitting’ Hezbollah ‘hard’

Israel’s military chief of staff has said that Hezbollah lost weapons, operatives and its leader in Israeli strikes on Beirut. Herzi Halevi said that Israel needs to keep hitting the group “hard”.

Israel has indeed been hitting Lebanon hard today, with successive air attacks on all areas of the country, including the south of the capital, Beirut. Its attacks across Lebanon have killed at least 105 people today, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.