Sept. 27: After targeting Nasrallah, IDF hits buildings housing Hezbollah anti-ship missiles

Biden orders US forces in Mideast to be adjusted ‘as necessary’

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has ordered US forces in the Middle East to be adjusted “as necessary,” the White House says, after Israel launched a wave of strikes in Lebanon’s capital Beirut targeting Hezbollah’s headquarters.

“He has directed the Pentagon to assess and adjust as necessary US force posture in the region to enhance deterrence, ensure force protection, and support the full range of US objectives,” the White House says in a statement.

Lebanon health ministry raises death toll in strike targeting Nasrallah to 6

At least six people were killed and 91 wounded in Israel’s strike on Beirut’s southern suburb that targeted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Lebanese health ministry says, adding that the toll isn’t final.

After evacuation calls, IDF strikes buildings housing Hezbollah anti-ship missiles

The IDF says it is currently striking three buildings in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut where Hezbollah has stored anti-ship missiles.

Further details on the strikes will be provided later, the military adds.

Earlier, the IDF warned civilians in the proximity of three buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs, that they would soon be struck.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press conference that under the civilian buildings were underground storage facilities where Hezbollah placed coast-to-sea missiles, weapons that threaten Israel and international shipping.

PM’s trip to NY ‘part of diversion’ so Nasrallah would think he was safe — report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approves a strike in Beirut from aboard the Wings of Zion en route to New York, September 26, 2024. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to go ahead with his trip to the UN General Assembly despite the escalating fighting with Hezbollah “was part of a diversion” to lull Hassan Nasrallah into believing Israel wouldn’t target him while the premier was in New York, a senior Israeli official tells the Telegraph.

Top Hezbollah leaders unreachable after Israeli strike — source close to terror group

Rescuers stand outside a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2024. (AFP)

BEIRUT — Hezbollah’s senior leadership is unreachable following Israel’s strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a source close to the Lebanese terror group tells Reuters.

Hours after the strikes, Hezbollah hasn’t made a statement on the fate of its head, Hassan Nasrallah.

Army vows to block weapons transfers to Hezbollah, including through Beirut airport

A plane taking off from the cargo runway at Beirut's international airport on June 24, 2024 (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari warns that the military will not allow any weapon transfers to the Hezbollah terror group, including via Beirut’s international airport.

“We will not allow the transfer of weapons to the Hezbollah terror group, in any way. We know of Iranian weapon transfer to Hezbollah, and we [will] foil them,” he says.

“Air Force planes are now patrolling the Beirut airport area. Until now, Lebanon, contrary to Syria, acted over the years responsibly and did not allow the transfer of weapons through the civilian airport,” Hagari continues.

“We are announcing, we will not allow enemy flights with weapons to land at the civilian airport in Beirut. This is a civilian airport, for civilian use, and it must stay that way,” he adds.

IDF says it’ll soon strike underground Hezbollah sites in Beirut, tells citizens to swiftly flee

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the military will soon strike underground Hezbollah sites in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, and therefore warned civilians in the area to evacuate immediately.

“In the coming hours we are going to strike strategic capability that Hezbollah placed underground, under three buildings in the heart of the Dahiyeh,” he says

“Over the years, Hezbollah built and developed an array of coast-to-sea [missiles], that originate in Iran,” Hagari says, noting the 2006 attack on the INS Hanit, killing four sailors. “Nasrallah himself threatened Israel’s vital and strategic facilities at sea and near the coast.”

“We will now reveal how [Hezbollah] places strategic weapons under civilian buildings in the heart of the Dahiyeh,” he continues.

“These missiles are a real threat to world shipping lanes and strategic facilities of the State of Israel. In a short while, we will attack the weapons under the buildings. The intensity of the explosion of the weapons under the buildings, will lead to damage to the buildings and could lead to their collapse,” Hagari adds.

The IDF issued evacuation warnings to three buildings and their surroundings a short while ago.

Iranian president rages at Israel over Beirut bombing targeting Nasrallah

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 24, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemns the Israeli bombing in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, calling it an “open and fragrant war crime that once again revealed the nature of state terrorism of this regime.”

Pezeshkian expresses his sympathy to the Lebanese people and offers his condolences to the families of the “martyrs,” and says he expects all countries — especially Muslim ones — to condemn the act. He does not mention the fact that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was targeted in the strike.

Moody’s hits Israel with 2-notch credit downgrade as fighting with Hezbollah intensifies

A sign for Moody's Corp. in New York, August 13, 2010. (AP Photo/ Mark Lennihan/ File)

US rating agency Moody’s Investor’s Service downgrades Israel’s credit rating for a second time this year, but this time by two notches, citing the increased intensity of the fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group and expectations of a prolonged war.

The rating agency cut Israel’s credit score from A2 to Baa1 and maintains a negative outlook raising concerns that domestic political risks have increased alongside geopolitical risks.

“With heightened security risks (a social consideration), we no longer expect a swift and strong economic recovery as in previous conflicts,” Moody’s says. “In turn, a delayed and slower economic recovery in combination with a more prolonged and broader military campaign will more persistently impact public finances, further pushing out the prospect of a stabilization of the public debt ratio, compared to our earlier projections.”

“In our view, the significant escalation in geopolitical risk also points to diminished quality of Israel’s institutions and governance which have not fully mitigated actions detrimental to the sovereign’s credit metrics,” the rating agency cautions.

Moody’s downgrade came following a week of almost non-stop Israeli strikes that have devastated the Lebanese terror group’s senior command, on the heels of a wave of detonations of Hezbollah operatives’ communications devices, widely blamed on Israel.

Since the war began with the Hamas-led October 7 attack, all three major credit rating agencies — Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch — cut Israel’s sovereign rating and maintained a negative outlook, leaving the door open for further downgrades if the security situation escalates or the country’s fiscal position deteriorates.

Back in February, Moody’s lowered Israel’s credit rating from A1 to A2 — the first ever downgrade — and changed its outlook to “negative,” citing the impact of the ongoing Gaza war on the government’s debt burden, as well as fiscal and political risks.

Hagari says IDF still looking into results of ‘very accurate’ strike on Hezbollah HQ

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari gives a press conference on September 27, 2024. (YouTube. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the military is still looking into the results of its strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut.

“We will update as soon as we know. Our strike was very accurate,” he says.

There are no changes to instructions for Israeli civilians as of now, Hagari says.

Pushing for ceasefire, Blinken calls on both Israel and Hezbollah ‘to stop firing’

At a news conference wrapping up a week of UN diplomacy, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appeals again for a ceasefire in Lebanon after a major Israeli strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut.

“The most important thing to do through diplomacy is to try first to stop firing in both directions, and then to use the time that we would have in such a ceasefire to see if we can reach a broader diplomatic agreement,” he says.

Blinken: ‘Path to diplomacy’ still open in Mideast, conflict not the way forward

The United States still believes a diplomatic solution is possible in the Middle East, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says, hours after an Israeli strike in Lebanon targeted Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

“The path to diplomacy may seem difficult to see at this moment, but it is there, and in our judgment, it is necessary. We will continue to work intensely,” Blinken tells a news conference.

He says the choices all parties in the Middle East make in the coming days will determine which path the region takes and have profound consequences for years to come, while stressing Washington has made clear it believes the way forward is through diplomacy, not conflict.

IDF calls on Lebanese civilians to move away from several sites in Hezbollah bastion

Smoke rises from the smoldering rubble following an Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2024. (Ibrahim Amro/AFP)

The IDF is calling on Lebanese civilians near several buildings in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, a known Hezbollah stronghold, to evacuate immediately.

Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes maps alongside the announcement, which call on civilians to distance themselves at least 500 meters from three sites in Dahiyeh.

The sites are used by Hezbollah, according to the IDF.

“You are located near Hezbollah properties, and for your safety and the safety of your loved ones, you are obliged to evacuate the buildings immediately and move away from them to a distance of no less than 500 meters,” Adraee says.

#عاجل ‼️ الى سكان الضاحية الجنوبية في بيروت:
⭕️ حي الليلكي، مبنى منير شديد والمباني المجاورة وفق ما يعرض في الخارطة
⭕️حي الحدث، مبنى شيت والمباني المجاورة وفق ما يعرض في الخارطة
⭕️حي الحدث، مبنى كومبلس السلام والمباني المجاورة وفق ما يعرض في الخارطة

????انتم متواجدون بالقرب من… pic.twitter.com/oT1esh56FP

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) September 27, 2024

Adviser to Iranian supreme leader: ‘Every martyred resistance leader will be replaced’

In this Feb. 17, 2020, file photo, former Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani speaks to journalists at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, tells Iranian state television that “any leader of the resistance will be replaced.”

“The resistance has strong leaders and cadres, and every leader who is martyred will be replaced,” he says, following the Israeli strike on a Hezbollah command center in southern Beirut targeting the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.

IDF says 65 rockets fired from Lebanon in the past hour; Safed woman lightly hurt from impact

Some 65 rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in the past hour, according to the IDF.

Shortly after 10 p.m., a barrage of 30 rockets was launched at Safed. The IDF says some of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses. Safed officials report at least two impacts in the city that caused damage.

A 68-year-old woman was lightly wounded as a result of one of the rocket impacts in Safed, medics say. The Magen David Adom ambulance service says the woman sustained trauma from the blast. She is being taken to Ziv Hospital in the city.

Surveillance camera footage shows the moment of the rocket impact in Safed this evening, causing heavy damage to a home. pic.twitter.com/G19QD4hNw3

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 27, 2024

Another 30 rockets were launched at around 10:20 p.m. at the Lower Galilee, some of which were also intercepted, the IDF says.

Five more rockets were launched minutes later at the Western Galilee, some of which were intercepted and others impacted open areas, according to the military.

US and Iraq say American-led military coalition to end mission by end of September 2025

The US-led coalition’s military mission in Iraq will end by September 2025 and there will be a transition to bilateral security partnerships, the United States and Iraq says in a joint statement.

Police report heavy damage in Safed from impact of Hezbollah rockets, shrapnel

Several rockets launched from Lebanon, and shrapnel following interceptions, impacted in the northern city of Safed, causing heavy damage, police say.

There are no immediate reports of injuries in the attack.

Hezbollah takes responsibility for the rocket fire.

שתי פגיעות במבנה זוהו בצפת, בעיר זוהו שתי זירות נפילה נוספות. אין נפגעים
(אורלי אלקלעי) @CBeyar pic.twitter.com/JcMf5RV3Fa

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 27, 2024

Meanwhile, fresh sirens sound in the Lower Galilee, including in Karmiel, Sakhnin, and Deir al-Asad, as well as in Nahariya in the Western Galilee.

Hamas rails at Israel over strike targeting its ally Hezbollah’s Beirut headquarters

Hamas condemns an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs that Israel says targeted the headquarters of the Palestinian terror group’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

“We… strongly condemn the brutal and ongoing Zionist aggression and escalation against the brotherly Lebanese people through savage airstrikes” including today’s attack that targeted “residential buildings,” Hamas, which is at war with Israel in Gaza, it says in a statement.

Iran’s Khamenei said to convene meeting of security council after strike targeting Nasrallah

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has convened an emergency session of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council at his home, the New York Times reports, citing two Iranian officials with knowledge of the meeting.

The officials say the meeting was called following the Israeli strike on a Hezbollah command center in southern Beirut targeting the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Israeli official confirms strike targeted Nasrallah, tells ToI: ‘Very hard to imagine him coming out alive’

An image grab taken from Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV shows the Lebanese terror group's chief Hassan Nasrallah addressing the nation from an undisclosed location on September 19, 2024. (Al-Manar/AFP)

An Israeli official confirms to The Times of Israel that today’s strike on Beirut targeted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

“It’s very hard to imagine him coming out alive from a strike like that,” says the official.

The official’s comments came as Hebrew media reports cite a growing Israeli assessment that Nasrallah was killed in the strike on Hezbollah’s underground headquarters.

Biden: US ‘had no knowledge of, or participation in,’ Israeli strike on Hezbollah command center

US President Joe Biden speaks to the media after stepping off Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, September 27, 2024, to spend the weekend at his beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

US President Joe Biden tells reporters that the US had no prior knowledge of the major Israeli strike targeting a Hezbollah command center in Beirut and that Washington did not participate in the operation.

“We’re still gathering information. I can tell you the United States had no knowledge of, or participation in, the IDF actions… I’ll have more to say when I have more information,” Biden says.

IDF says fighter jets striking Hezbollah targets, including deep inside Lebanese territory

Israeli fighter jets in the past few hours struck several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and deep within the country, the IDF says.

The targets included rocket launchers aimed at Israel and buildings used as weapon depots, according to the military.

The IDF releases footage of the strikes.

Israeli fighter jets in the past few hours struck several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and deep within the country, the IDF says.

The targets included rocket launchers aimed at Israel and buildings used as weapon depots, according to the military. pic.twitter.com/szujKDOPds

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 27, 2024

Rocket sirens activated in Safed and surrounding area

Incoming rocket sirens sound in the Upper Galilee city of Safed and a number of nearby communities.

Security source says Lebanese army is putting up protective cordon around US embassy

The Lebanese army is protectively setting up a security cordon around the US embassy in Lebanon, which is north of Beirut, a security source tells Reuters.

Hebrew media reports: Growing Israeli assessment Nasrallah killed in Beirut strike

Israel’s Channel 12 news reports the assessment in Israel is that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed in tonight’s IDF strike on the terror group’s underground HQ in Beirut.

Its on-screen headline reads, “The assessment in Israel: Nasrallah is eliminated.”

A second major Israeli TV station, Channel 13, is slightly more wary, stating, “Cautious optimism in Israel: The strike on Nasrallah succeeded.”

Kan TV, the state-owned broadcaster, initially uses an on-screen headline saying Nasrallah is believed to have been “harmed,” but soon also reports what it says is the Israeli assessment that he is dead.

In vague response, Hezbollah claims ‘no truth to any statement’ about Beirut attack

Hezbollah’s media office says that there is “no truth to any statement” about the Israeli attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs, without specifying what statements it’s referring to.

It says the media office alone will publish in the terror group’s name. Hezbollah has not otherwise made any statement about the Israeli strikes, which Israel’s military says struck the Iran-backed organization’s central command.

Former intel chief: Strike wouldn’t have been okayed without ‘absolute certainty’ Nasrallah was there

Amos Yadlin, a former head of IDF Military Intelligence. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Amos Yadlin, a former head of IDF intelligence, says today’s strike in Beirut would not have been approved without “absolute certainty” that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was in the targeted area.

He also tells Channel 12 news that his sources, which he does not name, are adamant that Nasrallah “is no longer with us.”

US envoy: PM right about ‘unfair focus’ on Israel, the UN as a whole isn’t antisemitic

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 25, 2024. (Leonardo Munoz/AFP)

NEW YORK — US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield agrees with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim during his speech earlier today that there is an unnecessarily large focus on Israel at the United Nations but rejects the premier’s assertion that the institution as a whole is antisemitic.

“We have raised concerns consistently of an unfair bias in the UN system as it relates to Israel. We have an inordinate number of meetings related to Israel compared to other regions in the world where we have sometimes even more problems, like Sudan is an example,” Thomas-Greenfield tells NBC News.

“I think the Prime Minister is right in the sense that there is an unfair focus on Israel. I will not comment on antisemitism,” she continues. “I have no doubt that there are individuals in the UN system or among member states that might apply to. I would not apply it to the entire UN system.”

Iranian embassy in Beirut warns attack on Hezbollah HQ ‘changes rules of the game’

Ambulances arrive at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Iran’s embassy in Lebanon says on X that the Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs targeting the headquarters of its proxy Hezbollah represents a dangerous game-changing escalation that will “bring its perpetrator an appropriate punishment.”

“This reprehensible crime… represents a dangerous escalation that changes the rules of the game,” the Iranian embassy says.

US official to ToI: Israel notified us of Beirut strike when planes were already in the air

People and first responders stand on the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah's main headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2024. (AFP)

A US official tells The Times of Israel that Israel notified the US about the IDF’s major airstrike in Beirut after planes were already in the air and the operation was in motion.

The US did not have any advance knowledge of the strike, says a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A White House National Security Council spokesperson also says that the US was not tipped off by Israel about any operation in Beirut today, adding that Washington is still gathering more information.

Lebanese health ministry says at least 2 killed, 76 wounded in Israeli strike on Beirut

BEIRUT — At least two people were killed and 76 wounded in Israel’s latest strikes on Hezbollah in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Lebanese health ministry says, describing this as a preliminary toll.

US and Israeli officials tell NYT that Hassan Nasrallah was target of Beirut strike

The New York Times reports that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was the target of the Israeli strike in Beirut, citing eight Israeli and two American officials.

The report comes after a senior US official told ABC News that Nasrallah was the target, adding that the Hezbollah leader and his deputies were “making a quick visit” to the Lebanese capital at the time of the strike.

White House says Biden was briefed by his national security team about Beirut strike

US President Joe Biden has been briefed by his national security team on the major Israeli strike in Beirut, the White House says.

‘A misunderstanding’: Senior Israeli official insists PM didn’t zigzag on US-led Hezbollah truce

Calling the whole incident “a misunderstanding,” a senior Israeli official says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not backtrack on his commitment to support a US-France ceasefire proposal in Lebanon yesterday.

The episode started earlier this week, says the official, when US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to discuss the initiative.

Dermer and US Ambassador Michael Herzog were the only two interlocutors this week, says the official.

Israel said it was interested in seeing what the two allies would present, and understood that the presentation of the proposal was meant to be “the start of a process” as Israel continues fighting, says the official.

Israel did not even see the final text of the US-France proposal until Netanyahu and his staff were in the air, according to the official. They were surprised by the US text that presented a ceasefire as impending, and tied the war in Gaza in more closely than Israel expected. The official surmises that the US made those changes to get Lebanon and Hezbollah on board.

The expectation from the US, in Israel’s understanding, was that Netanyahu would say that “we welcome this initiative” when he landed. However, says the official, the press began to report that there would be a ceasefire within hours, and therefore the prime minister stressed that the war would keep going when he landed.

Dermer met with White House Middle East pointman Brett McGurk, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and special envoy Amos Hochstein Thursday to clear matters up, says the official, which Israel believes he did. Israel and US coordinated the English-language statement that Netanyahu’s office put out last night saying that “Israel shares the aims of the US-led initiative.”

For their part, top Biden administration officials have gone on the record saying that they wouldn’t have announced the 21-day ceasefire initiative had they not received assurances from Netanyahu that he was on board.

Washington has fumed over what it feels as an about-face by Netanyahu regarding its effort.

Pentagon: Israel didn’t give heads up before Beirut strike, Austin spoke to Gallant amid attack

WASHINGTON — The United States did not have advanced warning of an Israeli strike in Beirut and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant as the operation was ongoing, a Pentagon spokesperson says.

“The United States was not involved in this operation and we had no advanced warning,” spokesperson Sabrina Singh says.

Israel’s Channel 12 reports, by contrast, that the US was given a heads up by Israel, very soon before the strike, when Israel’s planes were already airborne.

US hostage families pan PM for not laying out plan at UN to free their loved ones

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledges audience applause after his address to the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK — The families of the American hostages held in Gaza slam Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not laying out the terms of a deal to return their loved ones during his speech earlier today before the United Nations General Assembly.

“Once again, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had the opportunity to present the parameters of a deal that would bring our family members home. Once again, he failed to present any solution to get closer to a ceasefire that would release the 101 hostages currently held in Gaza, including seven Americans,” the families say in a joint statement.

“We appreciate his stated commitment to bringing our loved ones home. But words are not enough,” they add.

“While the responsibility to lay down arms rests squarely on Hamas, the prime minister must work directly with the United States to see that every potential option is revisited to get a deal done. The time for talk has long passed. It’s time to act. Anything less is a failure of leadership. Work with the United States and get a deal, Mr. Prime Minister,” the families say.

Netanyahu moves up return to Israel after massive strike in Beirut

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is returning to Israel early, his office announces. He will take off from New York tonight at 8:00 p.m. local time, after the massive strike in Beirut today.

Official says Israel gave US an advanced warning minutes before Lebanon strike

People and rescuers gather near the smoldering rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah's main headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2024. (Ibrahim Amro/AFP)

The US was told about the impending strike in Beirut a few minutes before it was carried out, an official with knowledge of the details says.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in New York and approved the strike from there.

Halevi touts IDF’s ‘high level of readiness in attack and defense’ after Beirut strike

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi wrapped up an assessment with the General Staff Forum a short while ago, following the strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut.

The military says Halevi “emphasized the high level of readiness in attack and defense on all fronts.”

Gallant’s office says he observed strike on Hezbollah’s HQ from underground command room

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (left) IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (center), IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar (right), and other officers are seen at the IAF's underground command room amid a strike on Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut, September 27, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant observed the IDF strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut from the Israeli Air Force’s underground command room, his office says.

Gallant is seen in pictures released by his office alongside IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, and other top officers.

Source close to Hezbollah claims Nasrallah ‘fine’; Iran security official: We’re checking his status

Tehran is checking the status of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a senior Iranian security official tells Reuters.

A source close to Hezbollah is quoted by AFP as saying that Nasrallah is “fine.”

PM’s office says Netanyahu approved Beirut airstrike from his hotel room

A handout photo that the Prime Minister's Office says shows Benjamin Netanyahu approving an airstrike on Beirut targeting Hezbollah's main headquarters, September 27, 2024. (Prime Minister's Office)

The Prime Minister’s Office releases a photo it says depicts Benjamin Netanyahu approving the airstrike on Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut earlier today, evidently before he left to address the UN General Assembly.

The photo appears to show Netanyahu at his hotel in New York, alongside his military secretary and chief of staff.

UN expresses ‘great alarm’ over IDF attacking on Hezbollah’s HQ in Beirut

Rescuers arrive at the site of an Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah's main headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs, September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations says it’s alarmed by Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut that the IDF said targeted the Hezbollah terror group’s main headquarters

“The UN is watching with great alarm” the strikes on Beirut, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric tells a briefing.

US indicts 3 Iranian operatives for hacking Trump’s campaign

Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Mint Hill, North Carolina, on September 25, 2024. (Logan Cyrus / AFP)

WASHINGTON — The US Justice Department unseals criminal charges against three Iranian operatives suspected of hacking Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and disseminating stolen information to media organizations.

The Trump campaign disclosed on August 10 that it had been hacked and said Iranian actors had stolen and distributed sensitive internal documents. Multiple major news organizations that said they were leaked confidential information from inside the Trump campaign, including Politico, The New York Times and The Washington Post, declined to publish it.

US intelligence officials subsequently linked Iran to a hack of the Trump campaign and to an attempted breach of the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign. They said the hack-and-dump operation was meant to sow discord, exploit divisions within American society and potentially influence the outcome of elections that Iran perceives to be “particularly consequential in terms of the impact they could have on its national security interests.”

Last week, officials also revealed that the Iranians in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails containing excerpts of the hacked information to people associated with the Biden campaign. None of the recipients replied. The Harris campaign said the emails resembled spam or a phishing attempt and condemned the outreach to the Iranians as “unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity.”

The indictment comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran as Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel escalate attacks against each other, raising concerns about the prospect of an all-out war, and as US officials say they continue to track physical threats by Iran against a number of officials including Trump.

Israel checking if Nasrallah was at Hezbollah’s Beirut HQ at time of strike

An image grab taken from Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV shows the Lebanese terror group's chief Hassan Nasrallah addressing the nation from an undisclosed location on September 19, 2024. (Al-Manar/AFP)

Israel is checking if Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was at the terror group’s headquarters in Beirut when it was struck by the Israeli Air Force a short while ago, sources tell Israeli media.

The IDF said that it struck Hezbollah’s central headquarters built under civilian buildings in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, but did not say if Nasrallah was the target.

أفادت وسائل إعلام اسرائيلية باستخدام قنابل تزن 2000 طن خارقة للتحصينات في قصف الضاحية الجنوبية ل #بيروت pic.twitter.com/wp31HRiZMr

— Lebanon Trend (@LebanonTrend_) September 27, 2024

A Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah’s top officials are usually gathered at the site that was targeted.

"دمار كبير ومبانٍ سُوّيت بالأرض"
في مكان الاعتداء الإسرائيلي على #الضاحية_الجنوبية لبيروت.

مراسل #الميادين عباس صباغ#لبنان#الميادين_لبنان@abbas_sabbagh pic.twitter.com/CHqb72yVw0

— الميادين لبنان (@mayadeenlebanon) September 27, 2024

Security sources tell Reuters that IDF attack on Beirut was the heaviest in past year

Rescuers arrive near the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Security sources in Lebanon tell Reuters that the Israeli attack targeted an area where top Hezbollah officials are usually based. It was the heaviest attack in Beirut in almost a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar television reports that four buildings were destroyed and there were many casualties in the multiple strikes. Footage broadcast by al-Manar TV shows at least one smoldering crater at the site of the attack.

IDF says Beirut strike targeted Hezbollah’s main headquarters

A large smoke plume is seen rising over Beirut's southern suburbs after an airstrike that Israel says targeted Hezbollah's headquarters, September 27, 2024. (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the Israeli Air Force struck Hezbollah’s main headquarters in the Lebanese capital of Beirut a short while ago.

Hagari says the center was built underneath civilian buildings in the Dahiyeh suburb, a known Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut.

The IDF spokesman does not mention whether Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was a target or was believed to be present at the site.

He says there are no changes to guidelines for Israeli civilians at this time.

Israel has eliminated much of the Hezbollah terror group’s most senior leadership in recent weeks.

Footage published by Lebanese media shows the massive strikes.

بالفيديو: لحظة استهداف الضاحية بغارات عدة pic.twitter.com/N7Q8TAIBNI

— هنا لبنان (@thisislebnews) September 27, 2024

Images show large smoke plume over Beirut following reported Israeli strike

Footage posted by Lebanese media outlets shows the aftermath of a reported Israeli airstrike on the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, a known Hezbollah stronghold in the Lebanese capital.

"يعدّ الأقوى من نوعه"… الطيران الإسرائيلي يضرب #الضاحية! (فيديو وصور)https://t.co/1UoOuKwE2N pic.twitter.com/0yoFsNC9nU

— Lebanon Debate (@lebanondebate) September 27, 2024

"يعدّ الأقوى من نوعه"… الطيران الإسرائيلي يضرب #الضاحية! (#فيديو و #صور)https://t.co/1UoOuKwE2N pic.twitter.com/h9qTTamqzQ

— Lebanon Debate (@lebanondebate) September 27, 2024

The IDF has not yet commented on the strike.

Netanyahu leaves briefing with reporters after military secretary whispers in his ear

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves in the middle of a briefing with Israeli reporters after his speech at the United Nations.

His military secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman whispered something in Netanyahu’s ear minutes before he cut the briefing short and left with his advisors.

Israeli airstrike reported in Beirut, smoke seen rising from area

Lebanese media report an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.

Footage shows smoke rising in the area.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

سحب دخان ترتفع من الضاحية إثر القصف الإسرائيلي العنيف pic.twitter.com/wjZkmJAyFB

— Leb Now (@leb_now) September 27, 2024

Gallant: PM described ‘the righteousness of our way’ against Iranian ‘black cloud’

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant joins other members of the government in praising Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s UN speech, saying the premier “describing the righteousness of our way against the black cloud that Iran is creating over the entire Middle East.”

“The security establishment and IDF will continue to translate this into actions that harm the enemy, in arenas near and far, and will ensure the security of our land for generations to come,” Gallant adds.

‘The eternity of Israel will never lie’: Netanyahu’s far-right allies hail UN speech

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly wins plaudits from his far-right coalition allies Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who both write “the eternity of Israel will never lie” on X after the premier quoted the biblical expression in his speech.

IDF announces new wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

The IDF announces that it is carrying out a new wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

No further details are immediately given.

US navy says warships in Bab al-Mandab Strait intercepted Houthi missiles and drones

US Navy warships going through the Bab al-Mandab Strait intercepted a number of projectiles fired by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, a US official says.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says that the projectiles included both missiles and drones and there was no damage to any of the three warships in the area. The official is citing initial information, which can change.

The Houthis said earlier today that they targeted three US destroyers in the Red Sea with 23 ballistic and winged missiles and a drone.

Netanyahu denounces UN as a ‘swamp of antisemitic bile,’ says Israel will win ‘because we don’t have a choice’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledges audience applause after his address to the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls singling out Israel “a moral stain on the United Nations,” and decries the institution, with unprecedented bitterness, as “a swamp of antisemitic bile” and a “flat earth society.”

The UN, he says, has rendered itself contemptible in the eyes of decent people because of its obsession with Israel. Any false charge against Israel can muster a majority, he notes, specifying that the General assembly he is now addressing has passed 174 resolutions against Isrsael in the past decade — far more than double the number against the entire rest of the world.

“What hypocrisy. What a double standard. What a joke,” he says to applause from the gallery.

All the hostility this year, “It’s not about Gaza; it’s about Israel” and its very existence.

Until it ends, the UN will be seen as nothing more than a “contemptuous farce.”

He then speaks about the ICC prosecutor’s call for arrest warrants against him and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, saying it is fueled by antisemitism.

The real war criminals, he says, are in Gaza, Syria, Iran, and Yemen. Those who stand with them he says, “should be ashamed of yourselves.”

But “Israel will win this battle,” he says, “because we don’t have a choice.”

After the Jews were butchered for generations and nobody raised a finger in our defense, he says, today Israel has a brave army of incomparable courage, “and we are defending ourselves.”

“Israel will not go gently into that good night,” he continues, paraphrasing the poet Dylan Thomas.

Turning to the people and soldiers of Israel, he says, “be strong and of good courage.”

“Am Yisrael Chai,” he finishes.

Netanyahu denounces ‘self-described progressives’ marching in support of Iran’s ‘goons,’ blasts PA’s Abbas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country “must achieve a historic peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.”

“What a blessing such a peace with Saudi Arabia would bring,” he continues, saying it would be a boon to tourism, trade, energy, AI, and much more. “It would be a true pivot of history,” he says, bringing in a reconciliation between “Mecca and Jerusalem.”

The best way to foil Iran’s “nefarious designs” is to expand the blessings of peace, with US “support and leadership.”

“This can happen much sooner than people think,” he says, urging the world not to let the opportunity go by.

“Now I have a question,” he says. “What choice will you make?” he asks the hall, standing with Israel and democracy, or Iran and darkness.

“Yes, we are defending ourselves, but we are also defending ourselves against a common enemy,” he says.

Netanyahu blasts accusations of genocide, the ICC’s “moral confusion” and the false assertions that Israel is starving Gazans and blocks aid to Gaza. “We don’t want to see a single innocent person die, that’s always a tragedy,” he says, arguing that no army has dropped flyers and sent text messages to get non-combatants out of the way as Israel does.

He pans “self-described progressives” for marching against Israel, in support of Iranian “goons.” He accuses Iran of funding US protesters against Israel.

Netanyahu turns on the United Nations for its hypocrisy, recalling his first speech at the UN four decades ago when he spoke against a proposal then being considered against expelling Israel from the UN.

Now, the same “preposterous” proposal is being discussed, having been raised this week by PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas claims he wants peace with Israel but refuses to condemn October 7 and maintains a “pay to slay” policy that pays stipends to Palestinian security prisoners, including convicted terrorists. Abbas, he says, wages “unremitting diplomatic warfare” against Israel’s right to exist and right to defend itself.

IDF assesses Hamas defeated military in all of Gaza, is now a guerrilla terror group

The IDF is assessing that Hamas has been defeated militarily in the entire Gaza Strip, and it is now a guerrilla terror group that will take some more time to dismantle.

Hamas is not the same terror group it was pre-October 7, in terms of its command and control, weapons, rockets, and operatives, at least half of whom have been killed according to the military.

The IDF has labeled dismantling Hamas as the most important war goal in the south, but returning the hostages is a more urgent goal and it is receiving priority.

“If we wait, it is not certain that there will be anyone to return,” the military is saying.

PM vows Israel to continue striking Hezbollah ‘until all our objectives are met’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the UN General Assembly in New York on September 27, 2024. (YouTube. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at the UN General Assembly, says Israel will also defeat Hezbollah, stressing the global threat it poses. It has tentacles on five continents and has murdered more Americans and Frenchmen than any terror group except Osama bin Laden’s, he says.

He tells of the 60,000 residents of northern Israel who became refugees in their own country, displaced by Hezbollah’s unprovoked attacks. “How long would the American government tolerate that? I doubt even a single day.”

“I’ve come here to say, enough is enough,” he stresses. “We won’t rest until our citizens return safely to our homes.”

“For 18 years Hezbollah brazenly refuses to implement UNSC resolution 1701,” he says, stressing that it moved forces right to Israel’s border instead of leaving southern Lebanon as that 2006 resolution required.

He says that Hezbollah “puts a missile in every kitchen, a rocket in every garage,” endangering their own people. He notes that he told the Lebanese citizenry this week to get out of the “death trap” into which Hezbollah has placed them by putting weaponry in their homes, stressing, “We’re not at war with you. We’re at war with Hezbollah.”

“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war,” Israel has every right to remove the threat it poses and ensure the safe return of its citizens.

Israel has taken out senior Hezbollah military commanders, destroyed “large percentages” of its rockets, and “we will continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are attained,” he says.

IDF says ‘still more work to be done’ against Hezbollah: ‘We cannot stop here’

Ahead of a potential ground offensive against the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, the Israeli military is saying that it has “great confidence” in the army’s ability to carry out a ground maneuver, following experience gained by troops during the past 11 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF is saying that a ground offensive in Lebanon is already planned out, and is being practiced by troops while the fighting is ongoing on several fronts. The plans include operations in areas near the border, as well as deep within Lebanon, according to the military.

The military also reveals that on three separate occasions amid the war it was ready to ramp up its offensive actions against Hezbollah, in an operation now known as Northern Arrows, which was launched on Monday with nearly 2,000 munitions dropped by the Israeli Air Force on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon within 24 hours.

The strikes, according to the military, are taking away Hezbollah’s capabilities that it had built up for 20 years, which in turn are preventing harm to the Israeli home front.

The IDF is saying that it has made significant achievements in the past 10 days in Lebanon, since diverting its focus there, including killing top Hezbollah commanders, eliminating the leadership of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, and striking thousands of sites where Hezbollah stored arms, but stress that “there is still more work to be done, and we cannot stop here.”

In order to return the tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to their homes in northern Israel, the IDF has set out a goal of damaging Hezbollah’s command and control, destroying its capabilities in the border area, and removing the threat of an invasion. Once the fighting is over, the IDF is saying that it would need to enforce any ceasefire agreement with firepower and prevent Hezbollah from re-establishing itself close to Israeli border communities.

Netanyahu: Israel still focused on ‘sacred mission’ of returning hostages, ‘Hamas has got to go’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reveals that Israel’s actions have delayed Iran’s nuclear weapons program, but has not stopped it.

“The question before us is simple,” he says. “Which of these two maps I’ve shown you will shape our futures?”

Israel has made its choice, he says, moving toward peace with Arabs and crushing Iran’s proxies.

He says that Hamas numbered nearly 40,000 on October 7, with a massive arsenal and tunnels network. He says Israel has killed half the terrorists, destroyed 90% of the rockets, and destroyed 23 out of 24 battalions. Now Israel is “mopping up” he says, taking out senior commanders and infrastructure.

He says Israel remains focused on “our sacred mission” – bringing the hostages home.

Netanyahu turns to Hamas stealing humanitarian aid, then selling it to their people. “This too has to end, and we are working to bring it to an end,” he says.

“If Hamas stays in power, it will regroup and rearm and attack Israel again and again and again as it has vowed to do.”

“Hamas has got to go.”

He says it is “inconceivable” and “ridiculous” that Hamas could be part of reconstructing Gaza, and that Israel will reject any plan that includes them. Giving Hamas a role in post-war Gaza would be akin to “allowing the defeated Nazis in 1945” to help rebuild Germany — a notion he calls “inconceivable, ridiculous.”

Israel will support any local civilian administration in Gaza that is committed to coexistence, he says.

“We don’t seek to resettle Gaza,” he stresses, but rather a Gaza demilitarized and deradicalized.”

He urges the Hamas captors of Israel’s hostages to “let them go, let them go, all of them.”

And he says, “This war can come to an end now — all that has to happen is for Hamas to surrender, lay down its arms and release all the hostages.”

“But if they don’t,” he vows, “we will fight until we achieve victory, total victory; there is no substitute for it.”

Netanyahu holds up maps illustrating the ‘blessing’ and ‘curse’ facing Mideast

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold signs as he addresses the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

As he often does, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds up a visual aid, this time the map he showed last year envisioning a logistical bridge from India through the Middle East and Israel, a map of “The Blessing.”

He then holds up a map of “the curse,” showing Iran’s dark crescent of allies across the Middle East.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Netanyahu warns that Iran will endanger every country in the Middle East and many beyond if it is not checked.

“For too long the world has appeased Iran,” he says, talking about its internal and external repression. “That appeasement must end and that appeasement must end now.”

He calls for the world to support Iran’s people, and to “join Israel” in stopping Iran’s nuclear weapons program. He calls for the UN Security Council to impose “snapback” sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program.

Netanyahu says Israel-Saudi deal was close on eve of Oct. 7, declares ‘we are winning’ a 7-front war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a Saudi-Israel deal was close when he was at the United Nations last year, but then Hamas poured across the border on October 7 to murder, rape, mutilate, and burn people alive “in scenes reminiscent of the Nazi Holocaust.”

Netanyahu says Israel has brought home 154 hostages, including 117 alive — most of them as part of a truce deal in November –and promises he won’t rest until all the hostages are brought home.

Netanyahu points out the hostage families in attendance, and asks them to rise.

The premier tells the stories of each of the hostages who are represented by their families in the UN hall, including those whose bodies were dragged into Gaza and survivors of the Nova festival.

Netanyahu points out that “the curse of October 7” has since expanded to six more fronts, including the Lebanese front, where Hezbollah opened fire on and since October 8. He tells of the 250-plus attacks from Houthis in Yemen, and the attacks from Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

“I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran,” he says, “if you strike us, we will strike you.’

“There is no place in Iran where the long arm of Israel cannot reach. And that is true for the entire Middle East,” he warns.

He says Israel is now fighting a seven-front war, and that its soldiers are demonstrating “courage and sacrifice.”

To applause and cheers from the public gallery where the hostages’ families and others who came with Netanyahu are sitting, he exclaims, “We are winning.”

Netanyahu: Israel ‘fighting for its life,’ I came to UN to counter ‘lies and slanders’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the UN General Assembly in New York on September 27, 2024. (YouTube. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts he didn’t intend to come to the UN this year as his country “is fighting for its life.”

However, he says that after he heard the “lies and slanders” from the UN, he came to “set the record straight.”

Netanyahu says he came to “speak the truth.”

“Israel seeks peace, Israel yearns for peace, Israel has made peace and will make peace again.”

“Yet we seek savage enemies who seek our annihilation, ” he says, warning that they seek to destroy civilization.

Dozens of delegates exited the chamber as Netanyahu’s speech began.

WATCH: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the UN General Assembly

US: We appreciate that PM clarified he’s engaging in our Lebanon truce efforts

NEW YORK — A senior Biden administration official says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s initial comments yesterday rejecting the US-led initiative for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon did not reflect the discussions he had with Washington, which led the US to announce this plan. However, the administration appreciates the English-language clarification Netanyahu’s office issued late last night in which he said Israel would continue engaging in the effort to secure a diplomatic agreement between Israel and Hezbollah

State Department Counselor Tom Sullivan tells The Times of Israel during a briefing that the US believes Israel shares the administration’s stance that the only way to prevent a full-scale war in Lebanon is through a diplomatic solution and that Washington looks forward to working with Jerusalem to achieve such a deal.

Netanyahu’s delegation takes seats in UN General Assembly ahead of his speech

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s delegation arrives at the UN General Assembly chamber.

His top advisers and Israeli diplomats take their seats at Israel’s table on the left side of the room as Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks.

Adviser: PM to focus on Iranian threat, stress ‘importance of our just war’ with Hamas, Hezbollah

The UN plenum shortly before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrival to speak to the General Assembly (Lazar Berman / Times of Israel)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will structure his UN General Assembly speech today around the idea of choosing blessing and life, or curses and death, themes that appear in this week’s Torah portion, an adviser tells The Times of Israel.

“He will focus on the Iranian threat on Israel and on the world,” says the Prime Minister’s Office official. “He will emphasize the importance of our just war on Hamas and also Hezbollah as Iranian proxies.”

Netanyahu will also talk about “regional opportunities,” continues the aide. “On the one side there is the axis of blessing, on the other side is the axis of curses. There are those who decide to be on the side of the curses, and we will fight against it.”

Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted 3 US destroyers in Red Sea

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis say they targeted with 23 ballistic and winged missiles and a drone three US destroyers in the Red Sea while on their way to support Israel.

Moody’s reportedly slated to announce another downgrade of Israel’s credit rating

A sign for credit agency Moody's shown on August 13, 2010 in New York. (AP/Mark Lennihan)

For the second time amid the war, Moody’s is slated to announce later today that it’s downgrading Israel’s credit rating, according to Hebrew media reports.

The Ynet news site reports that the expected rating downgrade comes after unsuccessful efforts by the Prime Minister’s Office and Finance Ministry to convince Moody’s that the government is working to bring down the budget deficit to 4 percent, but the credit rating agency wasn’t sold.

Israeli official says military’s goals in Lebanon much narrower than in Gaza

An Israeli security official says he expects a possible war against Hezbollah would not last for as long as the current war in Gaza because the Israeli military’s goals are much narrower.

The official says Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas’s military and political regime in Gaza, but the goal in Lebanon is just to push Hezbollah away from the border with Israel. That is “not a high bar like Gaza” in terms of operational objectives, says the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military briefing guidelines.

The official says that no decision has been made on whether Israel will carry out a ground operation in southern Lebanon. But he stresses that the military is training for this possibility every day and is ready to implement it.

He adds that Israel still sees Resolution 1701, the United Nations-brokered resolution that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, as the best solution for lasting stability. But that the resolution must be enforced by an international force that is able to keep Hezbollah from setting up infrastructure close to the border with Israel. He says Israel’s punishing aerial bombardments this week, which killed more than 600 people in Lebanon, represent Israel’s decision to start enforcing the resolution on their own.

Palestinian gunmen slay female aid worker in Gaza in volley of bullets

Destruction from Israeli bombardments seen in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on September 19, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip shot and killed an aid worker from a US based charity, firing on her car in what Hamas officials claimed was a case of mistaken identity.

Other unverified reports, meanwhile, said that she was murdered by Hamas gunmen for refusing to turn over aid funds to the terror group.

The car in which Islam Hejazy, Gaza program manager at HEAL Palestine, was traveling was intercepted yesterday in the area of Khan Younis in the south of the enclave.

Gunmen riding in three cars sprayed the vehicle with dozens of bullets, according to residents and the woman’s family.

“She was the mother of two small children and a humanitarian with the highest ethics and professionalism,” HEAL Palestine, posts on its Facebook page. “HEAL Palestine is more dedicated than ever to serving Gaza, in her honor. Ceasefire now.”

Her family issues a statement, saying they were told by Hamas-run government parties at the hospital where her body was taken that she was killed by mistake. Her killers, whose identity wasn’t immediately clear, had failed to identify the vehicle she was driving, they say.

There has been no immediate comment from Hamas.

“That was a bigger shock… How would an innocent soul be wasted and 90 bullets fired at her car just for mistaken identification?” the family says in a statement published by Palestinian media.

Houthis boast they fired missile, drone at Tel Aviv and Ashkelon overnight

A projectile is seen in the skies over Israel early September 27, 2024, as the military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen using the Arrow long-range air defense system. (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

The Iran-backed Houthis claim responsibility for an attack which set off sirens across central Israel overnight, saying it had launched a ballistic missile at a military target in Tel Aviv, and also launched a drone at a “vital target” in Ashkelon.

The IDF said it was unaware of any drone reaching Israel overnight.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces will carry out more military operations against the Israeli enemy in triumph for the blood of our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and will not stop supportive military operations during the coming days until the Israeli aggression on Gaza and Lebanon stops,” Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree says in a statement.

A Houthi official hints that the attack was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike yesterday that killed senior Hezbollah leader Mohammed Srur, whose death was confirmed by the Lebanese terror group shortly before the sirens sounded in Israel.

Srur was among several top advisers sent by Hezbollah to Yemen to train the Houthis, who are also backed by Iran, a source close to Hezbollah tells AFP.

UN official says Lebanon facing deadliest period ‘in a generation’

Smoke billows following an overnight Israeli air strike in Baalbeck in eastern Lebanon, on September 27, 2024. (AFP)

The UN decries the escalation in Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon as “catastrophic,” warning the country is facing its deadliest period in years.

“The recent escalations in Lebanon are nothing short of catastrophic,” says Imran Riza, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon. “We are witnessing the deadliest period in Lebanon in a generation, and many express their fear that this is just the beginning.”

Israeli security official says any Lebanon ground op to be ‘as short’ as possible

Israeli soldiers work on tanks in northern Israel on Sept. 27, 2024. (AP/Baz Ratner)

An Israeli security official tells reporters that any ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon would be carried out as swiftly as possible.

“We will try to do it as short as we can,” the official tells journalists, speaking anonymously in line with security rules. “I think that we are preparing that every day, and for sure that is inside our toolbox.”

The official says the terror group has already “lost many capabilities,” but pushes back on accusations that the Israeli strikes are killing civilians in large numbers, calling the campaign “very precise, very accurate.”

“It’s not like they publish the names of the dead. Many of them were Hezbollah,” he says, though he also accuses Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields.

“This phenomenon of putting ballistic missiles inside an apartment, it’s crazy. Cruise missiles in the living room. Every morning you say hello to your wife, hello to the cruise missile.”

Israel becomes member of Asian Development Bank

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at a press conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 3, 2024. (GPO)

Israel has become the newest non-regional member of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines-based lender announces, with an analyst cautioning that the move might cause “polarization” in the institution.

The bank’s board of governors had approved Israel’s entry in April 2022 pending its completion of the membership requirements, the ADB says in a statement. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will be the country’s representative, a source from ADB tells AFP.

The bank now has 69 members, with Japan and the United States the major contributors to its capital, at more than $22.23 billion apiece.

“They [Israel] are allied with US, and basically Europe right, but they would want to also… have more friends across the globe, not only those that have been traditionally allied with them,” says economist Victor Abola, of the Manila-based University of Asia and the Pacific.

“The greater involvement here means closer strategic ties and trade,” Abola tells AFP.

Established in 1966, the ADB is owned by its 69 members, 49 of which are in Asia. Israel, which first applied for membership in January 2022, is the 20th non-regional member.

IDF says it strikes launchers in Lebanon behind rocket barrage on Tiberias

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese area of Mahmudiyah on September 27, 2024. (Rabih Daher/AFP)

Several rocket launchers in southern Lebanon’s Haddatha, used in a Hezbollah attack earlier today on the northern Israeli city of Tiberias were struck by fighter jets, the IDF says.

Additionally, in the past few hours, the military says dozens of Hezbollah weapon depots, primed rocket launchers, and buildings used by the terror group were struck in Sidon, Nabatieh and other areas of southern Lebanon.

מטוסי קרב תקפו לפני זמן קצר, במרחב חדת׳ה שבדרום לבנון, מספר משגרים מהם שוגרו מוקדם יותר היום הרקטות למרחב טבריה.

בשעתיים האחרונות, מטוסי קרב, בהכוונת פיקוד הצפון תקפו עשרות מחסני אמל״ח, משגרים שכוונו לעורף מדינת ישראל ומבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב צידון, בנבטיה… pic.twitter.com/C7fURD8Ns7

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) September 27, 2024

Barcelona fans barred from away game as punishment for Nazi-style flag

Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates with team mates scoring the opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Celta at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, May 16, 2021. (AP/Joan Monfort)

UEFA bans Barcelona from selling tickets to fans for its next away game in the Champions League for displaying a banner with Nazi overtones about the team’s new German coach.

A black flag with the words “Flick Heil” in apparent tribute to coach Hansi Flick was displayed during a 2-1 loss at Monaco last week.

UEFA says the club is charged with “racism and/or other discriminatory conduct,” and the disciplinary sanction will apply on Nov. 6 when Barcelona plays at Red Star Belgrade.

The ticket sales ban activated a probationary sanction UEFA ordered for Barcelona last season. In April, fans made Nazi salutes at Paris Saint-Germain in a Champions League game.

UEFA says its disciplinary judges also fined Barcelona 10,000 euros ($11,000) and ordered a new probationary sanction for a repeat offense in the next year. That will activate another ticket sales ban for one away game in a European competition.

UN says 30,000 people have fled Lebanon for Syria in recent days

People fleeing Lebanon wait to cross the border with Syria through the Masnaa crossing is eastern Lebanon, on September 24, 2024. (Hassan JARRAH / AFP)

Well over 30,000 people, mainly Syrians, have crossed into Syria from Lebanon in the past 72 hours, the UN refugee agency says, amid escalating cross-border violence between Israel and Hezbollah.

About 80 percent of those crossing are Syrians and about 20% are Lebanese, says the UNHCR representative in Syria, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, adding that about half are children and adolescents and that men are making the crossing in smaller numbers than women.

“They are crossing from a country at war to one that has faced a crisis conflict for 13 years,” an extremely difficult choice, he tells a news conference. “We will have to see over the next few days how many more do so.”

Gallant says Israel will ‘increase’ its attacks on Hezbollah until safety restored in north

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks to troops during a drill in northern Israel, September 24, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

During a visit to Safed, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the IDF is hitting Hezbollah hard and will continue to do so until security is returned to the north.

“We are hitting Hezbollah very hard over the past year and in particular over the past few weeks,” says Gallant in a video message from the northern city, which has been targeted by a number of rocket attacks in recent days.

“We will continue and increase this effort — we plan to bring security to the town in the north and to safely return home those who evacuated,” he adds.

Hezbollah fired 10 rockets at Tiberias earlier today, says IDF

A barrage of 10 rockets was fired from Lebanon at Tiberias and other towns near the Sea of Galilee earlier this morning, according to the IDF, in an attack that moderately wounded a man.

The military says most of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses. Medics said the wounded 25-year-old was hit by falling shrapnel following an interception.

Trump suggests he would make a deal with Iran if elected: ‘We have to’

Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Mint Hill, North Carolina, on September 25, 2024. (Logan Cyrus / AFP)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump raises the idea of making a deal with Iran aimed at ending hostilities if he is elected president this fall.

“I would do that,” Trump says, without offering details on what sort of deal he was talking about. “We have to make a deal, because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal.”

Trump pulled out of a deal in 2018 agreed to by the Obama administration alongside major world powers that granted Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its weapons program; since then Iran has returned to enriching uranium to the high levels necessary for creating nuclear weapons.

IDF says its fighter jets struck Lebanon rocket launcher responsible for barrage at Haifa

The Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP/Maya Alleruzzo)

The IDF says that its fighter jets struck a short time ago the rocket launcher responsible for a rocket barrage at the Haifa area earlier today.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets and drones also carried out dozens of strikes on Hezbollah military infrastructure, buildings and terror cells across south Lebanon, the IDF adds, releasing footage of the strikes.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו לפני זמן קצר את המשגר ממנו שוגרו הבוקר רקטות למרחב חיפה והקריות.

בעשרות תקיפות נוספות, מטוסי קרב וכלי טיס של חיל האוויר, תקפו בהכוונת פיקוד הצפון תשתיות צבאיות, מבנים צבאיים וחוליות מחבלים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים רבים בדרום לבנון >> pic.twitter.com/RYhi5FufXm

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 27, 2024

Trade unions appeal to UN over plight of Palestinians out of work after October 7

Construction at part of the Tama 38 initiative, in Tel Aviv, September 22, 2024. (Israel Hadari/Flash90)

A group of international trade unions file a complaint against Israel at the UN‘s labor organization in a bid to win compensation for 200,000 Palestinians who have gone unpaid or seen their benefits withheld after Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel.

The nine unions say the workers from both Gaza and the West Bank had been employed in Israel before the deadly onslaught, but were barred from entering the country to go to their jobs afterward. As a result, the workers and their families have faced millions of dollars’ worth of lost income, financial insecurity and no access to remedies through the courts, they say.

“These workers have experienced widespread wage theft due to the suspension of work permits and the unilateral termination of their contracts,” says a joint statement from the unions, whose members are active in industries as diverse as construction, education, journalism, agriculture, hospitality and transportation.

The filing at the International Labor Organization in Geneva, of which Israel is a member country, is based on language in its constitution that seeks to ensure that countries uphold international commitments they have already made.

Philippines says it will evacuate its 11,000 citizens from Lebanon if Israel launches ground op

Damage to a home caused by Israeli airstrikes in the Masaken neighborhood on the outskirts of Tyre, Lebanon, on September 26, 2024. (Hassan FNEICH / AFP)

The Philippines says it will evacuate 11,000 citizens from Lebanon the moment Israeli forces cross the border to launch a ground offensive against Hezbollah.

“A ground invasion will lead to mandatory repatriation,” Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega says at a press conference in Manila, adding that the plan is to move thousands out of the country via the sea. He did not provide other details.

Manila had earlier urged Filipinos to leave Lebanon before airlines stopped flying to Beirut, but most of its citizens did not heed the call, Filipino diplomats say.

Millions of Filipinos work overseas — with large numbers concentrated in the Middle East — due to limited job opportunities at home. Around 90 percent of those working in Lebanon are women migrant domestic workers.

“To some of them, getting killed in war is preferable to starving to death,” de Vega says, adding there have so far been no Filipino casualties from the Israeli air campaign against Hezbollah.

So far, only 500 Filipinos have taken up the government’s offer to leave Lebanon, De Vega says.

Anthony Mandap, consul-general at the Philippine embassy in Tel Aviv, says there are no plans as of now to repatriate some 30,000 Filipinos working in Israel.

Four Filipinos were murdered in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught and two were kidnapped — including a dual Israeli-Filipino citizen — and later released.

Hezbollah takes credit for barrage of rockets fired at Tiberias

The Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group takes credit for a barrage of rockets fired this morning from Lebanon at the city of Tiberias.

At least one man was moderately wounded by shrapnel from an intercepted rocket, medics said.

In a statement, Hezbollah says it was responding to Israel’s “savage” strikes on Lebanese towns and civilians.

Authorities say 9 killed in strike on Shebaa in southern Lebanon

A house lies in ruins in the border area of Shebaa in southern Lebanon, following an Israeli strike on April 27, 2024. (Rabih DAHER / AFP)

A purported Israeli strike at around 3 a.m. this morning killed nine people from the same family in the southern Lebanese border town of Shebaa, including four children, says mayor Mohammad Saab.

The state-run National News Agency reports the deaths in the strike early Friday in Shebaa. The report offers no other details and the Israeli military did not immediately acknowledge the strike.

Starmer tells Lebanese PM he supports ‘immediate ceasefire and negotiated solution’

Britain Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, holds a bilateral meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the United Nations headquarters, September 26, 2024. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met his Lebanese counterpart at the United Nations and discussed the importance of an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated solution in the conflict with Israel, his office says.

Starmer met Lebanon’s Najib Mikati at the United Nations General Assembly.

“The prime minister opened by giving his sincere condolences to Prime Minister Mikati for the loss of civilian life in recent weeks,” the statement says. “They discussed the escalating conflict in Lebanon, and agreed on the importance of an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated solution.”

Man moderately wounded by shrapnel in lower Galilee, say medics

Following the latest rocket barrage to Tiberias and other areas in the Lower Galilee, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says that it is treating a man who was moderately wounded by shrapnel.

MDA says that the 25-year-old is in moderate condition and is fully conscious.

Earlier two people were lightly wounded running for shelter during the sirens.

5 Syrian soldiers killed in purported Israeli airstrike near Lebanon border — state media

A purported Israeli air strike kills five Syrian soldiers near the border with Lebanon, the official news agency SANA reports, citing a military source.

“The Israeli enemy carried out an aerial attack… on one of our military positions near Kfar Yabus on the Syrian-Lebanese border,” SANA says, adding that five Syrian soldiers were killed and one was wounded.

There was no immediate comment from the IDF on the strike, which rarely publicly comments on strikes in Syria.

IDF says it shot down four drones from Lebanon near Rosh Hanikra

The IDF says that a short time ago it shot down four drones that crossed into Israeli airspace from Lebanon off the coast of Israel, near the town of Rosh Hanikra, just south of the border.

No alert sirens sounded since there was no danger to residents, the military adds.

Japan urges its citizens to leave Lebanon while there are still flights

Passengers wait for their flights at the Beirut International Airport in Beirut on August 25, 2024. (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

Tokyo is urging its citizens to leave Lebanon, Japan’s top government spokesman says, with media reporting plans are afoot to dispatch military aircraft to evacuate them.

“We’re currently checking the safety of Japanese citizens living in Lebanon, as well as urging them to leave the country while regular commercial flights remain in operation,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi says.

Meanwhile, Japanese media reports that arrangements are currently underway for the government to send military aircraft to Jordan where they will be on stand-by.

The C-2 transport aircraft will be mobilized to evacuate around 50 Japanese citizens currently in Lebanon, media outlets including Kyodo News say, citing unnamed government sources.

Fresh sirens sound in Tiberias following earlier barrage at Sea of Galilee

Fresh sirens sound in Tiberias and a few nearby towns warning of incoming missile fire.

The sirens come about half an hour after a barrage of rockets was fired at the city and a number of surrounding areas.

According to the Tiberias municipality, around five rockets were fired in the earlier barrage and all of them fell into the Sea of Galilee. No injuries were reported.

Rocket alert sirens sound again in Tiberias and surrounding towns

Rocket alert sirens warning of likely incoming missiles from Lebanon sound in Tiberias and a number of other towns along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

IDF: Beirut strike killing Hezbollah commander also took out two other top operatives

A residential building whose top two floors were hit by an Israeli strike in the Ghobeiri area of Beirut's southern suburbs on September 24, 2024, that killed a Hezbollah commander. (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

The IDF says that its Tuesday airstrike on Beirut, killing Ibrahim Qubaisi, the commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile division, also killed his deputy and another senior commander.

The strike on the Lebanese capital killed Abbas Sharafeddine, Qubaisi’s deputy, and Hussein Ezzeddine, a senior commander in the missile division, who according to the IDF was close to Hezbollah’s assassinated military chief Fuad Shukr.

A separate strike that day killed another senior operative in Hezbollah’s missile division, the IDF adds.

IDF says 10 rockets fired from Lebanon at Haifa; no injuries reported

The Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP/Maya Alleruzzo)

A barrage of 10 rockets was fired from Lebanon at Haifa a short while ago, setting off sirens in the northern coastal city and suburbs, the IDF says.

Some of the rockets were intercepted, while others struck open areas, according to the military.

Reports say at least one rocket landed in the sea next to Haifa.

Magen David Adom does not report any injuries in the latest barrage. There are reports that some shrapnel fell in the city itself.

A spokesperson for the Haifa Port says there was no impact or shrapnel in the area of the port itself.

Rocket alert sirens sound across Haifa area

Rocket alert sirens sound in the city of Haifa and a number of surrounding towns, warning of likely incoming missiles from Lebanon.

Rocket from Lebanon fired at Tiberias lands in Sea of Galilee, says IDF

A rocket was launched from Lebanon at the northern city of Tiberias an hour ago, the military says.

The rocket landed in the Sea of Galilee, causing no damage or injuries.

One rocket was launched from Lebanon at the northern city of Tiberias an hour ago, the military says.

The rocket landed in the Sea of Galilee, causing no damage or injuries. pic.twitter.com/KBm9zt3xhH

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 27, 2024

Rocket alert sirens sound in Tiberias

Rocket alert sirens are sounding in the city of Tiberias in northern Israel, on the coast of the Sea of Galilee.

Iraqi militia claims to fire drones, cruise missiles at Israel overnight; IDF says none detected

The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed to have launched drones and cruise missiles at Israel overnight.

No sirens sounded in Israel, and as of this morning, the military says it is unaware of any projectiles reaching the country from Iraq.

Blinken warns ‘further escalation’ will make it tougher for northerners to return home

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at a meeting in New York on September 26, 2024.(Bryan R. Smith/Pool Photo via AP)

NEW YORK — During his meeting with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer earlier today on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the Biden administration’s belief that an Israeli escalation against Hezbollah will only make it more difficult to accomplish the objective of returning evacuated Israelis to their homes along the northern border.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of fury in the Biden administration over what it says was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s utter about-face regarding the 21-day ceasefire initiative between Israel and Hezbollah that the US helped broker. The White House says it announced the proposal yesterday after closely consulting with Netanyahu, who assured Biden officials that he was on board. Following major blowback from his coalition partners, the premier announced that he opposed the idea and instead backed intensified fighting against Hezbollah, convinced that this would be the best way to restore security for residents living along the northern border.

The premier’s office has flatly denied that Netanyahu had initially agreed to the 21-day ceasefire proposal, but has softened its rhetoric amid US backlash, saying it appreciates Washington’s efforts and that Dermer held talks later in the day aimed at advancing the joint goal of returning Israeli evacuees to their homes.

During his subsequent one-on-one meeting with Blinken, the secretary of state “discussed the importance of reaching an agreement on the 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border” based on the proposal led by the US and France, which has been backed by over a dozen countries, the US readout says.

The initiative is aimed at providing time for both a hostage release and ceasefire deal to come together in Gaza and for the brokering of an agreement between Israel and Hezbollah that sees the terror group withdraw its forces from the border.

“A diplomatic settlement will allow civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes… further escalation of the conflict will only make that objective more difficult,” Blinken told Dermer, according to the US readout.

Blinken also discussed the ongoing Gaza ceasefire effort, which has been stuck for over a month.

He further discussed steps Israel needs to take to improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza while reiterating the US commitment to Israel’s security, the State Department says.

Netanyahu’s office says Israel ‘shares aims of US-led initiative’ for Lebanon truce

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer arrives for a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on January 29, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israeli and American teams meet to discuss the US initiative for a ceasefire in Lebanon, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, and “how we can advance the shared goal of returning people safely to their homes. We will continue those discussions in the coming days.”

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, one of Netanyahu’s top advisers, met with US special envoy Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk, the US National Security Council’s Mideast czar.

The Prime Minister’s Office also issues another “clarification” after statements from both the US and France that Israel had indicated it would support the 21-day ceasefire proposed by Washington and Paris prior to its unveiling yesterday.

“Due to a lot of misreporting around the US-led ceasefire initiative, it is important to clarify a few points,” says the statement from Netanyahu’s office.

“Earlier this week, the United States shared with Israel its intention to put forward, together with other international and regional partners, a ceasefire proposal in Lebanon,” the statement continues.

“Israel shares the aims of the US-led initiative of enabling people along our northern border to return safely and securely to their homes,” the Prime Minister’s Office adds, saying it appreciates the US efforts.

Lebanese FM: Crisis in Lebanon ‘threatens entire Mideast,’ we back ‘ceasefire on all fronts’

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib addresses the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, September 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Lebanon’s foreign minister calls for an immediate ceasefire “on all fronts,” warning that continued violence at his nation’s border will “transform into a black hole that will engulf international and regional peace and security.”

Abdallah Bouhabib, speaking before the UN General Assembly, decries Israel’s “systematic destruction of Lebanese border villages.”

“The crisis in Lebanon threatens the entire Middle East,” Bouhabib says. “We wish today to reiterate our call for a ceasefire on all fronts.”

He says Lebanon welcomes efforts by the United States and France to move urgently toward a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah “before the situation spirals out of control, with a domino effect, making this crisis impossible to contain.”

Dermer meeting in NY with top US administration officials, may hold talks with Blinken

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is meeting in New York today with US special envoy Amos Hochstein, who has been working to hammer out a negotiated end to the year-long fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

According to an Israeli official, Dermer is also meeting Brett McGurk, the US National Security Council pointman on the Middle East.

There is a possibility Dermer will also meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

17-year-old moderately hurt by car pulling off the road amid Yemen missile attack

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says that a 17-year-old girl was moderately hurt after being struck by a car pulling to the side of the road amid a missile attack from Yemen.

The girl is conscious and has been taken to a hospital, according to MDA, which says another 17 people were lightly hurt after falling on their way to shelters or as the result of acute anxiety.

Meeting Netanyahu, Serbia’s president highlights Hamas hostage with Serbian citizenship

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, September 26, 2024. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić says he would like to see the hostages in Gaza freed “as soon as possible.”

A Serbian citizen, Alon Ohel, is still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Netanyahu holds a photo of Ohel during their public comments.

“I hope that he is alive, and I hope that he is going to be freed as soon as possible,” says the Serbian leader.

“We hope that if there is any chance to get these people back to their parents, to their kids, to their sisters, to their brothers, to their families, then that would be very important for us,” he says.

“Serbia has always been, I believe, a great friend of the Jewish people,” says Vučić.

Serbia is an important, if quiet, security partner for Israel. President Isaac Herzog visited Belgrade earlier this month, a couple of weeks after CIA director Bill Burns was in the country.

“The relations between Serbia and Israel are exceedingly good,” says Netanyahu, “and are getting better each day.”

“We both have a goal,” continues the premier, “and the goal is to return all of our hostages safely back to Israel.”

“All civilized countries have to stand together and to end this monstrosity.”

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis say they’ll soon make an announcement

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels say their military spokesman will soon make an announcement, after the Israel Defense Forces intercepted a missile fired from the country.

After sirens, IDF says it shot down missile from Yemen using Arrow air defense system

The IDF says it shot down a surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen using the long-range Arrow air defense system after sirens were activated across central Israel.

The warning alerts were triggered due to the interception and concerns about falling shrapnel, according to the military, which adds that the missile was shot down “outside the country’s borders.”

The Israel Defense Forces also says that there are no new instructions from the Home Front Command following the attack.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service meanwhile says that it hasn’t yet received reports of injuries aside from several people suffering from anxiety or being hurt while running to bomb shelters.

צה"ל: האזעקות במרכז – עקב טיל ששוגר מתימן • תיעוד מקריית מלאכי >>
⁦@Doron_Kadosh⁩ ⁦@galdjerassi⁩ pic.twitter.com/5l6XkXtxiC

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) September 26, 2024

Sirens blare in Tel Aviv and towns across central Israel due to apparent rocket fire

Incoming rocket sirens are activated in Tel Aviv and across central Israel, including in communities as far south as the Lachish Regional Council, around 12:40 a.m.

French official: Joint ceasefire call followed ‘very high level’ talks between US, France and Israel

After the White House says that the joint US-French statement announcing efforts to achieve a 21-day ceasefire last night was coordinated with Israel, a French official tells The Times of Israel that “there were conversations at a very high level between the US, France, and Israel, and from those conversations, we understood there was a basis to go ahead with the joint announcement.”

“We understand that Netanyahu has to deal with the domestic political reaction as well, but for us, the possibility for a ceasefire to allow negotiations remains alive,” says the official.

The Prime Minister’s Office says that it knew of the proposal but never indicated that it would back it.