Israel kills top Iran Quds Force operative in Lebanon

The Israeli military said it killed a member of Iran's elite Quds Force in a strike in Lebanon on Thursday, accusing him of planning attacks against Israel.

The military identified the target as Hussein Mahmud Marshad al-Jawhari, 'a key terrorist in the operational unit of the Quds Force', the foreign operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards.

'Hussein was involved in terror activities, directed by Iran, against the state of Israel and its security forces' from Lebanon and Syria, the military said.

In June, Israel sparked a 12-day war with Iran when it launched a wave of strikes on military and nuclear sites, as well as residential areas, saying it sought to cripple the Islamic republic's atomic research and ballistic missile programmes.

Iran responded with drone and missile strikes on Israel, and later in war, the United States joined Israel in briefly targeting Iranian nuclear facilities before declaring a ceasefire.

Iran, which does not recognise Israel, has long accused it of conducting sabotage operations against its nuclear facilities and assassinating its scientists.

It also backs militant groups around the region as part of its so-called axis of resistance, including Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Palestinian movement Hamas, both of which Israel has fought major conflicts with in the past two years.

Earlier on Thursday, Israel announced the arrest of an Israeli man on suspicion of committing security offences under the direction of Iranian intelligence services.

It comes after Pope Leo XIV condemned the 'rubble and open wounds' left behind by wars, singling out the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza in his first Christmas homily.

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Pope Leo XIV condemns 'rubble and open wounds' left by war, mentioning Gaza in Christmas homily

The 70-year-old pope, the first American ever to lead the Catholic Church, presided over the Holy Mass at 10am on the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord inside St Peter’s Basilica, as thousands gathered in Rome and millions watched around the world.

In a sermon heavy with imagery and moral urgency, Leo drew parallels between the vulnerability of the infant Jesus and the suffering of civilians trapped in war zones today.

‘Fragile is the flesh of defenseless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,’ the pope said.

Reflecting on the Nativity story of Christ being born in a stable, Leo said it showed how God had ‘pitched his fragile tent’ among humanity - a symbol he quickly linked to the modern reality of displacement and suffering.

‘How, then, can ‌we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?’ he ⁠asked.

The remarks marked a notable moment for the newly elected pontiff, who was chosen in May by the world’s cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis.

Known for a more cautious and diplomatic tone than his predecessor, Leo typically avoids explicit political references in sermons.

Yet despite that reputation, the pope has repeatedly lamented the plight of Palestinians in Gaza in recent weeks and has stated that the only viable resolution to the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people must include the creation of a Palestinian state.