Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday warned that his group would "fight without restraint" if Israel wages war on Lebanon. Nasrallah's address came a day after Hamas deputy Saleh al-Arouri was assassinated in a surgical strike in a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut. Amid fears of a regional spillover of Israel's war against Hamas, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called for restraint and urged "all parties to cease their fire". Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
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Summary:
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Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah condemned on Wednesday the "blatant Israeli attack" that killed Hamas deputy Saleh al-Arouri in the suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday. He warned his group would "fight without restraint" if Israel wages war on Lebanon.
- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Wednesday called for restraint and urged "all parties to cease their fire" after the killing of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in a Beirut suburb on Tuesday evening.
- Arouri's death has sparked fears of a wider regional conflict, with Iran's state media saying the killing will ignite the resistance against Israel. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the killing and said it "aims to draw Lebanon" further into the war. French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to avoid escalation, "particularly in Lebanon".
- Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at the Hague to contest South Africa's genocide accusations over the war with Hamas in Gaza, an Israeli government spokesman said on Tuesday.
- Israeli officials say 1,139 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, among them 695 Israeli civilians including 36 children. At least 22,313 people have been killed and 57,296 injured in Israel's ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
Yesterday's key developments
- Hamas deputy head Saleh al-Arouri was killed on Tuesday evening by an Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs, according to the group's Al Aqsa TV station.
- The head of the World Health Organisation on Tuesday said he deplored strikes on the Palestine Red Crescent Society headquarters in Gaza, branding the strikes "unconscionable".
- The US State Department on Tuesday condemned recent statements from Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir that advocated for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza, calling the rhetoric "inflammatory and irresponsible."
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.
The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP, Reuters)
