Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel is liveblogged Saturday’s events as they happened.
Biden: It’s time for a ceasefire in Lebanon
Asked by reporters whether an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon is inevitable, US President Joe Biden responds, “It’s time for a ceasefire.”
On Friday, a senior Israeli official briefing foreign reporters on the IDF strike targeting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Jerusalem took the step with the hope that it would allow it to avoid having to launch a ground invasion.
However, on Saturday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office said he met with IDF head Herzi Halevy and other top generals to discuss expanding the offensive in Lebanon.
Thousands of protesters trying to storm US embassy in Baghdad after Nasrallah killing
Thousands of Iraqi protesters are trying to storm the US Embassy in Baghdad, according to posts on social media, protesting Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut yesterday.
Videos show protesters clashing with security forces in riot gear. Hezbollah flags and photos of Nasrallah can be seen among the large crowd, along with flags of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Force.
Echoes of Benghazi. Angry mob storming the US Embassy in Baghdad. Hope everyone in the embassy is safe and sound ???????? pic.twitter.com/5RbMnJU2ms
— Brigitte Khair-Mountain | بريجيت خير ماونتين (@Brigitte_khair) September 28, 2024
Earlier, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the strike on Nasrallah as “a crime that shows the Zionist entity has crossed all the red lines.”
In a statement, he called the Israeli strikes on south Beirut a “shameful attack” and described Nasrallah as “a martyr on the path of the righteous.”
Report: Top defense officials deny claims Netanyahu’s trip to New York was a diversion tactic for Nasrallah
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after speaking during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 27, 2024 (Charly Triballeau/AFP)
Senior defense officials deny claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to New York was a tactic to divert Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut while the premier was addressing the UN General Assembly, according to a Ynet news report.
The report quotes the unnamed senior officials as saying that Netanyahu was under unspecified pressure to postpone the assassination until he returned to Israel, but was convinced by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other top defense officials to take the rare opportunity yesterday.
However, Ynet also quotes sources close to Netanyahu as saying that the premier himself had pushed for the strike, despite reported pushback from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a security cabinet meeting on Thursday.
It corroborates previous reports that said discussions were ongoing when the prime minister took off for New York and continued during the flight, followed by a cabinet discussion over the phone early yesterday morning during which it was decided to move forward with the operation.
The premier gave the final approval for the strike from the hotel before leaving to address the UN, the report says.
Drone alert sirens sounding in communities near northern border with Lebanon
Sirens are blaring in northern communities near the border with Lebanon, warning of a suspected drone infiltration.
The alerts are sounding in cities and towns including Metzuba, Rosh HaNikra, Shlomi, Lehman, Ben Ami, Nahariya, Evron, Betzet, Gesher HaZiv, and Sa’ar.
???? ✈️ Hostile Aircraft Intrusion [23:03:16] (13):
• Confrontation Line — Metzuba, Rosh HaNikra, Shlomi, Lehman, Ben Ami, Nahariya, Evron, Betzet, Gesher HaZiv, Sa'ar
• איזור תעשייה מילואות צפון, חוף בצת
• Upper Galilee — Shavei Zion
Population: 81,000 pic.twitter.com/zpksqVbZtw— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 28, 2024
Senior US official says Israel preparing for limited ground op in southern Lebanon — ABC News
A senior US official tells ABC News that the Israel Defense Force is preparing for a limited ground incursion into southern Lebanon.
There are no further details in the report, which comes a day after Israel assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut yesterday, and amid ongoing aerial strikes against the terror group in Lebanon today.
A senior U.S. official tells ABC News Israel is preparing for a limited ground incursion into Southern Lebanon.
This follows the confirmed death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah after airstrikes on Beirut.@InesdLC reports from Tel Aviv. pic.twitter.com/AkXDWf99zv
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) September 28, 2024
IDF: Missile from Lebanon lands in West Bank, sparking fire, causing power outages; none hurt
The IDF says that the missile launched from Lebanon this evening impacted in the West Bank, close to Jerusalem.
Local authorities say that the missile struck an open area, sparking a fire and causing power outages in several nearby settlements.
The Fire and Rescue Service says it is working to extinguish a fire near the Mitzpe Hagit outpost, sparked by the missile impact.
There are no injuries in the attack.
Biden, Harris wrap up call with national security teams on ‘situation in the Middle East’ — White House
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have just wrapped up a call with their national security teams during which they “received an update on the situation in the Middle East, reviewed the status of US military force posture in the region and directed continued diplomatic efforts to coordinate with allies and partners and deescalate the ongoing conflicts,” the White House says, adding that Biden and Harris will continue receiving updates on the matter.
Palestinian footage purports to show Hezbollah missile impact near Jerusalem
Footage published by Palestinian media purports to show the moment of the Hezbollah missile impact near Jerusalem, that occured a short while ago.
The Fire and Rescue Service says it has received reports of a fire in an open area near Ma’ale Michmash following the missile fire from Lebanon.
لحظة سقوط صواريخ من لبنان على مستوطنة "معاليه أدوميم" شرق القدس المحتلة. pic.twitter.com/OHO2NMbO4O
— القسطل الإخباري (@AlQastalps) September 28, 2024
IDF: Sirens triggered near Jerusalem by single missile launched from Lebanon
The IDF says the sirens that sounded in several settlements near Jerusalem, including the city of Ma’ale Adumim, were triggered due to a single missile launched from Lebanon.
It says further details will be provided soon.
Despite IDF restrictions, activists hold scaled-down hostage rallies in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Caesarea
Protesters gather at Tel Aviv's Begin Road to demand that the government sign the hostage-ceasefire deal that is on the table, September 28, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Movement/Yael Gadot)
Protesters gather at Tel Aviv’s Begin Road, calling on the government to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, at a scaled-down version of the weekly demonstration after the IDF issued restrictions on gatherings in central Israel, following the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut yesterday.
Hundreds of protesters can be seen on the busy intersection near the IDF’s Kirya base in Tel Aviv nonetheless.
Relatives of hostages held in Gaza and anti-government protesters also gathered in locations around Israel, including Jerusalem, Eilat, and outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea.
In Jerusalem, protesters hold a vigil for the hostages, blowing shofars at the end of the event ahead of the upcoming Jewish New Year.
Activists blow shofars at the end of a vigil demanding that the government secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, Jerusalem, September 28, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Movement/Tanya Zion-Waldoks)
Netanyahu warns Iran: ‘There’s nowhere beyond our reach… and today you know how true that is’
Explaining the benefits of the elimination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel won’t only advance the return of northern residents to their homes, “but also advance the return of our hostages in the south.”
This, he argues, is because “the more that [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar sees that Hezbollah is no longer coming to save him, the greater the chances for the return of our hostages.”
Netanyahu praises the IDF, the Israeli Air Force, Military Intelligence, the Mossad and the Shin Bet for their achievements — “and not only yesterday.” Notably, he does not mention Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who oversaw the operation with the security chiefs while Netanyahu was in the US, and who had reportedly pressed Netanyahu to approve it.
Netanyahu says that despite the achievements, “the work is not yet done” and tells Israelis: “We will face significant challenges in the days ahead, and meet them.”
He recalls that Nasrallah likened Israel to a “spider’s web,” and says the Hezbollah chief instead discovered “the steel tendons of a united nation determined to guarantee its existence and future.” Indeed, he says, “the entire Middle East has discovered this.”
He says Nasrallah’s elimination has given hope to all who oppose Iran’s axis of evil, and to all those struggling under “the violent tyranny” of Iran and its proxies in Lebanon, Syria, and beyond.
He tells the citizens of Iran and countries dominated by Iran and its proxies that “the State of Israel stands with you.”
And he warns the “ayatollahs’ regime” that “those who strike at us, we will strike at them. There is nowhere in Iran or the Middle East beyond the reach of the long arm of Israel, and today you know how true that is.”
This passage echoes the warning he gave to Iran during his speech to the UN General Assembly yesterday — in wording he added just prior to delivering his address, having just approved the strike on Beirut in which Nasrallah was killed.
Finally, he tells Israel’s citizens that “these are great days” at what “seems to be a historic turning point.”
“A year ago, on October 7, our enemies attacked us and thought that Israel was en route to extinction. A year later, strike after strike, achievement after achievement, they understand how their hopes have been dashed.”
He says Israel is on the rise and winning, and determined to enable the residents of the north to return and to bring home the hostages. “We don’t forget them for a second.”
Netanyahu ends his recorded statement with the declaration, “We will fight together, and with God’s help, we will win together.”
Sirens sounding in West Bank near Jerusalem after long-range rockets launched from Lebanon
Long-range rockets have been launched from Lebanon toward the Jerusalem area.
Sirens are sounding in several West Bank settlements, east of the capital.
It marks the deepest rocket fire carried out by Hezbollah amid the ongoing fighting, with sirens sounding in towns some 140 kilometers from the Lebanon border.
The IDF says it will provide further details soon.
????Rocket Alerts
• Yehuda – Nofei Prat, Mishor Edomim Industrial Zone, Kfar Edomim, Almon, Mitzpeh Yericho, Ma'aleh Edomim, Alon
• Shomron – Geva Binyamin, Ma'aleh Michmash, Sha'ar Binyamin Industrial Zone pic.twitter.com/NgvWhZdg6E— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 28, 2024
Netanyahu: Nasrallah was ‘central engine of Iran’s axis of evil’; killing him can change regional balance of power
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a televised address after Israel assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, September 28, 2024. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he ordered the killing of Hassan Nasrallah because the Hezbollah leader’s elimination was essential to enabling the safe return of Israel’s northern residents.
In his first public statement since Israel killed Nasrallah on last night in Beirut, Netanyahu says Israel has “settled the account” with a “mass murderer” responsible for the killings of countless Israelis and dozens of American and French citizens.
Speaking hours after flying home, unusually during Shabbat, Netanyahu says Hezbollah “wasn’t another terrorist; he was the terrorist,” and “the central engine of Iran’s axis of evil.”
Nasrallah and his colleagues, Netanyahu goes on, were “the architects of the plan to destroy Israel.”
“He wasn’t merely activated by Iran. In many cases, he activated Iran,” the prime minister says.
He says that, early in the week, he recognized that even the heavy strikes Israel had inflicted on Hezbollah would not be sufficient, and that “eliminating Nasrallah was an essential condition for achieving the aims that we have set out — returning the residents of the north safely to their homes and changing the balance of power in the region for years.”
So long as Nasrallah was alive, “he would have quickly rehabilitated Hezbollah’s capabilities.
“So I gave the order and Nasrallah is no longer with us.”
It has been reported that the security establishment had been tracking Nasrallah for months, and recommended targeting him this week amid concerns that the opportunity could pass.
Smotrich maintains Israeli economy ‘strong,’ even after Moody’s downgraded country’s sovereign rating
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Knesset Finance Committee meeting in Jerusalem, September 16, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich maintains that the Israeli economy is “strong” even after US credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the country’s sovereign rating by two levels.
“Israel’s economy bears the burden of the longest and most expensive war in the country’s history,” says Smotrich. “The Israeli economy is a strong economy that even today attracts investments.”
Late on Friday, Moody’s cut Israel’s credit rating for a second time this year, amid increased intensity of fighting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group and concerns that the economy will be more durably weakened by the military conflict than previously assessed. The rating agency lowered the country’s rating from A2 to Baa1.
Smotrich reassures investors that the government will pass a “responsible budget [for 2025] with required restraint measures.”
“This is a war for our existence that we must continue until victory, to allow us to live many years in peace, security and economic growth,” Smotrich adds. “After we win the war even those who lowered our rating will return it to the real level of the Israeli economy.”
Gallant holding assessment on IDF readiness to ‘expand offensive’ on northern front
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant holds a meeting with senior IDF officers at his office in Tel Aviv, September 28, 2024. (Shachar Yurman/Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is holding an assessment on the IDF’s readiness “to expand the offensive activity” on the northern front, his office says.
The assessment is being held with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, head of the Operations Directorate, Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, and head of the Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder.
The meeting comes after Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike yesterday, as Israel ramps up its attacks on the Lebanese terror group.
Houthi chief says downed Tel Aviv missile was timed to coincide with Netanyahu landing in Israel
The remains of a ballistic missile fired from Yemen that landed near the Jerusalam-area community of Tzur Hadassah, September 28, 2024. (Israel Police)
The leader of Yemen’s Houthis says a surface-to-surface missile that the rebel group fired toward the Tel Aviv area earlier this evening was timed to coincide with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s landing in Israel.
The IDF said the missile, which was fired at least half an hour after Netanyahu’s plane landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, was shot down by air defenses “outside of the country’s borders.”
In a televised speech, Abdul Malik al-Houthi also vows that the death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah “will not be in vain,” hours after the Lebanese terror group confirmed he had been killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut yesterday
“These great sacrifices and great injustice will not be wasted,” Abdul Malik al-Huthi says in a televised speech, adding that his Iran-backed rebels are directed toward “improving performance” after previous missile and drone strikes against Israel.
Netanyahu didn’t want to tell the US ahead of Nasrallah strike, for fear it would try to prevent it — report
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)
In discussions in the days immediately prior to the Friday strike that killed Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, Channel 12 claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he did not want to give the Biden administration advance warning of the planned operation because he feared the US would try to prevent it.
The report says Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who was urging Netanyahu to approve the strike, was not particularly troubled about not giving the Americans a heads-up.
After the strike, and with Biden administration officials angered to have been given only a last-minute warning, Israel reportedly conveyed a message to the US trying to explain its thinking.
Channel 12 reports the multiple elements of this message as follows: “We might have missed the opportunity. We didn’t want you to be [deemed] responsible by knowing ahead of time. This is a move against the entire Shiite axis. We are prepared for diplomatic contacts for an arrangement [to resolve the situation in the north] — prepared they take place under fire” — as in, without Israel being required to halt its strikes on Hezbollah targets.
France calls for immediate end to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah, voices opposition to IDF ground op in Lebanon
France calls for an immediate end to Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, also saying that it was opposed to any IDF ground operation in Lebanon.
In a statement following a call with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also calls on Hezbollah and Iran to refrain from any action that could destabilize the region further, after Israel yesterday assassinated the Lebanon-based terror group’s chief, Hassan Nasrallah.
‘Today, Hezbollah’s victims have a measure of justice’: VP Harris echoes Biden’s approval of Nasrallah killing
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris gives a thumbs up as she walks to a vehicle after arriving at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, on September 27, 2024. (Josh Edelson/AFP)
US Vice President Kamala Harris echoes President Joe Biden’s tepid approval of Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah yesterday in Beirut.
“Hassan Nasrallah was a terrorist with American blood on his hands. Across decades, his leadership of Hezbollah destabilized the Middle East and led to the killing of countless innocent people in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and around the world. Today, Hezbollah’s victims have a measure of justice,” Harris says in a statement.
“I have an unwavering commitment to the security of Israel. I will always support Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis,” she adds.
“President Biden and I do not want to see conflict in the Middle East escalate into a broader regional war. We have been working on a diplomatic solution along the Israel-Lebanon border so that people can safely return home on both sides of that border. Diplomacy remains the best path forward to protect civilians and achieve lasting stability in the region,” Harris concludes.
Lebanon declares 3 days of mourning for Nasrallah
A man points to a television set displaying an image of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with a black stripe for mourning during a broadcast from the private Lebanese station NBN in Beirut on September 28, 2024 (JOSEPH EID / AFP)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon announces three days of mourning for Hassan Nasrallah Saturday after a huge Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs the previous day killed the Hezbollah leader.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the official mourning would start on Monday, with flags to fly at half-mast on public buildings, a statement says.
Public offices will also close on the day of Nasrallah’s funeral, the statement adds. Hezbollah has yet to announce the date.
PM’s office says Netanyahu to give presser shortly
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference at the Government Press Office (GPO) in Jerusalem on September 4, 2024. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP)
The Prime Minister’s Office says Benjamin Netanyahu will give a press conference soon.
The address comes shortly after Netanyahu returned from a trip to the United States and a day after an Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel asks US to deter Iran from launching response to Nasrallah killing — report
Israel has asked the US to take measures to deter Iran from launching an attack in response to the airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general, two Israeli and US officials tell the Axios news site.
A US official tells Axios that Washington will now work for a diplomatic solution to prevent an Israeli ground invasion in Lebanon and Iranian involvement in the ongoing conflict.
Following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this year, which was blamed on Israel, Iran threatened a response.
To deter Iran, the US rushed forces to the Middle East and passed along messages through diplomatic messages seriously warning Iran against carrying out such an attack.
Lebanese media reports additional Israeli strike in Beirut’s Dahiyeh
Lebanese media report a new Israeli strike in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut.
Numerous IDF strikes have been carried out in the Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital today, since the killing of Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah yesterday.
غارات قرب مطار بيروت pic.twitter.com/tenNInTJsw
— Ali Bk (@Bk_Hanas) September 28, 2024
Meanwhile, a Lebanese security source says an Israeli strike targeted a warehouse near Beirut airport, Lebanon’s only international passenger facility.
AFP live footage showed smoke billowing from the area near the runway after the strike.
IDF releases audio of IDF chief and commander of squad that killed Nasrallah
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. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF releases audio of the radio communications between the chief of the Israeli Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, and the commander of the 69th Squadron, which carried out the strike killing Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah.
“You delivered a show of victory here… well done,” Bar says to Lt. Col. “Mem” moments after the strike.
“We really hope that we’ve decapitated this terror organization, well done,” Bar says.
“Thank you very much, commander. We will reach everyone, everywhere and we will do whatever is necessary to bring the hostages back and return the residents of the north home,” the squadron commander responds.
US orders families of embassy staff to leave Lebanon
Lebanese army vehicles move along a road as soldiers deploy near the US embassy in Beirut on June 5, 2024, after a Syrian man was arrested following a shooting near the embassy. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP)
WASHINGTON — The US State Department orders the families of embassy personnel in Beirut to leave the country and authorized the departure of some staff, as the Israel-Hezbollah conflict escalates.
The department ordered the departure “due to the increased volatility following airstrikes within Beirut and the volatile and unpredictable security situation throughout Lebanon,” it says. All US citizens are urged to leave “while commercial options still remain available.”
Politicians across spectrum praise assassination of Nasrallah
Politicians across the spectrum welcome the death of long-time Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah following a massive Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday, with hardline members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet calling on the premier to continue pounding the terror group.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana tweets a photo of the dead terror leader along with a threat.
“Whoever goes his way will reach his place,” he writes in Persian.
و هر که برود راه او، میرسد به جای او pic.twitter.com/fJb8YJx0qa
— Amir Ohana – אמיר אוחנה (@AmirOhana) September 28, 2024
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir praises Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and other cabinet officials for making the “important decision” to take out Nasrallah, saying that it is now the time to continue to “dismantle” Hezbollah in order to “remove the threat from the State of Israel” and allow residents of the north to return home.
Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar states that the strike on Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in the Lebanese capital restored Israeli “national honor” and “deterrence,” and that “with God’s help we will continue to do everything to defeat all our enemies and to return our hostages home.”
Like Ben Gvir, Zohar also expresses gratitude toward Netanyahu, Gallant, and the security services.
Calling Nasrallah “one of the greatest oppressors of the people of Israel,” Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says that his elimination constitutes “a holiday” and “a new chapter written in the Book of Chronicles of the People of Israel.”
“This is a time that unites the hearts of the citizens of Israel with the hope and aspiration to win on all fronts, to return our hostages, and to bring our people a new reality of security and strength,” he declares.
“The elimination of Nasrallah and Hezbollah’s chain of command is a regional watershed moment” which has opened opportunities for Israel, says Benny Gantz, leader of the opposition National Unity party.
“We must continue proactively defending ourselves in face of our enemies, and work together with our international partners,” he says.
“Yes, all your enemies will perish, O Lord,” tweets Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, calling to “to continue with all our might and crush all of Hezbollah, its fighters, its infrastructure, and its military capabilities.”
“God willing, we will end this long war in Israel when all the citizens of Israel no longer face a threat from either the north or the south,” he states.
Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf praises Netanyahu for the strike that killed Nasrallah and declares that Israel will not let up the pressure on its enemies.
“We will not rest or be silent, we will continue to eliminate terrorism in Gaza, in Judea and Samaria and in Lebanon and we will not let up until victory and the return of the hostages, God willing,” he says.
The Democrats MK Merav Michaeli likewise welcomes the strike but calls on Israelis “not to get confused.”
“The elimination of commanders, however senior they may be, does not change the simple fact – we are still in a war without an exit point, and our hostages are still in captivity,” she says — calling on Israel to “leverage the advantage that the IDF obtained for us for a political settlement that will return the hostages and help strengthen the moderates and isolate Iran.”
“This is the only thing that will guarantee the security of the State of Israel,” she says.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Yariv Levin says that “the events of the last few days have restored pride, strength and deterrence to the State of Israel,” after a year of difficult moments.
“I have no doubt that under the determined leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu we will bring security to Israel through strength,” he adds.
Gideon Sa’ar, the leader of the hawkish opposition New Hope party also congratulates the government for its actions and calls on it to “continue with all our might in eroding Hezbollah’s capabilities in all of Lebanon and in destroying the organization’s infrastructure near the border.”
Biden: Nasrallah’s killing brings justice; time for ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon
US President Joe Biden speaks the the media after stepping off Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Sept. 27, 2024, to spend the weekend at his beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
US President Joe Biden says Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah brings a “measure of justice” for his many victims, while calling for diplomatic agreements to end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza.
“Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror. His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians,” Biden says in a statement.
He notes that the Friday strike was in response to Nasrallah’s decision to open up a “northern front” against Israel after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.
“The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups,” Biden stresses, adding that he directed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin yesterday to bolster the US military’s force posture in the Mideast in order to deter Iran from further escalation.
“Ultimately, our aim is to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means,” the US president asserts, referencing the ceasefire and hostage release deal for Gaza and an agreement that would allow civilians in south Lebanon and northern Israel to return to their homes.
Notably, he doesn’t refer to the 21-day ceasefire initiative for Lebanon that he announced on Wednesday, which has all but fallen apart.
“It is time for these deals to close, for the threats to Israel to be removed, and for the broader Middle East region to gain greater stability,” Biden concludes in his statement.
Syria slams Israel’s ‘despicable aggression’ after Nasrallah killing
DAMASCUS, Syria — Hezbollah ally Syria condemns Israel’s killing of the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs a day earlier.
“The Zionist entity (Israel) confirms through this despicable aggression, once again… its barbarism and wanton disregard for all international standards and laws,” a Foreign Ministry statement carried by state news agency SANA says.
IDF says top Hezbollah intel commander killed in Beirut strike this afternoon
Illustrative: Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the Shiyah neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs on September 28, 2024. (JOSEPH EID / AFP)
A top commander in Hezbollah’s intelligence division was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut this afternoon, the IDF says.
Hassan Khalil Yassin, according to the IDF, headed a unit in Hezbollah’s intelligence division that was tasked with locating Israeli military and civilian sites in Israel to be targeted.
The IDF says Yassin worked closely with Hezbollah’s rocket, missile, and drone units, and was “personally involved in terror plots that were carried out from the beginning of the war against civilians and soldiers, and planned additional attacks in the coming days.”
Fighter jets carried out the strike on a site in Dahiyeh, killing Yassin.
IDF calls on civilians to leave sites used by Hezbollah in Beqaa Valley, Beirut’s Dahiyeh
The IDF is calling on Lebanese civilians in the Beqaa Valley, in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, and in southern Lebanon, to flee immediately from sites used by Hezbollah.
“If you are near Hezbollah assets… for your safety and the safety of your families, we ask you to stay away from the area and not return until further notice,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, says on X.
UN chief says he’s ‘gravely concerned’ over Israeli strikes in Beirut
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East at the United Nations on September 27, 2024 in New York. (Bryan R. SMITH / AFP)
UNITED NATIONS — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he was “gravely concerned” by the “dramatic escalation” seen in Lebanon in the past day as Israel targets Hezbollah in the capital Beirut.
“The secretary-general is gravely concerned by the dramatic escalation of events in Beirut in the last 24 hours,” he says following Hezbollah’s announcement its leader Hassan Nasrallah had been killed.
Vowing revenge, Khamenei declares 5 days of mourning in Iran for Nasrallah
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declares five days of public mourning for Hassan Nasrallah Saturday after the Hezbollah leader was confirmed killed in an Israeli air strike the previous day.
“I… offer my condolences for the martyrdom of the great Nasrallah and his martyred companions and announce five days of public mourning in Islamic Iran,” Khamenei says in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.
“The blood of the martyr shall not go unavenged,” he says.
Hostage’s mother urges PM to use successes in north to bring about hostage deal
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage by Hamas, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using the escalation in the north to hide a proposed deal to free the captives in Gaza.
At a weekly press conference alongside a group of hostage families, Zangauker questioned the prime minister’s UN General Assembly speech when he claimed Israel is “winning.”
“How are we winning if there are still 101 hostages tortured and dying in the tunnels of death? How are we winning if civilians and soldiers are held by an enemy for almost a year, because you decided to sacrifice them on the altar of preserving your rule?”
She called on Netanyahu to use the successes in the north to present an initiative for the return of the hostages.
Military will keep hitting Hezbollah following assassination of leader
The Israeli military is seeking to weaken the Hezbollah terror group as much as possible, even following the assassination of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, and other top commanders.
The IDF is saying that there is more work to do against Hezbollah, and there are more stages and capabilities that can be used against it.
Strikes targeting Hezbollah’s top officials, the group’s capabilities, and weapon shipments, will continue, military sources say.
The IDF says that more than 3,500 munitions have been dropped by Israeli Air Force fighter jets on Hezbollah sites in the past week, taking out many of their rocket, missile, and drone capabilities, along with intelligence sites.
The military has also imposed a “military blockade” on Lebanon, preventing arms from being smuggled into the country from Iran, both through the ground crossings and via the international airport in Beirut. Strikes have been carried out against some of the border crossings between Lebanon and Syria, and some flights from Iran have not been allowed to land in Beirut.
Lebanese media reports IDF targeted deputy head of Hezbollah’s executive council in latest Beirut strike
Some Lebanese media outlets report that the target of the IDF’s latest airstrike in Beirut is Nabil Qaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s executive council.
The IDF said it was carrying out a “targeted strike” in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, and would provide further details later.
مقتل نائب رئيس المجلس التنفيذي في حزب الله الشيخ نبيل قاووق في غارة الشياح pic.twitter.com/9I4EyRttm0
— الشبكة اللبنانية (@lebanonet) September 28, 2024
PA’s Abbas sends condolences to Hezbollah over Nasrallah’s assassination
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas offers his condolences to Hezbollah over the death of its leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike, a statement from his office says.
Abbas also “offered his deep condolences to the Lebanese government and the brotherly Lebanese people, on the martyrdom of the civilian victims who fell as a result of the brutal Israeli aggression,” the statement says.
Houthi missile remains land near Jerusalem, causing slight damage
The remains of a ballistic missile fired from Yemen that landed near the Jerusalam-area community of Tzur Hadassah, September 28, 2024. (Israel Police)
The remains of an intercepted Houthi missile landed near the Jerusalem-area community of Tzur Hadassah, police say.
Police say that slight damage was caused by the falling shrapnel.
The missile launched from Yemen was shot down by Israeli air defenses, the IDF said earlier.
TV report sets out chronology of Nasrallah’s elimination, says US felt it was ‘played’ by PM
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 decision to go ahead with the Friday evening strike on Hassan Nasrallah was taken by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the support of Defense Minister Gallant, shortly before the prime minister addressed the UN General Assembly in New York, having been approved in principle by the cabinet on Thursday evening, Channel 12 reports.
The TV station’s diplomatic correspondent Dana Weiss sets out the chronology of the approval process, and reports that the US was angry when news of the strike first emerged, because it had been engaging with Israel on the specifics of a ceasefire in the course of the week and felt it had been misled.
The strike culminated what the report said are being described in Israeli defense circles as “The 10 days of attacks” — which started with the detonation of thousands of pagers on their Hezbollah owners on September 17, in an attack for which Israel has not claimed responsibility.
The possibility of eliminating Nasrallah was “on the table” as of Wednesday, the report says. There were discussions that day involving the chief of staff, Mossad chief, Shin Bet chief, and Gallant — and they all said Israel should do it.
Netanyahu did not approve the strike before he left later than scheduled for the US in the early hours of Thursday morning, following talks that had extended into the night, but he kept the option open, Weiss says.
On Thursday, there were further consultations between the security chiefs, Gallant and, by telephone, Netanyahu, in which he was urged to approve the attack.
That evening, Israel-time, Netanyahu in New York convened the cabinet for a telephone consultation, and obtained the cabinet’s formal consent for him and Gallant to approve the strike if operational conditions permitted.
Channel 12 reports that some ministers said in the course of the discussion that they opposed the attack, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. It says Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem had opposed the idea in unspecified discussions earlier in the week. Both of them were reportedly concerned it would harm the IDF’s ongoing activities in Gaza.
On Friday morning, Gallant went to the northern border and firmed up various details with IDF Northern Command chief Major General Ori Gordin, Weiss notes. Early on Friday afternoon, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi met Gallant and reportedly told him, “We have what we need. We can go ahead with the operation. We know that Nasrallah is in the bunker.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, head of the Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, and head of the Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder on September 26, 2024. (Shachar Yurman/Defense Ministry)
Gallant and Halevi phoned Netanyahu, who was set to speak soon after at the General Assembly, and told him they recommended taking the decision to proceed. The prime minister approved the operation. He headed to the UN and delivered his speech — which included passages denouncing and threatening Hezbollah, and warning Iran.
At 6:20 p.m. on Friday, Israel-time, the IAF carried out the strike and soon after reported that the operation had been executed with complete success.
Weiss notes that even as the discussions were proceeding on whether to carry out the strike, Netanyahu, with his Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, were simultaneously engaging with the Biden administration on a potential ceasefire in Lebanon. Dermer was finalizing the details of the proposal with the Americans — and it was announced by the US and France on Thursday.
This explains the palpable American anger on Friday after word of the strike on Nasrallah first emerged, Weiss says. “From their point of view, they were played.”
“They were advancing an initiative,” Netanyahu and Dermer were working with them on the wording, and then they were only told at the last minute about the attack, she concludes.
IDF says it struck Dahiyeh suburb in Beirut
The IDF says it carrying out a “targeted” airstrike strike in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut.
It says further details will be provided soon.
Russia blasts killing of Nasrallah, demands Israel stop attacks
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)
MOSCOW, Russia — Russia strongly condemns Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, its Foreign Ministry says, calling on Israel to stop hostilities in Lebanon.
“This forceful action is fraught with even greater dramatic consequences for Lebanon and the entire Middle East,” the ministry says in a statement.
IDF says missile fired from Yemen shot down outside of country’s borders
The IDF says the surface-to-surface ballistic missile launched at central Israel from Yemen was shot down by air defenses “outside of the country’s borders.”
The missile was shot down with the Arrow long-range missile defense system, which is designed to take out ballistic missiles.
Sirens sounded across central Israel due to fears of falling shrapnel following the interception.
IDF confirms missile fired from Yemen triggered central Israel sirens
The IDF confirms that the sirens that sounded across central Israel were triggered due to a missile launch from Yemen.
Further details are under investigation, it adds.
IDF: Around 90 rockets fired at Israel from Lebanon throughout day
Some 90 rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon today, according to the IDF.
Most of the Hezbollah attacks targeted northern Israel, although several long-range missiles were also fired toward Tel Aviv and the West Bank.
There were no major injuries or damage in the attacks today.
Sirens sound across central Israel amid apparent missile attack from Yemen
Sirens are sounding across central Israel amid an apparent ballistic missile attack from Yemen.
The alerts are activated in Tel Aviv and surrounding cities.
Lebanese media reports Israeli strikes in Beirut
Lebanese media report fresh Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
غارات عنيفة على #الضاحية_الجنوبية استهدفت منطقة #الليلكي pic.twitter.com/HOmyurFZE9
— هنا لبنان (@thisislebnews) September 28, 2024
Rocket sirens sound in northern communities
Incoming rocket sirens sound in the northern communities of Rosh Hanikra and Shlomi.
צבע אדום (28/09/2024 17:21): ראש הנקרה, שלומי pic.twitter.com/kwKJQoMQIS
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) September 28, 2024
IDF says it struck Hezbollah rocket and missile factories in Lebanon overnight
The IDF announces that overnight it struck several Hezbollah rocket and missile manufacturing sites in southern Lebanon at the Beqaa Valley, as part of efforts to prevent the Lebanese terror group from arming itself.
According to the military, Iran would smuggle Hezbollah weapons and components over Lebanon’s eastern border. The shipments would head to the manufacturing sites, where Hezbollah would build various weapons, including precision missiles.
The overnight strikes come after on Thursday, the IDF struck several routes and a bridge on the Lebanon-Syria border, that according to the military were used by Hezbollah to smuggle in weapons.
The IDF has vowed to prevent all arms shipments to Hezbollah.
PM returns early from trip to US after Nasrallah killing
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lands in Israel from a trip to the United States earlier than scheduled after the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Netanyahu will go straight from Ben Gurion Airport to a security consultation, Hebrew media reports.
FM Katz says Nasrallah ‘deserved’ to die, Beirut strike ‘justified’
Foreign Minister Israel Katz says that slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah “deserved” to die and that the Israeli air raid on Beirut that killed him was justified.
“The elimination of arch-terrorist Nasrallah is one of the most justified counter-terrorism actions Israel has ever taken,” Katz says in a post on X, adding that the Lebanese terror leader “deserved to be taken down, and it’s a good thing he was.”
The elimination of arch-terrorist Nasrallah is one of the most justified counter-terrorism actions Israel has ever taken.
Nasrallah, who dedicated his life to the destruction of Israel and led over 30 years of terror activity against Israel, including in recent days, deserved to…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) September 28, 2024
IDF says rocket launchers, weapon stores struck in Lebanon
The IDF says it is continuing to strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
In the past few hours, rocket launchers aimed at Israel, buildings where Hezbollah stored weapons, and other infrastructure were hit in airstrikes, according to the military.
It releases footage of some of the strikes.
צה"ל ממשיך לתקוף בשטח לבנון מטרות טרור של חיזבאללה.
בין המטרות שהותקפו, משגרים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה שכוונו לעבר עורף מדינת ישראל, מבנים בהם אוחסנו אמצעי לחימה ותשתיות טרור של הארגון >> pic.twitter.com/c2M8RLPPp1— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 28, 2024
Houthis: Nasrallah’s jihad ended in the best possible way with martyrdom
The Houthi terror group eulogizes slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, saying that “his jihad was concluded in the best possible way,” namely with “martyrdom.”
In a statement, the organization says that the “blood of martyred leaders will not be spilled in vain… the resistance will not be broken, and the jihadi spirit of the brothers in Lebanon and on all fronts of support [to Hamas] will grow stronger.”
The Yemeni terror group further vows to continue waging jihad in “defense of its homeland” and “for the victory of the oppressed in Palestine and Lebanon.”
IDF chief: Challenging days ahead, we are determined to destroy Hezbollah
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks in a video statement from the Northern Command in Safed, September 28, 2024. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi in a video statement says the military will continue fighting Hezbollah to remove the threat that it poses to Israeli civilians.
He also says Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed because he sought to destroy Israel.
“Challenging days are ahead of us,” Halevi says after approving battle plans at the Northern Command. “IDF troops are on peak alert, on defense and offense, on all fronts.”
“Nasrallah killed Israeli civilians indiscriminately. He wanted this war to end with the destruction of Israel, we made sure that wouldn’t happen. We killed him, and we will get stronger,” he says.
Halevi says the IDF will not allow the Hezbollah threat to remain. “We are determined to continue to destroy the Hezbollah terror group. We are determined to continue fighting,” he says.
The IDF chief adds that the IDF has missions on other fronts as well, including “destroying terror organizations and their capabilities [in Gaza], returning the hostages… and returning the residents to the north and south to their homes safely.”
Erdogan accuses Israel of ‘genocide’ in Lebanon after Nasrallah killed
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that Israel is committing a “genocide” in Lebanon after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike yesterday.
“Lebanon and the Lebanese people are the latest target of a policy of genocide, occupation, and invasion carried out by Israel since October 7,” Erdogan writes on X.
Iran Air nixes flights to Beirut as Israeli strikes intensify
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian flag carrier, Iran Air, has suspended all flights to the Lebanese capital as Israel keeps up its airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut, Iranian media reports.
“Iran Air has canceled all flights to Beirut until further notice,” the Tasnim news agency says.
IDF chief holds assessment, OKs battle plans in north
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi just wrapped up an assessment and approved battle plans at the Northern Command HQ, the military says.
The assessment comes after the IDF killed Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut yesterday.
Senior IAF officials say strike that killed Nasrallah pulled off flawlessly
Brig. Gen. Amichai Levin, the commander of the Hatzerim Airbase (left) is seen at a control room during an Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, September 27, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Senior Israeli Air Force officials say the strike in Beirut yesterday killing Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah went smoothly with no errors or enemy fire on the IAF warplanes.
“Everything we planned was executed precisely, with no errors, both in intelligence, the planning, with the planes, and the operation itself. Everything went smooth,” Lt. Col. “Mem” the commander of the IAF’s 69th Squadron — who can only be identified by his first initial in Hebrew — tells reporters.
The 69th Squadron flies a fleet of F-15I fighter jets and is based at the Hatzerim Airbase in southern Israel.
“We went to strike in the heart of Beirut, in the Dahiyeh. We knew who we wanted to target,” he adds.
Meanwhile, the commander of the Hatzerim Airbase, Brig. Gen. Amichai Levin, says the ” very complex” mission was planned long in advance.
Levin tells reporters that the killing of Nasrallah “will have a profound effect that will change the face of the Middle East.”
He also says that during the strike “No missiles were fired at the planes… and there was no danger to the crews.”
“Dozens of munitions hit the target within seconds with very high precision, and this is part of what is required to hit underground sites at this depth,” the airbase commanders adds.
UNHCR: 200,000 internally displaced inside Lebanon, 50,000 fled into Syria
Over 50,000 people have crossed into Syria from Lebanon since Israel intensified its airstrikes in various regions of the country, and 200,000 are internally displaced, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.
The figure presumably includes the 110,000 who are believed to have evacuated southern Lebanon in the months before the ongoing escalation.
Those who have crossed the border into Syria are both Lebanese citizens and Syrians who have been living in Lebanon as refugees.
Grandi says that relief operations are underway to assist those in need in collaboration with the governments of both countries.
More than 50,000 Lebanese and Syrians living in Lebanon have now crossed into Syria fleeing Israeli airstrikes. Well over 200,000 are displaced inside Lebanon.
Relief operations are underway, including by UNHCR, to help all those in need, in coordination with both governments. pic.twitter.com/Qcvdw79z8A
— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) September 28, 2024
Sinwar, Hamas officials in Gaza staying put as precaution after Nasrallah killing — report
Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar speaks during a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, in Gaza City, April 14, 2023. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other Hamas officials in Gaza have ceased their movements as a precaution following an Israeli strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news outlet reports.
The report, citing unnamed sources, says Sinwar’s security has been switched in recent days.
Additionally, Hamas officials have ceased attending meetings in Lebanon as part of the security precautions, the report says.
IRGC deputy commander killed in Israeli strikes in Beirut Friday
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan was killed in the Israeli strikes on Beirut on Friday, Iranian media reports.
Axios, citing Israeli officials and Iranian reports:
Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, commander of the Quds Force in Lebanon, was killed in Beirut attack.
Nilforoushan was overseeing the IRGC's Operations Command, which is directly involved in various military and… pic.twitter.com/fbmFhz7Zmv
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 28, 2024
Pro-Hezbollah Christian leader in Lebanon eulogizes Nasrallah
In this September 9, 2015 photo, lawmaker Sleiman Frangieh prepares to enter the parliament building for the National Dialogue meeting between Lebanese political leaders, in downtown Beirut. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Sleiman Frangieh, leader of Lebanon’s Christian party Marada and Hezbollah’s candidate for the presidency, posts a laconic eulogy for slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on X. “The symbol is gone, the legend is born, the resistance continues,” Frangieh tweets.
According to the Lebanese constitution, the President must be a Maronite Christian. Despite controlling only two seats in Parliament, Frangieh has remained Hezbollah’s favored candidate. The Shiite terror group has kept Lebanon in a political deadlock for nearly two years, as it has refused to consider alternative candidates.
Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Druze “Progressive Socialist Party,” which has eight seats in the parliament, also eulogizes the slain Hezbollah leader. “Hassan Nasrallah and his comrades have joined the long caravan of martyrs on the road to Palestine. I extend my condolences to Hezbollah and its supporters and honor the souls of innocent civilians,” he writes on X and posts an image of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
انضم السيد حسن نصر الله ورفاقه إلى قافلة الشهداء الطويلة على طريق فلسطين . أتقدم بالتعزية من حزب الله وجمهوره كما احيي ارواح المدنيين الأبرياء. #فلسطين #لبنان pic.twitter.com/5XZtX8iPFX
— Walid Joumblatt (@walidjoumblatt) September 28, 2024
Gallant praises killing of Nasrallah, says he was responsible for murder of thousands
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hails yesterday’s operation to kill Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an English statement.
Gallant says the arch-terrorist was responsible for the murder of thousands of Israeli civilians and soldiers as well as foreign citizens.
“To our enemies, I say: we are strong and determined. To our partners, I would say: our war, is your war. And to the people of Lebanon, I say: our war is not with you. It’s time for change,” he says.
Iran vows Nasrallah’s path to continue despite death
Iran’s Foreign Ministry says the path of Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah will continue despite his killing in an Israeli airstrike after a year of cross-border clashes between the two sides.
“The glorious path of the leader of the resistance, Hassan Nasrallah, will continue and his sacred goal will be realized in the liberation of Quds [Jerusalem], God willing,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani writes in a post on social media X mourning his death.
Hamas eulogizes Nasrallah, says his assassination will have ‘dangerous repercussions’ on regional security
Illustrative: A handout picture released by the Lebanese Hezbollah press office on July 5, 2024 shows Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah (second right) meeting with a Hamas delegation presided by Khalil al-Hayya (second left) in Beirut. (Hezbollah Military Media Press Office / AFP)
In a long statement, Hamas extends its condolences to Hezbollah for the “martyrdom” of its leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike last night.
“We offer our sincere condolences and solidarity to the brotherly Lebanese people and our brothers in Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon,” Hamas writes.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the barbaric Zionist aggression and the targeting of residential buildings… in Beirut’s Dahiya,” the statement continues, referencing the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital where Nasrallah was killed, “which proves the brutality of the occupation, a rogue entity that disregards all international values and norms and has proceeded to blatantly threaten international security and peace.”
“We hold the Zionist occupation fully responsible for this heinous crime and its dangerous repercussions on the security and stability of the region, and the US administration responsible for its continued support [for Israel],” the statement reads.
“History has shown that whenever leaders of the resistance… die as martyrs, they will be succeeded by a new generation of leaders who are braver, stronger, and more determined to persist in the confrontation with the Zionist enemy until it is defeated and eliminated from our land and our region,” Hamas writes.
IDF spokesperson: ‘Nasrallah was one of Israel’s greatest enemies,’ his death ‘makes the world a safer place’
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the killing of Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah makes the world a safer place.
“Nasrallah was one of Israel’s greatest enemies, of all time. He posed a threat to Israeli citizens for decades, and his elimination makes the world a safer place,” he says.
“It’s not over, Hezbollah has more capabilities,” Hagari says, noting that fighter jets are currently hitting the terror group across Lebanon.
Along with his remarks in Hebrew, Hagari also gives an English-language statement:
Home Front Command restricts gatherings in central Israel to 1,000 people
Tel Aviv cityscape, on September 18, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the Home Front Command is issuing restrictions on gatherings in central Israel, following the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Gatherings will be restricted to 1,000 people in various areas of central Israel, he says in a press conference.
He says further possible changes to the restrictions will be announced if needed.
Home Front Command restrictions issued September 28, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Defense officials tell NYT Israel knew of Nasrallah’s whereabouts for months before strike
Israel knew of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s location for months before launching the strike that killed him yesterday, three senior Israeli defense officials tell The New York Times.
The decision to strike him was made this week as Israel believed the window of opportunity to take him out would close, the unnamed officials say.
Hezbollah members found and identified Nasrallah’s body on Saturday morning along with the terror group’s southern front commander, Ali Karaki.
Videos show Syrians in rebel-held region celebrating Nasrallah’s death last night
Videos circulating on social media show residents of the rebel-held region of Idlib, in north-western Syria, celebrating the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last night, before the IDF and the terror group announced it officially today.
Residents are shown handing out sweets to passers-by, thanking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and vowing that Syrian President Bashar Assad will be next in line.
Hezbollah has long been an ally of the Syrian regime under the Assad family and helped it in its fight against the Syrian opposition since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 until 2019. The intervention of the Lebanese terror group was critical in defeating rebels and maintaining Bashar Assad in power.
The Idlib region, in the north-western corner of Syria, is under the control of the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which set up its own government and defense forces. Syrian government forces have launched repeated offenses to retake the region, but have so far been unsuccessful.
The region is home to a large number of internally displaced people who moved there from other parts of Syria. Estimates of its overall population range between 3 and 4.5 million, over half of whom are domestic refugees.
????????Idlib, Syria
A region not under Assad's control is probably celebrating the attack on #Nasrallah— viky choudhary (@VikramSiyol003) September 28, 2024
Wizz Air cancels flights to Israel for next 48 hours, citing northern ‘escalation’
View of a Wizzair flight taking off from Ben Gurion International Airport, September 3, 2014. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)
Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air announces it is canceling its flights to Israel for the next 48 hours, following Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and a potential escalation with Lebanon.
The airline, which has usually kept its routes open in recent months as many other airlines have canceled, says it is doing so “due to the escalation” in the north.
Some Wizz Air flights on the way to Israel were forced to return to their points of origin mid-flight.
Hezbollah confirms leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in Israeli strike
An image grab taken from Hezbollah's al-Manar TV on July 10, 2024, shows the Lebanese terror group's chief Hassan Nasrallah giving a speech from an undisclosed location in Lebanon. (Al-Manar/AFP)
The Hezbollah terror group confirms the death of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut yesterday.
Hezbollah praises Nasrallah’s leadership of the terror group in its conflict with Israel and support of Palestinians.
“Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Hezbollah, has joined his great, immortal martyr comrades whom he led for about 30 years,” Hezbollah says in a statement.
Hezbollah says it would continue its battle against Israel “in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defense of Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people.”
Nasrallah was at Hezbollah’s main underground headquarters in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut when the IDF carried out its massive strikes.
Earlier, the IDF said Nasrallah had been killed in the attack, but Hezbollah did not comment until now.
Long-range rocket fired by Lebanon intercepted over northern West Bank
Earlier today, one long-range rocket fired from Lebanon was intercepted by Israeli air defenses over the West Bank, according to the IDF.
Sirens had sounded in several settlements amid the attack at around 11:15 a.m.
Meanwhile, several more rockets fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee, at around 1:15 p.m., were intercepted, and others struck open areas, the IDF says.
France confirms Hezbollah chief Nasrallah killed in Israeli strike
PARIS, France — France’s Foreign Ministry says that according to its information Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was indeed dead, after Israel announced it had killed him.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah has yet to issue any statement on the status of Nasrallah, its leader for 32 years.
“According to the information we have, Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah, would indeed have died,” the French Foreign Ministry says in a statement.
Rocket sirens wail again in northern communities
Rocket sirens are activated again in northern communities, this time in the city of Safed and surrounding towns.
Sirens are sounding in Birya, Ramat Dalton, Amiad, Jish, Dovev, Baram, Elifelet, Zivon, Kerem Ben Zimra, Kadita, Nof Kinerret Korazim, and Vered Hagalil.
צבע אדום (28/09/2024 14:01-14:02): ביריה, צפת – עיר, אזור תעשייה רמת דלתון, ג'ש – גוש חלב, דלתון, כרם בן זמרה, קדיתא, צפת – נוף כנרת, כורזים ורד הגליל, עמיעד, אליפלט, ברעם, דוב''ב, צבעון pic.twitter.com/e1wja9ZbPq
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) September 28, 2024
Gallant holds assessment with IDF chief, Mossad director at military HQ
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (2nd right) holds an assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (right) and Mossad director David Barnea (left) at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, September 28, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held an assessment a short while ago at the IDF’s underground command room at the military headquarters, with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and Mossad director David Barnea, his office says.
Incoming rocket sirens sound in Golan Heights, Western Galilee
Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in the Golan Heights and the Western Galilee.
The sirens are sounding in Katzrin, Maona, Mi’ilya, Ma’alot, Tarshiha, Kfar Vradim, Abirim, Fassuta, Even Menachem, Zarit, Netua, Shomera, Shtula, Hosen, Yanuh-Jat, Migdal Tefen, Ein Yaakov, Hila, Hurfeish, Tzuriel and Kisra-Sumei.
צבע אדום (28/09/2024 13:40-13:43): קצרין – אזור תעשייה, מעונה, מעיליא, מעלות תרשיחא, כפר ורדים, אבירים, פסוטה, אבן מנחם, זרעית, נטועה, שומרה, שתולה, חוסן, ינוח ג'ת, מגדל תפן, עין יעקב, הילה, חורפיש, צוריאל, כסרא סמיע pic.twitter.com/xVaFI5Igkj
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) September 28, 2024
Iranian official says Tehran to ready deployment of forces to Lebanon, Syria
An Iranian official tells the American NBC network that Tehran will begin registration for deploying forces to Lebanon in the coming days, following Israel’s strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Ayatollah Mohammad Hassan Akhtari, Iran’s deputy for international affairs, says officials will grant permission for forces to be deployed in Lebanon and the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.
“We can send forces to Lebanon to fight against Israel, just as we did in the year 1981,” he says.
Iran’s Khamenei calls on Muslims to confront Israel, vows fate of region will be shaped by ‘resistance’
An image published on Ali Khamenei's official website on September 25, 2019 showing Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader, left, alongside Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, center, and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. (Khamenei.ir)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls on Muslims “to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the… wicked regime [of Israel].”
Khamenei, in a statement after the Israeli army said it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, says: “The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront,” state media reports.
EU warns airlines to avoid Lebanese, Israeli airspace until Oct. 31
PARIS, France — Airlines should avoid Lebanese and Israeli airspace for the coming month, European aviation authorities say, amid intense air strikes and missile fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The European Commission and European Union Aviation Safety Agency warns in a statement of “an overall intensification of airstrikes and degradation in the security situation,” issuing an official recommendation “not to operate within the airspaces of Lebanon and Israel at all flight levels,” provisionally until October 31.
Incoming rocket sirens sound in northern communities
Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in the northern city of Nahariya and other northern communities.
Sirens are sounding in Netiv HaShayara, Sheikh Danun, Kibbutz Kabri, Manot, Neve Ziv, Avdon, Metzuba, Ben Ami, Arab Al Aramshe, Eilon, Goren and Shlomi.
צבע אדום (28/09/2024 13:15-13:16): בית העלמין החדש נהריה, נתיב השיירה, שייח' דנון, כברי, מנות, נווה זיו, עבדון, מצובה, בן עמי, ערב אל עראמשה, אילון, גורן pic.twitter.com/vWvDhGImVI
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) September 28, 2024
Lebanese media reports fresh airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs
Lebanese media report a new Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
No further details are immediately available.
غارة الان على الشياح في الضاحية الجنوبية pic.twitter.com/kWkdp4B5P5
— مصدر مسؤول (@fouadkhreiss) September 28, 2024
IDF says it struck 140 targets in Lebanon, including arms stored in Beirut
Since last night, the IDF says it has struck some 140 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including dozens of rocket launchers aimed at Israel.
Other sites hit by Israeli fighter jets included buildings where Hezbollah stored munitions, including anti-ship missiles in Beirut, the military adds.
It releases footage of some of the strikes.
צה"ל ממשיך לתקוף בשטח לבנון מטרות טרור של חיזבאללה.
משעות הלילה, צה"ל תקף יותר מ-140 מטרות טרור של הארגון >> pic.twitter.com/efXPIvqg6Y— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 28, 2024
Iran’s Khamenei moved to secure location after Nasrallah killed
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with the President Masoud Pezeshkian's administration, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, August 27, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location inside the country with heightened security measures in place, two regional officials briefed by Tehran tell Reuters.
The sources say Iran was in constant contact with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other regional proxy groups to determine the next step after Israel announced that it had killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a strike in south Beirut on Friday.
Iranian flight makes U-turn after Israel said to take over Beirut airport control tower communications
An Iranian Qeshm Fars Air flight from Tehran, possibly heading for Lebanon or Syria, made a U-turn over Iraqi airspace earlier today, data from flight tracking websites show.
The incident comes after last night the IDF warned it would foil any attempts by Iran to transfer weapons to Hezbollah, including via the civilian Beirut airport.
Lebanon’s minister of public works and transport, Ali Hamiya, is cited by Lebanese media as saying that he instructed an Iranian plane not to land at Beirut’s airport and not enter Lebanese airspace after Israel took control of the airport’s control tower and warned it would use force if the plane landed in Lebanon.
IRGC affiliated Qeshm Fars Air, EP-FAB had done a U-turn over Syria earlier today, EP-FAB has an infamous record of moving drones and munitions on behalf of IRGC to multiple areas of the Middle East and further. pic.twitter.com/bZrHbVl435
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) September 28, 2024
Israeli strike reported on vehicle in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley
Lebanese media report an Israeli strike on a car on the Dahr al-Baydar mountain pass, part of the Beirut-Damascus highway, on the edge of the Beqaa Valley.
No further details are immediately available.
غارة إسرائيلية على سيارة في ضهر البيدر pic.twitter.com/eHpuL842KS
— Leb Now (@leb_now) September 28, 2024
IDF says operation to kill Nasrallah was code named ‘New Order’
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. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF operation to assassinate Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah was named “New Order,” the military says.
The military releases images from the Israeli Air Force’s underground command center during the airstrikes on Beirut yesterday.
Rocket warning sirens sounding across northern West Bank
Rocket warning sirens are sounding across the northern West Bank.
Earlier, a rocket from Lebanon exploded in an open area in the West Bank. A piece of a rocket also fell on a home in the Palestinian town of Huwara.
There were no injuries reported.
???? Rocket Alert [11:16:29] (20):
• Samaria — Migron, Giv'at Asaf, Rimonim, Neria, Beit El, Nachliel, Ma'aleh Levona, Kokhav Ya'akov, Horasha, Dolev, Ofra, Giv'at Har'el and Giv'at HaRoeh, Ma'aleh Michmash, Halamish, Psagot, Talmon, Kokhav HaShahar, Atteret, Tel Zion
• כרם רעים pic.twitter.com/Mce8SH8lWw— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 28, 2024
Source close to Hezbollah says contact with Nasrallah ‘lost’ since Friday night
An Iranian demonstrator shows a portrait of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on his cell phone in support of Hezbollah at the Palestine Square in downtown Tehran, Iran, early Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A source close to Lebanon’s Hezbollah group says contact had been “lost” since last evening with chief Hassan Nasrallah, after Israel said it had “eliminated” him in a strike on the group’s southern Beirut bastion.
“Contact with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been lost since Friday evening,” says the source, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. He did not confirm whether Nasrallah had been killed.
After death of Nasrallah, IDF chief says we know how to reach all those who threaten Israel
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks in a video distributed by the IDF on September 28, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi after the assassination of Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah says Israel will reach anyone who threatens the country and its citizens.
“The is not the end of the tools in the toolbox. The message is simple, to anyone who threatens the citizens of the State of Israel, we will know how to get to them,” he says.
IDF says dozens of Hezbollah anti-ship missiles destroyed in overnight Beirut strikes
Dozens of anti-ship missiles stored by Hezbollah under buildings in the Lebanese capital of Beirut were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes overnight, according to the military.
Hezbollah was known by the IDF to be in possession of the Chinese C-704 and C802 missiles, as well as the Iranian Ghader, which have ranges of up to around 200 kilometers.
They were stored, operated, and maintained by a small elite Hezbollah unit, which the IDF describes as very experienced. Members of the shadowy unit who took part in the attack on the Israeli Navy’s INS Hanit in 2006, killing four sailors, are still in service, military sources say.
The overnight strikes in Beirut took out six warehouses where the coast-to-sea missiles were stored and maintained, the military says. The missiles could have been used within minutes from the sites, the IDF says.
The IDF says the missiles posed a threat to Israeli Navy ships, as well as civilian shipping lanes and Israeli strategic threats at sea and near the coast.
The military releases footage of the strikes carried out by fighter jets.
IDF says top Hezbollah leaders killed alongside Nasrallah in strike on Hezbollah HQ
People check the devastation in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs, in the aftermath of the Israeli strike on Hezbollah headquarters on September 27, that levelled several buildings, on September 28, 2024. (Anwar Amro/AFP)
In a statement, the IDF says that alongside Nasrallah, the commander of Hezbollah’s so-called Southern Front, Ali Karaki, was also killed, along with other commanders.
Nasrallah was targeted while at Hezbollah’s main headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh.
The headquarters is underground, beneath residential buildings in the Dahiyeh, the IDF says.
“The strike was carried out while the top brass of Hezbollah were at their headquarters and engaged in coordinating terror activities against the citizens of the State of Israel,” the military says.
IDF says Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in Beirut 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)
The IDF announces that Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed in yesterday’s airstrike in Beirut.
Surface-to-surface missile shot down over northern Israel, 10 rockets fired at Safed
A surface-to-surface missile launched from Lebanon was shot down by Israeli air defenses over northern Israel half an hour ago, the IDF says.
The incident set off sirens in numerous towns across northern Israel.
A short while later, a barrage of 10 rockets was fired at the Safed area. The IDF says some of the rockets were intercepted.
???????? יירוט טיל הקרקע-קרקע בשמי הגליל pic.twitter.com/VldMGTgF8h
— Gera. Belik ( גרשון ) (@gershon27) September 28, 2024
IDF calling up 3 reserve battalions to West Bank area
The IDF is calling up three reserve battalions for activities in the Central Command, largely responsible for the West Bank area.
The military says the move was made following a fresh assessment, and the reservists will be deployed to carry out “operational missions and bolstering defenses” in the Central Command.
IDF says it hit dozens of Hezbollah sites in south Lebanon, Beqaa Valley
Smoke billows from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted villages near Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbeck in the Beqaa valley on September 28, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Israeli fighter jets hit dozens of Hezbollah targets in the Beqaa Valley and in southern Lebanon in the past two hours, the IDF says.
The sites included buildings where weapons were stored and rocket launchers aimed at Israel, according to the military.
Additional strikes are ongoing, the IDF adds.
Rocket warning sirens sound in dozens of communities in northern Israel
Rocket warning sirens are sounding in dozens of communities in northern Israel.
Sirens are sounding in parts of Haifa and across the Galilee.
???? Rocket Alert [09:35:15] (37):
• אזור תעשייה טמרה
• HaAmakim — Hoshaya, Tzippori, Mashhad, Alon HaGalil, Kfar Kana, Tziporit Industrial Zone, Nof HaGalil, HaSollelim
• Upper Galilee — Afek, Acco – Industrial Zone
• HaMifratz — Kiryat Atta
Population: 262,000 pic.twitter.com/bZuLUvaiDe— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 28, 2024
Part of rocket from Lebanon fell on Palestinian home in West Bank, no injuries
Part of a rocket fired from Lebanon toward the northern West Bank earlier this morning fell on a Palestinian home in the town of Hawara, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
There were no reports of injuries.
השיגור לשומרון:
לפי הפלסטינים, חלקי רקטה נפלו בבית בכפר חווארה pic.twitter.com/1ylntzWjZi— Carmel Dangor כרמל דנגור (@carmeldangor) September 28, 2024
Five rockets fired at Jezreel Valley, most intercepted
A barrage of five rockets was launched from Lebanon at the Jezreel Valley a short while ago, setting off sirens in several towns east of Haifa.
The IDF says some of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses. There are no reports of injuries.
IDF says head of Hamas in southern Syria killed in airstrike
The head of a Hamas network in southern Syria was killed in an airstrike overnight, the IDF says.
Ahmed Muhammad Fahd, according to the military, was responsible for directing attacks on troops and against the country, mostly with rocket fire on the Golan Heights.
“Fahad was eliminated while he was planning to carry out another terror attack in the immediate time frame,” the IDF says.
The strike was carried out by fighter jets in southern Syria overnight.
Missile from Lebanon explodes in open area in central Israel, no injuries
A surface-to-surface missile launched from Lebanon struck an open area in central Israel a short while ago, the IDF says.
Sirens did not sound in any towns, according to protocol as the missile was heading for an open area, the military adds.
The missile apparently landed in the sea, though the IDF says further details are under investigation.
Residents of central Israel, including in the Tel Aviv area, reported hearing a loud blast, apparently from the missile impact.
There are no reports of injuries.
Hezbollah claims rocket attacks on northern Israel
Hezbollah claims responsibility for rocket fire earlier this morning on northern Israel, but the terror group appears to have missed its intended target.
In a statement, its first today, the terror group says it launched a barrage of Fadi-1 rockets at Kibbutz Kabri in the Western Galilee.
Despite Hezbollah’s claims, no sirens sounded in Kabri this morning. 10 rockets were launched toward the Safed area this morning, and one long-range projectile landed in the central West Bank, according to the IDF.
Five more rockets were launched at areas deep within northern Israel moments before Hezbollah’s announcement, but none of them were aimed at Kabri.
נצרת pic.twitter.com/1LWkida5LZ
— Gera. Belik ( גרשון ) (@gershon27) September 28, 2024
IDF says 5 rockets fired at northern Israel, most intercepted
Five rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel a short while ago, setting off sirens across northern Israel.
Alerts were activated in numerous towns in the Galilee, Jezreel Valley and Wadi Ara as a result of the rocket fire.
The IDF says most of the five rockets were intercepted by air defense.
New strike reported in southern Beirut
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke was seen rising from the Lebanese capital Beirut’s southern suburbs on Saturday after an apparent Israeli strike hit the area, a witness tells Reuters.
The sound of a blast was heard across Beirut.
Lebanon says hospitals in southern Beirut being evacuated
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanon’s health ministry says that hospitals in Beirut’s southern suburbs would be evacuated after heavy Israeli strikes in the area, urging hospitals in unaffected areas to stop admitting non-urgent cases.
Beirut’s southern suburbs are a known Hezbollah stronghold.
A ministry statement calls on hospitals unaffected by Israeli strikes to “stop receiving non-emergency cases until the end of next week in order to make space to receive patients from hospitals in Beirut’s southern suburbs which will be evacuated due to the developments in the aggression”. The health ministry has yet to provide an updated toll for strikes.
Rocket warning sirens sounding across northern Israel; IDF conducting wave of strikes in Lebanon
Rocket warning sirens are sounding across northern Israel.
Sirens are sounding in the Upper Galilee, in the Haifa and Carmel areas and down to the northern West Bank.
The sirens come as the IDF announces it it s carrying out a wave of strikes against Hezbollah in the Beqaa Valley.
???? Rocket Alert [08:01:09] (200):
• Center Galilee — Rumana, Hanaton, Uzeir, Moran, Bir al-Maksur, Rumat al-Heib, Dmeide, Kfar Manda, Beit Rimon, Ras al-ein, Shfaram
• הר חלוץ, תחנת רכבת כפר ברוך, חוות אירוח גורן, ינוח ג'ת, פקיעין החדשה, כסרא סמיע, חוואלד
• Samaria — Hinanit pic.twitter.com/iaWabFmK1K— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 28, 2024
IDF says West Bank sirens caused by rocket fired from Lebanon that exploded in open area
The IDF says sirens that sounded in the northern West Bank were caused by a single rocket fired at the area from Lebanon.
The rocket exploded in an open area, the IDF says.
There are no immediate reports of injuries.
Rocket warning sirens sounding in northern West Bank
Rocket warning sirens are sounding in the northern West Bank.
Sirens sound in a series of settlements including Beit El, Ofra, Talmon and Neria.
At least two Palestinians were reported wounded on Monday due to a rocket fired by Lebanon’s Hezbollah that struck the northern West Bank.
The rocket was part of a barrage of some 10 long-range projectiles that Hezbollah launched at Israel, setting off sirens in several West Bank settlements east of Tel Aviv.
???? Rocket Alert [07:34:53] (13):
• Samaria — Elei Zahav, Ofra, Ofarim, Beit El, Nachliel, Halamish, Paduel, Beit Arie, Atteret, Talmon, Horasha, Neria
• כרם רעים
Population: 15,000 pic.twitter.com/0Ig1g4V5ZP— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 28, 2024
Upper Galilee sirens were triggered by 10 rockets launched from Lebanon; no reports of injuries
After sirens were triggered in the Upper Galilee, the IDF says that it detected ten rockets launched from Lebanon.
The army says that not all of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, but there are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The IDF separately releases footage of what it says are its fighter jets targeting Hezbollah sites in Lebanon earlier tonight.
Among the targets were buildings where weapons were stored, rocket launchers aimed at Israeli towns and buildings from which Hezbollah terrorists operated.
“The IDF continues to attack, damage and degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities and infrastructure in Lebanon,” the army says.
במהלך הלילה, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר, תקפו בהכוונת פיקוד הצפון מבנים בהם אוחסנו אמצעי לחימה, משגרים שכוונו לעורף מדינת ישראל ומבנים צבאיים בהם פעלו מחבלים מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה >> pic.twitter.com/XgDgptrN08
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 28, 2024
Top EU diplomat laments failure to ‘stop’ Netanyahu
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a debate on Iran's strike against Israel, April 24, 2024, in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/ Jean-Francois Badias)
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell voices regret that no power, including the United States, can “stop” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he appears determined to continue fighting in Lebanon and Gaza.
“What we do is to put all diplomatic pressure to a ceasefire, but nobody seems to be able to stop Netanyahu, neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank,” Borrell tells a small group of journalists as he attended the UN General Assembly.
Israel has repeatedly sparred with the top EU diplomat, and Foreign Minister Israel Katz recently accused him of being antisemitic.
Borrell says he backs an initiative by France and the United States for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon, which Israel has brushed aside as it steps up strikes on Hezbollah targets, in a days-old campaign that has killed hundreds.
Borrell says Netanyahu has made clear that the Israelis “don’t stop until Hezbollah is destroyed,” much as in its nearly year-old campaign in Gaza against fellow Iranian-backed militant group Hamas.
“If the interpretation of being destroyed is the same as with Hamas, then we are going to go for a long war,” Borrell says in English.
The outgoing EU foreign affairs chief again calls for diversifying diplomacy from the United States, which has tried for months unsuccessfully to seal a truce in Gaza that would include the release of hostages.
“We cannot rely just on the US. The US tried several times; they didn’t succeed,” he says.
“I don’t see them ready to start again a negotiation process that could lead to another Camp David,” he says, referring to the 2000 talks at the US presidential retreat in which Bill Clinton unsuccessfully sought to broker a landmark deal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
IDF says it’s again striking Hezbollah targets in Beirut after ordering evacuation
The IDF tweets that it is again striking Hezbollah targets in Beirut.
An hour ago, the IDF directed Lebanese civilians to evacuate from several buildings in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, a known Hezbollah stronghold.
Airstrikes have continued almost nonstop tonight in Lebanon following a strike that targeted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
IDF conducts fresh wave of strikes in Beqaa Valley
The IDF tweets that it just finished conducting another series of strikes against Hezbollah sites, this time in the Beqaa Valley deep in Lebanese territory.
An hour earlier, IDF fighter jets struck other Hezbollah targets in Beirut, including munitions production sites, buildings where advanced munitions were stored and a command center, the army said.
PM after Nasrallah strike: Our enemies thought we were like a spider web, but we have tendons of steel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to address Israel’s strike in Beirut targeting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“Our enemies thought we were like a spider web. That’s what one of them used to say,” Netanyahu says at a Shabbat event shortly before his departure from New York.
Nasrallah has repeatedly referred to Israel as a spider web, destined to disappear.
“What spider web are they talking about? We have tendons of steel — both of will and power,” Netanyahu says.
“We are fighting for existence. There is no exaggeration here,” he continues.
“The people of Israel live, and when they need to, they also kick. Today we kicked properly, but not just today. And we will continue to do so. We want to continue the eternity of Israel, and we are committed to the victory of Israel,” Netanyahu says before expressing his wish for a “relatively quiet Shabbat.”
נתניהו התייחס לתקיפה בדאחייה בקבלת שבת במלונו: "האויבים שלנו חשבו שאנחנו קורי עכביש, כך אחד מהם נהג לומר. עם ישראל חי"
(פורסם אצל יובל שגב, גל"צ)@nathanguttman pic.twitter.com/DTP93pkTf3— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 27, 2024
For second time in hours, IDF urges civilians to move away from several sites in Hezbollah stronghold
The IDF is again calling on Lebanese civilians near several buildings in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, a known Hezbollah stronghold, to evacuate immediately.
This is the second time tonight that Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, is making such an announcement.
In the previous one, the IDF published maps showing which sites would be targeted. This time Adraee suffices with describing the buildings that will be hit in two separate neighborhoods.
“We will continue operating to precisely dismantle Hezbollah’s offensive capabilities. Hezbollah has strategically embedded weapons in civilian areas, putting Lebanese civilians at risk in order to harm Israeli civilians,” the IDF says in a statement.
“Our war is with Hezbollah, not the people of Lebanon,” the army adds, echoing a statement it has used when describing its operations in Gaza — that its devastating war is not with Gazan civilians, rather Hamas, which carried out the October 7 onslaught.
IDF says it killed commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unite in south Lebanon strike
A recent Israeli airstrike in Lebanon killed the commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit in southern Lebanon and other commanders, the IDF says.
Muhammed Ismail, the commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit in southern Lebanon, his deputy Hussein Ismail, and other commanders were killed in the strike.
The military does not detail when or where the strike took place.
The Hezbollah rocket and missile commander was responsible for numerous attacks on Israel amid the war, including Wednesday’s ballistic missile fire at Tel Aviv, according to the IDF.
IDF says it targeted Hezbollah arms storage sites in Tyre; rockets fired from Lebanon at Safed
The IDF says it has completed a wave of airstrikes against buildings in southern Lebanon’s Tyre where Hezbollah had stored weapons.
Numerous buildings were hit in the strikes, according to the military.
Meanwhile, a barrage of three rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Safed area a short while ago, setting off sirens in the city.
At least two of the rockets were shot down by air defenses, the IDF says. There were no reports of injuries in the attack.
The military says that fighter jets struck the launchers used in the attack a short while later.
Iranian FM says US ‘complicit’ in Israeli strike on Hezbollah command post in Beirut
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi asserts Israel used several US “bunker buster” bombs to strike Tehran-backed Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut on Friday, accusing Washington of “complicity” in Israeli strikes in Gaza and Lebanon.
“Just this morning, the Israeli regime used several 5,000-pound bunker busters that had been gifted to them by the United States to hit residential areas in Beirut,” he tells a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East.
“One cannot disregard the US complicity in the crime.”
Rocket alerts sound in Safed, Rosh Pina and other nearby towns
Incoming rocket sirens are activated in Safed, Rosh Pina and other northern Israeli communities.
IDF launches wave of strikes on southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre
The IDF announces that it is carrying out a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon’s southern coastal city of Tyre.
It says further details will be provided later.
غارات عنيفة على مدينة صور جنوب لبنان pic.twitter.com/zMfXtjt64Y
— Ali Bk (@Bk_Hanas) September 27, 2024
IDF: Dozens of Hezbollah rocket launchers, weapons storage sites hit in tonight’s strikes
Dozens of Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon and buildings used by the terror group to store weapons were struck by Israeli fighter jets this evening, the IDF says.
IDF plans to intensify strikes on Hezbollah assets in Beirut, expects complex days ahead
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, September 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
The Israeli military plans to ramp up its strikes on Hezbollah assets in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
Earlier this evening, the IDF said it was striking three buildings in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut where Hezbollah stored Iranian anti-ship missiles. Other Hezbollah sites will also be hit in the Dahiyeh, military sources say.
An Iranian man raises a picture of Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah during an anti-Israel protest in Tehran on September 27, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
It comes after the military carried out massive airstrikes on Hezbollah’s main headquarters in the Dahiyeh earlier on Friday, in an attack that targeted Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said earlier this evening that the military is still looking into the results of its strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, and would not be drawn on whether Nasrallah was killed. “We will update as soon as we know. Our strike was very accurate,” he said.
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)
Until now, IDF strikes in Beirut had been “targeted assassinations” of top Hezbollah commanders. The latest strikes have been larger, and aimed at taking out infrastructure, along with top officials.
The coming days are expected to be complex, the military has assessed.
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.
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.
Nasrallah unreachable after Israeli strike — source close to terror group
BEIRUT — Hezbollah’s head Hassan Nasrallah was unreachable following Israel’s strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday evening, a source close to the Lebanese armed group tells Reuters.
Hours after the strikes, Hezbollah hasn’t made a statement on the fate of Nasrallah.
Rescuers stand outside a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 27, 2024. (AFP)
A source close to Hezbollah told Reuters earlier that Nasrallah was alive and Iran’s Tasnim news agency also reported he was safe. A senior Iranian security official told Reuters Tehran was checking his status.
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