The death toll in Lebanon has reached 558 including 50 children since Israel launched fresh strikes on Monday, the country’s health minister said.
A fresh wave of strikes began on Tuesday, after Monday saw the deadliest day of strikes in Lebanon in nearly two decades of the conflict.
After almost a year of war against Hamas in Gaza on its southern border, Israel is shifting its focus to the northern frontier, where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, also backed by Iran.
The Israeli military said it struck a Hezbollah militant cell and its artillery and tanks hit other Hezbollah targets in the south overnight in the latest round of strikes.
Hezbollah on Tuesday morning said it had attacked several Israeli military targets, including an explosives factory 60 km (37 miles) into Israel.
It comes as thousands were pictured fleeing southern Lebanon in loaded cars, vans and trucks. Highways north were gridlocked. Images also showed scores of civilians sleeping on beaches and walkways after having fled last night.
Key Points
- Israel and Hezbollah exchange more rocket attacks
- Israel prepared for ground invasion of Lebanon if necessary, IDF says
- Israel ‘considering siege’ on Hamas in northern Gaza
- 492 killed in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war
- US sending more troops to the Middle East as violence rises between Israel and Hezbollah
Breaking: Number killed in Lebanon rises to 558 including 50 children
11:23
Alex Croft
The number killed by Israeli strikes on Lebanon this week has risen to 558 including 50 children, the Lebanese health minister said.
Firass Abiad added that 94 women were included in the dead, and 1,835 have been injured.
The death count was last counted at 492 and 1,645 wounded yesterday.
Nearly 50 flights cancelled in and out of Beirut
11:07
Alex Croft
Beirut’s main airport, Rafic Hariri, has announced that at least 40 flights were cancelled as of Tuesday morning.
The airport’s website shows dozens of cancelations including for trips between Germany, France, Turkey, Iraq and Qatar.
Aviation authorities in Lebanon have denied that any full flight suspensions are taking place, and confirmed cancellations by certain airlines due to Israeli strikes.
10:47
Alex Croft
Iranian president arrives at UN summit
The leaders of 193 countries have been invited to New York for the UN’s highest-level annual summit.
The Middle East will be high on the agenda following the most deadly day of Israeli strikes on Lebanon in decades.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New York yesterday. It is his first summit as president after the helicopter crash in May which killed former President Ebrahim Raisi - who many touted to be Iran’s next Supreme Leader.
Upon his arrival, Pezeshkian said: "We do not wish to be the cause of instability in the Middle East as its consequences would be irreversible.”
"It’s Israel that wants to drag everyone into war and destabilise the region… They are dragging us to a point where we do not wish to go."
Pictured: Thousands in Lebanon struck in gridlock traffic as they flee homes
10:24
Alex Croft
Another wave of Israeli strikes begins
10:01
Alex Croft
Israeli airstrikes are building up again on Lebanon, according to reports on Israeli radio.
A brief lull in strikes appears to have ended, after nearly 500 people were killed on Monday.
Lebanese state news agency NNA said on Tuesday: “Hostile airstrikes resumed on Baalbek and its surrounding areas, targeting Al-Tal Al-Abyad district at the northern entrance of Baalbek, the town of Talia, and the outskirts of Shamstar.”
Sky News reports that four strikes hit the area around Tyre, southern Lebanon, within a few minutes.
Israeli army radio confirmed that another wave of strikes is underway.
What is Israel planning?
09:42
Barney Davis
Israeli officials say they have not yet made an official decision to expand military operations against Hezbollah - and have not said publicly what those operations might be. Last week, however, the head of Israel’s Northern Command was quoted in local media as advocating for a ground invasion of Lebanon.
Meanwhile, as fighting in Gaza has slowed, Israel has increased its forces along the Lebanese border, including the arrival of a powerful army division believed to include thousands of troops.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant last week declared the start of a “new phase” of the war as Israel turns its focus towards Hezbollah.
“The centre of gravity is shifting to the north,” he said.
A UN-brokered truce to the 2006 war called on Hezbollah to pull back 29 kilometres (18 miles) from the border, but it has refused, accusing Israel of also failing to carry out some provisions.
Israel is now demanding Hezbollah withdraw eight to 10 kilometres (five to six miles) from the border - the range of Hezbollah’s anti-tank guided missiles.
US sends troops to the Middle East
09:20
Alex Croft
A small number of US troops will be sent to the MIddle East following escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, the Pentagon said.
It is unclear how many troops will be deployed and whether they have a specific mission, The Guardian reports.
Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder told reporters: “Out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional US military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region.”
“We have more capability in the region today than we did on April 14th when Iran conducted its drone and missile attack against Israel.”
Ryder referred to a 300-missile attack by Iran which sustained modest damage inside Israel after being intercepted by western air defence.
Saudi Arabia concerned with Lebanon airstrikes
09:00
Barney Davis
Saudi Arabia expressed deep concern in a statement on Monday over security developments in Lebanon, warning of escalating violence and urging all parties to exercise restraint, state news agency SPA reported.
Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, killing 492 people, including 35 children and 58 women, as the Israeli military called on residents to immediately evacuate places where it claimed the Hezbollah militant group stores weapons.
Thousands of people fled southern Lebanon, jamming the main highway to Beirut in the biggest exodus since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
More than 1,645 people were wounded in the strikes, the Health Ministry said, a staggering one-day toll for the country.
Mapped: Israel strikes southern Lebanon
08:52
Tom Watling
Below we take a look at where Israel struck southern Lebanon throughout yesterday.
Almost 500 people were killed in the strikes, the deadliest in nearly two decades.
Israel ‘considering siege’ on Hamas in northern Gaza
08:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly considering a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians from northern Gaza and impose a military siege on Hamas militants who remain in the area.
The plan, endorsed by some Israeli military figures, suggests designating the area as a “closed military zone” and forcing all civilians to leave, The Guardian reported.
The Likud MP Avichai Boaron said the plan was ‘‘currently being evaluated by the government”.
“According to the plan, the IDF will evacuate all the civilians who are in the north of Gaza, from the border to the Gaza River,” Boaron was quoted as saying by the outlet. ‘‘And after they will evacuate, the IDF will assume that only the terrorists will remain. When the civilian population has left, you can find and kill all the terrorists without harming the civilians.”
The goal is said to be to isolate and target Hamas fighters without civilian casualties, pressuring them to surrender or face starvation.
Watch: Heavy barrage of missiles from Lebanon intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome
08:00
Maroosha Muzaffar
Multiple interceptions of rockets fired from Lebanon were seen over Israel’s northern city of Haifa on Monday (23 September).
Hezbollah said it fired dozens of rockets toward Israel, including at military bases.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on Monday killed 492 people, including more than 58 women and 35 children.
Thousands of Lebanese fled the south, and the main highway out of the southern port city of Sidon was jammed with cars heading toward Beirut in the biggest exodus since 2006.
Watch the video here:
Israel and Hezbollah exchange more rocket attacks
07:52
Tom Watling
Israel’s military has claimed it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight, a day after it launched a wave of airstrikes against the Iran-backed group’s sites in Lebanon’s deadliest day in decades.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said this morning it had attacked several Israeli military targets, including an explosives factory 37 miles into Israel, with the Fadi series of rockets.
It said it attacked the explosives factory around 4 a.m. (0100 GMT) and the Megiddo airfield three separate times overnight.
مصادر محلية: انفجارات في سماء منطقة الناصرة بعد إطلاق صواريخ من جنوب لبنان pic.twitter.com/IppBcMATxe
— الجرمق الإخباري (@aljarmaqnet) September 24, 2024
Turkey slams Israel's attacks on Lebanon, calls for international measures
07:34
Tom Watling
Turkey slammed Israel’s recent attacks on Lebanon as “efforts to drag the region into chaos” on Monday, calling for international measures against them and a halt to support for Israel.
In some of the heaviest cross-border fire exchange since its nearly year-long war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza began, Israel has started shifting its focus north to Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, also backed by Iran.
Lebanese authorities have said Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah sites in the country had killed 492 people on Monday and sent tens of thousands fleeing for safety in the country’s deadliest day in decades.
In a statement late on Monday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said countries that “unconditionally support Israel” were helping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “shed blood for his political interests”.
“It is imperative that all institutions responsible for maintaining international peace and security, especially the United Nations Security Council, as well as the international community, take the necessary measures without delay,” it said.
White House says a cease-fire deal between Israel and Gaza is key to easing tensions in the region
07:30
Barney Davis
Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, that the Biden administration is concerned about what’s happening between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon but insisted that getting a cease-fire deal between Israel and Gaza is key to help ease tensions in the region.
Jean-Pierre said the latest conflict has “gone on for too long.”
“It’s in everyone’s interest to resolve it quickly and diplomatically. And that’s where we’ve been. That’s where we continue to say we need to see a diplomatic resolution,” Jean-Pierre told reporters travelling with President Joe Biden to New York, where Biden is set to deliver his final address as president to the UN General Assembly session on Tuesday.
Jean-Pierre said securing freedom for Israelis and Americans who continue to be held by Hamas, increasing humanitarian aid into Gaza and ending the war will help ease tensions.“That’s what we’re going to continue to work towards,” she said.
Here are some of the latest photos from Lebanon
07:21
Tom Watling
Below we have some of the latest photos from Lebanon after Israel launched its largest attack on the countries’ southern regions in nearly two decades.
Watch: Netanyahu urges Lebanon civilians to evacuate their homes in video message
07:15
Maroosha Muzaffar
‘I woke up to the sound of bombing’: Lebanese describe moments of desperation
07:00
Maroosha Muzaffar
In southern Lebanon, families fled north by cars, trucks, and motorcycles as the Israeli military targeted areas linked to Hezbollah on Monday.
Some residents reported receiving warnings from the Israeli military via text messages and voice recordings, urging them to leave areas near Hezbollah positions.
Zahra Sawli, a student, told BBC’s Newshour programme: “I woke up at 6am to the sound of bombing. By noon it started to get really intense and I saw a lot of strikes in my area.
“I heard a lot of glass shattering.”
She said: “Where are we supposed to go? A lot of people are still stuck on the streets. A lot of my friends are still stuck in traffic because a lot of people are trying to flee.”
The Lebanese health ministry said that 492 people had been killed and more than 1,600 injured in the Israeli bombardment on Monday.
Irish president accuses Israeli embassy of circulating his letter to Iran
06:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
The president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, accused the Israeli embassy in Dublin of circulating a letter he wrote to Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, after Mr Pezeshkian’s election.
The letter, which offered congratulations and expressed condolences over the death of Mr Pezeshkian’s predecessor, drew criticism — both in the UK and Ireland — once it became public. “You should ask where the criticism came from and how the letter was circulated and by whom and for what purpose,” Mr Higgins said.
He suggested the Israeli embassy was responsible for circulating it, something the embassy denied, calling his accusation “baseless” and “highly inflammatory and potentially slanderous”.
His letter to Mr Pezeshkian mentioned that Iran had a “crucial role” to play in the Middle East after Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash in May.
“I regret of course the circumstances that brought about the election, and take the opportunity to repeat the condolences of the people of Ireland for the death of your predecessor President Raisi,” the letter read.
In pictures: Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs
06:00
Maroosha Muzaffar
Israel ‘considering siege’ on Hamas in northern Gaza
05:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly considering a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians from northern Gaza and impose a military siege on Hamas militants who remain in the area.
The plan, endorsed by some Israeli military figures, suggests designating the area as a “closed military zone” and forcing all civilians to leave, The Guardian reported.
The Likud MP Avichai Boaron said the plan was ‘‘currently being evaluated by the government”.
“According to the plan, the IDF will evacuate all the civilians who are in the north of Gaza, from the border to the Gaza River,” Boaron was quoted as saying by the outlet. ‘‘And after they will evacuate, the IDF will assume that only the terrorists will remain. When the civilian population has left, you can find and kill all the terrorists without harming the civilians.”
The goal is said to be to isolate and target Hamas fighters without civilian casualties, pressuring them to surrender or face starvation.
Israel prepared for ground invasion of Lebanon if necessary, IDF says
04:59
Maroosha Muzaffar
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that the Israeli Defense Forces are fully prepared for a ground invasion of Lebanon if necessary.
While reiterating that Israel is “not looking for wars”, Hagari emphasised that the army will take all necessary steps to secure the northern border and ensure the safe return of citizens.
“The army is in full readiness, and we will do whatever is necessary to bring back home all our citizens to the northern border safely,” he said during a televised press conference.
Meanwhile, the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Monday rose to 492 people, including 90 women and children. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister condemned the attacks as “genocide in every sense of the word”.
Hagari defended the IDF’s actions, saying efforts are made to avoid civilian casualties, while also highlighting that many of those killed were Hezbollah militants. The IDF claimed to have hit 1,300 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon within the past 24 hours.
Iran president accuses Israel of fanning flames of war in the Middle East
04:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, accused Israel of provoking war in the Middle East during his first official visit to the US.
“We know more than anyone else that if a larger war were to erupt in the Middle East, it will not benefit anyone throughout the world. It is Israel that seeks to create this wider conflict,” he said.
He expressed frustration over Israel’s actions, especially the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
“There is no winner in warfare, everyone loses in war and conflict. We are only deluding ourselves if we think someone will be victorious in a regional war.”
He added: “Every day Israel is committing more atrocities and killing more and more people – old, young, men, women, children, hospitals, other facilities.”
Mr Pezeshkian also criticised the West for its double standards on human rights and reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to nuclear talks, denying any missile supplies to Russia during his presidency.
“We are prepared, and if the other parties are also prepared, we can have another beginning of the talks during this trip,” he said.
He also dismissed claims that Iran funds anti-Israel protests.
Netanyahu compells people of Lebanon to leave homes in video warning
04:00
Barney Davis
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sent a video message to the people of Lebanon urging them to heed IDF warnings and evacuate their homes after airstrikes killed 274. He said: “I have a message for the people of Lebanon: Israel’s war is not with you. It’s with Hezbollah. For too long, Hezbollah has been using you as human shields.
“It placed rockets in your living rooms and missiles in your garage. Those rockets and missiles are aimed directly at our cities, directly at our citizens.
“To defend our people against Hezbollah strikes, we must take out those weapons.
“Starting this morning, the IDF has warned you to get out of harm’s way.
“I urge you – take this warning seriously. Don’t let Hezbollah endanger your lives and the lives of your loved ones. Don’t let Hezbollah endanger Lebanon.
“Please, get out of harm’s way now.
“Once our operation is finished, you can come back safely to your homes.”
90 women and children among dead in Israeli airstrikes that killed nearly 500 in Lebanon
03:59
Maroosha Muzaffar
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon resulted in 492 deaths on Monday, including 90 women and children, in the deadliest attack since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Israel says its strikes are targeting Hezbollah, which has launched thousands of rockets into Israel.
Israel warned Lebanese civilians to evacuate, with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging them to “get out of harm’s way”.
He asked residents to “take this warning seriously”.“Please get out of harm’s way now,” Mr Netanyahu said. “Once our operation is finished, you can come back safely to your homes.”
Israeli war commander says country ‘not looking for wars’
02:22
Barney Davis
Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the army will do “whatever is necessary” to push Hezbollah from Lebanon’s border with Israel.
Rear Admiral Hagari claimed Monday’s widespread airstrikes had inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah.
But he would not give a timeline for the ongoing operation and said Israel was prepared to launch a ground invasion of Lebanon if needed.
“We are not looking for wars. We are looking to take down the threats,” he said. “We will do whatever is necessary to do to achieve this mission. We hope to do it as shortly as we can.”
Rear Admiral Hagari said Hezbollah has launched some 9,000 rockets and drones into Israel since last October, including 250 on Monday alone.
Hamas armed wing says field commander killed in Israeli strike on Lebanon on Monday
01:00
Barney Davis
Hamas’ armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said that its field commander in southern Lebanon, Mahmoud al Nader, was killed in an Israeli strike on Lebanon on Monday.
Is this war? The Israeli-Hezbollah conflict is hard to define — or predict
Monday 23 September 2024 23:21
Barney Davis
Israel is bombing targets across many parts of Lebanon, striking senior militants in Beirut and apparently hiding bombs in pagers and walkie-talkies. Hezbollah is firing rockets and drones deep into northern Israel, setting buildings and cars alight.
But no one is calling it a war — not yet.
Israeli officials say they are not seeking war with Hezbollah and that it can be avoided if the militant group halts its attacks and backs away from the border. Hezbollah also says it doesn’t want a war but is prepared for one — and that it will keep up the strikes on Israel that it began in the wake of ally Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack until there is a cease-fire in Gaza.
Israel and Hezbollah have repeatedly traded fire since then — but the intensity rose to another level Monday, when Israeli airstrikes killed more than 350 people, according to Lebanese officials. That would make it the deadliest day in Lebanon since Israel and Hezbollah last went to war in 2006.
“If someone had told me or most analysts in summer 2023 that Hezbollah is striking Israeli bases in Israel, and Israel is striking southern Lebanon and parts of southern Beirut, I would have said, OK, that’s an all-out war,” said Andreas Krieg, a military analyst at King’s College London.
The term hasn’t yet been applied to the current conflict because “there haven’t been any boots on the ground,” but that might be “the wrong metric,” he added.
492 killed in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war
Monday 23 September 2024 22:25
Barney Davis
Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 490 people including more than 90 women and children, Lebanese authorities have said.
The Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of its widening air campaign against Hezbollah.
Thousands of Lebanese fled the south, and the main highway out of the southern port city of Sidon was jammed with cars heading toward Beirut in the biggest exodus since 2006.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the strikes killed 492 people, including 35 children and 58 women, and wounded 1,645 people - a staggering one-day toll for a country still reeling from a deadly attack on communication devices last week.
Mapped: Israel strikes on Lebanon targets killing 492
Monday 23 September 2024 22:05
Barney Davis
Israel’s airstrikes on Lebanon which killed 492 came after a day after Hezbollah fired over 100 rockets into northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa.
Hezbollah’s rockets were in response to an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Friday that killed a top Hezbollah military commander and more than a dozen members, along with civilians including women and children.
Last week, thousands of communications devices, used mainly by Hezbollah members, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000. Lebanon blamed the attacks on Israel, but Israel did not confirm or deny its responsibility.
In Pictures: Israeli airstrikes destroy Beirut suburb
Monday 23 September 2024 21:30
Barney Davis
This is the damaged vehicle and buildings seen in the southern suburb of Beirut after an Israeli military strike, in Beirut, Lebanon, 23 September 2024.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said they conducted a ‘targeted strike’ in Beirut on 23 September after the Israeli military announced that it launched ‘extensive’ airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Lebanese residents of villages in the Beqaa Valley ‘who are inside or near houses where rockets and weapons are stored’ have been warned to ‘move away immediately! For your safety and protection’, the statement added.
Charity suspends work in Bekaa Valley
Monday 23 September 2024 21:05
Barney Davis
ActionAid’s partner, The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (RDFL), which works in the Bekaa Valley, has had to suspend its activities due to the escalating violence.
RDFL runs two centres providing essential protection services for Palestinian and Syrian refugees, as well as host communities in Lebanon.
Malak, Safe Space Officer from The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (RDFL), ActionAid Partner in West Bekaa Valley said people in desperate need of assistance are too afraid to leave their homes amidst the ongoing conflict.
She said: “A significant displacement is underway, with many families fleeing to Jeb Jennine, which is seen as safer than the surrounding villages.
“Schools are being converted into shelters for the displaced, and the air is filled with the constant sound of ambulances. There’s a growing concern that the situation may worsen in the coming hours.
“People are arriving with nothing after being forced to abandon their homes. Their immediate needs must be addressed urgently.”
Lebanese refugees describe fleeing Israeli airstrikes
Monday 23 September 2024 20:45
Barney Davis
Ramzieh Dawi had arrived with her husband and daughter after hastily evacuating the village of Yarine, carrying just a few essential items as airstrikes boomed nearby.
“These are the only things I brought,” she said, gesturing at the three tote bags she carried.
Fatima Chehab, who came with her three daughters from the area of Nabatieh, said her family had been displaced twice in quick succession.“We first fled to stay with my brother in a nearby area, and then they bombed three places next to his house,” she said.
Some people waited for hours in gridlocked traffic to get to what they hoped would be safety.
At a public high school in the capital’s Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood, a few dozen men, women and children were milling around as volunteers registered them.
Yahya Abu Ali, who fled with his family from the village of Doueir in Lebanon’s Nabatieh district, struck a defiant tone.
“Don’t think that an airplane or a missile will defeat us, or that a wounded person or a martyr on the ground will weaken us,” he said.
“On the contrary, it gives us strength, determination, and resilience.”
But Abu Ali also admitted that he was worried about his four siblings and their families who remained behind in southern Lebanon.
“God willing, I hope they will make it out,” he said.
US sending more troops to the Middle East as violence rises between Israel and Hezbollah
Monday 23 September 2024 19:56
Jabed Ahmed
The US is sending additional troops to the Middle East during a sharp spike in violence between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon that has raised the risk of a greater regional war, the Pentagon has said.
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder would provide no details on how many additional forces or what they would be tasked to do.
The US currently has about 40,000 troops in the region.
The new deployments come after significant strikes by Israeli forces against targets inside Lebanon that have killed hundreds and as Israel is preparing to conduct further operations and the State Department is warning Americans to leave Lebanon as the risk of a regional war increases.
Ali Karaki - third highest ranking Hezbollah member - ‘in full health’ after Israeli strikes in Beirut
Monday 23 September 2024 19:46
Barney Davis
Hezbollah sources hit back at rumours that Ali Karaki was killed in the latest wave of Israeli air strikes.
They said: “There is no truth to the enemy’s claims of assassinating the Mujahid Ali Karaki, and we confirm that he is in full health and wellness.”
Karaki is in charge of Hezbollah’s so-called “Southern Front,” responsible for the terror group’s military activity in south Lebanon.
He is third in command of Hezbollah’s armed forces and is the most senior figure after the assassinations of commanders Fuad Shukr, and Ibrahim Aqil.
Iran's President accuses Israel of seeking wider Mideast war and laying 'traps' to lead Iran into it
Monday 23 September 2024 19:30
Jabed Ahmed
Iran’s president has accused Israel of seeking a wider war in the Middle East and laying “traps” to lead his country into a wider conflict.
Masoud Pezeshkian told about two dozen media representatives that Iran doesn’t want to see the current war in Gaza and airstrikes across the Israeli-Lebanon border expanded.
He said while Israel insists it doesn’t want a wider war, it is taking actions that show otherwise.
Mr Pezeshkian pointed to the deadly explosions of pagers, walkie-talkies and other electronic devices in Lebanon last week, which he blamed on Israel, and the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on the eve of his inauguration.
Lebanon strikes as journalist speaks on live TV
Monday 23 September 2024 19:24
Barney Davis
כדי להבין את עוצמת תקיפות צה"ל בלבנון היום צפו בקטע הבא: עיתונאי לבנוני מתראיין בשידור חי לערוץ עיראקי ואז מתרחשת תקיפה pic.twitter.com/w1ne5xZdsU
— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) September 23, 2024
Breaking: Death toll from Lebanon strikes reaches 356
Monday 23 September 2024 19:21
Barney Davis
The death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon has reached 356, with 1,246 others injured since Monday morning, a statement from Lebanon’s health ministry said.
The statement added that 24 children and 42 women were among the dead.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel’s air strike destroyed tens of thousands of Hezbollah rockets
Monday 23 September 2024 19:07
Barney Davis
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant claims Israel’s airstrikes destroyed tens of thousands of Hezbollah rockets, adding to the most difficult week for the Iranian-backed movement since its creation.
“Today is a significant peak. On this day we have taken out of order tens of thousands of rockets and precise munition. What Hezbollah has built over a period of 20 years since the second Lebanon War, is in fact being destroyed by the IDF,” he said in a statement.
Kamala Harris plans to raise Gaza ceasefire deal in meetings with UAE leader
Monday 23 September 2024 18:58
Jabed Ahmed
US Vice President Kamala Harris plans to discuss efforts to secure a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal in her meeting with the United Arab Emirates president, according to a White House official.
Harris and US President Joe Biden are meeting separately with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the first in what are expected to be a series of foreign leader gatherings during the week of the United Nations General Assembly.
They give Harris an opportunity to demonstrate national security chops at a time the Democratic administration is under increasing pressure to contain strife in the Middle East.
Iranian president warns of ‘irreversible’ consequences of all-out war in the Middle East
Monday 23 September 2024 18:50
Barney Davis
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, spoke to a group of journalists after his arrival in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.
He said: “We do not wish to be the cause of instability in the Middle East as its consequences would be irreversible”
“We want to live in peace, we don’t want war,” he added. “It is Israel that seeks to create this all-out conflict.”
Pezeshkian, a relatively moderate politician who was elected in July promising a pragmatic foreign policy, accused the international community of silence in the face of what he called “Israel’s genocide” in Gaza.
Pezeshkian’s call to resolve the Middle East conflict through dialogue came on the deadliest day in Lebanon in nearly a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We will defend any group that is defending its rights and itself,” Pezeshkian said, when asked whether Iran will enter the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. He did not elaborate.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ‘alarmed’ by the escalating violence in Lebanon
Monday 23 September 2024 18:34
Barney Davis
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for “de-escalation” of airstrikes across the border with Lebanon urging a diplomatic solution as the threat of wider war looms.
“He expresses great concern for the safety of civilians, both in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel as well as the UN staff there in those areas,” Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
“The secretary-general notes the ongoing efforts by the UN special coordinator for Lebanon and the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon to reduce tensions, and he reiterates the urgent need for de-escalation – that all efforts should be devoted to a diplomatic solution.”
It came as at least 274 people have been killed and more than 1,024 wounded, including 39 women and 21 children, in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.
Full report: Israeli airstrikes kill more than 270 and injure 1,000, Lebanon says – in deadliest day for country since 2006
Monday 23 September 2024 18:26
Jabed Ahmed
The Independent’s International Editor Chris Stevenson reports:
Iran accuses Israel of looking for wider war in Middle East
Monday 23 September 2024 18:05
Barney Davis
Iran’s president has accused Israel of seeking a wider war in the Middle East and laying “traps” to lead his country into a wider conflict.
Masoud Pezeshkian told about two dozen media representatives that Iran does not want to see the current war in Gaza and airstrikes across the Israeli-Lebanon border expanded.
He said while Israel insists it does not want a wider war, it is taking actions that show otherwise.
Mr Pezeshkian pointed to the deadly explosions of pagers, walkie-talkies and other electronic devices in Lebanon last week, which he blamed on Israel, as well as the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on the eve of his inauguration.
“They are dragging us to a point where we do not wish to go,” the Iranian leader said of Israel.
“There is no winner in warfare. We are only fooling ourselves if we believe that.”
Asked when Iran will respond to the killing of Haniyeh, he replied: “We will give our answer in an appropriate time and place.”
Israeli military says it has struck around 800 Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon and Bekaa
Monday 23 September 2024 17:59
Jabed Ahmed
The Israeli military has said it had struck around 800 targets connected to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon and the area of the Bekaa valley.
“Among the targets struck were buildings where Hezbollah hid rockets, missiles, launchers, UAVs and additional terrorist infrastructure,” the military said in a statement.
Israeli military says warning sirens sound in northern West Bank
Monday 23 September 2024 17:27
Jabed Ahmed
Warning sirens have sounded in the northern part of the occupied West Bank as Hezbollah rocket fire extended further south from the border areas in northern Israel, which have been most heavily targeted in the latest exchange of fire.
Alarms were also sounded in areas across northern Israel, the military said.
US concerned by Israel shuttering Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, State Department says
Monday 23 September 2024 17:16
Jabed Ahmed
The United States is concerned by the Israeli military’s raid and shutdown of media network Al Jazeera’s office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, a State Department spokesperson has said.
“This action is inconsistent with US support for freedom of the press in the West Bank and all over the world,” the spokesperson said.
The US is still gathering information about the Israeli military operation on Sunday, they added.
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Breaking: Israeli military says it has conducted strike on Lebanon capital Beirut
Monday 23 September 2024 16:52
Jabed Ahmed
The Israeli military has said it had conducted a targeted strike in Beirut. It gave no details on the target.
A security source told news agency Reuters an Israeli strike hit Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday evening, but said it was not immediately clear what type of strike was used or what was hit.
The Lebanese minister coordinating the crisis response, Nasser Yassin, said tens of thousands of people are fleeing southern Lebanon “due to Israeli atrocities”.
The security source also told the news agency the strike targeted senior Hezbollah leader Ali Karaki, the head of the southern front. He condition is currently unknown
Mapped: Israeli strikes on Lebanon
Monday 23 September 2024 16:43
Jabed Ahmed