Israel-Hezbollah latest: Israel expands ground invasion of Lebanon amid fresh wave of airstrikes in Beirut

The Israeli military has pusher further into southern Lebanon as Beirut was rocked by a fresh wave of airstrikes overnight.

Israeli troops have moved into south-west Lebanon after nine days of focusing on the eastern side of the border - where Israel invaded on 30 September.

The 146th reservist division will carry out a “localised” ground operation alongside an artillery brigade against Hezbollah militants in the area, as up to 1.2million people have been displaced across Lebanon.

It comes as Beirut’s southern suburbs were rocked by fresh Israeli airstrikes overnight, with Israeli forces claiming it killed senior Hezbollah commander Suhail Hussein Husseini.

If confirmed, the death of Suhail Hussein Husseini would be the latest in a string of Israel’s assassinations of leaders and commanders of Hezbollah and its ally Hamas.

More than 2,080 have been reported killed in total, and a further 9,869 wounded, since Israel began its bombing operations in Lebanon last month.

On Monday, Israeli citizens marked the anniversary of Hamas’s deadly 7 October attacks, during which 1,205 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Of those, 101 remain in Gaza.

Nearly 42,000 Palestinians have since been killed by Israel’s retaliatory air and ground attacks, according to the Gazan health ministry.

Key Points

• Israeli military pushes further into Lebanon

• Beirut rocked by fresh airstrikes

• Pictured: Aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut

• Israel detects missile fired from Yemen

• US warns Israel not to attack Beirut airport

Pictured: Aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut

09:35 , Alexander Butler

Hamas will rise like the phoenix, says top member

09:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Hamas’s leader-in-exile Khaled Meshaal said the Palestinian group would rise again and that it continues to recruit fighters and manufacture weapons.

Israel says Hamas no longer exists as an organised military structure and has been reduced to guerrilla tactics. Hamas fighters account for at least a third of the roughly 17,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza, according to Israeli officials.

“Palestinian history is made of cycles,” Mr Meshaal, 68, a senior figure under overall leader Yahya Sinwar, told Reuters.

“We go through phases where we lose martyrs and we lose part of our military capabilities, but then the Palestinian spirit rises again, like the phoenix, thanks to god.”

Pictured: Displaced children across Lebanon

09:28 , Alexander Butler

Beirut rocked by fresh airstrikes

09:07 , Alexander Butler

Beirut’s southern suburbs were rocked by fresh Israeli airstrikes overnight, with Israeli forces claiming it killed senior Hezbollah commander Suhail Hussein Husseini.

If confirmed, the death of Suhail Hussein Husseini would be the latest in a string of Israel’s assassinations of leaders and commanders of Hezbollah and its ally Hamas.

More than 2,080 have been reported killed in total, and a further 9,869 wounded, since Israel began its bombing operations in Lebanon last month.

Israeli military pushes further into Lebanon

09:04 , Alexander Butler

The Israeli military has pusher further into southern Lebanon as Beirut was rocked by a fresh wave of airstrikes overnight.

Israeli troops have moved into south-west Lebanon after nine days of focusing on the eastern side of the border - where Israel invaded on 30 September.

The 146th division will carry out a “limited, localised, targeted” ground operation against Hezbollah militants in the area, Israel claimed, as up to 1.2million people have been displaced across Lebanon.

In pics: Pro-Palestine solidarity protests in US and Mexico

09:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Concern over proximity of Israeli tanks near Irish post in Lebanon

08:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The presence of Israel tanks near an outpost where some Irish troops are stationed is “concerning”, the UN’s mission in Lebanon said.

The UN mission said the position of IDF troops “immediately adjacent“ to the peacekeeping post was “an extremely dangerous development”.

The mission “is deeply concerned by recent activities by the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] immediately adjacent to the Mission’s position 6-52, southeast of Marun ar Ras (Sector West), inside Lebanese territory,” it said in a statement.

“The IDF has been repeatedly informed of this ongoing situation through regular channels,” the mission said.

“UNIFIL urgently reminds all actors of their obligations to protect UN personnel and property.”

Iran says Quds force commander is alive and well

08:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Ismail Ghaani, the commander of the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, is alive and well, his Deputy Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi said, dismissing speculations about his death.

Mr Ghani, who leads the Guard’s overseas military service, has been missing from the public eye for more than a week amid speculations about his death in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.

His deputy told local reporters yesterday that there was no need for the Guards to release any official statement to shut down the rumours, according to the Financial Times.

“He’s healthy and well and doing his job,” Big Gen Masjedi said of Mr Ghaani, while declining to provide further details.

Watch: ‘This is a tense life’: Teenager speaks from bombed Gaza

07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A teenager from north Gaza has shared what her life is like living in a tent after she was displaced under Israeli bombardment.

Enas Tantesh is 17 years old and lives in the Al Mawasi so-called humanitarian zone.

“This is a tense life... You cannot set a routine, you cannot do whatever you want. You might be displaced or even die at any moment,” she said.

‘This is a tense life’: Teenager speaks from Gaza’s bombed humanitarian zone

Live: View of Gaza's Khan Younis as NHS volunteers warn of catastrophic healthcare collapse

07:05 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

China to provide emergency medical supplies to Lebanon

07:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

China will provide emergency medical supplies to Lebanon, China’s official foreign aid agency said this morning.

Li Ming, the spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said in a statement that as the fighting escalated recently, explosions and air strikes “have occurred in many places in Lebanon, causing a large number of casualties”.

“At the request of the Lebanese government, the Chinese government has decided to provide emergency humanitarian medical supplies to Lebanon to help Lebanon carry out medical assistance,” the statement said.

No evidence Iran rushing to build a nuclear weapon, says CIA director

06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

There is no evidence to suggest that Iran has decided to build a nuclear weapon, said CIA director William Burns, adding the US and its allies would be able to detect such a step.

Mr Burns said Iran has advanced its nuclear program by stockpiling uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels and could quickly secure enough fissile material for an atomic bomb.

“No, we do not see evidence today that the supreme leader has reversed the decision that he took at the end of 2003 to suspend the weaponisation program,” Mr Burns said at the Cipher Brief security conference in Sea Island.

Israel claims killing of Hezbollah HQ commander

05:59 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The Israeli military today said it killed Suhail Hussein Husseini, the commander of Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut.

The military claimed Husseini was a partner in the weapons transfer agreements between Iran and Hezbollah and was responsible for the distribution of the smuggled weapons between the various units in Hezbollah.

US warns Israel not to attack Beirut airport

05:26 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The US warned Israel not to attack the airport in Lebanon’s capital or the roads leading to it after Israel intensified its bombardment of southern Beirut around the one-year anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attack.

“We think it’s very important that not only the airport be open, but that the roads to the airport be open,” state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said yesterday.

He added the airport and the road around it needed to be spared so that the American and other foreign citizens “who want to leave can get out” of Lebanon safely.

The Israeli air force yesterday struck the southern suburbs of Beirut, near the international airport, security sources told AFP.

Mr Miller said some 8,500 Americans have contacted the state department to inquire about departure conditions, but this does not mean they all wish to leave.

Trump says Israel has ‘to get smart’ and back him

05:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

One year on from the Hamas terrorist attack that sparked 12 months of intense conflict in the Middle East, Donald Trump has said that Israel needs to “get smart” and support him.

The former president appeared to complain that he was not being backed by Israel, claiming in typical fashion that he had done more for the nation and Jewish people “than anybody.”

Trump phoned into conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt’s show, and was asked if he thought Israel would be able to fully recover after its war. The former president replied that Israel “would be good.”

“I think that Israel has to do one thing. They have to get smart about Trump, because they don’t back me,” he said.

Mike Bedigan reports.

Trump says Israel has ‘to get smart’ and back him and whines they don’t support him

Over 100 Palestinian journalists detained by Israel in a year

04:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Israel has detained at least 108 Palestinian journalists from Gaza and the occupied West Bank since it launched its war on Gaza a year ago, a rights group has said.

About 58 journalists still remain in Israeli custody, including six women journalists and 22 from Gaza, said the Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, also known as Addameer.

The group said at least 16 journalists were being held under administrative detention.

More than 9000 orders of administrative detention have been issued since 7 October last year, including orders against children and women, the group claimed.

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 21, including five children

04:15 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

At least 21 people, including five children and two women, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza last night, according to Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital.

The strikes took place on the anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attack in southern Israel.

Two strikes hit houses in the Bureij refugee camp as emergency responders said more people are thought to be under the rubble.

The Palestinian death toll in the war in Gaza is nearing 42,000, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Strip.

In pics: Israel continues to bomb Beirut

03:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Full story: Keir Starmer takes aim at ‘malign’ Iran and vows never to ban all arms sales to Israel

03:30 , David Maddox

Sir Keir Starmer used the first anniversary of Hamas’s barbaric terrorist attack on Israel to urge the international community to turn its focus on the “malign” regime in Iran.

In a carefully crafted statement in the Commons to commemorate the 7 October atrocity, which sparked war in the Middle East, Sir Keir’s message to MPs was that the ayatollahs who rule Iran must be held to account and forced to take responsibility for the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region.

He said his government “will never stop selling weapons to Israel”, despite calls from French president Emmanuel Macron for a full arms embargo.

His words came as Sir Keir resisted calls to distance himself from Israel after its prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened up a new front in the north against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.

David Maddox reports:

Starmer takes aim at ‘malign’ Iran and vows never to ban all arms sales to Israel

NHS medics volunteering in Gaza warn of catastrophic collapse of healthcare system

03:00 , Athena Stavrou

NHS medics volunteering in Gaza have warned of the “catastrophic” collapse of the healthcare system one year into the war, as they described trying to treat the wounded and sick amid shortages of everything from paracetamol to surgical gauze.

Nurses and doctors working in field hospitals run by the British medical charity UK-Med have called for immediate delivery of supplies and for health workers and facilities to be protected, as the world marks the grim milestone of one year at war.

Bel Trew reports:

NHS medics volunteering in Gaza warn of catastrophic collapse of healthcare system

Wife of journalist killed in Gaza wears husband’s press vest as she continues his work

02:00 , Athena Stavrou

The wife of a Palestinian journalist described how she feels close to her husband by wearing his press vest as she continues his work in Gazaunder Israeli bombardment.

Filmmaker Shrouq Aila spoke to BBC Panorama for the programme’s episode commemorating the first anniversary of the October 7 attack.

Her husband, journalist Roshdi Sarraj, was hit in the head by shrapnel after an Israeli strike hit his family home in Gaza City and died of his injuries.

Ms Aila decided to carry on her husband’s work documenting the strikes.

She told the BBC: “Every time I wear the vest I remember my husband.

“It crosses my mind lots of times that Dania might lose me the same way she lost her father.”

Wife of journalist killed in Gaza wears husband’s press vest as she continues work

Israel state ceremony performs dramatisation of moment October 7 attack begins

01:30 , Athena Stavrou

A dramatisation of the moment the October 7 attack began was performed at an official Israeli state memorial on the first anniversary.

Video played during the pre-recorded ceremony displayed the date as 7 October 2023 and the time as 6am.

Women in white dresses danced to heavy music before screaming was heard and gunfire sounds played.

Later in the sequence, the dancers fell to the floor.

On Monday, Israel marked one year since Hamas‘ attack, during which the group killed around 1,200 people and took 251 more hostage in Gaza, 101 of which remain in the enclave.

Nearly 42,000 Palestinians have since been killed by Israel’s retaliatory air and ground attack in Gaza, according to the local, Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel state ceremony performs dramatisation of moment October 7 attack begins

Mother of sole British hostage in Gaza pleas for help and her safe return

Tuesday 8 October 2024 00:30 , Athena Stavrou

The mother of the sole British hostage still in Gaza a year after she was taken by Hamas has pleaded for her safe return, saying: “I need her back with me now, alive, before it is too late for her.”

Mandy Damari’s plea for her daughter Emily, 28, and the other hostages, was made in a recorded message played on Monday at an evening of commemoration and reflection of the October 7 attacks on Israel.

To an audience which included Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and former prime minister Rishi Sunak, she said that the recent news of six hostages being murdered in the tunnels beneath Gaza is a “horror beyond imaginable”.

She added: “We have clear photographic evidence of the conditions which Emily and the other hostages are likely living in.

“It is a desperate and living hell.

“I am a mother and it goes against every grain of my being to profess that I need help with the child that I know best, the child that I brought into this world, but I do so desperately need help and I ask you for it now.

“I have always believed in the power of prayer but more importantly, the power of collective prayer.”

Israel ‘endangering’ Irish troops in Lebanon, deputy premier says

Monday 7 October 2024 23:39 , Athena Stavrou

Israel has endangered Irish peacekeepers along the border with Lebanon, Ireland’s deputy premier has said.

Micheal Martin made the comments as Irish premier Simon Harris also criticised breaches of the Blue Line by Israeli forces as unacceptable.

It comes amid concern for the safety of Irish peacekeepers involved in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) amid heightened conflict in the region.

Israeli forces have recently breached the Blue Line demarcation between southern Lebanon and Israel, which is observed by the UN peacekeeping unit.

The Irish Defence Forces has said the development raised “significant concerns”, particularly on the breaches which occurred near Irish battalion posts. In a statement, it said sheltering in place remains the “safest option” for Irish troops at this time.

The update follows reports from Lebanese media outlet Al-Mayadeen reported that Hezbollah fighters had been instructed to hold back from engaging with Israeli forces near the Unifil site “to protect the lives of the international personnel”.

The reports also accused the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) of using Unifil peacekeepers as human shields to cover up advances on the ground.

Lammy responds to pressure to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation

Monday 7 October 2024 22:30 , Athena Stavrou

The Foreign Secretary said the Government was “looking very definitely” at how to deal with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after facing pressure to proscribe it as a terrorist organisation.

Asked on Channel 4 news why Britain has not proscribed the group, David Lammy said: “In coming into government, we are looking at state threats. We don’t comment on proscription, of course.

“But can I say that we are looking very definitely at this and how – when we’re talking about a state-sponsored organisation as opposed to a terrorist cell organisation – how it is best dealt with… Iran is subject to many, many sanctions under the last government.

“And of course, particularly in the context of their nuclear ambitions, you would expect us to be very, very clear on that issue.”

Sirens sounded in central Israel

Monday 7 October 2024 22:01 , Athena Stavrou

Sirens have sounded in central Israel after several projectiles were launched from Lebanon on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks.

The Israeli military said some projectiles - which were identified crossing from Lebanonwinto Israeli territory - were intercepted, while the rest fell in open areas.

It added there were no changes made in the Home Front Command’s guidelines.

Yemen’s Houthis say they fired two missiles at central Israel

Monday 7 October 2024 21:30 , Athena Stavrou

Yemen’s Houthis said on Monday it had fired two missiles at Jaffa, a city in central Israel.

The Israeli military said a surface-to-surface missile set off air raid sirens across central Israel, sending residents running for shelter.

“Following the sirens that sounded in a number of areas in central Israel, the surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen was successfully intercepted” by the Israeli Air Force, the military said in a statement.

The statement did not say who fired the missile.

The Houthis said one missile was a Palestine 2 and it “reached” its target. The group said the second was a Dhu al-Fiqar missile but did not describe its outcome.

The Yemeni group said the operation “successfully achieved its objectives” and it targeted several drones at Jaffa and Eilat.

Israel only mentioned the intercepted surface-to-surface missile, without referring to the drones or a second missile.

The Iran-backed Houthi movement which controls northern Yemen has frequently attacked Israel over the past year in what it says is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli military issues new evacuation warning on specific buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs

Monday 7 October 2024 20:30 , Athena Stavrou

The Israeli military issued on Monday a new evacuation warning for residents especially those in specific buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs including in the Burj al-Barajneh neighbourhood.

Earlier, the military told residents south of Lebanon’s Awali River to stay off beaches and the sea for their safety as it said it will soon launch operations on Lebanon’s southern coast. The river empties into the Mediterranean about 60 kilometers north of the Israeli-Lebanese border.

The military’s statement did not specify what operations would be carried out.

Israeli ground operations in Lebanon so far continue to be limited, State Dept says

Monday 7 October 2024 19:51 , Athena Stavrou

The United States assesses that Israel‘s ground operations in Lebanon so far continue to be limited, the State Department said on Monday, as Israeli forces looked poised to expand ground raids into south Lebanon on the first anniversary of the Gaza war.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that Washington expects Israel to target Hezbollah in Lebanon in a way that complies with international humanitarian law and minimises civilian casualties.

Live: Israel's official state memorial marks one year since October 7 attacks

Monday 7 October 2024 19:30 , Athena Stavrou

Watch live as Israel’s official state memorial ceremony in Jerusalem marks one year since October 7 Hamas attacks on Monday 7 October.

In a separate ceremony taking place in Tel Aviv, families of hostages are protesting against the government inability to bring back their family members from Gaza.

Bel Trew: Gaza hostage families blast air raid siren outside Netanyahu’s home as wake up call to agree release deal

Monday 7 October 2024 19:05 , Athena Stavrou

Relatives march in Jerusalem on anniversary of Hamas attack in which their loved ones were taken to urge Israeli PM to bring them home, writes Bel Trew, while airstrikes continue in both Gaza and Lebanon:

Hostage families blast air raid siren outside Netanyahu’s home as wake up call

Israel to launch operations on Lebanon’s southern coast

Monday 7 October 2024 18:41 , Athena Stavrou

The Israeli military says it will soon launch operations on Lebanon’s southern coast, telling residents to stay off the beaches and fishermen off the sea for a 60-kilometre stretch along the Mediterranean.

The military’s statement did not specify what operations would be carried out.

Israeli forces have been carrying out intensified airstrikes across southern Lebanon and limited ground incursions near the border in a campaign against Hezbollah.

The statement told residents south of Lebanon’s Awali River to stay off beaches and the sea for their safety.

The river empties into the Mediterranean about 60 kilometers north of the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Watch: Starmer’s blunt response to suspended Labour MP’s question on Israel arms sales

Monday 7 October 2024 18:23 , Athena Stavrou

Sir Keir Starmer had a blunt one-word response to a suspended Labour MP when she asked him if the government would ban all arms sales to Israel.

Speaking as the House of Commons marked the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Zarah Sultana — who lost the whip after supporting a motion to abolish the two-child benefit cap — asked the prime minister if he believes Israel’s right to self-defence “justifies” the death toll in the region, adding: “And will he do what is morally and legally right and end the Government’s complicity in war crimes by banning all arms sales to Israel.”

Sir Keir replied: “No... Banning all sales would mean none for defensive purposes.”

Starmer’s blunt response to suspended Labour MP’s question on Israel arms sales

Vigils held for victims of Hamas attack

Monday 7 October 2024 18:01 , Athena Stavrou

The victims of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel have been remembered at a vigil in Hove.

Their names were read out to a silent crowd who gathered in Palmeira Square on Monday, a year after the deadly attack and kidnappings.

A prayer was also said for the victims.

Starmer denies government has ‘stepped back’ from Israel support

Monday 7 October 2024 17:42 , Athena Stavrou

Sir Keir Starmer disputed claims that there had been a “stepping back” in the Government’s support of Israel.

The Prime Minister said: “There’s been no stepping back of support for Israel, we’ve been absolutely robust in that support.”

Tory MP Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) had asked: “Some of the decisions he has taken has led to a feeling that this Government has stepped back its support for Israel, not least in the restoration of the funding for UNRWA. Does the Prime Minister regret that and will he revisit that decision?”

Elsewhere, Conservative former minister Robert Jenrick said there had been an “explosion of antisemitism” in the UK since the October 7 attacks in Israel, adding: “We have to root out those who despise our country and our values.

“What will the Prime Minister do to revoke visas, where appropriate, of those in the UK who are conducting themselves in this manner, to encourage the police to enforce our existing laws without fear or favour, and defer the ban and proscribe those organisations such as the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps)?”

Sir Keir replied: “We are proud of the democratic right to protest in this country but supporting a proscribed terrorist group is unacceptable and we need to be very, very clear about that and give the police our full support in taking the action they need to take in relation to it, wherever it is in the United Kingdom.”

Biden marks anniversary of October 7 attacks with White House candle-lighting ceremony

Monday 7 October 2024 17:36 , Athena Stavrou

President Joe Biden on Monday marked the grim anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel in a small White House ceremony accompanied by a prayer and a memorial candle, one year since Hamas militants killed at least 1,200 and took 250 hostages in the surprise attack.

Biden stood in the Blue Room of the White House alongside First Lady Jill Biden and Rabbi Aaron Alexander, the head rabbi at Washington’s Adas Israel Congregation, as Alexander offered a prayer in both Hebrew and English.

The prayer, known as “El Malei Rachamim” — or “God of Mercy:” in English — is a prayer for the soul of a person who has died that is recited during burial and memorial services.

The Independent’s White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg has the full story:

Biden marks year since October 7 attacks with White House candle-lighting ceremony

Starmer says stopping all UK arms sales to Israel will 'never’ be his position.

Monday 7 October 2024 17:16 , Athena Stavrou

Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out a total ban on arms sales to Israel, amid claims such a move could aid Gaza ceasefire efforts.

The Prime Minister said a complete ban would cover arms being used for defensive purposes, adding this would be the “wrong position” for the UK to adopt given Iran’s recent ballistic missile attack on Israel.

The UK Government has previously suspended around 30 arms exports to Israel over concerns they could be used in violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

Sir Keir’s remarks came in response to calls for a total ban from independent MPs Richard Burgon and Zarah Sultana, who both lost the Labour whip in July for backing an SNP motion on welfare policy.

Sir Keir told the Commons: “If sale of weapons for defensive use by Israel were banned, that is a position that I could not countenance a year after October the 7th. It is not a position I could countenance in the face of attacks by Iran.

“The whole House saw the number of missiles coming over into Israel only the other day, and the idea that we could say we support Israel’s right to defend herself, and at the same time deprive her of the means to do so, is so wholly inconsistent that it will never be my position.”

Moment man destroys Jewish memorial before October 7 anniversary

Monday 7 October 2024 17:01 , Tom Watling

Moment man destroys Jewish memorial before October 7 anniversary

Watch: Israeli hostages’ families march to Netanyahu’s home on 7 October anniversary

Monday 7 October 2024 16:45 , Tom Watling

Watch: Israeli hostages’ families march to Netanyahu’s home on 7 October anniversary

Israeli fighter jets hit 120 targets in southern Lebanon

Monday 7 October 2024 16:35 , Tom Watling

The Israeli air force staged a massive attack on southern Lebanon using 100 fighter jets to hit more than 120 targets, the military has said.

The military said the jets attacked Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon for an hour.

“These attacks are added to a series of attacks designed to deepen the damage to Hezbollah’s command, control and firing capabilities, and to assist the manoeuvring ground forces to achieve their goals,” the military said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

In pictures: Destroyed buildings seen in Lebanon following airstrikes

Monday 7 October 2024 16:21 , Tom Watling

US issues new Hamas-related sanctions, Treasury Dept website shows

Monday 7 October 2024 16:03 , Tom Watling

The United States issued new Hamas-related sanctions on the anniversary of the Palestinian militant group’s 7 October, 2023, attack on Israel, the Treasury Department website showed on Monday.

Israel detects missile fired from Yemen

Monday 7 October 2024 15:49 , Tom Watling

A missile has been fired at Israel from Yemen, the Israeli military has just claimed.

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the Israeli military said: “Following the alerts that were activated in the centre of the country, a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen was detected, the details are under investigation.”

Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian boy in West Bank confrontations, health ministry says

Monday 7 October 2024 15:48 , Tom Watling

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy has been killed in confrontations between youths and Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry has revealed.

Video from the area of Qalandia showed youths blocking a road with burning tyres, with Israeli army vehicles and ambulances at the scene.

“During counterterrorism activity in Qalandia, a violent riot was instigated in the area, during which rioters hurled blocks and rocks at the forces who were operating in the area, endangering them,” said Israel‘s military in a statement. “The forces responded with riot-dispersal means and live fire toward the rioters. Hits were identified.”

Monday marked the first anniversary of Hamas’ 7 October attack against Israel, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip and set off the worst bloodletting in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Violence has surged across the West Bank since last October. Hundreds of Palestinians - including armed fighters, stone-throwing youths and civilian bystanders - have been killed in clashes with Israeli security forces.

Dozens of Israelis have been killed in Palestinian street attacks over the past year.

Israel said it was on high alert for attacks on Monday. Movement in the West Bank was further restricted as many checkpoints shut down, residents said and some Palestinians with entry permits received notices on their mobile phones saying they will not be allowed into Israel.

Watch live: Starmer says UK must ‘stand with Jewish community’ as he marks October 7 anniversary

Monday 7 October 2024 15:35 , Tom Watling

Israel can't confirm death of Hezbollah's Safieddine, spokesperson says

Monday 7 October 2024 15:22 , Tom Watling

Israel cannot confirm whether the potential successor to the slain Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been killed, a government spokesperson said on Monday, following reports that he was targeted in an Israeli air strike last week.

Asked if Israel could confirm the death of Hashem Safieddine, spokesperson David Mencer told an online briefing: “We don’t have that confirmation yet. When it is confirmed, as and when, it will be on the IDF (Israeli military) website.”

A Hezbollah official told Reuters on Sunday that Israel was obstructing search and rescue efforts in an area where Safieddine is thought to have been when Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday.

Israel has killed much of Hezbollah’s military command and senior leadership in nearly a year of fighting that began when Hezbollah opened a front in solidarity with Palestinians the day after Hamas’ deadly 7 October, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

‘This is a tense life’: Teenager speaks from Gaza’s bombed humanitarian zone

Monday 7 October 2024 14:55 , Tom Watling

‘This is a tense life’: Teenager speaks from Gaza’s bombed humanitarian zone

In pictures: Palestinians flee southern Gaza and look for water further north

Monday 7 October 2024 14:33 , Tom Watling

Israeli military says it conducted a targeted strike in Beirut

Monday 7 October 2024 14:07 , Tom Watling

Israeli military said on Monday it conducted a targeted strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut a short while ago.

A thick plume of smoke was seen in the area.

Israelis hold vigil at site of Nova music festival massacre

Monday 7 October 2024 13:42 , Tom Watling

Britain withdraws family members of embassy staff from Israel

Monday 7 October 2024 13:22 , Tom Watling

Britain has withdrawn the families of its embassy staff working in Israel due to the escalation in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and the risk of a wider regional conflict.

The decision comes in the wake of Israel sending troops into southern Lebanon, the killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and an Iranian missile attack on Israel.

“As a precautionary measure following escalation in the region, family members of British Embassy staff have been temporarily withdrawn,” the Foreign Office travel advice web page for Israel read. “Our staff members remain.”

Hezbollah rockets hit Israel‘s third-largest city Haifa early on Monday as the country looked poised to expand its ground incursions into Lebanon.

Britain advises citizens against all travel to the area close to the border with Gaza and “all but essential travel” to other parts of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories due to the yearlong conflict between Israel and Hamas.

But British citizens living in Israel are not being told to leave. Instead, they are being advised that consular assistance is “severely limited”.

“We recognise this is a fast-moving situation that poses significant risks,” the advice reads. “We strongly encourage you to check you and your dependents have the required documentation to travel at short notice.”

At least 10 firefighters killed in Israeli strike in Lebanon, says health ministry

Monday 7 October 2024 13:01 , Tom Watling

At least 10 firefighters have been killed in an Israeli strike on a municipal building in the town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, the local health ministry has reported.