Live: Hezbollah says fires rockets at Israeli bases as Israel steps up Lebanon strikes
· France 2420/10/2024 - 18:14
Hezbollah says it fired rockets at three military bases in Israel
Hezbollah on Sunday said it fired rockets at three military bases in northern Israel, hours after Israel said it was stepping up its strikes targeting the Iran-backed group in southern Lebanon.
The rocket salvos targeted bases near Haifa, Safed and Tiberias, Hezbollah said, after Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops that Israel was "destroying" Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
20/10/2024 - 17:54
Lebanon state media says Israel is 'blowing up' houses in three border villages
Lebanese state media on Sunday accused Israel of planting explosives and detonating buildings on a wide-scale in three border villages, as all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah neared its one-month mark.
"The Israeli occupation army is carrying out a large-scale bombing operation in buildings in the towns" of Adaisseh, Markaba and Rab El Thalathine, the National News Agency reported after Israel's defence minister said his country was "destroying" Hezbollah in south Lebanon.
20/10/2024 - 17:12
Hezbollah says it targeted northern Israeli city of Haifa
The Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it launched rockets at the main northern Israeli city of Haifa on Sunday, after new Israeli air strikes on Lebanon.
Hezbollah fighters launched a "rocket salvo" at "the city of Haifa", the group said, adding the attack was "in response to the aggressions on (Beirut's) southern suburbs" – a Hezbollah bastion where Israel carried out strikes in the morning.
20/10/2024 - 16:48
Israel says it is 'destroying' Hezbollah in southern Lebanon
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday that the military was stepping up its strikes targeting Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border.
"Not only are we defeating the enemy, but we are destroying them in all the villages along the border, in the places that Hezbollah planned to use as launchpads for attacks against Israel," Gallant told troops during a visit to the border, adding that Israeli military presence in that area was "overwhelming the terrorists".
20/10/2024 - 16:12
Israel to take legal action against Macron over naval trade show ban
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday he had ordered his ministry to start legal proceedings against French President Emmanuel Macron after Paris banned Israeli firms from participating in an upcoming military naval trade show.
20/10/2024 - 14:30
Lebanon army says 3 troops killed in Israel strike on vehicle
The Lebanese army said three soldiers were killed Sunday in an Israeli strike that "targeted" their vehicle in the country's south, where Israel says it is pounding Hezbollah strongholds.
The troops were killed on a road connecting the border village of Ain Ebel to the nearby town of Hanin, the army said. The latest deaths bring the number of troop casualties to eight killed since all-out war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah last month.
20/10/2024 - 14:20
UN condemns Israeli air strikes in Gaza's Beit Lahiya
The UN peace envoy for the Middle East on Sunday condemned continued attacks on civilians after Israeli air strikes in Gaza's Beit Lahiya killed dozens late on Saturday.
"This follows weeks of intensified operations resulting in scores of civilian fatalities and near total lack of humanitarian aid reaching populations in the north," said Tor Wennesland, the UN Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.
Israel's military said it intensified attacks in northern Gaza in early October to prevent Hamas militants from regrouping.
A total of 87 people were killed or missing under the rubble after an Israeli attack on Saturday on Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, the enclave's health ministry said on Sunday.
The Israeli military has said it was investigating reports of the incident, which left one of the highest casualty tolls in months.
20/10/2024 - 13:29
Strikes between Israel and Hezbollah intensify, displacing around a million people in Lebanon
Fighting raged on two fronts Sunday as Israel targeted what it said was a Hezbollah "command centre" in the Lebanese capital.
The strikes on Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold came after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused the Iran-backed group of attempting to assassinate him by targeting his residence.
With the intensification of Israeli strikes on Lebanese territory, the number of internally displaced persons has multiplied in recent days, as have those crossing the border into neighbouring Syria.
FRANCE 24’s Catherine Norris Trent reports from Beirut.
20/10/2024 - 13:19
Hezbollah says launched 'big rocket salvo' at north Israel army base
Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it launched rockets on Sunday at an Israeli army base east of the northern town of Safed.
Hezbollah fighters fired "a big rocket salvo" at an Israeli army base east of Safed, the group said, adding the attack was "in defence of Lebanon" and "in response to the Israeli enemy's attacks on villages and homes".
20/10/2024 - 13:10
Netanyahu told Trump Israel will make decisions based on its interests, his office says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with former US President Donald Trump, the prime minister's office said on Sunday.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated what he has also said publicly: Israel takes into account the issues the US administration raises, but in the end, will make its decisions based on its national interests," it said.
20/10/2024 - 12:01
- Israel army says hit Hezbollah 'command centre' in Beirut
- US investigates unauthorised release of classified documents on Israel's attack plans
- Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 42,603
- Palestinian officials say 87 dead or missing after Israeli strikes on northern Gaza
- Lebanon army says 3 troops killed in Israel strike on vehicle
- Hezbollah says it fired rockets at three military bases in Israel
20/10/2024 - 12:01
Palestinian officials say 87 dead or missing after Israeli strikes on northern Gaza
At least 87 people are dead or missing after Israeli strikes on multiple homes in the northern Gaza Strip overnight and into Sunday, the territory's Health Ministry said.
The number is higher than the 73 provided earlier by Gaza's civil defence agency.
The Health Ministry also said another 40 people were wounded in the strikes on the town of Beit Lahiya, which was among the first targets of Israel’s ground invasion nearly a year ago.
20/10/2024 - 11:56
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 42,603
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Sunday that at least 42,603 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants, although the toll did not incorporate a strike that killed dozens overnight according to rescuers.
The toll includes 84 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 99,795 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
20/10/2024 - 09:56
- Gaza rescuers say at least 73 killed in Israel strike in territory's north
- Israel army says hit Hezbollah 'command centre' in Beirut
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit dozens of southern locations
- Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 42,603
20/10/2024 - 09:49
US investigates unauthorised release of classified documents on Israel's attack plans
The United States is investigating an unauthorised release of classified documents that assess Israel's plans to attack Iran, three US officials told The Associated Press. A fourth US official said the documents appear to be legitimate.
The documents are attributed to the US Geospatial Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, and note that Israel was still moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to Iran's blistering ballistic missile attack on October. 1. They were sharable within the “Five Eyes,” which are the US, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
The documents, which are marked top secret, were posted to the Telegram messaging app and first reported by CNN and Axios. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.
20/10/2024 - 09:41
Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit dozens of southern locations
Israel struck dozens of south Lebanon villages and towns overnight and targeted Nabatiyeh city for a third time this week, Lebanese state media said Sunday.
"Warplanes struck... the city of Nabatiyeh seven times," Lebanon's official National News Agency said. It added that Israeli jets "conducted strikes" on more than 50 towns and villages, reporting casualties.
20/10/2024 - 09:36
Israel army says hit Hezbollah 'command centre' in Beirut
The Israeli military said it carried out a strike Sunday on a Hezbollah command centre and underground weapons facility in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
"Earlier this morning (Sunday), the IAF (Israeli air force) conducted an intelligence-based strike on a command centre of Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters and an underground weapons workshop in Beirut," the military said in a statement.
20/10/2024 - 08:11
Israeli strikes on Beirut after evacuation warning, state media reports
Two Israeli air strikes targeted south Beirut on Sunday after the Israeli army warned civilians to evacuate the stronghold of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, state media said.
"Enemy (Israeli) airplanes carried out two strikes this morning on Beirut's southern suburbs, one of them hitting a residential building in Haret Hreik" near a mosque and a hospital, the National News Agency reported.
20/10/2024 - 08:04
- Gaza rescuers say at least 73 killed in Israel strike in territory's north
- Israeli army orders evacuations in 2 neighbourhoods in south Beirut
20/10/2024 - 07:48
Israeli army orders evacuations in 2 neighbourhoods in south Beirut
The Israeli army ordered civilians located near buildings it said were "affiliated with Hezbollah" in two neighbourhoods in south Beirut to immediately evacuate early Sunday, marking the facilities on two maps and saying the military would "work against" them soon.
The "urgent warning" was issued by the military's Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee, and concerned the neighbourhoods of Haret Hreik and Hadath.
"You are located near facilities and interests affiliated with Hezbollah, which the IDF will work against in the near future," Adraee said on Telegram.
"For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate the building and those adjacent to it immediately and move away from it for a distance of no less than 500 metres."
Similar warnings have preceded Israeli air strikes in recent weeks after Israel stepped up its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has a stronghold in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.
Yesterday's key developments:
- Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said a drone launched from Lebanon that targeted his residence in the central town of Caesarea on Saturday was an attempt by Hezbollah to "assassinate" him.
- Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Hamas was alive and will survive despite the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar in an Israeli military operation in Gaza.
- The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Saturday that at least 42,519 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants, although the toll did not incorporate a strike that killed 33 people overnight.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, and Reuters)