This Israeli government is simply mad’

The Israeli government is still the “culprit” as it steps up its attacks on Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, and as Iran and Iraq enter this rapidly widening conflict, says Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst.

“The fascists and the fanatics of the Israeli government that have been carrying out the genocide in Gaza this past year, and that are responsible for expanding that war against the people in Gaza and later on against the people of the West Bank, are the ones who are expanding the war against Lebanon and beyond,” Bishara said.

“Instead of finishing up with one war, accepting a ceasefire, they decided that they’re going to start another war.”

Bishara rejected Israel’s continued claim that it is targeting “terrorists” and criticised the international community for failing to step up and enforce international law.

But even Israel’s staunchest supporters, he said, could not ignore Israel’s most recent escalation.

“The world, the so-called international community, including the ‘Western world’ community, is seeing more and more that this Israeli government is simply mad,” said Bishara. “It’s actually going crazy. It’s totally apocalyptical.”

Israel has not yet decided how to respond to Iran: Biden

US President Joe Biden says the US military and diplomats are “constantly in contact” with their Israeli counterparts.

He said he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oilfields if he were in Israel’s shoes, adding that he thinks Israel has not yet concluded how to respond to Iran.

Biden also said sanctions on Iran are “under consideration right now”.

Biden made his remarks to reporters at a White House news briefing.

Hezbollah’s rockets have caused fires in northern Israel

The Israeli army has said that at least 180 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel, many of them intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system.

However, many of them have impacted open areas and caused huge fires that local workers are still trying to put out.

The Israeli army says that they are in Lebanon for this exact reason: to try and stop the rocket fire, to quash Hezbollah’s military capabilities.

They said they had two goals in mind. The first is to restore the balance of power along the border, meaning they want to destroy Hezbollah, and the second is to return those evacuated Israelis back to those towns and settlements along the northern border.

The Israeli military and the defence minister alike have said that they have more surprises in store for Hezbollah and that they haven’t unleashed their full capabilities just yet, but that they are prepared to do so from land, air and sea.

Ireland rejects Israeli army’s request to withdraw peacekeepers from Lebanese border: Report

The Irish Times reports that Dublin has rejected an Israeli military request for Ireland to withdraw its peacekeeping troops from an outpost along the Lebanon-Israel border. Ireland, which has a single outpost designated as post 6-52 on the border, is one of several countries contributing troops to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL.

UNIFIL was set up in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon in reprisal for a Palestinian attack. UNIFIL, as well as unarmed technical observers known as UNTSO, have since then been stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, known as the Blue Line.

Its roughly 10,000 peacekeepers are tasked with monitoring the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. The Irish platoon stationed at the post is tasked with observing and reporting any incursions along the border.

The request for the troop removal raises concerns that Israel may be preparing a broader invasion of southern Lebanon, with the prospect of expanding operations along the entire border.

UNIFIL has communicated to Israel that the peacekeepers will not be withdrawn, reinforcing its commitment to maintaining stability in the region.

Israeli army issues new evacuation order for Beirut

The Israeli army has issued an order for residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate immediately. The military specifically called on those living in a building in the Bourj el-Barajneh area to abandon their homes.

The issuance of these evacuation orders, which has become a near-nightly occurrence from the Israeli army, shortly preceded violent air strikes on the Lebanese capital.

#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل جديد إلى سكان الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا المتواجدين في المبنى المحدد في الخارطة والواقع في حي برج البراجنة

🔴أنتم متواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على مدى الزمني القريب
🔴من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء عائلتكم عليكم اخلاء… pic.twitter.com/Ob6mZHvs8c

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 4, 2024

Blast heard in south Beirut after Israeli evacuation orders

A blast has been heard and smoke seen rising over Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to witnesses, Reuters is reporting.

The explosion came shortly after the Israeli military issued a new alert for residents of the area to immediately evacuate.

Four reported killed in Israeli drone strike on north Lebanon refugee camp

Local Lebanese and Palestinian media have reported that four people were killed in an Israeli drone strike in the far north of Lebanon.

The strike targeted an apartment building in the Beddawi camp for Palestinian refugees, which is situated near Lebanon’s Tripoli city – more than 80km (50 miles) north of the capital Beirut.

The news reports did not provide information on the four victims.

According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the Beddawi camp was established in 1955 and has five UNRWA-run schools catering to more than 3,700 students among the camp’s estimated 18,000 inhabitants.

Hamas confirms military official, family killed in north Lebanon drone strike

Hamas has now confirmed that one of its military officials, Saeed Atallah Ali, was killed in the attack along with his wife and two young daughters.

“We pledge to our people to avenge the pure blood that was shed and to confirm that our upcoming series of responses will be in actions before words,” Hamas said in a statement.


Israeli military announces new evacuation orders for Beirut

The evacuation orders, announced on X by the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee, ordered the residents of the Burj al-Barajneh and Haret Hreik areas of southern Beirut to leave their homes.

“You are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, and the [Israeli military] will operate against them in the near future,” he said alongside an image of a city map with targeted buildings highlighted in red.

Hezbollah says it inflicted ‘casualties’ on Israeli forces attempting to infiltrate Odaisseh

The Lebanese armed group said its fighters clashed with Israeli forces when they attempted to advance towards the town of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon late on Friday evening.

Hezbollah said it carried out a “huge explosion” on the Israeli troops, forcing them to retreat and inflicting casualties and injuries. It said Israeli forces have since resumed their advance and clashes are ongoing.

No death toll for the incident has been announced. Israel is yet to confirm the attack.

_{Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the southern Lebanese town of Odaisseh on September 18}

Hezbollah dismisses footage of Israeli soldiers in Lebanon

In a statement attributed to a field commander, Hezbollah has played down videos released by the Israeli military showing soldiers running through the streets and entering buildings in south Lebanon, stressing that they do not prove Israeli advances.

The Hezbollah commander said the footage was taken just dozens of metres into the Lebanese side of the border.

“Everyone knows some southerners have built homes right by the border,” the statement said.

It added that the videos aim to improve the image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a crisis as the Israeli military’s elite units are suffering heavy casualties in Lebanon since the ground invasion started three days ago.

The commander said Hezbollah fighters continued to fend off Israeli forces on multiple fronts along the border on Friday.

“The fighters of the resistance are monitoring and following and repelling the enemy’s movements on the front lines of south Lebanon,” the statement added.

Hezbollah says rocket attacks launched against Israeli military

The Lebanese armed group has announced that it has carried out rocket attacks against Israeli forces in recent hours.

US military having doubts about wisdom of its ‘ironclad’ support for Israel – Report

Military officials in the United States are debating whether sending more forces to the Middle East risks further emboldening Israel, according to a report in The New York Times.

US officials say its policy of military support for Israel seeks a “de-escalation of the situation through deterrence and diplomacy”. But some senior officials now question if it is having the desired effect, the paper says.

In the 12 months since Hamas attacked Israel, the Pentagon has supplied billions of dollars of weapons to Israel, while sending its own aircraft carriers, guided missile destroyers and fighter squadrons, as well as deploying 43,000 troops in the region.

The Times said several Pentagon officials expressed concern that Israel was waging an increasingly aggressive campaign against the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, knowing that “an armada of American warships and dozens of attack planes stand ready to help blunt any Iranian response”.

One official was quoted as saying it was in Israel‘s interest to take advantage of the beefed-up US military presence in the region to achieve its objectives of destroying Hamas and Hezbollah.

General Charles Q Brown Jr, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who previously commanded US air forces in the Middle East, has raised the issue in meetings at the Pentagon and the White House, The Times reported, citing US officials.

“If you’re Israel and you’re a military planner, you want to do all that while things are in the region, not after it leaves,” said Dana Stroul, the Pentagon’s former top official for Middle East policy, of US military presence.

On Sunday, Biden administration officials said they had talked to Israeli officials about limiting its ground invasion of Lebanon. But Israel’s raids this week have so far looked more like a more extensive operation is planned, other officials said.

US to provide humanitarian aid in response to Lebanon crisis

The State Department says that the United States will provide nearly $157m in new humanitarian assistance to support populations affected by conflict in Lebanon and the region.

The department said in a statement, “This funding will address new and existing needs of internally displaced persons and refugee populations inside Lebanon and the communities that host them.

“The assistance will also support those fleeing to neighbouring Syria,” the State Department said.

Washington provides Israel with at least $3.8bn in military aid annually, and US President Biden has greenlit $14bn in additional assistance to the US ally since the Gaza war began in October of last year.

How Israel and US manufactured the case for genocide in Gaza

Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara makes the case that Israel’s deep humiliation in the days after the October 7 Hamas attacks led it to collaborate with the US to manufacture a case for Palestinian genocide.

At least 8 dead following Israeli military attacks in central Gaza

The Israeli military has carried out several deadly air attacks in central Gaza in recent hours, the Wafa news agency reports.

They include: