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Forums - Politics Discussion - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 21 March 2025

Special coordinator tells UNSC Israel’s settlement activity ‘accelerated’

The UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Sigrid Kaag, has delivered a quarterly update on the implementation of UN Resolution 2334, which demanded that Israel cease all settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Contrary to the resolution, “settlement activity continued” and “demolitions and seizures of Palestinian property accelerated”, Kaag told the UN Security Council.

Israeli planning authorities scheduled or approved 10,600 housing units in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the monitored period from December to March.

Kaag also told the UNSC more movement restrictions were implemented in the West Bank, and the Tulkarem and Jenin refugee camps were emptied of Palestinian residents.

Settlements expansion ‘dramatically altering the landscape’ in the West Bank: UN chief

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the “relentless expansion of Israeli settlements is dramatically altering the landscape and demographics of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”

In a six-page report on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2334, a 2016 resolution demanding the halt of settlement activity by Israel on occupied Palestinian territory, Guterres noted: “Palestinians are increasingly confined into shrinking and disconnected areas, presenting an existential threat to the prospect of a contiguous, viable, independent Palestinian state.”

“Settlements have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of international law,” Guterres added. “The demolition and seizure of Palestinian-owned structures entail numerous human rights violations and raise concerns about the risk of forcible transfer. I once again urge the Government of Israel to abide by its obligations under international law.”


Israeli military vehicles operate during an Israeli raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank



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SvennoJ on 21 March 2025

Israeli attorney general says PM ‘prohibited’ from hiring new intel chief

Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara says the prime minister isn’t allowed to appoint a new internal security agency chief after the government decided to sack Bar.

“According to the decision of the Supreme Court, it is prohibited to take any action that harms the position of the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar,” she said in a message to Netanyahu published by a spokesperson.

“It is prohibited to appoint a new head of Shin Bet, and interviews for the position should not be held.”

The move to sack Bar has been appealed by opposition parties. Friday’s appeal also mentioned that Bar’s dismissal took place after a Shin Bet investigation highlighted, according to the plaintiffs, “that the political leadership bears responsibility for the October 7 disaster”.


Israel’s president decries ‘harsh reality unfolding before our eyes’

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to sack the domestic intelligence chief has revived deep divisions within Israel with many people concerned by what they see as his latest autocratic move.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog deplored the government’s “controversial moves” that “deepened divisions” while Israel is still at war in the Gaza Strip.

A poll by the Channel 12 television network found that 51 percent of Israelis opposed Shit Bet boss Ronen Bar’s sacking while 32 percent supported it.

“It’s impossible not to be deeply troubled by the harsh reality unfolding before our eyes,” Herzog said. It’s “unthinkable to resume fighting while still pursuing the sacred mission of bringing our hostages home” from Gaza, he added.


US tells UN Hamas to blame for Gaza deaths since Israeli attacks resumed

The Palestinian group is to blame for the nearly 600 deaths in the Gaza Strip since hostilities resumed on Tuesday, the US tells the UN Security Council.

“Hamas bears full responsibility for the ongoing war in Gaza and for the resumption of hostilities. Every death would have been avoided had Hamas accepted the bridge proposal that the United States offered last Wednesday,” acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the 15-member council.


Hamas denies Israeli media reports it halted negotiations

Hamas has denied reports by Israeli media that it has halted negotiations over the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a ceasefire in Gaza.

Hamas “is still engaged in negotiations and is following up with the mediator brothers in a responsible and serious manner”, the group said in a statement. It added it was also considering a proposal by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

“Moreover, the movement is also discussing Witkoff’s proposal and all other suggested ideas to achieve an exchange agreement that ensures the release of prisoners, ends the war, and guarantees the withdrawal from Gaza,” the group wrote.


Israel’s UN envoy says Hamas leadership will fall ‘one by one’

Danny Danon says the group’s leadership will fall “one by one” if it does not come back to the table to negotiate with Israel. Danon was addressing the UN Security Council.

Earlier, Hamas issued a statement saying it was indeed still communicating with mediators over negotiations to release the remaining Israeli captives and reinstate the ceasefire.


This Massive Israel Lie DESTROYED.. By Israeli Newspaper



Israel, Not Hamas, Is Derailing the Gaza Cease-fire and Preventing the Hostages' Return
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/2025-03-19/ty-article-opinion/.premium/israel-not-hamas-is-derailing-the-gaza-cease-fire-and-preventing-the-hostages-return/00000195-ab07-d0f1-a59f-ef7773020000



SvennoJ on 21 March 2025

Main events on March 21st

  • The Israeli military has bombed and destroyed the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in central Gaza, with Gaza’s Health Ministry decrying the attack on the cancer treatment facility as a “heinous crime”. The hospital was empty when destroyed by Israeli bombing.
  • The Israeli military confirmed a ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza is under way and troops are pushing into the north near the town of Beit Lahiya and central areas.
  • Near to 600 Palestinians have been killed since Israel broke the Gaza ceasefire on Tuesday, medical authorities in the besieged enclave said, including at least 200 children.
  • The Israeli military shot down another missile fired from Yemen before it crossed into Israel, in the latest of several attacks carried out by the Houthis over recent days.
  • The Israeli army carried out more strikes on Syria, bombing two military bases in the country – which were identified as Tadmur and T4.
  • Columbia University has reportedly bowed to the Trump administration’s demands following widespread pro-Palestine protests on its New York City campus, according to a memo seen by the Reuters news agency.


Israel operating ‘under US cover’: Analyst

Caroline Rose, an analyst at the New Lines Institute, told Al Jazeera that Israel has been acting “under US cover” amid its renewed assault on Gaza.

“This decision to pivot away from phase one and the transition into phase two of the ceasefire agreement was green-lit by the White House,” Rose said. “But also now it seems that the White House is increasingly influenced by Netanyahu’s maximum pressure strategy and perspective in the Middle East.”

Rose added that there have been fewer calls from the Trump administration to engage in an agreement to release the remaining captives and to maintain the ceasefire agreement that Trump played a large role in brokering.

“Instead, it seems that the United States is allowing Netanyahu to really pivot away from that ceasefire agreement, add this new stipulation of a complete hostage return, in return for a rather ambiguous extension to phase one of the ceasefire agreement. Not necessarily the deal that the White House just a few weeks ago was campaigning for.”


Israelis deeply divided over Shin Bet chief dismissal, return to war

The Israeli Prime Minister cited mistrust between him and the head of his internal security agency, the Shin Bet, citing that as the reason for his dismissal.

Last night, the Israeli cabinet – the most right-wing government in Israel’s history – voted unanimously to remove him. However, the High Court of Justice issued an injunction today, and that means essentially blocking that decision, saying that this needs to come before an advisory committee, they need to hear both sides, they need to analyse what’s going on before any sort of decision like this can be made and before any replacement can be put in that position.

The attorney general after that sent a letter to Netanyahu saying that his government is not allowed to explore the idea of a replacement just yet. This has caused a lot of protests within Israel and it even prompted Netanyahu to speak earlier in the night saying that “there won’t be a civil war within Israel”.

Because you have a people who are divided, you have the right wing within Israel who wants to go back to war and wants to remove all the people at these top-level positions so they are replaced with confidantes of Netanyahu, and then you have the other part of the Israeli public and the Israeli opposition within the government, who say that Netanyahu is doing all of this for personal and political gain.



SvennoJ on 21 March 2025

Israel destroys Gaza’s cancer hospital in apparent Netzarim ‘buffer zone’ expansion

The situation inside the hospital is still quite difficult with the arrival of mass casualties due to the ongoing attacks on residential homes in northern Gaza and Gaza City.

Elsewhere across the Gaza Strip, multiple air strikes targeted more residential homes, public facilities, as well as temporary shelters for people seeking protection and safety from the unpredictable falling bombs.

It also involved the destruction, where the Israeli military blew up the only specialised hospital for cancer patients, the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital near the Netzarim Corridor in what seems to be an attempt by the Israeli military to expand the corridor and create more buffer zone.

It went – at the beginning of this genocidal war – from 500 metres (1,640ft) wide into now eight kilometres (five miles), and it continues to expand.

In doing so, the Israeli military destroyed more residential buildings, and more of the agricultural lands in the area are being bulldozed.



Key Gaza cancer hospital demolished: What we know

Here is what we know about Gaza’s only specialised cancer treatment hospital that was destroyed by Israel:

  • The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital and medical school was built and equipped by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), a government agency similar to USAID.
  • Construction on the hospital began in 2011 and was completed in 2017, at a cost of $70m.
  • The hospital was considered the largest medical facility in Gaza, with total interior space of 33,400 square metres (359,514 square feet ).
  • It was the only hospital in Gaza accredited to treat cancer patients and had the capacity to treat 30,000 people a year.
  • The third floor of the hospital was hit by an Israeli air strike on October 30, 2023.
  • Fuel shortages forced the hospital to shut down on November 1, 2023, with the UN warning the lives of 70 patients were at risk. It later emerged four patients died due to lack of medical care.
  • Satellite imagery in May 2024 appeared to show the Israeli military using the hospital as a military base.
  • Footage posted online showed the Israeli military carrying out a demolition of the hospital on Friday. Israel later confirmed it destroyed the cancer hospital claiming it was used by Hamas – without providing any evidence.
  • Turkiye’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the destruction of the hospital: “The deliberate targeting of a hospital providing healthcare services to civilians in Gaza is part of Israel’s policy to render Gaza unliveable and force the Palestinian people into displacement.”

Scenes of horror at Gaza City hospital after children killed in Israeli bombing

There have been almost nonstop air strikes across northern Gaza and Gaza City within the past five hours, with two massive air strikes targeting more residential buildings.

We have heard from civil defence crews who have been constantly bringing injured people to the hospital that the homes being targeted are full of displaced Palestinians who were forced into internal displacement from the eastern part of Gaza City and were sheltering inside the homes of friends and family.

In the past couple of hours it was very very chaotic here at al-Ahli Hospital with the arrival of five children who were killed in an air strike and pulled from under the rubble.

There was this heartbreaking moment when a father pulled from the ambulance a bag that was full of flesh. Later the doctor discovered the amount of flesh inside the bag belonged to two children of the same family that was killed inside the residential home. We were told by the civil defence crew that eight members of the family are still missing and trapped under the rubble.

Earlier, last night, the Israeli military targeted another home killing 12 people from the same family in the Tuffah neighbourhood. This particular neighbourhood has been targeted repeatedly by the Israeli military, causing further civilian casualties.

This sheer level of destruction adds to the destruction caused over the past 15 months and forces more people into further internal displacement.


The victims of an Israeli air strike are prepared for burial at the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, on March 20



SvennoJ on 22 March 2025

Hamas considering US ‘bridge’ proposal, even as Israel escalates attacks: Report

An unnamed official from the Palestinian group told the Reuters news agency it was still considering the US-backed “bridge” proposal in order to restore the Gaza ceasefire, even as Israel has launched a renewed ground invasion of the besieged enclave.

The proposal, tabled by US President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, aims to restore the Gaza ceasefire and extend it into April in order to allow time to negotiate a permanent cessation of fighting.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the Palestinian official also said Egypt has put forward a similar bridging proposal, but Hamas is yet to respond. The official declined to offer more details.

Close to 600 Palestinians, including at least 200 children, have been killed since Israel renewed its assault on the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday.


Trump envoy Witkoff vague on proposed Gaza rebuilding plan

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has given a long interview to right-wing political commentator Tucker Carlson where they spoke at length about Gaza and the state of ceasefire negotiations.

Here is some of what was said:

  • Witkoff was vague on Trump’s plan for Gaza, saying the priority was achieving “stability in Gaza” and that “stability in Gaza could mean some people come back. It could mean some people don’t come back.”
  • Witkoff also offered thoughts on a two-state solution and Gaza reconstruction saying: “What ‘two-state’ to me means is, ‘how do we have a better living prescription for Palestinians who are living in Gaza?’ Let’s get to that place. But it’s not just about housing. Maybe it’s about AI coming there. Maybe it’s about hyperscale data centres being seeded into that area, because we need to have that, and these people can now take advantage, and we can create jobs for them there … We can’t rebuild Gaza and it be based on a welfare system. We have to give people prospects, economic and financial prospects.”

Witkoff randomly babbling, yeah put a traumatized population to work in hyperscale AI data centers, wtf.


Witkoff warns Israel’s war on Gaza prompting instability in Arab world

  • Hamas wants “to stay there till the end of time and they want to rule Gaza” but that would be “unacceptable” to the Trump administration, Witkoff said.
  • The Trump administration wants the group to demilitarise, with Witkoff saying that were Hamas to agree, they could “stay there a little bit, be involved politically”. But he said the US “can’t have a terrorist organisation running, running Gaza, because that won’t be acceptable to Israel”.
  • Hamas was not “ideologically intractable” and could be negotiated with, Witkoff also said, and confirmed he was not negotiating directly with representatives from the group and was relying on Qatar as an intermediary.
  • Witkoff said he did not believe Israel wants to occupy Gaza.
  • Egypt was a potential “flash point” as anger at Israel’s campaign in Gaza was widespread among populations in neighbouring Arab countries, Witkoff said, saying the threat of regional instability meant “we’ve got to solve Gaza”.

Hamas has already offered to step down, hold elections etc

Hamas reportedly agrees to step down from governing Gaza in next phase
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-842236

It's Israel (and the US) that don't want to go to phase 2 of the ceasefire deal.


Hamas is not going to demilitarize as long as the occupation continues though.

Responding to Witkoff, Hamas vows no demilitarization ‘as long as the occupation exists’
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/responding-to-witkoff-hamas-vows-no-demilitarization-as-long-as-the-occupation-exists/

“When we talk about the weapons of the resistance, they are the weapons of the Palestinian people. Therefore, these weapons are carried by Palestinians to resist the occupation, as guaranteed by international laws and conventions,” adds Badran.

Witkoff is right that Israel doesn't want to occupy Gaza, they want to annex it, like the Westbank. Just got to get the people to leave first.

And yes Witkoff, you're doing a stellar job at destabilizing the ME.



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SvennoJ on 22 March 2025

Five Palestinians killed, dozens injured in one week in occupied West Bank: UN

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has published its latest bi-weekly situation update on the occupied West Bank.

Here are some of its findings:

  • Between March 11 and 17, five Palestinians were killed across the territory, including occupied East Jerusalem, while 82 others were injured, among them 13 children.​
  • In the same time period, there were 34 documented incidents against Palestinians involving Israeli settlers that led to “casualties, property damage or both”.
  • A survey identified 849 Israeli “obstacles” designed to impede the free movement of Palestinians across the occupied territory, including 288 road gates, many of which are frequently closed.​
  • Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank have caused extensive damage to “water, sanitation, and road infrastructure”, posing serious public health risks.
  • More than 600 residential units have been rendered “uninhabitable” since Israel began its military operations in the northern occupied West Bank. According to local sources, 66 “residential structures” also face demolition.


Israeli army instructs residents in Tulkarem neighbourhood to evacuate homes

The Israeli military has informed residents in the Muqata’a neighbourhood in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem they must evacuate their homes, the Palestinian Information Center reports.

They have been given a deadline of 12am local time on Saturday (22:00 GMT on Friday) to do so. The reason for the forced evacuation is not currently clear.

Israeli forces have also carried out raids in the city of Nablus and the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus.

Palestinian Authority security forces have arrested a Palestinian man from his home in Tulkarem refugee camp.

Palestinian fighters detonate explosive device in Jenin, Israeli military arrest 3

Al-Quds Brigades – Jenin Battalion, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, has said its fighters detonated an explosive device at the Salem Israeli military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank town of Silat al-Harithiya near Jenin.

In Yabad, southwest of Jenin, Israeli forces have arrested three Palestinian men during a raid on the town, according to the Quds News Network.



SvennoJ on 22 March 2025

More proof of genocide intent coming out, I hope the ICJ is paying attention.

Netanyahu told military to bomb ‘everything’ in Gaza after October 7: Report

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu thumped the table and instructed the Israeli military to bomb Gaza “with everything you have”, following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Israeli newspaper Ynet, citing Israeli Knesset member Gadi Eisenkot and other military sources, said that Netanyahu had the outburst during a meeting with military officers who presented him with a list of 1,500 targets the Israeli military had struck across Gaza in the days after October 7.

According to the report, Netanyahu demanded to know why the military did not have 5,000 targets on the list for attack, to which he was told: “We don’t have 5,000 approved targets.”

“I’m not interested in targets,” Netanyahu said.

“Take down houses, bomb with everything you have,” he said, according to the report.


A view of destroyed residential buildings and wrecked vehicles in Abasan al-Kabira, a village just outside of Khan Younis, after Israeli warplanes attacked on March 20, 2025

Israeli forces shell Nuseirat, helicopter opens fire in Gaza City

The Israeli military is shelling the northern areas of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, Al Jazeera Arabic reports, citing local sources.

An Israeli army helicopter is also carrying out “intense gunfire” east of Gaza City, according to the Palestinian Information Center.


Israeli forces launch artillery shelling on northern Gaza

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that Israeli forces have carried out artillery shelling in parts of northern Gaza.

Earlier we reported an Israeli strike on a home in the Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, killing at least five people and injuring several others.


Palestinians use a donkey-pulled cart to transport their belongings as they flee Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip


Gaza death toll rises as Israel’s army steps up attacks

The Israeli army’s renewed attacks on Gaza that began on Tuesday have killed a total of 634 people and wounded 1,172, the Gaza Health Ministry says.

The death toll includes 130 people killed in the past 48 hours.

The confirmed casualty figures in Gaza since October 7, 2023, now stand at 49,747 with 113,213 wounded, it said.



SvennoJ on 22 March 2025

Israeli military says it intercepted three rockets fired from Lebanon

The Israeli military claims to have intercepted three rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. Sirens sounded in the northern Israeli town of Metula following a suspected rock attack.

Footage uploaded to social media recorded what sounded like a large detonation near the town along the Lebanese border.



More rocket attacks, shelling on Lebanon-Israel border

Earlier, we reported the Israeli military said it had intercepted three rockets fired across the border from Lebanon into northern Israel.

Israel’s Army Radio now reports that at least five rockets fired from Lebanon have been detected. Three of those rockets were intercepted, while two fell inside Lebanese territory, it said.

Al Jazeera Arabic also reports that the Israeli military is shelling the outskirts of the town of Yahmor in southern Lebanon.

No casualties have been reported in these incidents so far. Lebanese armed group Hezbollah is yet to comment on the attacks.


Israel will ‘respond severely’ to Lebanon rocket fire: Army chief

Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir has warned the military will “respond severely” after the army said it intercepted three rockets fired from Lebanon.

“The [army] will respond severely to the morning’s attack,” Zamir said in a statement. “The state of Lebanon bears responsibility for upholding the agreement.”

Lebanon’s PM Salam warns of renewed war with Israel

We’ve been reporting on the Israeli military saying it intercepted rockets fired across the border from Lebanon into northern Israel.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam released a statement warning of the potential for renewed fighting after a three-month ceasefire.

“All security and military measures must be taken to show that Lebanon decides on matters of war and peace,” Salam said.

Attacks risk “dragging the country into a new war, which will bring woes to Lebanon and the Lebanese people”, he said.

This latest incident threatens an already fragile truce that ended year-long fighting between Israel and Lebanese group Hezbollah.


Destroyed buildings in the southern Lebanese village of Yaroun near the border with Israel

Amid rocket attacks, ex-minister calls Netanyahu a security liability

Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has highlighted the rocket attacks on Israel, accusing Prime Minister Netanyahu of failing to restore security.

“Rockets from Gaza, Yemen, and Lebanon in a single day,” wrote Lieberman, who heads Israel’s conservative Yisrael Beiteinu party. “The prime minister of October 7 is a danger to Israel’s security.”


Israeli military attacks target southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) says Israeli warplanes flew over eastern areas of southern Lebanon after rockets were launched towards northern Israel.

Israeli ground troops were strafing the el-Hamames hills with automatic weapon fire, NNA reported. Israeli artillery fire targeted the Nabatieh district in the south and the town of Khiam, which was hit by “three shells [fired by] Merkava tanks”.

The military also fired automatic weapons at the border villages of Hula, Markaba and Kfar Kila, it said.

A November 27 truce largely halted more than a year of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of full-blown war during which Israel sent in
ground forces.



SvennoJ on 22 March 2025

Israel launches dozens of air strikes on southern Lebanon

Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu has ordered air strikes against dozens of “terrorist” targets in Lebanon in response to rocket fire. The army “is currently attacking Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon. To be continued”, said military spokesman Avichay Adraee.

No group has claimed responsibility for five rockets launched towards northern Israel. No damage or casualties have been reported. Israel’s military vowed a “severe response” to the attack.

President Aoun condemns attempts to weaken Lebanon

President Joseph Aoun has condemned “attempts” to destabilise Lebanon and reignite violence, according to a statement by his office.

“What happened today in the south, and what has continued there since February 18, constitutes a persistent assault on Lebanon and a blow to its rescue project, which the Lebanese have unanimously agreed upon,” the presidency quoted him as saying in an X post.

Aoun urged “all relevant forces” in southern Lebanon to closely monitor the situation and take all necessary precautions to prevent further escalation.


Lebanon’s army ‘dismantles’ rocket launch site

The Lebanese military says it dismantled three makeshift rocket batteries in the south of the country after projectiles were launched towards Israel.

“The army … discovered three homemade rocket launch pads in the region north of the Litani River” and “proceeded with their dismantling”, the military said in a statement.


Resistance will continue as long ‘as Israel occupies southern Lebanon’

Analyst Sultan Barakat says while Hezbollah’s capabilities have been reduced, the reason for its existence remains the same: The “occupation of south Lebanon by Israel”.

“As long as the occupation continues, including the control of the five points they have maintained despite the ceasefire agreement, the resistance will continue,” the professor at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Doha told Al Jazeera.

Barakat also said while it is likely its attacks won’t be as intense as in the past, Israel will still want the Lebanese government “to feel the pressure all the time in Beirut”.


One killed, 3 wounded by air raid in southern Lebanon

Israeli air raids have struck a multitude of villages across southern Lebanon, reports Lebanon’s National News Agency.

An attack in the village of Touline killed one person and injured three, the agency said.


Which areas in southern Lebanon are Israeli air raids targeting?

As we’ve been reporting, Israeli air raids are being reported across southern Lebanon. According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, the areas include:

  • Kfar Kila
  • Touline
  • Yahmar al-Shaqif
  • Bouslaiya
  • Birkat al-Jabour
  • Kfar Houneh
  • Mahmoudiyeh
  • Wadi Zebqin
  • Ar-Rihan
  • Iqlim al-Tuffah
  • Outskirts of Beit Lif
  • Outskirts of Ain Qana
  • Outskirts of Kfar Melki
  • Outskirts of Tayr Harfa


More casualties reported from air raid on Lebanon’s Touline

At least two people are confirmed killed and eight others injured by Israeli air raids, reports Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Three of the victims, including one of those killed, are children, it said, citing the country’s government-run Public Health Emergency Operations Center.

No group has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire earlier towards Israel, which has blamed Hezbollah. Israeli defence chiefs say they hold the Lebanese government responsible for all hostile fire from its territory regardless of who launched it.



SvennoJ on 22 March 2025

Senior Hezbollah source says group not behind rocket attack

A senior Hezbollah source has denied the group’s involvement in the rocket attack on Israel.

The source told Al Jazeera the Lebanese group remains committed to the ceasefire in southern Lebanon and officially claims responsibility for any operations it conducts against Israel.

It informed Lebanese authorities: “We stand behind the state in addressing current developments,” the source said.

Israel does not need “pretexts” to attack Lebanon’s sovereignty as it regularly launches assaults, the source noted.


Lebanon’s parliament speaker calls for probe into rocket attack

Speaker Nabih Berri has urged the country’s army and judicial officials, along with the ceasefire monitoring committee, to uncover the details surrounding the origin of the rocket fire into northern Israel.

Hezbollah has denied involvement in the attack, although Israel has blamed the Lebanese group.

Lebanon’s an-Nahar news site quoted Berri as saying any escalation of violence dragging Lebanon into conflict would only benefit Israel, which he accused of repeatedly violating its ceasefire with Hezbollah.


Lebanon army launches investigation into rocket fire at Israel

Defence Minister Michel Menassa has called on the states sponsoring the ceasefire to “deter the Israeli enemy from its continued violations and attacks under flimsy pretexts and false pretexts”.

The major general noted the Lebanese army has begun investigating the circumstances of the rocket fire.

He stressed “Lebanon’s rejection of a return to the pre-ceasefire situation in November 2024 and its strong opposition to attempts to undermine the state’s efforts to consolidate security and stability throughout Lebanese territory, particularly along the southern and eastern borders”.

Menassa urged Lebanese to “be aware and vigilant” against attempts to sow discord between the army and the people “through intimidation and deception practised by the Israeli enemy”, news outlet MTV Lebanon quoted him as saying.


Hezbollah-allied SSNP denies responsibility for rocket attack

The Eagles of the Whirlwind, the armed wing of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), denies reports that it may have been involved in the rocket attack against northern Israel.

In a statement, the Hezbollah-allied group stressed the “role of the state, government and army in addressing the Israeli aggressions against Lebanon”.

As we’ve been reporting, Israeli artillery and air strikes hit southern Lebanon after its military said it intercepted three rockets launched from a Lebanese district about 6km (4 miles) north of their shared border.

Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the rocket fire.


Israeli strike reported in Lebanon’s Tyre

Several Lebanese media outlets have reported that an Israeli air raid has struck the southern coastal city.

The attack would represent a major escalation by Israel. Tyre is one of the largest cities in southern Lebanon.

Another strike was also reported in Zibqin, southeast of Tyre.


More Israeli strikes reported across Lebanon

The Israeli military appears to be carrying out another wave of attacks against Lebanon after the rocket launch that targeted a border town in Israel.

Lebanese media outlets reported Israeli strikes in Qusayr, Kfarmilki and Adsheet among other areas in southern Lebanon. An attack was also reported near Nabi Chit in the Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border.


At least one person killed in Israeli strike on Tyre: Lebanon’s Health Ministry

The country’s Health Ministry says the attack killed at least one person and injured seven.

Another Israeli attack in Qlaileh, southeast of Tyre, wounded four people, according to the ministry.


Israeli military says it launches more than 200 strikes across region

Israeli media outlets cite Israel’s military as saying that its air force has struck more than 200 targets in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria since last night.


Death toll from earlier strike on Lebanon’s Touline rises to five

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says an Israeli attack on the southern Lebanese town has killed five people, including a child, and injured 10 others.

The tally brings the death toll from this wave of Israeli attacks on Lebanon to at least six. One person was killed in an Israeli attack in Tyre, the ministry reported earlier.