The Israeli military says it carried out a “precise strike” on the central headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut.
An airstrikes hit one of Beirut’s heavily-populated southern suburbs on Friday as blasts were heard throughout the Lebanese capital sending thick black smoke billowing across the sky.
The strike came an hour after thousands of people attended the funeral of a top Hezbollah commander who was killed the day before.
It came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly that Israel is committed to fighting until it achieves “total victory” over Hamas and Hezbollah.
With tensions flaring on two fronts, Netanyahu asserted that Israel is waging a war for its survival in response to the 7 October attacks by Hamas.
Netanyahu insisted Israel wanted peace but said of Iran: “If you strike us, we will strike you.”
“There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that’s true of the entire Middle East.”
Netanyahu, who initially did not plan to attend the UN session, said he was compelled to “set the record straight” after hearing what he called false accusations against Israel earlier in the week.
Key Points
- 'Hezbollah leader Nasrallah was target of strike'
- Fresh airstrike on Lebanon as Netanyahu claims Israel ‘yearns for peace'
- Netanyahu says Israel will keep ‘degrading Hezbollah’ until its objectives are met
- Netanyahu accuses UN members of anti-Semitism
- Family of nine, including pregnant mother, killed in strike
Hezbollah leader Nasrallah was target of strike
17:45
Rachel Hagan
Lebanon‘s Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of the latest Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, multiple news websites are reporting.
AFP and Iranian state news are both reporting that he is safe and survived the assassination attempt, but still no official word from the group.
Attacks show Israel ‘does not care’ about global calls for ceasefire, PM says
17:40
Rachel Hagan
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Israel's attacks on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday show it "does not care" about efforts to bring about a ceasefire.
Mikati's press office sent a statement while he was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, where the U.S. and other countries had made a call for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Photos from strike show levelled buildings
17:34
Rachel Hagan
Strike took place around 700m from school where displaced people sheltering
17:23
Rachel Hagan
The huge strike in Beirut took place only about 700 to 800m from a school where displaced people from the south of Lebanon have taken refuge, the BBC reports.
Nafiseh Kohnavard was reporting from the school, where more than 1000 displaced people are staying, when she suddenly heard huge booms.
She said women and children were screaming and crying and she saw some people faint, falling on the ground.
Israel says Hezbollah intentionally built HQ under civilian buildings
17:13
Rachel Hagan
Israel’s military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a video statement that the Hezbollah HQ was “intentionally built under residential buildings” in the city’s southern Dahieh area “as part of Hezbollah’s strategy of using Lebanese people as human shields”.
He said: “Israel is doing what every sovereign state in the world would do if they had a terror organisation that seeks their destruction on their border, taking the necessary action to protect our people so that Israeli families can live in their homes, safely and securely.”
Pictures of the huge strike in Beirut
16:59
Rachel Hagan
Fresh airstrike on Lebanon as Netanyahu claims Israel ‘yearns for peace'
16:39
Barney Davis
Israeli military says it carried out a “precise strike” on the central headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut.
An airstrikes hit one of Beirut’s heavily-populated southern suburbs on Friday as blasts were heard throughout the Lebanese capital sending thick black smoke billowing across the sky.
The strike came an hour after thousands of people attended the funeral of a top Hezbollah commander who was killed the day before.
Israeli Prime Minister has today told the UN that Israel “yearns for peace” and “will make peace again” but added that it must defend itself against “savage” enemies.
More than 700 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks this week as calls for ceasefire grow
16:18
Barney Davis
Israel will press on with discussions on ceasefire proposals for Lebanon in the days ahead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, but after an intense week of fighting the two sides kept up cross-border fire, killing at least 25 in Lebanon.
Israel’s foreign minister on Thursday rejected global calls for a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and continued airstrikes that have killed hundreds of people in Lebanon and heightened fears of a regional war.
Lebanon’s health minister, Firass Abiad, said the death toll in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since the early hours of Friday was 25. One attack killed nine members of a family, including four children, in the border town of Shebaa, mayor Mohammad Saab told Reuters.
More than 700 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since Monday, according to a tally of official tolls.
Diplomats walked out of speech in protest
15:48
Rachel Hagan
Cheers were heard through the duration of Netanyahu’s speech but cameras may not have shown the flurry of diplomats leaving the hall in protest, Sky News has said.
International affairs editor Dominic Waghorn witnessed “lots of diplomats” head for the exit during the Israeli prime minister’s speech and videos on X show similar scenes too.
Netanyahu says Israel will keep ‘degrading Hezbollah’ until its objectives are met
15:37
The Associated Press
His leadership strained by conflicts on two fronts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told world leaders at the United Nations on Friday that his nation will “continue degrading Hezbollah” until it achieves its goals along the Lebanon border, further dimming hopes for an internationally backed cease-fire to halt the spiral into an all-out regional war.
He said his government would no longer tolerate daily rocket fire from the area.“Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that’s exactly what we’re doing ... we’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met,” Netanyahu said.“Just imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns ... How long would the American government tolerate that?” he said, shaking his fist in emphasis. “Yet Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for almost a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say: Enough is enough.”
He said Israeli forces have destroyed “90%” of Hamas’ rockets and killed or captured half of its forces.
Netanyahu concludes his speech
15:25
Rachel Hagan
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just concluded his speech at the United Nations in New York, however we will recap and continue to bring you more of the top lines from his 30 minute speech.
Netanyahu accuses UN members of anti-Semitism
15:24
Rachel Hagan
Netanyahu has accused the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor of “pure antisemitism.”
Addressing a bid for an arrest warrant to be issued for him by the ICC, he told UN: “Now, given the antisemitism at the UN, it should surprise no one that the prosecutor of the ICC, one of the UN’s affiliated organs, is considering issuing arrest warrants against me and Israel’s defence minister.
“The democratically elected leader, leaders of the democratic state of Israel - the ICC prosecutors rush to judgement. His refusal to treat Israel, with its independent courts, the way other democracies are treated is hard to explain by anything other than pure antisemitism.”
Hezbollah is ‘the quintessential terror organisation in the world'
15:11
Rachel Hagan
Netanyahu turned to addressing the escalating conflict with Hezbollah.
He said: “We will not accept a terror army parked on our northern border...able to perpetrate another Oct 7-style massacre. We will continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met.”
He went on to say that Israel is not at war with Lebanon but with Hezbollah and that the group is “the quintessential terror organisation in the world today,”
Netanyahu compares Hamas to Nazis
15:04
Rachel Hagan
Netanyahu has compared Hamas to the Nazis and said it would be “inconceivable” for Israel to allow Hamas to remain a part of Gaza when the war is over.
He said: “Imagine in a post-war situation in the Second World War, imagine allowing the defeated Nazis in 1945 to rebuild Germany. It’s inconceivable. It’s ridiculous. It didn’t happen then, and it’s not going to happen now. We don’t seek to resettle Gaza.”
‘We remain focused on our sacred vision, bringing our hostages home'
14:59
Rachel Hagan
Netanyahu has claimed that his army has defeated all but one of “Hamas’ terror battalions.”
He said the army’s focus is now on defeating Hamas’ remaining fighting capability and they are doing so by “taking out senior terrorist commanders and destroying remaining terrorist infrastructure.”
But, he says, the main goal remains focused on their “sacred mission” of bringing “our hostages home.”
The Israeli prime minister said 154 hostages have returned, 117 of those are alive.
He said: “We will not stop until that mission is complete.”
Further remarks from Netanyahu on Israel’s ‘enemies'
14:56
Rachel Hagan
Israel is seeking peace despite fighting for its life in the face of “savage enemies” who want its annihilation, Netanyahu has said.
He continued: “My country is at war, fighting for its life. We must defend ourselves against these savage murderers. Our enemies seek not only to destroy us, they seek to destroy our common civilization and return all of us to a dark age of tyranny and terror.”
Netanyahu calls for sanctions on Iran
14:55
Rachel Hagan
Netanyahu has called on the UN Security Council to reimpose sanctions on Iran to ensure it doesn’t get nuclear weapons.
Israel tells Iran: ‘If you strike us, we will strike you'
14:51
Rachel Hagan
Netanyahu has said his army was forced to defend itself “on six more fronts, organised by Iran” after the initial attack by Hamas inside Israel on 7 October.
He lists others who have attacked Israel including the Yemeni Houthis and says that last April, Iran directly attacked Israel from its own territory.
He said he had a message for the “tyrants of Tehran”, saying there is “no place in the Middle East” that “the long arms of Israel” cannot reach.
Netanyahu then declared: “We are winning!”
‘Lies and slander’ forced Israel’s leader to attend UN
14:48
Rachel Hagan
The Israeli prime minster said he decided to attend and speak at the UN after he heard “lies and slander” levelled against Israel by “speakers at this podium”.
He did not provide further details on which speakers he was referring to or what they said.
Netanyahu says Israel ‘yearns for peace'
14:47
Rachel Hagan
Benjamin Netanyahu said he did not intend to attend this year’s general assembly but he “decided to come and set the record straight.”
He went on to say that Israel “yearns for peace” and “will make peace again” but added that it must defend itself against “savage” enemies.
Netanyahu begins speech to world leaders at UN
14:45
Rachel Hagan
Benjamin Netanyahu is at the lecturn at the UN General Assembly in New York.
He was met with some cheers and jeers from those inside in the chamber as he walked up.
Starmer and Netanyahu did not meet at the UN, it is understood
14:35
Rachel Hagan
British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer did not meet with his Israeli counterpart during the sidelines of a world leaders’ summit in New York, despite hopes for talks from the UK side, according to Sky News.
A source familiar with the trip mentioned that scheduling conflicts between Sir Keir Starmer and Benjamin Netanyahu prevented the meeting.
Additionally, a meeting between the prime minister and Israel’s minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, was called off after the Israeli official postponed his trip to the United Nations General Assembly by a day.
The Jewish Chronicle newspaper also reported that the two leaders did not meet despite both being in New York at the same time.
It quoted Downing Street sources as insisting this was not a snub and that the government is “in touch with the Israelis all the time”.
The lack of discussions between the British and Israeli leaders occurred as Israel intensified its military offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
No current plans to evacuate citizens, US says
14:23
Rachel Hagan
The American embassay in Beirut has issued a short statement on X to say it has no current plans to evacuate its citizens.
Israel's goals in Lebanon are much narrower compared to Gaza, official says
14:21
Rachel Hagan
An Israeli security official said he expects a possible war against Hezbollah would not last for as long as the current war in Gaza because the Israeli military’s goals are much narrower.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military briefing guidelines, told The Associated Press that the goal in Lebanon is just to push Hezbollah away from the border with Israel, which is “not a high bar like Gaza.”The official said that no decision has been made on whether Israel will carry out a ground operation in southern Lebanon. But he stressed that the military is training for this possibility every day and is ready to implement it.
British mother ‘on edge’ as family waits for flight home
14:05
Sarah Ping
A British mother and her young family in Lebanon are “on edge” as they face a five-day wait for a flight back to the UK amid daily explosions.
Victoria Lupton, 37, who divides her time between Achrafieh in Beirut and Cambridge, arrived in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday September 17, on the same day a wave of blasts hit pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members.
Ms Lupton told the PA news agency she was in her apartment with her British-Lebanese husband protecting their two-year-old daughter - whom she does not wish to name - after they heard blasts in their area on Monday as a result of the growing violence between Israel and Hezbollah.
“I was trying to protect my two-year-old from the noise of that,” she said.
“Since then, we regularly hear distant rumblings of explosions and all of us are really on edge - even when a door slams, we’re jumping up. Last weekend, there was a thunderstorm, and there were rumbles of thunder happening, and I was with a group of people, and everyone thought that that was either a sonic boom or a rocket. We were all very uneasy looking at each other.”
Ms Lupton who is founder and chief executive of Seenaryo, a non-profit which helps educate Middle Eastern women and children through theatre and play, said there is a "shared experience" among British nationals in Lebanon in "constantly discussing when to stay and when to go" from the country.
Houthi rebels fire ballistic missile at Tel Aviv
13:23
Rachel Hagan
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Friday they had targeted Israel’s cities of Tel Aviv and Ashkelon with a ballistic missile and a drone in support of Gaza and Lebanon.
The Israeli army said it had intercepted a missile that was fired from Yemen after sirens and explosions were heard early in the day.
The Houthi‘s military spokesperson said their operations won’t halt in the coming days until Israel’s offensives in Gaza and Lebanon stop.
“We will carry out more military operations against the Israeli enemy in victory for the blood of our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon,” Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech.
Israel will ‘increase’ its attacks on Lebanon
12:49
Rachel Hagan
The Israeli army will continue to hit Lebanon “very hard”, defence minister Yoav Gallant has said.
He made the comments during a visit to Safed in northern Israel, saying the strikes would continue until security was returned to the north, The Times of Israel has reported.
These remarks are about the 60,000 people who have been evacuated from northern Israel because of near-daily attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon.
Mr Gallant said: “We are hitting Hezbollah very hard over the past year and in particular over the past few weeks. We will continue and increase this effort — we plan to bring security to the town in the north and to safely return home those who evacuated.”
British defence secretary reaffirms calls for Britons to leave Lebanon
12:30
Rachel Hagan
The UK’s defence secretary has reaffirmed calls for Britons to leave Lebanon as he is “deeply worried” about the conflict.
Speaking with Sky News, John Healey said they fear the conflict could escalate into something “much wider and much more serious”.
He said: “Our first concern remains the safety of British nationals in Lebanon. The travel advice remains the same. Don’t go to Lebanon. If you are in Lebanon, then get out. And there are still commercial flights leaving, so people can do that.”
25 people killed in strikes today, health minister says
12:21
Rachel Hagan
Lebanon‘s health minister says 25 people have been killed so far in Israeli strikes on Friday, according to Reuters.
UK supporting humanitarian response in Lebanon with UNICEF donation
12:11
Rachel Hagan
The UK is providing £5 million to UNICEF in Lebanon to support humanitarian response efforts and enable UNICEF to distribute supplies to those in need.
The essential humanitarian support comes after further civilian casualties following this week’s air strikes. Thousands more have been displaced or forced to flee their homes.
The package includes essential medical supplies, hygiene kits and fuel for water stations, to help thousands of displaced civilians across Lebanon meet their basic needs.
It will also help emergency teams respond to urgent health and nutrition needs and provide a series of training sessions for key delivery partners and frontline workers to ensure an effective emergency response.
Beirut soup kitchen struggles to keep up as Israeli strikes intensify
11:49
Ahmad Al Kerdi and Emilie Madi
Chains of volunteers spoon rice and vegetables into meal containers while others stir huge pots of boiling rice, as a soup kitchen in Beirut struggles to keep up with demand from displaced people escaping Israeli strikes.
Josephine Abu Abdo, a chef and one of the founders of Nation Station, said the kitchen is serving 700 meals a day and is at maximum capacity, but she then hears 1,000 meals are needed.
“The challenge is that we can’t keep up. We feel like we are just a drop in the ocean,” Abu Abdo said, while a team of volunteers of different ages from all over Lebanon hurriedly packaged up food.
Nation Station was founded to help victims of the devastating 2020 Beirut port explosion, growing from a team of five to a hundred over time. It serves some traditional Lebanese dishes, such as zucchini stuffed with rice and meat, bulgur and tomato, vegetable soup and cabbage salad.
When the Israeli strikes across Lebanon intensified on Monday, forcing around 40,000 into shelters within days, the volunteers cooked more food without any funding, distributing it as an emergency response to the centres housing the displaced.
“We worked from the small savings that we had for the first three days. Then, many people started donating,” Abu Abdo said.
“The donation that we receive will cover us for two or three days. We will see, one day at a time and we will make a decision,” she added.
Over 30,000 crossed into Syria from Lebanon in past days, says UN
11:40
Rachel Hagan
More than 30,000 people, mainly Syrians, have crossed into Syria from Lebanon in the past 72 hours, the UN refugee agency said on Friday, amid an escalating conflict between Israeli forces and the heavily armed Hezbollah that has left hundreds dead in Lebanon.
‘Unacceptable’ rise in attacks on health care, says WHO
10:57
Rachel Hagan
Lebanon’s World Health Organisation (WHO) representative has slammed the attacks on healthcare facilities as “unacceptable.”
Posting on X, Abdinasir Abubakar said 27 health workers have been killed and 55 injured by recent Israeli strikes, adding that health care sites “should be protected at all times”.
He wrote: “Attack on health care is on the rise as the crisis in Lebanon continued to escalate in recent days.”
Family of nine, including pregnant mother, killed in strike
10:42
Rachel Hagan
An Israeli strike on Friday killed nine members of a family, including four children and a pregnant mother, in the Lebanese border town of Shebaa, mayor Mohammad Saab told Reuters.
Philippines will evacuate its citizens if Israel invades Lebanon
10:15
Rachel Hagan
The Philippines says it will evacuate 11,000 citizens from Lebanon the moment Israeli forces cross the border and launch a ground offensive, The Times of Israel has reported.
“A ground invasion will lead to mandatory repatriation,”
Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega reportedly said at a press conference in Manila: “A ground invasion will lead to mandatory repatriation.” He said the plan would be to move thousands out of the country via the sea without providing further details.
More than 33,000 Filipino citizens were living in Lebanon as of January 2020, according to the Philippines‘ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Nearly 700 people killed in Lebanon this week, says health ministry
10:14
Rachel Hagan
Nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week, according to Lebanon’s health ministry the Associated Press reports. About a quarter of them are women and children.
On Monday, about 600 people were killed and almost 2,000 injured from Israeli bombing marking the deadliest single day in Lebanon since the country’s civil war.
Israel strike kills nine people in southern Lebanon
10:10
Alex Ross
An Israeli strike killed nine people from the same family in the southern Lebanese border-town of Shebaa, including four children, on Friday morning mayor Mohammad Saab told Reuters news agency.
Nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Hezbollah says it fired rockets into Tiberias and Haifa
10:01
Rachel Hagan
Hezbollah said it had fired rockets into Israel on Friday at Kiryat Ata near the city of Haifa, around 20 miles from the border, and the city of Tiberias.
The Israeli military said four drones came across the border on Friday and were all intercepted by the military’s defences, adding that several rockets were also intercepted.
In pictures: Aftermath of Israeli attacks in Lebanon
09:52
Alex Ross
As we’ve been reporting, nearly 700 people have died in Lebanon as a result of Israeli attacks this week, according to local officials.
Here are some pictures from inside the country:
Israeli strike in Syria kills 5 soldiers
09:31
Rachel Hagan
An overnight Israeli airstrike on a military site near Kfar Yabous, close to the Lebanese border, killed five Syrian soldiers and wounded another, Syrian state news agency SANA reported Friday, citing an unnamed military official.
Israel’s military has not officially acknowledged the strike, although it regularly targets military positions in Syria, including facilities linked to Iran and Hezbollah. Israel rarely confirms these incidents.
The frequency of such strikes has increased in the past 11 months, coinciding with Hezbollah’s ongoing clashes with Israel’s military, against the backdrop of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
Since the beginning of the week, tens of thousands of Lebanese and Syrians have fled across the Lebanon-Syria border due to heavy Israeli bombardment.
Israeli teams will continue ceasefire talks, Netanyahu says
09:26
Alex Ross
Israeli teams had meetings to discuss the U.S. ceasefire proposals with Lebanon on Thursday and will continue discussions in the days ahead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, adding that he appreciated the U.S. efforts.
“Our teams met (Thursday, Sept. 26) to discuss the U.S. initiative and how we can advance the shared goal of returning people safely to their homes. We will continue those discussions in the coming days,” he said in a statement.
The comments came after Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said on Thursday there would be no ceasefire in the north, where Israeli jets have been carrying out the heaviest bombardment against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in decades.
On Thursday, after Netanyahu left for New York where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly, his office issued a statement saying the prime minister had ordered Israeli troops to continue fighting with full force in Lebanon.
Mr Netanyahu is giving his address to the UN at 2.30pm.
Nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week - country’s health ministry
09:24
Alex Ross
Nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Israel has dramatically escalated strikes, saying it is targeting Hezbollah’s military capacities and senior Hezbollah commanders.
Top Israeli officials have threatened to repeat the destruction of Gaza in Lebanon if the Hezbollah fire continues, raising fears that Israel‘s actions in Gaza since Oct. 7 would be repeated in Lebanon.
The International Organization for Migration estimated Thursday that more than 200,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas after it stormed into Israel, sparking the Israel-Hamas war.
Lebanon says a total of 1,540 people have been killed within its borders in that time.
ICYMI: Blinken tells Israel escalation will make civilian return more difficult
09:00
Maroosha Muzaffar
US secretary of state Antony Blinken warned Israel that further escalation of the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon would make it harder for civilians on both sides of the border to return home.
“The Secretary discussed the importance of reaching an agreement on the 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border,” the state department said in a statement referring to talks between Blinken and Israeli minister for strategic affairs Ron Dermer.
“He underscored that further escalation of the conflict will only make that objective (of civilian return) more difficult.”
Despite global calls for a ceasefire, including from the US and France, Israel has continued its military strikes in Lebanon, heightening fears of a wider regional war.
White House defends ceasefire proposal
08:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
The White House has defended its ceasefire proposal, saying they believed Israel was open to considering it, especially for the Lebanon border.
Global calls for a 21-day ceasefire, led by US president Joe Biden and France’s Emmanuel Macron, have been dismissed by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters: “He and his cabinet and the Israeli people have every right to want to thwart that threat,” Mr Kirby said.
“We still believe an all-out war is not the best way to get people back in their homes. If that’s the goal, an all-out war, we don’t believe is the right way to do that.”
ICYMI: Israel-Hezbollah conflict: Why is Lebanon being attacked and will there be a ceasefire?
08:00
Maroosha Muzaffar
Tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate as Israel ramps up its assault on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Beginning with a major bombardment on 23 September, Lebanon has now experienced its deadliest attack since the end of the 1975 - 1990 Civil War, with over 90,000 civilians displaced from their homes.
Israel has called the bombardment a “new phase” of its war on Gaza, striking more than 1,000 targets in Lebanon which it says were Hezbollah strongholds or military facilities in homes.
Since the 7 October Hamas attack where over 240 Israeli hostages were taken, Hezbollah has been striking Israel from Lebanon on the country’s northern border in support of Hamas. Israeli forces have continued to respond with strikes on the paramilitary group which regularly fired missiles and rockets to intercept military technology like drones or tanks.
Read the full story here:
‘Sirens’ heard across central Israel after ‘missile launched from Yemen’
07:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
The Israel Defence Forces said that sirens were sounding across central Israel late on Thursday. In a post on X, the IDF attributed the alarms to “a missile launched from Yemen”.
“The missile launched from Yemen was successfully intercepted by an ‘Arrow’ interceptor,” they said in a post on X.
⭕️A missile was fired from Yemen toward Israel and successfully intercepted by the "Arrow" Aerial Defense System.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 26, 2024
Sirens and explosions were heard following the interception and falling shrapnel. https://t.co/CGzsJxNvNb
“The alarms and explosions that were heard are the result of the interception process and the interception fragments.”
Mahmoud Abbas calls out US government at UN summit
07:00
Alex Croft
Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas said the “entire world is responsible” for events in Gaza and the West Bank.
He opened his speech at the UN general assembly in New York by telling the members: “We will not leave. We will not leave. We will not leave.”
“Palestine is our homeland. It is the land of our fathers, our grandfathers. It will remain ours. And if anyone were to leave, it would be occupying usurpers.”
Abbas added, according to The Guardian: “Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending weapons to Israel. This madness cannot continue.”
He also called out the US for their failure to vote for a ceasefire in the UN security council and their veto of full Palestinian membership in the UN.
“This is the United States, the very country that was the only member in the security council that voted against granting the state of Palestine for membership in the UN,” Abbas said.
“We don’t deserve membership in the eyes of America, so they use a veto against it.”
Norwegian police search for missing man linked to pager explosions
06:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
Norwegian police have issued an international search warrant for Rinson Jose, a 39-year-old Norwegian-Indian man, in connection with the sale of pagers to Hezbollah.
These pagers exploded recently, killing dozens of people in Lebanon. Jose, who founded the Bulgarian company Norta Global Ltd., allegedly part of the pager supply chain, went missing during a work trip to the US.
Oslo police said: “Yesterday, the Oslo police district received a missing person report in connection with the pager case. A missing persons case has been opened and we have sent out an international warrant for the person.”
Jose’s employer also reportedly lost contact with him after he left for a Boston conference on 17 September.
Scotland’s First Minister says a binding ceasefire across the Middle East is ‘essential’
06:00
Alex Croft
Scotland’s First Minister has said the situation in the Middle East is cause for the “deepest concern” as he called for a binding ceasefire in the region.
UK citizens are being urged to leave Lebanon after Israel launched an intense series of air strikes earlier this week.
The UK has joined the US, France and other allies in calling for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Lebanon, warning the escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah is “intolerable”.
Writing on X, John Swinney said: “The worsening situation in the Middle East is a cause of the deepest concern.
“It is essential that there is a binding ceasefire now to end the suffering in Gaza and to act to avoid escalating conflict in Lebanon.”
Protesters gather outside UN headquarters ahead of Netanyahu’s visit
05:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
Protesters in New York gathered ahead of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s UN General Assembly address, voicing opposition to the ongoing war in Gaza.
The protests were led by Jewish and Israeli groups calling for a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution, with participants criticising Netanyahu’s leadership and demanding the release of hostages taken by Hamas.
A New York-based rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum told The Guardian: “It’s outrageous that Netanyahu is here on this world stage. He has been an obstacle to ending this war, bringing the hostages home.”
“This isn’t a sports game,” Mr Kleinbaum added. “There isn’t a winner and a loser, and people who imagine there’s going to be one side wins if the other side loses … that’s not where I stand at all. I believe in a shared future, and I want to protest the dehumanisation of either side, and both peoples have terrible leaders.”
Blinken tells Israel escalation will make civilian return more difficult
05:00
Maroosha Muzaffar
US secretary of state Antony Blinken warned Israel that further escalation of the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon would make it harder for civilians on both sides of the border to return home.
“The Secretary discussed the importance of reaching an agreement on the 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border,” the state department said in a statement referring to talks between Blinken and Israeli minister for strategic affairs Ron Dermer.
“He underscored that further escalation of the conflict will only make that objective (of civilian return) more difficult.”
Despite global calls for a ceasefire, including from the US and France, Israel has continued its military strikes in Lebanon, heightening fears of a wider regional war.
Opinion: I watched terrified Britons flee Lebanon in 2006 and I fear it will happen again
04:30
Alex Croft
The Independent’s Assisstant Editor Caroline Gammell witnessed the evacuations 18 years ago in Beirut, and says the government should take heed of a blueprint that worked:
Netanyahu rejects international calls for ceasefire
04:04
Maroosha Muzaffar
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected international calls for a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, despite pressure from allies like the US and France.
“We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force, and we will not stop until we reach all our goals – chief among them the return of the residents of the north securely to their homes,” Mr Netanyahu said.
The prime minister’s office said that Mr Netanyahu had “directed the Israel Defense Forces to continue fighting with full force, according to the plan that was presented to him. The fighting in Gaza will also continue until all the objectives of the war have been achieved”.
ICYMI: Israeli military chief says troops preparing for possible ground invasion of Lebanon
04:01
Alex Croft
Israel’s top general on Wednesday indicated that the country is preparing for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon, as airstrikes targeting Hezbollah continue into a fourth day.
Israel’s chief of staff, Maj Gen Herzi Halevi told Israeli troops during a visit to the country’s north: “We are preparing the process of a manoeuvre, which means your military boots, your manoeuvring boots, will enter enemy territory, enter villages that Hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts, with underground infrastructure, staging points and launchpads into our territory [from which to] carry out attacks on Israeli civilians.”
Mr Halevi’s remarks come as the US increased pressure for a pause in the fighting, with Joe Biden warning of the urgent need to prevent an “all-out war” in the region.
“An all-out war is possible,” the US president told ABC, adding that he believed an opportunity also existed “to have a settlement that can fundamentally change the whole region”.
‘Hell is breaking loose in Lebanon’, UN chief warns
03:05
Alex Croft
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned that “hell is breaking loose in Lebanon” as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, with exchanges of fire intensifying along the UN-patrolled border.
In a statement, Mr Guterres urged both sides to respect Lebanese sovereignty and called for Lebanon to have “full control of its weapons” throughout the country.
Nearly 200,000 Lebanese and over 60,000 northern Israelis have been displaced since Hezbollah began launching rockets across the border in support of Hamas in Gaza. Hundreds have been killed in the escalating conflict.
