Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Friday’s events as they happened.
Blast heard, smoke seen over Beirut’s southern suburbs, Reuters witnesses say
A blast has been heard and smoke seen over Beirut’s southern suburbs, Reuters witnesses say, shortly after the Israeli military issued a new alert for residents of the area to immediately evacuate.
Harris meets Muslim and Arab leaders in Michigan to talk Gaza, Lebanon
Ahead of an event in Flint, Michigan today, Vice President Kamala Harris met with leaders from the Muslim and Arab American community, a campaign official says.
Harris “heard directly their perspectives on the election and the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon,” the official says.
She “expressed her concern over the scale of suffering in Gaza” and “discussed her efforts to end the war in Gaza, such that: Israel is secure, hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, self-determination.”
On the issue of Lebanon, Harris also “expressed concern about civilian casualties and displacement, and reiterated the dministration’s position that, ultimately, a diplomatic solution is the best path to achieve stability and protect civilians.”
Israeli military issues new alert for Dahiyeh residents to evacuate immediately
The Israeli military has issued a new alert for residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, to evacuate immediately.
It is expected to strike Hezbollah targets in the area.
IDF says it struck Hamas command center in former school in central Gaza
The IDF says it struck Hamas terror operatives in a command center located in a former school in central Gaza.
The army says it took various steps to minimize harm to civilians before the strike.
Hamas confirms death of commander in Israeli strike on West Bank
Hamas’s armed wing al-Qassam Brigades has confirmed the death of one of its commanders Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi in an Israeli strike on the West Bank city of Tulkarm along with seven other fighters, the group says in a statement.
The Israeli military said that it killed Oufi, head of the Hamas network in Tulkarm, in an attack on Thursday.
Pointing to high number of civilian casualties, Germany pans ‘shocking’ IDF strike in West Bank
Germany says an Israeli airstrike on the Palestinian city of Tulkarem in the West Bank, which killed at least 18 people, was “shocking.”
“The high number of civilian casualties in an Israeli airstrike in Tulkarem is shocking. In the fight against terror, the Israeli army is obliged to protect civilians in the West Bank,” the German foreign ministry says on X.
Israel is said to have targeted a Hamas commander planning an October 7 anniversary attack. Seven members of terror groups have been identified among the victims, which also included a brother and sister, aged 7 and 8.
Britain charters flights to leave Lebanon on Sunday
The British government says it has chartered flights to leave Lebanon on Sunday to support its citizens looking to leave the country.
“There are no more scheduled flights, although we will continue to keep this under review,” Britain’s foreign ministry says in a statement on Friday, adding that more than 250 British nationals have left Lebanon on flights chartered by the government.
Four Lebanese hospitals suspend services amid Israeli bombing
At least four hospitals in Lebanon announce the suspension of work amid ongoing Israeli bombardment, while Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers said 11 personnel were killed in Israeli raids in south Lebanon against the terror group.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has urged the international community to pressure Israel “to allow rescue and relief teams to reach bombed sites and allow them to move” casualties, with several dozen emergency personnel killed in recent days.
Sainte Therese Hospital on the edge of Beirut’s southern suburbs reported “huge damage” and said “Israeli warplanes’ targeting… the vicinity” of the facility on Thursday “led to the halt of hospital services,” in a statement carried by the official National News Agency (NNA).
South Lebanon’s Mais al-Jabal hospital on the border with Israel announced “the halt to work of all departments,” citing factors including “enemy targeting of the hospital” since last October and problems for supply lines and staff access.
The comment also comes in a statement on the NNA.
The director of south Lebanon’s Marjayoun governmental hospital, Mouenes Kalakesh, tells AFP that “an Israeli air strike targeted ambulances at the main entrance to the hospital,” killing paramedics who were bringing wounded to the facility.
He says the “staff shortages and today’s bombardment have forced the closure of the hospital,” located less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from the border.
The Islamic Health Committee emergency service, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, said seven emergency personnel died in “direct Zionist aggression on emergency teams” at the Marjayoun hospital, with four others killed in two attacks elsewhere in south Lebanon.
US officials said to believe Sinwar hardening stance in hostage talks
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has hardened his stance in the hostage talks in recent weeks, unnamed US officials tell The New York Times.
Somewhat paradoxically, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said twice this week that the US hasn’t heard from Hamas in recent weeks.
Nonetheless, the US officials speaking with The Times say that Sinwar has become more fatalistic — an accusation that has been lobbed at Sinwar since October 7 — and prefers a full-blown regional war over cutting a hostage deal with Israel at this stage.
US military strikes 15 Houthi targets in Yemen
The US military says it carried out 15 strikes against targets linked to Iran-aligned Houthi fighters in Yemen, where residents reported blasts at military outposts and even an airport.
Central Command, which oversees US forces in the Middle East, says the targets were tied to Houthi offensive military capabilities, but did not detail whether that included missile, drone or radar capabilities.
In a post on X, Central Command says the strikes took place at about 1400 GMT.
The Houthis have carried out nearly 100 attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea since November and say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel’s year-long war in Gaza. They have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers.
Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi movement controlling much of Yemen, and residents said airstrikes were launched at several parts of Yemen including its capital Sanaa and Hodeidah airport.
Biden says ‘I don’t know’ if election will be peaceful due to Trump’s conduct in previous one
US President Joe Biden says he isn’t confident the US election in November would be peaceful, due to previous comments by Republican contender Donald Trump.
“I’m confident it will be free and fair. I don’t know whether it will be peaceful,” Biden tells reporters as he made the first appearance of his presidency in the White House briefing room.
“The things that Trump has said and the things that he said last time out when he didn’t like the outcome of the election were very dangerous.”
Biden suggests Israel not hit Iran oil fields, after opposing strike on nuke facilities
US President Joe Biden speaks to the media in the White House press room, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
US President Joe Biden says Israel has not yet decided how it’s going to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile strike.
“If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields,” Biden says during a rare appearance at the White House daily press briefing where one reporter after another asks leading questions goading him to criticize Israel.
Earlier this week, Biden said he opposed Israel targeting Iranian nuclear sites as well.
Asked whether he thinks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting diplomatic agreements in Gaza and Lebanon to influence the upcoming presidential election, Biden responds, “No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None, none, none, and I think Bibi should remember that.
“As for whether he’s trying to influence the election or I don’t know, but I’m not counting on that,” Biden adds.
Biden says he assumes he will speak to Netanyahu when Israel decides on how it wants to respond to Iran.
Another reporter suggests Biden does not influence Israel. The president rejects the premise, saying he receives regular briefings and that his team is in constant contact with their Israeli counterparts.
“It’s the High Holidays… They’re not going to make a decision immediately. And so, we’re going to wait to see when they want to talk,” he adds.
Asked again whether Israel is heeding his administration’s advice, Biden responds by highlighting his Gaza hostage deal proposal from May, which remains stuck in the water. US officials have blamed Hamas for refusing to engage on the proposal over the last several weeks.
“What I know is the plan that I put together received the support of the UN Security Council, the vast majority of our allies around the world, as a way to bring this to an end,” Biden says.
“The Israelis have every right to respond to the vicious attacks on them — not just from the Iranians but from everyone from Hezbollah to Houthis. But the fact is that they have to be much more careful about dealing with civilian casualties,” Biden adds, leaning on a common administration talking point regarding the war.
Pressed again on how Israel should respond to Iran, Biden declines to offer further details. “That’s between me and them.”
Asked if he’s considering imposing sanctions against Iran, the president says the matter is under discussion.
Another reporter asks if there is anything the US can do to prevent an all-out war in the Middle East.
“There’s a lot we are doing. The main thing we can do is try to rally the rest of the world, our allies into participating — like the French are in Lebanon and other places — to tamp this down, but when you have proxies as irrational as Hezbollah and the Houthis and it’s a hard thing to determine,” Biden says.
Eight and seven-year-old siblings among 18 victims of IDF airstrike in West Bank
Karam and Sham Abu Zahra. (Courtesy)
Among the 18 victims from yesterday’s IDF airstrike in the West Bank Palestinian city of Tulkarem were eight and seven-year-old siblings Karam and Sham Abu Zahra, the official PA news site Wafa reports.
The pair were buried today along with the other victims.
Military sources said the IDF targeted a Hamas commander planning an October 7 anniversary attack in the airstrike.
The IDF says it has identified seven of the 18 victims that ripped through a cafe in Tulkarem as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members, but local residents tell The New York Times that the majority of those killed were civilians.
Report: IDF aiming to wrap up intensive fighting in Lebanon in 2-3 weeks, making way for deals in north and south
Channel 12 reports that a senior Israeli security official recently told hostage families that the security establishment currently believes that the IDF’s intensive fighting in the north will conclude in two or three weeks.
The goal will then be to reach a diplomatic agreement with Hezbollah that would allow Israel to secure a hostage deal, the official said.
Report: Some hostage families have received proof of life in last month and a half
Some of the hostage families have received proof of life of their loved ones in the past month and a half, Channel 12 reports, without citing a source.
French minister heads to Middle East amid worsening crisis
France’s Foreign Minister will head to Saudi Arabia on Friday evening, beginning a four-day trip that will end in Israel and the West Bank as Paris seeks to revive stalled diplomatic efforts in the region.
Jean-Noel Barrot will be in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan over the weekend before arriving in Israel ahead of Oct. 7 when Israel will mark a year since Hama’s terror onslaught, a French diplomatic source said.
He is also due to travel to the West Bank.
Harris to meet Arab American leaders in Flint, Michigan, on Friday, sources say
US Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with leaders from the Arab American community in Flint, Michigan, on Friday, as her presidential campaign seeks to win back voters angry at U.S. support for Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon, two sources say.
Meeting participants include leaders from the Muslim advocacy group Emgage, which recently endorsed Harris, the American Task Force on Lebanon, and a long-standing friend of Harris, Hala Hijazi, who has lost dozens of family members in Gaza, said the sources, who did not wish to be named.
Other such as Jim Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute and a longtime member of the Democratic National Committee, said he declined the invitation. Leaders from the Uncommitted National Movement protest campaign said they have not been invited to the meeting.
“I wish she would meet with leaders from the community who haven’t endorsed her or support her,” said one of the sources.
Security establishment’s growing assessment is that Nasrallah’s presumed successor killed in IDF strike
Senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine speaks during a conference for Saudi opposition in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Channel 12 reports that the Israeli security establishment’s growing assessment is that the presumed successor to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, Hashem Safieddine, was killed in the IDF’s strike in Beirut yesterday.
Roughly 180 rockets fired at northern Israel from Lebanon today, IDF says; no reports of damage or injuries
Some 180 rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel today, according to the IDF.
There were no reports of injuries or major damage in the attacks.
IDF: More than 70 rockets launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in past two hours
More than 70 rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in the past two hours, the IDF says.
According to the IDF, many of the rockets were shot down by air defenses, and the remainder struck open areas.
Separately, two suspected drones that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon a short while ago were shot down by the Israeli Air Force, the military says.
No injuries were caused in the attacks.
Meanwhile, fighter jets and drones struck dozens of Hezbollah sites across Lebanon in the past day, the IDF says.
The military says targets in Beirut included weapon depots, command rooms, intelligence sites, surveillance equipment, and other infrastructure.
In southern Lebanon, the IDF says dozens of Hezbollah weapon depots, cells of operatives, rocket launchers, and buildings used by the terror group were struck.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 4, 2024
Firefighters working to put out blazes in north caused by Lebanon rockets
Firefighters near the town of Katzrin in the Golan Heights are working to put out a blaze that was sparked in an open area where a rocket from Lebanon landed earlier today.
Another team of firefighters are working to put out another rocket-caused-blaze near the town of Bar’am along the northern border.
An earlier fire sparked by a rocket from Lebanon in the Galilee has been put out by firefighters, authorities say.
UN says civilian toll in Lebanon from Israeli campaign ‘totally unacceptable’
The toll on civilians in Lebanon from Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah is “totally unacceptable,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says.
“All parties must do whatever they can at all times to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and ensure that civilians are never put in harm’s way,” Dujarric tells reporters.
UN condemns Israel’s ‘unlawful air strike’ in Tulkarem which killed 18
The United Nations condemns what it calls an “unlawful air strike” by Israel on the West Bank city of Tulkarem, which the Palestinian health ministry said killed 18 people the previous day.
“The strike is part of a highly concerning pattern of unlawful use of force by ISF (Israeli security forces) during military-like operations in the West Bank that have caused widespread harm to Palestinians and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure,” the United Nations rights office says in a statement.
The airstrike killed a Hamas commander who was planning a major terror attack on the first anniversary of the October 7 onslaught, military sources say.
The IDF says it has identified at least seven terror operatives among the dead in last night’s fighter jet strike in Tulkarem.
Plane carrying Poles from Lebanon lands in Warsaw
A plane carrying several dozens of Poles and citizens of other countries who wanted to leave Lebanon has landed in Warsaw, the Polish Foreign Ministry says on social media platform X.
Western nations have drafted contingency plans to evacuate citizens from Lebanon after a dramatic escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, coupled with Iran’s missile attack on Israel on Tuesday.
No country has launched a large-scale military evacuation yet, though some are chartering aircraft as Beirut airport stays open.
23 missiles reportedly hit Nevatim and Tel Nof military bases during Iran attack
The Washington Post reports that at least two dozen of the roughly 200 ballistic missiles fired by Iran at Israel on Tuesday managed to break through air defenses and hit or land near at least three military and intelligence sites.
The Post says it verified videos that showed 20 missiles striking the Nevatim air base in southern Israel and three striking the Tel Nof base in central Israel. Other videos showed that at least two missiles landed near Israel’s Mossad spy agency headquarters in Glilot.
The Israeli military on Wednesday acknowledged that some of its airbases were hit in Iran’s massive ballistic missile attack on the country a night earlier, but stressed that no harm was caused to the functioning of the Israeli Air Force.
The IDF said that it measures the effectiveness of an attack based on how much damage was caused to critical infrastructure and assets, how many casualties were caused, and not how many missiles ultimately impacted. Air defenses successfully prevented such damage and major casualties, it said.
With Hezbollah weakened, US said pushing Lebanon to elect new president
The Axios news site reports that the Biden administration is seeking to exploit the massive blows Israel has struck to Hezbollah’s leadership and infrastructure in recent weeks to push for a new Lebanese president in the coming days.
Lebanon hasn’t had a president in two years, as recently slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had been blocking the appointment of anyone who wasn’t an ally of the terror group.
The lack of a president has increased instability in Lebanon, further exacerbating the country’s political and economic crisis.
US-British strikes reportedly launched on Houthis targets in Yemen’s Sanaa and Hodeidah
US-British airstrikes have reportedly been launched at several Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen including its capital Sanaa and Hodeidah airport.
Strikes also targeted the south of Dhamar city, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reports.
Iran-backed Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since last November in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel’s war with Hamas.
The Houthi attacks have drawn US and British retaliatory strikes and disrupted global trade as ship owners reroute vessels away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to sail the longer route around the southern tip of Africa.
IDF says it identified 7 terror operatives among 18 reported killed in West Bank airstrike
The IDF says it has identified at least seven terror operatives among the dead in last night’s fighter jet strike in the West Bank city of Tulkarem.
The strike had targeted a senior Hamas commander, Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, who was planning an imminent attack, according to the military.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry reported 18 dead in the strike.
According to the IDF, at least seven are confirmed to be members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups.
Among them is Ghaith Radwan, who the IDF says is a top commander in Islamic Jihad. Some Palestinian reports identified Radwan as a member of Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.
Israeli booted for praying at Temple Mount; clashes between cops, Palestinians reported nearby
An Israeli is filmed being kicked out of the Temple Mount compound after reportedly praying and blowing a shofar, violating the fragile status quo that governs the flashpoint site.
Meanwhile, footage from today also shows police clashing with Palestinians near the entrance of the Temple Mount. It is unclear what sparked the police’s reaction.
תיעוד פלסטיני: יהודים נכנסו להתפלל במתחם הר הבית, המשטרה פינתה אותם בכוח@OmerShahar123 pic.twitter.com/TDDDInksjr
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 4, 2024
https://twitter.com/AFPSOfficiel/status/1842195167777886435
Tel Aviv announces buses for soldiers amid holiday weekend public transportation shutdown
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai poses for a photograph at a launch event for new public transportation buses, November 20, 2019. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
The Tel Aviv municipality announces that it will be providing free buses for soldiers over the weekend amid the Rosh Hashanah holiday and Shabbat shutdown of public transportation.
The already-controversial, longstanding ban on Shabbat public transportation has been subject to further frustration over the holiday weekend, as some reservists called up amid the intensifying fighting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah have been unable to reach their bases.
Much of the anger has been directed at Likud Transportation Minister Miri Regev whose office has failed to provide an alternative for soldiers and has instead claimed that the IDF is responsible for the issue.
Amid the chaos, the Tel Aviv municipality says it will offer buses from Tel Aviv to and from Haifa and Beersheba, near many IDF bases.
The buses will run today and tomorrow, with the first bus leaving at 8 p.m. tonight.
The service is part of Tel Aviv’s “We move on weekends” initiative that offers free buses in and around Tel Aviv over Shabbat when state public transportation isn’t allowed.
Two soldiers killed, 24 wounded in Iraq drone attack on Golan Heights base
Soldiers killed in a drone attack on the Golan Heights on October 3, 2024: Sgt. Daniel Aviv Haim Sofer (left) and Cpl. Tal Dror. (Israel Defense Forces)
Two Israeli soldiers were killed and 24 were wounded in a drone attack from Iraq early Thursday morning, the IDF announces.
The slain soldiers are named as:
Sgt. Daniel Aviv Haim Sofer, 19, a signals officer cadet in the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, from Ashkelon.
Cpl. Tal Dror, 19, an IT specialist with the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, from Jerusalem.
According to an IDF probe, two explosive-laden drones were launched from Iraq in the attack, one of which was shot down by air defenses and the second impacted an army base in the northern Golan Heights.
In addition to the two slain soldiers, another 24 were wounded in the attack, including two seriously, one moderately, and 21 lightly.
Tulkarem airstrike targeted Hamas commander planning Oct. 7 anniversary attack — military sources
Last night’s airstrike in the West Bank city of Tulkarem killed a Hamas commander who was planning a major terror attack on the first anniversary of the October 7 onslaught, military sources say.
The IDF and Shin Bet said earlier that Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi was planning an imminent terror attack.
Military sources described Oufi as a “ticking time bomb,” who was planning a major attack on October 7.
At least 18 Palestinians were reported killed in the strike.
The IDF also says it is on heightened alert for other attempts by Hamas to carry out attacks ahead of and on the anniversary of the massacre, both from the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Growing number of Iranians said expressing anxiety over potential war with Israel
The New York Times reports that a growing number of Iranians are expressing anxiety about a potential war with Israel, even as its government officials indicate a determination not to back down.
The Times interviews more than a dozen Iranians in different cities and across the political spectrum who assert that they’re opposed to a war with Israel or the US, fearing it would further harm their already struggling economy.
“Nobody I know has prepared for a possible war,” Mahdieh, 41, an engineer in Tehran, tells NYT. “We are jarred. Let us have our normal life. We are not willing or want to enter a war era.”
The phrase, “NO WAR” has widely been shared on Iranian social media along with, “Which bunkers will you use to shield the people? How will you repair damaged infrastructure? There is no good in war, do not lay ruin to Iran.”
“We had to slap it [Israel] in the face, otherwise it would keep moving forward,” Hamidreza Jalaeipour, a prominent sociologist close to the reformist faction, says in a discussion on the application Clubhouse. But “if there is a war, it will be imposed on us.”
Jalaeipour still predicts that Iranians would rally around the flag if a war does end up breaking out.
“Most of us are not happy about the interference of the Islamic Republic in the region and its so-called proxies. People do not want their national resources to be spent abroad,” says Mahan, a 50-year-old doctor in the northern city of Rasht to the Times. “The most pressing feeling these days, both for myself and the majority of friends and people I know, is the fear and worry of war.”
UN raises plight of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon
Some migrant domestic workers in Lebanon have been locked in homes while their employers flee from Israel’s airstrikes against Hezbollah, the United Nations says.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration says foreign domestic staff were increasingly being abandoned by the Lebanese families to face heightened danger in the conflict.
The IOM raises the plight of Lebanon’s 170,000 migrant workers, many of whom are women from countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
“We are receiving increasing reports of migrant domestic workers being abandoned by their Lebanese employers, either left on the streets or in their homes as their employers flee,” says Mathieu Luciano, the IOM’s head of office in Lebanon.
“They face very limited shelter options,” he tells a press briefing in Geneva, via video from Beirut, adding that on Thursday he visited a shelter in the capital housing 64 Sudanese families “who have nowhere else to go”.
He says the IOM was receiving increasing requests from migrants seeking help to go home. Many countries have also sought the agency’s help to evacuate citizens.
However, “this would require significant funding — which we currently do not have,” he adds.
The situation for Lebanon’s migrant workers is precarious, as their legal status is often tied to their employer under the “kafala” sponsorship system governing foreign labour.
Rights groups say the system allows for abuses including the withholding of wages and the confiscation of official documents — which provide workers their only lifeline out of the country.
“We’ve seen in the south that the employers would leave but then would either leave the domestic workers on the streets, wouldn’t relocate with them — or actually even worse, lock the domestic worker in, to make sure that the house is kept while they are seeking safety somewhere else,” he says.
Luciano says those left on the street would struggle to relocate or get to safety, while many cannot speak Arabic.
“Many are undocumented, They don’t have papers. As a result they are pretty reluctant to seek humanitarian assistance because they fear they will be arrested and may be deported,” he says.
Luciano notes there were “huge issues around mental health” among migrant domestic staff working in Lebanon.
Iran FM says backs efforts for simultaneous Gaza-Lebanon ceasefire
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says his country backs efforts for a simultaneous ceasefire with Israel in both the Palestinian territory of Gaza and Lebanon.
“We support the efforts for a ceasefire, provided that first, the rights of the Lebanese people are respected and it is accepted by the (Hezbollah) resistance, and second, that it comes simultaneously with a ceasefire in Gaza,” he says during a visit to Beirut.
IDF says over 250 Hezbollah operatives killed in southern Lebanon ground offensive
Troops of the 188th Armored Brigade are seen operating in southern Lebanon, in handout image published October 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
More than 250 Hezbollah operatives have been killed during IDF operations in southern Lebanon since troops began a ground offensive there late Monday, according to the military.
The Israeli ground operations in southern Lebanon have been described by the IDF as “limited, localized, and targeted raids,” with the goal of demolishing Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the border area, especially in the villages adjacent to Israel, to enable residents of the north to return home.
Military officials have said that the IDF intends for the operations to end as quickly as possible, even within a few weeks.
Among the 250 Hezbollah fighters killed since Monday are at least 21 field commanders, according to the IDF, including five brigade-level commanders, 10 company commanders, and six platoon commanders.
The IDF’s 98th and 36th divisions are currently operating in several Lebanese villages close to the Israeli border, where the military says troops have located a large amount of weapons and infrastructure that Hezbollah left behind.
More than half a million Lebanese civilians have fled southern Lebanon, following IDF evacuation warnings, according to military assessments.
Troops have mostly come under anti-tank missile fire and mortar attacks amid the operations, though there have also been several close-quarters engagements.
In one incident yesterday, IDF paratroopers killed some 15 Hezbollah operatives who were spotted in buildings and tunnel shafts in a village in southern Lebanon. Only one soldier was wounded in the engagement.
The ground operations come simultaneously as Israel continues to carry out strikes on the terror group’s top commanders in the capital Beirut, capabilities across the country, and weapon shipments from Iran.
In southern Lebanon, amid the ground operations, more than 2,000 Hezbollah sites have been struck from the air, the IDF adds.
Iran threatens it will hit Israeli energy, gas sites if it is attacked
An aerial view of a large crowd gathered as Iran's Supreme leader Ali Khamenei delivers a sermon at a Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran on October 4, 2024. (Khamenei.ir / AFP)
Iran will target Israeli energy and gas installations if Israel attacks it, the semi-official Iranian news agency SNN quotes Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deputy commander Ali Fadavi as saying.
“If the occupiers make such a mistake, we will target all their energy sources, installations, and all refineries and gas fields,” Fadavi said.
The threat comes soon after Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei defended Hamas’s invasion, slaughter and mass abductions in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. He also said Israel “cannot seriously harm” Hezbollah and Hamas, as the Jewish state continues to degrade both group’s combat capabilities, and that Israel “will not last long.”
Fadavi also warns that Israel would “expose its existence to extinction if it made a mistake.”
In Beirut, Iran’s FM says Tehran ‘firmly’ supports Lebanon
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during a news conference, September 25, 2024, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vows support for Tehran’s “friends” in Lebanon, on his first visit to Beirut since fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah intensified last month.
“Be sure that the Islamic Republic of Iran is and will be firmly standing by the friends in Lebanon,” Araghchi tells reporters, adding that Tehran supports Lebanon, its Shiite Muslim community and Hezbollah, “and it was necessary to say this in person.”
New airstrikes reported in Beirut’s Dahiyeh
Lebanese media report fresh Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
غارة على الضاحية الجنوبية لبيروت pic.twitter.com/1nbtyza8JT
— Ali Bk (@Bk_Hanas) October 4, 2024
Two rockets launched at Israel from Gaza in now rare occurrence
In an attack that has now become rare, two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel a short while ago, setting off sirens in the border communities of Kissufim and Ein Hashlosha.
The IDF says one of the rockets was intercepted by air defenses, while the second struck an open area, causing no injuries.
Kushner has discussed US-Saudi diplomacy with Saudi crown prince since leaving office
File: Jared Kushner waves as he arrives at the Office of the United States Trade Representative for talks on trade with Canada, Aug. 29, 2018, in Washington. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, has discussed US-Saudi diplomatic negotiations involving Israel with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman multiple times since leaving the Trump White House, says a source familiar with the discussions.
The source does not identify when the talks took place and whether they occurred before or after the start of the Gaza conflict. But they included discussions on the process of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a key diplomatic objective of both the Biden and Trump administrations, the source says.
Kushner, 43, has a close relationship with Saudi Arabia, which congressional investigators say has invested $2 billion in his private equity fund, Affinity Partners, which Kushner set up after leaving the White House.
Army destroys 3.5-kilometer smuggling tunnel from Syria to Lebanon
Troops of the 188th Armored Brigade are seen operating in southern Lebanon, in handout image published October 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The military says fighter jets overnight struck a 3.5-kilometer-long tunnel that crossed between Lebanon and Syria, and which the IDF says was used by Hezbollah to smuggle Iranian weapons.
According to the IDF, the tunnel was operated by Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is tasked with delivering weapons from Iran and its proxies to Lebanon.
The strike destroyed the tunnel where weapons were transported through and stored, as well as buildings, weapon depots and other infrastructure in the vicinity, the military says.
A separate overnight strike targeted “infrastructure” at the Masnaa Border Crossing between Lebanon and Syria after the IDF said it identified attempts to deliver Iranian weapons to Hezbollah.
The IDF has said it has stepped up efforts to prevent any weapons being delivered from Iran to Hezbollah via Syria. On Tuesday, the commander of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400 was killed in a strike on Beirut.
Sirens wail in north as another rocket barrage launched from Lebanon
Rocket sirens are again sounding in northern Israel in the latest barrage from Lebanon.
Dozens of rockets have been launched today, without causing casualties.
Defense Minister Gallant: Israel has ‘more surprises in store’ for Hezbollah
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with IDF officers at the 36th Division's headquarters in northern Israel, October 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel has “more surprises in store” for Hezbollah, as ground operations continue in southern Lebanon.
“Hezbollah is receiving very severe blows, one after the other. We eliminated [Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah and we have more surprises in store, some of which have already been carried out and some of which will be carried out,” he says during a visit to the 36th Division’s headquarters in northern Israel. The division’s troops are operating in southern Lebanon.
“[Hezbollah’s] missile and rocket division suffered a very heavy blow. A significant part was destroyed as a result of a high-quality and precise operation. Command and control headquarters, communications, the entire leadership of [the elite Radwan Force], and in fact the entire second and third tiers of command below Nasrallah were eliminated,” he continues.
Gallant adds that the IDF is “carrying out an operation today in several villages, and this process will continue wherever necessary to destroy all the infrastructure from which Hezbollah planned to carry out attacks.”
Khamenei defends Oct. 7 Hamas massacres in Israel as ‘logical and legal’
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, second right, Judiciary Chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei, right, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, second left, and President Masoud Pezeshkian read Quran in a ceremony commemorating assassinated Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah, at Imam Khomeini grand mosque in Tehran, Oct. 4, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
Ali Khamenei says last year’s Hamas massacres in Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza, were “logical and legal.”
“The Al-Aqsa Flood attacks that took place around this time last year were a logical and legal international move and the Palestinians were right,” Khamenei says at a rare Friday prayer sermon in Tehran.
Most of Lebanon’s displacement shelters are full, UN refugee agency says
A UN refugee agency official says most of Lebanon’s nearly 900 shelters are full and that people fleeing Israeli strikes are increasingly sleeping out in the open.
“Most of the nearly 900 government-established collective shelters in Lebanon have no more capacity,” UNHCR’s Rula Amin tells a Geneva press briefing. “With the onset of winter, UNHCR is concerned that conditions for those affected by the escalating conflict will only worsen,” she adds.
Israel says commander of Hezbollah communications division killed in strike
The commander of Hezbollah’s communications division was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut yesterday, the military announces.
According to the IDF, Muhammad Rashid Sakafi headed Hezbollah’s communications since 2000 and was considered close to the terror group’s leadership.
“Sakafi invested significant efforts to develop communication capabilities between all of Hezbollah’s units in all periods of operation, to maintain the flow of information throughout the terrorist organization,” the military adds.
Wall Street Journal: Biden officials increasingly bystanders as Israel plows on
US President Joe Biden speaks during a briefing on the government's response to Hurricane Helene in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, as Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, left, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, right, look on. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Wall Street Journal reports on the state of Israeli-American relations amid the regional conflict.
The paper says the Biden administration’s influence over Jerusalem appears to be waning, with Israel increasingly taking actions against its adversaries against the wishes and positions of US officials.
It says US leadership is partly hamstrung by the coming election, reluctant to take a more assertive stance against Israeli steps that it fears could lead to regional escalation, as these could harm Democrats politically.
“Biden and his team frequently find themselves looking like bystanders, unwilling or unable to rein in an ally they continue to back politically and provide with critical military support,” it says.
At the same time, the report notes that the administration is conflicted, and officials “aren’t unhappy” with Israel’s significant gains against Hezbollah.
Iran’s Khamenei says Israel can’t seriously harm Hezbollah and Hamas, ‘won’t last long’
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivers a sermon at a Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran on October 4, 2024. (Khamenei.ir / AFP)
Continuing his sermon, Iran’s Khamenei says that the US and its allies are preserving the security of Israel to make it an energy-exporting gate from the region to the West, but that the “resistance” in the region will not back down against Israel.
Khamenei says Israel “cannot seriously harm” Hezbollah and Hamas, as the Jewish state continues to degrade both group’s combat capabilities.
Khamenei says Hezbollah’s fight against Israel is a “vital service to the entire region.”
He says Israel “will not last long.”
Khamenei: Iran’s ‘brilliant’ action against Israel ‘completely legal and legitimate’
Iran's Supreme leader Ali Khamenei holds a rifle as he delivers a sermon denouncing Israel and justifying Hamas's October 7 slaughter in Israel, in Tehran on October 4, 2024. (X screenshot used in accordance of clause 27a of the copyright law)
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says in a sermon to masses in Tehran that his country will not “procrastinate or rush to carry out its duty” in confronting Israel.
“The brilliant action of our armed forces a couple of nights ago was completely legal and legitimate,” he says, referring to Iran’s massive missile attack on Israel.
Khamenei has a rifle by his side as he addresses worshipers.
Khamenei delivers the sermon — his first in nearly five years — to thousands of worshipers carrying portraits of slain leaders of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against Israel and the United States.
Muslims will emerge victorious against those who want their division – Khamenei pic.twitter.com/gVeNBOrY0g
— RT (@RT_com) October 4, 2024
IDF says seeing signs of ‘exhaustion’ in Hezbollah forces in south Lebanon
Troops of the 188th Armored Brigade are seen operating in southern Lebanon, in handout image published October 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF has seen signs of “exhaustion” among Hezbollah’s fighters in southern Lebanon, military sources say. They do not offer further details on how this is manifesting.
The military attributes Hezbollah forces’ weariness to the killing of many of the terror group’s commanders, including numerous field officers.
Hezbollah operatives have largely been using anti-tank missiles against troops, launching mortars and setting off explosive devices. There have also been some close-quarters combat engagements.
Nine Israeli soldiers were killed during fighting on Wednesday, and the IDF has assessed that troops have killed more than 100 Hezbollah operatives in the past day.
The IDF’s ground operations in Lebanon are focusing only on terror infrastructure in border villages, which it says is aimed at enabling residents of northern Israeli communities to return to their homes.
Once a Lebanese village is cleared of Hezbollah infrastructure, the residents of the Israeli town across the border will be able to return.
So far, the IDF says it has located a “huge amount” of weapons hidden in homes and in Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon villages. It says troops have also located surveillance infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah.
Source close to Hezbollah says slain chief Nasrallah temporarily buried
A source close to Hezbollah tells AFP the Lebanese group’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah has been temporarily buried in a secret location, fearing Israel would target a large funeral.
“Hassan Nasrallah has been temporarily buried until the circumstances allow for a public funeral,” the source says, after an Israeli strike killed the leader last week.
Army says 2 rockets fired at Haifa area were intercepted by air defenses; no injuries
Two rockets launched from Lebanon at the Haifa area, setting off sirens in numerous surrounding towns, were shot down by Israeli air defenses, the IDF says.
There are no reports of injuries in the attack.
Sirens had sounded in the cities of Yokneam, Nesher, Tirat Carmel, Atlit, Haifa, Daliyat al-Karmel, Isfiya, Caesarea and Zikhron Ya’akov, as well as other nearby towns.
IDF: Some 100 Hezbollah operatives killed in south Lebanon operation in past day
A missile launcher found in a village in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo published by the IDF on October 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Some 100 Hezbollah operatives have been killed during Israeli operations in southern Lebanon in the past day, according to IDF assessments.
The operatives were killed both in airstrikes and during fighting on the ground, the military says.
Nine Israeli soldiers were killed in several separate battles in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.
The IDF says it has also located dozens of weapons that Hezbollah left behind, during the operations in villages in southern Lebanon.
The military releases footage of anti-tank missile launchers, munitions and other weapons found in homes in a village in southern Lebanon by troops of the 188th Armored Brigade.
IDF: Overnight heavy Beirut airstrike targeted Hezbollah’s intelligence HQ
Flames rise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The overnight heavy airstrike in Beirut targeted Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters, according to the IDF.
The military is not disclosing at this stage who was at the underground bunker in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh, during the strike.
According to reports by The New York Times and Axios, the target was Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council. Safieddine is presumed to be the successor of Hassan Nasrallah following his assassination last week.
Rocket sirens sound in Haifa, Zichron Yaakov, Caesarea and multiple surrounding towns
Sirens sound in Haifa, Zichron Yaakov, Caesarea and a number of surrounding communities, warning of incoming rocket fire as the area is apparently targeted with a heavy rocket barrage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a private residence in Caesarea.
Rocket sirens sound in Galilee region communities
Sirens sound in multiple communities in the Galilee region, warning of incoming rocket fire.
Iranian foreign minister arrives in Beirut
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during a news conference, September 25, 2024, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in Lebanon’s capital, official Lebanese media says, as Israel intensifies its air strikes and ground offensive against the Tehran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.
“An Iranian plane has landed at the Rafik Hariri International Airport with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on board,” the Lebanese National News Agency said of the first visit by a top Iranian official since an Israeli strike killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week. A top-ranking Iranian general was also killed in that strike.
IDF calls on civilians to evacuate 37 southern Lebanon villages and towns
The IDF is calling on Lebanese civilians in 37 villages and towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately, and head north of the Awali River.
In recent days, the military has called on dozens of locales in southern Lebanon, including those north of the Litani River, to evacuate.
“Hezbollah’s activity forces the IDF to act against it. The IDF does not wish to harm you,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, says in a statement on X.
“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately. Anyone who is near Hezbollah operatives, their facilities or their weapons, puts themselves at risk,” he says.
The IDF says it will update the civilians when it is safe to return.
The evacuations come amid Israeli ground operations in southern Lebanon, which the military has described as “limited, localized and targeted raids,” with the goal of demolishing Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the border area.
Officials have said that the military intends for the operations to end as quickly as possible.
UPDATED: Map of Israeli military's evacuation orders in South Lebanon over the past 3 days. The expanding zones now include new areas as the situation escalates, displacing even more residents. #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/JU6QXr5O2B
— A. Baydoun (@weatherwar) October 3, 2024
Rocket sirens sound in northern border towns
Sirens have sounded in several communities near the northern border with Lebanon in recent minutes, warning of incoming rocket fire.
Alleged Israeli strike targets Lebanon-Syria border crossing IDF says is used to transport weapons
People fleeing Lebanon wait to cross the border with Syria through the Masnaa crossing is eastern Lebanon, on September 24, 2024. (Hassan Jarrah/AFP)
An Israeli strike near Lebanon’s Masnaa border crossing with Syria this morning created a four-meter (12 feet) wide crater, Lebanon Transport Minister Ali Hamieh tells Reuters.
The Hezbollah-affiliated minister says the strike — on the Lebanese side of the border — cut off a road used by Lebanese fleeing to Syria.
Yesterday, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military spokesman accused Lebanese terror group Hezbollah of using the crossing to transport military equipment into Lebanon.
“The IDF will not allow the smuggling of these weapons and will not hesitate to act if forced to do so, as it has done throughout this war,” IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X.
IDF says some 20 rockets fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel in past hour
The Israel Defense Forces says that some 20 rockets were fired from Lebanon toward the Haifa area within the past hour.
The military says that most of the projectiles were intercepted while others struck open ground.
Additionally, further rockets were fired a few minutes later toward the Galilee area. Those too were either intercepted or hit non-populated areas.
צה"ל: כ-20 שיגורים חצו משטח לבנון לחיפה, לקריות ולגליל; הרוב יורטו, היתר נפלו בשטח פתוח@CBeyar pic.twitter.com/3WstGF6Ndb
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 4, 2024
Rocket sirens sound in Galilee communities
Incoming rocket warning sirens sound in multiple communities in the Galilee region.
The alerts come shortly after a rocket barrage was fired at Haifa, and hours after the presumed successor of Hassan Nasrallah as Hezbollah leader was apparently targeted in a Beirut strike.
Reports of interceptions as rocket barrage fired at Haifa
Residents of Haifa and the surrounding suburbs report a number of interceptions in the rocket barrage fired at the northern city a short time ago.
Channel 12 news reports there were at least 10 interceptions.
There are no immediate reports of injuries.
Rocket warning sirens activated in Haifa and several suburbs
Incoming rocket warning sirens sound in Haifa and a number of suburbs of the northern coastal city.
Iran’s Khamenei to give rare Friday sermon following missile attack on Israel
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaking during a meeting with Iran's president and his cabinet in Tehran on August 27, 2024. (Khamenei.ir/AFP)
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is set to lead Friday prayers and deliver a public sermon that could shed light on the Islamic Republic’s plans after a massive missile attack on enemy Israel.
Khamenei’s rare Friday sermon — a first in almost five years — comes three days before the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, triggered by the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group’s October 7 attack.
The supreme leader, who wields the highest authority in Iran, will lead Muslims in prayer at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran, his official website says.
The prayer will follow “a commemoration ceremony” at 10:30 a.m. local time for Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of Tehran-backed Lebanese terror movement Hezbollah.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who answer to Khamenei, said Tuesday’s barrages of some 200 missiles were in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Nasrallah alongside Guards commander Abbas Nilforoushan in a late September strike on Beirut, and of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
Khamenei last led Friday prayers in January 2020 after Iran fired missiles at a US army base in Iraq, in response to a strike that killed revered Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani.
NYT: Strike targeted underground bunker where Safieddine was meeting other Hezbollah leaders
Flames rise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The Israeli attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs targeted a meeting that Hashem Safieddine was attending with other senior Hezbollah leaders in an underground bunker, the New York Times reports, citing three unnamed Israeli officials.
It remains unclear if Safieddine was harmed in the Israeli strike, which has reported to have been one of the heaviest in the past year.
IDF says it intercepted ‘hostile aircraft’ that entered Israeli skies from ‘the east’
The military announces that it intercepted “a hostile aircraft” that set off sirens in the Beit She’an valley.
An IDF statement says the aircraft entered territory from “the east,” a term it has previously used to refer to attacks from Iraq by Iran-backed groups.
Suspected drone sirens sound in Beit She’an Valley
Air raid sirens sound in a pair of communities in northern Israel’s Beit She’an Valley, with the IDF Home Front Command instructing residents to take shelter due to suspected hostile aircraft.
Biden: All-out war in Mideast can be avoided, ‘we’re going to help Israel’
US President Joe Biden says he thinks all-out war in the Mideast can be avoided.
Asked how confident he is that such a war can be averted, he pauses and tells reporters: “How confident are you it’s not going to rain? Look, I don’t believe there is going to be an all-out war. I think we can avoid it.”
Speaking as he arrives back to the White House from a trip to areas damaged by Hurricane Helene, he adds: “But there is a lot to do yet, a lot to do yet.”
He adds that “We’re going to help Israel.”
Lebanese health ministry reports 37 killed in Israeli strikes over the past day
Lebanon’s health ministry says early Friday that 37 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Hezbollah the previous day.
“Israeli enemy strikes in the past 24 hours… killed 37 people and injured 151,” Lebanon’s health ministry says.
Biden says he won’t ‘negotiate in public’ with Israel over attack on Iran oil facilities
US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, October 3, 2024, after returning from spending the day in Florida and Georgia to survey damage from Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON — Democratic US President Joe Biden says that he will not negotiate in public when asked if he has urged Israel not to attack Iran’s oil facilities.
“I know not to negotiate in public,” Biden tells reporters.
Nasrallah’s presumed successor said to be target of heavy Israeli strike in Beirut
Senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine speaks during a conference for Saudi opposition in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The target of the heavy Israeli airstrike in Beirut is reported to be Hashem Safieddine.
Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council, is presumed to be the successor of Hassan Nasrallah following his assassination last week.
Axios reporter Barak Ravid cites two Israeli sources as saying Safieddine was the target.
The IDF has not yet commented on the strike.
الضاحية بحمى الرحمن 💔
pic.twitter.com/bklIN97Vlr— مصدر مسؤول (@fouadkhreiss) October 3, 2024
IDF and Shin Bet says Tulkarem airstrike targeted head of local Hamas terror network
The head of a Hamas terror network in Tulkarem, along with several other operatives, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the West Bank this evening, the IDF and Shin Bet say.
According to the military, the airstrike carried out by a fighter jet in Tulkarem targeted Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, a top Hamas commander in Tulkarem who was planning a terror attack “in the immediate time frame.”
Oufi planned and led an attempted car bombing attack near the settlement of Ateret last month, the IDF says.
He was also involved in providing weapons to other terror operatives who carried out numerous attacks in the West Bank and in Israel recently, including those that led to the injury of Israeli civilians, according to the military.
The IDF and Shin Bet add that he “worked to establish terrorist networks on behalf of Hamas and assisted terror operatives in the area to carry out significant shooting and explosive attacks.”
“[He] intended to carry out an attack in the immediate time frame,” and therefore the strike was carried out, the IDF says.
Several more terror operatives in the same Hamas network were killed in the strike, according to the IDF. The Palestinian Authority health ministry says that at least 18 people were killed.
The IDF has carried out dozens of airstrikes in the West Bank in the past year, but mostly with drones and helicopters, rarely with fighter jets.
Source close to Hezbollah: Israel launched 11 consecutive strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs
BEIRUT — A source close to Lebanon’s Hezbollah says Israel has conducted 11 consecutive strikes on the terror group’s south Beirut stronghold, with AFP correspondents in the capital and beyond hearing the loud bangs.
“Israel struck the southern suburbs 11 consecutivetimes,” the source says on the condition of anonymity. The bombardment was so intense that car alarms went off and buildings shook in Beirut and its outskirts.
Israeli strike said to hit outside perimeter of Beirut airport as loud explosions heard
BEIRUT — A series of loud explosions are heard near Lebanon’s Beirut airport, with smoke seen nearby after jets were heard overhead, Reuters witnesses say.
At least one Israeli strike hit outside the perimeter of the airport, according to a source in Lebanon’s ministry of transport and public works.
حزام ناري يفرضه الطيران الحربي الإسرائيلي على الضاحية الجنوبية لبيروت بسبب الهجمات الجوية المستمرة وسط تصاعد التوتر pic.twitter.com/HMX7YVzLO5
— Lebanon Debate (@lebanondebate) October 3, 2024
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