Israel says it has bombed Houthi targets in Yemen, expanding its confrontation with Iran’s allies in the region, in response to Houthi missile attacks on Israel in recent days.
It stoked fears that Middle East fighting could spin out of control and draw in the United States.
The Houthi-run health ministry said the strikes killed four people and wounded 40 others, but that they took precautionary measures beforehand, emptying oil storage units in the ports.
Israel has also killed a seventh key Hezbollah chief as its bombardment continues in Lebanon, after the Lebanese militant group’s Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in Beirut.
Nabil Kaouk, a senior figure who led its forces in southern Lebanon in Israel’s 18-year occupation, was killed, alongside at least 20 other Hezbollah militants, according to Israel, including two close associates of Nasrallah.
They included founding Hezbollah members who had evaded death or detention for decades.
Israel also appears to be preparing for a ground invasion of Lebanon, amassing hundreds of tanks on the country’s northern border.
Key Points
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Seventh Hezbollah leader killed in strike
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Israel targets Houthi sites in Yemen
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More than 1,000 people killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon
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Nasrallah’s body recovered intact in Beirut, sources say
More than 211,000 people forced to flee homes, says UN
20:40 , Jane Dalton
The number of people displaced by the conflict from southern Lebanon now stands at more than 211,000, according to the United Nations.
The United Nations’ refugee agency says 70,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria to escape Israeli bombardment.
The total includes both Lebanese citizens and Syrians who had moved to Lebanon but are now returning.
Sarah Haj Hassan, who fled Shmustar near Lebanon’s eastern city of Baalbek, said: “I lost my house, and my parents’ house was damaged.”
She is one of 7,500 people who have registered in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb of Damascus.
Biden vows to talk to Netanyahu, saying war must be avoided
20:00 , Jane Dalton
US president Joe Biden has said an all-out war “has to be avoided” in the Middle East and he aims to speak to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, but he did not say when.
“I’ll tell you what I say to him when I talk to him,” he told reporters. Asked whether all-out war in the Middle East could be avoided, he replied: “It has to be. We really have to avoid it.”
US warplanes, ships and troops ready for wider conflict
19:45 , Jane Dalton
A recap:
Syrians in shock during three days of mourning
19:00 , Jane Dalton
Flags have been flying at half-mast in Damascus and residents said they were still shocked after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, whose fighters helped Syria’s army reclaim large parts of the country during its brutal civil war.
Syria announced three days of national mourning for Nasrallah, after president Bashar al-Assad said Nasrallah would “remain in the memory of Syrians”.
In Damascus, residents expressed disbelief over the killing.
“He can’t die. He always dreamed of martyrdom, and while this is fitting, it’s still so hard to accept,” said Marwa Barkouka. “He remains alive, not just as a martyr but because he lives inside us. We grew up with him here.”
Syria’s conflict erupted in 2011 with protests against Assad. Nasrallah in 2012 called for reform in the country, but by the next year said that Hezbollah would fight alongside Assad to prevent Syria falling to Sunni jihadi radicals, the United States and Israel.
Many credit Hezbollah’s intervention with key victories.
“For us, this man was like an entire nation. We had dignity, and now it’s gone,” said Ibrahim Al-Ahmad, another resident of Damascus.
Hezbollah will try to quickly rebuild itself, US warns
18:01 , Jane Dalton
A top White House official says Israel has “wiped out” Hezbollah’s command structure with a barrage of airstrikes, but warned that the militant group will work to quickly rebuild.
National security spokesman John Kirby said: “They will try to recover. We’re watching to see what they do to try to fill this leadership vacuum.”
Referring to the strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Mr Kirby said: “I think people are safer without him walking around.”
But, speaking on CNN, he sidestepped questions about whether the administration agreed with how the Israelis are going about targeting Hezbollah leaders.
The White House continues to call on Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a 21-day temporary ceasefire that was floated by the US, France and other countries last week.
Pope suggests Israel’s actions ‘disproportionate and immoral’
17:05 , Jane Dalton
Pope Francis suggests Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon are disproportionate and immoral
New Israeli attack ‘kills 24 people’
16:26 , Jane Dalton
An Israeli attack on the city of Ain Deleb in southern Lebanon has killed 24 people and wounded 29 others, according to a preliminary toll, Lebanon‘s Health Ministry says.
Israel claims mass attack on Houthi sites in Yemen
16:21 , Jane Dalton
The Israeli military says dozens of its aircraft have struck Houthi targets in Yemen in response to a recent attack on Israel.
The military said it targeted power plants and sea port facilities in the city of Hodeida.
The Houthis launched a ballistic missile attack on Ben Gurion airport on Saturday when prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving.
Israeli airstrike on northeast Lebanon kills 11
15:58 , Jane Dalton
Israel-Hamas war latest: Israeli airstrike on northeast Lebanon kills 11
US campuses prepare for anniversary of Hamas attack on Israel
15:21 , Jane Dalton
College officials are trying to avoid a repeat of scenes when thousands of students were arrested and learning was disrupted after Israel began its retaliation for the 7 October Hamas attack:
Here’s how college campuses are prepping for October 7 anniversary
Seventh Hezbollah chief killed
14:29 , Jane Dalton
The militant group Hezbollah has confirmed another of its senior leaders has been killed in an Israeli airstrike – the seventh senior leader of the Lebanese militant group to be killed in eight days, including Hassan Nasrallah.
Nabil Kaouk was killed on Saturday, the Israeli military said.
Hezbollah also confirmed on Sunday that Ali Karaki died in the same attack as Nasrallah in Beirut on Friday.
Top Islamist group member ‘killed in Israeli strike’
14:15 , Jane Dalton
An Israeli strike on Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley has killed a senior figure in the Sunni Jama’a Islamiya group, Mohammad Dahrouj, two security sources claim.
The Sunni Islamist political group has fired rockets on Israel over the past year and Israel has previously conducted strikes targeting other leading figures from the group.
Residents flock to site of destruction
13:58 , Jane Dalton
More than two days after a massive Israeli airstrike that killed the leader of the Hezbollah militant group, smoke is still rising from the smoldering wreckage.
People flocked to the site, some to check on what was left of their homes, others to pay respects and pray, and others simply to see the destruction.
Residents of Beirut heard up to 10 explosions following the Friday strike that targeted an area greater than a city block, reducing several residential buildings to a jumble of pancaked concrete and twisted steel. The buildings sank into the ground, leaving a cleared-out area nearly the size of a football field.
Weapons experts said the blasts and destruction left behind were consistent with the 2,000lb-class bombs (900kg).
Onlookers at the site today clambered over slabs of concrete, surrounded by piles of twisted metal and wreckage. Several craters, likely to be used by rescuers to penetrate under the site of the explosion were visible, some of them apparently up to 30m (100ft) deep.
A few Hezbollah workers were using a bulldozer to excavate around one of the craters. State security and investigators were nowhere to be seen.
Tory leadership contender says immigrants who see Israel as enemy ‘not welcome’ in UK
13:36 , Andy Gregory
Supporters of Nasrallah mourn loss of slain leader
13:20 , Andy Gregory
Supporters of Hezbollah and other Lebanese people who hailed the group’s role fighting Israel mourned the death of its leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“We lost the leader who gave us all the strength and faith that we, this small country that we love, could turn it into a paradise,” Sophia Blanche Rouillard, a Lebanese Christian who carried a black flag to work in Beirut on Sunday, told Reuters.
An Arab Barometer poll in Lebanon earlier this year found that just 30 per cent trusted Hezbollah, whereas 55 per cent said they did not trust the group at all.
Those who said they trust the group rose to 85 per cent among Shia Muslims, but was just 9 per cent of Sunnis and Druze, and 6 per cent of Christians.
Editorial | The killing of Hezbollah’s leader will make Israel no safer
13:02 , Andy Gregory
Here is a snippet from The Independent’s editorial on the killing of Hassan Nasrallah:
In the short term, of course, it will demoralise Hezbollah and its allies in Hamas and Iran. If the assassination is a substitute for the “all-out war” that was feared in southern Lebanon, that may be no bad thing. But it will not defeat Hezbollah, nor will it kill the aim that it espouses of wiping Israel off the map.
It has to be remembered that Hezbollah was formed in the first place to fight the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Israel invaded to try to stop the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), originally a secular nationalist movement, from launching attacks from there. The PLO was thus supplanted by an Islamist state within a state in Lebanon.
A decade later, Israel assassinated Abbas al-Musawi, Hezbollah’s leader, only for him to be replaced by Nasrallah who was, if anything, more extreme and more dangerous. This is the hydra principle in action: assassinating the leaders of militant organisations tends to lead to their replacement by harder-line commanders.
As Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s former chief of staff who played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace talks, has said: “Unintended consequences tend to prevail.” Mr Powell has argued that “terrorists” almost always have to be negotiated with in the end. A policy of decapitation makes that harder because the new leaders will be more extreme and less likely to be worn down by years of fighting.
The killing of Hezbollah’s leader will make Israel no safer
Hezbollah confirms Karaki killed in strike alongside Nasrallah
12:47 , Andy Gregory
Hezbollah has now confirmed that its senior leader Ali Karaki was killed in the Israeli strike that killed the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Israeli military says it has dismantled a Hamas tunnel in Gaza
12:30 , Andy Gregory
The Israeli military claims to have uncovered and dismantled a Hamas tunnel in central Gaza that was more than a kilometre long.
The tunnel ran near residential buildings, and inside were several rooms and equipment used by militants for prolonged stays, the military said, releasing footage showing a long staircase leading underground and what appeared to be an iron blast door.
Hamas is believed to have built hundreds of kilometeres of tunnels across Gaza to evade Israeli airstrikes. The militants have also used the tunnels to hold hostages captured in the 7 October attack that triggered the war.
Nasrallah’s body recovered from site of Israeli airstrike, sources say
12:09 , Andy Gregory
The body of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been recovered from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs and is intact, a medical source and a security source has told Reuters.
While Hezbollah’s statement on Saturday confirming Nasrallah’s death did not say how exactly he was killed nor when his funeral would be, the two sources said his body had no direct wounds and that it appeared the cause of death was blunt trauma from the force of the blast.
‘No place in Middle East that Israel’s long arm cannot reach,’ warns Netanyahu
11:50 , Andy Gregory
In his first public remarks since the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu said: “He wasn’t another terrorist. He was the terrorist.”
He said Nasrallah’s killing would help bring displaced Israelis back to their homes in the north and would pressure Hamas to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
But with the threat of retaliation high, he said the coming days will bring “significant challenges” and warned Iran against trying to strike.
“There is no place in Iran or in the Middle East that Israel’s long arm cannot reach,” he said. “Today you know how much that is true.”
Hundreds of thousands displaced in Lebanon
11:37 , Andy Gregory
Hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon have been displaced by the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, a Lebanese cabinet minister spearheading the country’s emergency response said.
Environment minister Nasser Yassin said the government estimates that about 250,000 people have left their homes and taken refuge in government-run shelters and informal ones. However, he told the Associated Press the total number is about “four times as many directly affected and/or displaced outside the shelters.”
The United Nations said that, as of Friday, 211,319 people were forced to relocate – even prior to the intensive Israeli airstrikes over Beirut’s southern suburbs over the past two days.
The Lebanese government has converted schools and other facilities into temporary shelters. But still many are sleeping on the streets or in public squares, as the government and non-governmental organisations try to find them places to stay.
Lebanon has ‘no option but the diplomatic option’ in response to Israel
11:11 , Andy Gregory
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said said that his country has “no option but the diplomatic option” in response to Israel’s attacks.
Mr Mikati gave the response during a televised speech, when asked about diplomatic efforts to end Israel’s escalation against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Killing of Revolutionary Guards chief will not go unanswered, Iran warns
10:57 , Andy Gregory
Israel’s killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan in Lebanon “will not go unanswered”, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi has warned.
‘This is our country and we’re staying,’ Beirut resident says
10:46 , Reuters
In Beirut, some displaced families spent the night on the benches at Zaitunay Bay, a string of restaurants and cafes on Beirut’s waterfront. On Sunday morning, families with nothing more than a duffle bag of clothes had rolled out mats to sleep on and made tea for themselves.
“You won’t be able to destroy us, whatever you do, however much you bomb, however much you displace people – we will stay here. We won’t leave. This is our country and we’re staying,” said Francoise Azori, a Beirut resident jogging through the area.
Four killed in strikes in Gaza
10:33 , Andy Gregory
Israeli strikes have killed at least four people in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials.
Two people were killed in separate strikes early on Sunday in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the nearby Awda Hospital, which received the bodies. It said another six people were wounded.
In northern Gaza, first responders recovered two bodies after a strike on a house early on Sunday, according to Gaza’s civil defence authority, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
Tory leadership hopeful Badenoch praises Netanyahu for ‘extraordinary’ killing of Hezbollah chief
10:08 , Andy Gregory
Diplomatic efforts for ceasefire with Israel ‘under way’, Lebanon minister says
09:59 , Andy Gregory
Lebanon’s information minister said during a cabinet session on Sunday that diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire with Israel were still “under way”.
Senior Hezbollah figure killed in attack, Israel says
09:47 , Andy Gregory
The Israeli military has said that it killed senior Hezbollah figure Nabil Kaouk amid an ongoing exchange of strikes between the two sides.
Hezbollah has not yet commented on Kaouk’s fate, but supporters have been posting mourning messages for him since Saturday.
A former commander who led Hezbollah’s forces in southern Lebanon during Israel’s 18-year occupation, Kaouk then held positions on Hezbollah’s executive council.
Iran’s speaker vows Tehran-backed groups will continue confronting Israel
09:40 , Andy Gregory
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said that militant groups will keep confronting Israel with Tehran’s help following the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, state media reported.
“We will not hesitate to go to any level in order to help the resistance,” said Mr Qalibaf, referring to the alliance known as the Axis of Resistance, built over decades with Iranian support, which includes Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
He also issued a warning to the United States, saying: “The US is complicit in all of these crimes and … has to accept the repercussions,” he said.
Also commenting on Nasrallah’s killing, Iranian Foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said Israel “will not rest” and the action would not go unanswered, state media reported on Sunday. He said the region was in a dangerous situation.
Iran Revolutionary Guards’ deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan was also killed in the Israeli strikes on Beirut on Friday, Iranian media reported on Saturday.
Israeli strikes ‘killed five members of my family’, says British woman
09:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A British woman returning to the UK from Lebanon said Israeli air strikes have killed five members of her family, including a cousin 10 days away from her wedding day.
Sana Chamseddin clutched her son in her arms at Heathrow Airport on Saturday and spoke of her guilt at escaping besieged Lebanon and leaving behind loved ones in “unsafe places”.
Her uncle, his wife, and his three daughters who were all in their twenties, were killed when their home in the Lebanese city of Tyre was bombed by the Israel Defence Forces, she told the PA news agency.
More here.
Israeli strikes killed five members of my family, says mother returning to UK
Israeli strikes continue in Lebanon despite killing Hezbollah chief
09:15 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Israeli military continued its airstrikes today despite killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday.
The military said it struck dozens of Hezbollah “terror” targets in Lebanon in the past dozen hours, including launchers aimed toward Israel.
At least six people have been killed in the south of the country and nine others in the Hezbollah stronghold of Bekaa Valley, Lebanese media reported.
Why is Lebanon being attacked and will there be a ceasefire?
09:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
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.
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.
More here.
Israel-Hezbollah: Why is Lebanon being attacked and will there be a ceasefire?
In pics: Aftermath of Hassan Nasrallah’s death
08:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Iraq’s Islamic Resistance claims drone attack on southern Israel
08:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it struck Eilat in southern Israel this morning, according to reports.
The Israeli military yesterday said a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted shortly after the sirens were heard. There were no reports of injuries.
The Houthi rebels said they targeted the airport during prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrival with a ballistic missile.
UK government reiterates calls for Britons to leave Lebanon
07:58 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The British government has asked Britons in Lebanon to “leave now” amid concerns over the escalating situation in the Middle East following the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The Foreign Office had asked Britons to leave Lebanon last week and moved additional troops to Cyprus to aid evacuations.
The government has been working to increase the number of commercial flights available for British nationals, The Guardian reported.
“Our advice is clear, British nationals should register their presence, book the first available flight and leave now,” a spokesperson told the newspaper.
“We have worked with partners to increase flights and secure seats for British nationals to leave and have also sent a rapid deployment team to bolster the efforts of our embassy in supporting British nationals.
“We know it’s a distressing time for British nationals and all people in Lebanon, which is why we are doing everything we can to help.”
Russia says Nasrallah killed to ‘unleash a full-blown war’
07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Russia’s foreign minister claimed a “lot of people” are of the opinion that Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was aimed at provoking Iran and the US “to unleash a full-blown war in the entire region”.
Sergey Lavrov told reporters that the killing is “not simply a political assassination. It’s very cynical as an act”.
Hezbollah confirmed yesterday that Nasrallah, its leader and one of its founders, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a southern suburb of Beirut.
“I think — well not even I think but a lot of people say — that Israel wants to create the grounds to drag the US directly into this, and so to create these grounds is trying to provoke Iran,” Mr Lavrov said.
“The Iran leadership, I think, are behaving extremely responsibly. And this is necessary. This is something that we should take due note of,” he said.
Editorial: The killing of Hezbollah leader will make Israel no safer
07:00 , Jane Dalton
The most hopeful prospect is that Israel’s democracy allows for the peaceful transition to a different strategy:
The killing of Hezbollah’s leader will make Israel no safer
Israel says it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets
06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The Israeli military today said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including launchers that were aimed toward Israeli territory.
Israel infiltrated Hezbollah to obtain intelligence
06:00 , Jane Dalton
After Hassan Nasrallah’s killing, Hezbollah faces the enormous challenge of plugging the infiltration in its ranks that allowed Israel to destroy weapons sites, booby-trap its communications and assassinate the veteran leader, whose whereabouts had been a closely guarded secret.
Israel’s deadly detonation of hundreds of booby-trapped pagers and radios was the culmination of a rapid succession of strikes that have killed half of Hezbollah’s leadership council and decimated its top military command.
One source familiar with Israeli thinking told Reuters, less than 24 hours before the strike, that Israel has spent 20 years focusing intelligence efforts on Hezbollah and could hit Nasrallah when it wanted, including in the headquarters.
The person called the intelligence “brilliant”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his close circle of ministers authorised the attack on Wednesday, Israeli officials said. The attack took place while Netanyahu was in New York.
Nasrallah had avoided public appearances since 2006.
“This is a massive blow and intelligence failure for Hezbollah,” said Magnus Ranstorp, a veteran Hezbollah expert at the Swedish Defence University. “They knew that he was meeting. He was meeting with other commanders. And they just went for him.”
Small-scale ‘border movements’ into Lebanon may have begun – report
05:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Small-scale “border movements” into Lebanon may have begun for a limited ground operation against Hezbollah, according to reports.
While Israel has not confirmed a possible launch of a ground operation but is prepared for one, ABC News reported citing US officials.
Officials in America received a “few minutes notice” at best, before Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination on Friday, the officials added.
Biden says killing of Hezbollah leader ‘measure of justice’
05:10 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
President Joe Biden called the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah “a measure of justice” for the thousands of civilians that he and the terrorist organization killed over the last three decades.
“Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror,” Biden said in a statement.
“His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.”
More here.
Biden says killing of Hezbollah leader is ‘measure of justice’ for his victims
Iran says Hezbollah leader’s death ‘will not go unavenged’
04:50 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei said the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah “will not go unavenged” after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.
Khamenei announced five days of public mourning for Nasrallah as he remembered the Hezbollah leader as the “flag-bearer of resistance” in the region.
Israel yesterday said it was on “high alert” for possible retaliation from the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance” in the Middle East.
“Our forces are on high alert, our intelligence is up,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Nadav Shoshani told reporters.
Similarly, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the coming days would bring “significant challenges” and warned Iran against trying to strike.
Iran’s Ayatollah urged Muslims across the world to stand by Hezbollah “with their resources and help”. “The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront,” he said.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Tehran, waving Hezbollah flags and chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to Netanyahu the murderer”.
Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani wrote to the heads of the UN and the Security Council yesterday calling for an emergency council meeting over the attack.
He warned Israel not to attack any of its diplomatic or consular premises, or its representatives.
More than 1,000 killed in Israeli strike in Lebanon
04:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A total of 1,030 people, including 156 women and 87 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon in less than two weeks, the country’s health minister said.
The Israeli army again warned Lebanese residents to stay away from Hezbollah combat equipment and facilities, including in the southern suburbs of Beirut and southern Lebanon.
The US state department issued an alert urging American citizens to leave the country.
The Israeli military yesterday carried out more than 140 airstrikes in southern Beirut and eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, including targeting a storage facility for anti-ship missiles in Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh.
Israel braces for retaliation after Nasrallah’s assassination
04:05 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said targeting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was “an essential condition to achieving the goals we set”.
Hezbollah confirmed yesterday that one of its founding members, who has been linked by Israel to attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets, had been killed in an airstrike in southern Beirut.
In his first public remarks since the killing on Friday, Mr Netanyahu said: “He wasn’t another terrorist. He was the terrorist.”He said Nasrallah’s killing would help bring displaced Israelis back to their homes in the north and would pressure Hamas to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
With the threat of retaliation high, he warned the coming days would bring “significant challenges” and warned Iran against trying to strike.
“There is no place in Iran or in the Middle East that Israel’s long arm cannot reach. And today you know how much that is true,” he said.
Nasrallah’s death marks major escalation in conflict
03:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The leader of Hezbollah has been killed in an Israeli airstrike on a building complex in the Lebanese capital Beirut, marking a significant escalation in the conflict and heightening fears of a wider war.
The strikes ramp up pressure on Iran to retaliate as Nasrallah’s death leaves Tehran’s most powerful proxy without the man who has led the group since 1992.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on people to stand by Hezbollah “with whatever means they have” and assist them in confronting Israel, warning that “the fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront”.
More here.
Israel kills Hezbollah chief in strike marking major escalation in conflict
European, Arab and Muslim nations launch drive for Palestinian state
03:30 , Jane Dalton
Europeans, Arab and Muslim nations launch a new initiative for an independent Palestinian state
Second round of Israeli strikes ‘kill 33’
02:30 , Jane Dalton
Thirty-three people were killed and 195 wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Saturday, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Families fleeing Beirut sleep on beaches and streets
01:45 , Jane Dalton
People escaping Friday night’s airstrikes on Beirut joined tens of thousands who have already fled there to escape Israel’s bombardment:
Hundreds of fleeing families sleep on beaches and streets after Israel’s strikes shake Beirut
Germany striving for ceasefire, minister says
Sunday 29 September 2024 00:15 , Jane Dalton
Germany is continuing efforts to enable a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, its foreign minister has said, adding that the situation was extremely dangerous.
“There is a threat that this entire region will slip further into an absolute spiral of violence,” Annalena Baerbock was quoted as saying.
Germany last month called for “de-escalation and regional stability” in the Middle East.
PM joins French and German leaders in Middle East ‘de-escalation’ call
Israel’s military mobilises extra reservists as tensions escalate
Saturday 28 September 2024 22:10 , Jane Dalton
Israel’s military mobilizes additional reserve soldiers as tensions escalate with Lebanon
Opinion: There’s still a chance to avert war
Saturday 28 September 2024 21:15 , Jane Dalton
With the world overwhelmingly opposed to a new all-out war, it could yet be avoided, writes Mary Dejevsky:
The Middle East is closer than ever to all-out war – but there is a path to peace
US committed to Israel’s defence, says Pentagon
Saturday 28 September 2024 20:20 , Jane Dalton
The United States is determined to prevent Iran and Iran-backed groups from exploiting the situation in Lebanon or expanding the conflict, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has told Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant in phone calls.
Mr Austin expressed full US support for Israel’s right to defend itself and made clear that “the United States remains postured to protect US forces and facilities in the region and committed to the defense of Israel”, Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said.
I spoke twice with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant yesterday about events in Lebanon. I expressed my full support for Israel’s right to defend itself and its people against Iranian backed terrorist groups. I stressed that the United States is determined to prevent Iran…
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) September 28, 2024
Fire and smoke at Lebanese border
Saturday 28 September 2024 19:30 , Jane Dalton
Smoke billows over Khiam, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjayoun, near the Lebanese border with Israel:
Armed men fire into air and shut down shops as Hezbollah supporters in shock
Saturday 28 September 2024 18:40 , Jane Dalton
Armed men fired shots in the air and shut down shops in parts of Beirut after the death of Hassan Nasrallah.
Hezbollah supporters said they were in a state of shock and disbelief.
“God, I hope it’s not true. It’s a disaster if it’s true,” said Zahraa, a young woman displaced overnight from Hezbollah’s stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
“He was leading us. He was everything to us. We were under his wings,” she said tearfully.
She said other displaced people around her fainted or began to scream when they received notifications on their phone of Hezbollah’s statement confirming his death.
“We’re still waiting for him to come out on the television at 5pm and tell us that everything is okay, that we can go back home,” Zahraa said.
In some parts of Beirut, armed men went into shops and told owners to shut them down, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear what faction the armed men belonged to.
