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Just hours before an agreed ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah comes into force, the Israeli army on Wednesday ordered the evacuation of residents in areas of central Beirut and the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, indicating a strike was imminent.
“Urgent warning to residents of the Beirut area,” army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a post on X, telling people in the Bachoura area in the city centre to leave, as well as “all residents in the southern suburb area”, specifically in Ghobeiry.
Updated
UN secretary-general António Guterres has welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
In a statement issued through his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, Guterres said “he hopes that this agreement can put an end to the violence, destruction and suffering the people of both countries have been experiencing.”
Separately, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, called the agreement a pivotal moment to restore safety and security for civilians on both sides of the Blue Line.
“This agreement marks the starting point of a critical process, anchored in the full implementation of resolution 1701 (2006),” she said in a statement.
The Security Council resolution, adopted in the aftermath of the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, calls for a cessation of hostilities as well as respect for the “Blue Line” of separation between Israeli and Lebanese armed forces.
Hennis-Plasschaert stressed that selective adherence to the resolution would no longer suffice.
Updated
French President Emmanuel Macron said that a ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Lebanon should “open the path” for an ending of the war in Gaza.
“This agreement should open the path for a ceasefire too long awaited with regards to the incomparable suffering of the population in Gaza,” Macron said in a video posted on X.
He added that it “shows that only political courage can provide everyone in the Middle East long-term peace and stability”.
Updated
Hezbollah says it launched drones at 'sensitive military targets' in Tel Aviv
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it launched drones at “sensitive military targets” in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening, after deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut and as news of a ceasefire deal was announced, AFP reports.
“In response to the targeting of the capital Beirut and the massacres committed by the Israeli enemy against civilians,” Hezbollah launched “drones at a group of sensitive military targets in the city of Tel Aviv and its suburbs”, the Iran-backed group said in a statement.
Summary of the day so far
It’s 1am in Tel Aviv, Beirut and Gaza. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Joe Biden, the US president, announced a highly anticipated ceasefire to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. In remarks from the White House Rose Garden, Biden hailed the “historic” deal and said it was designed to be a “permanent cessation of hostilities”. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, who helped broker the ceasefire, is also expected to speak.
The 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah will go into effect at 4am local time (0200GMT) on Wednesday. The US is expected to be a key security guarantor of the deal. American troops will not be committed to the Israel-Lebanon border but the US, France and its allies will provide the “necessary assistance” to ensure the deal is implemented “fully and effectively,” Biden said.
Under the deal’s terms, Israel will withdraw entirely from southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah will move its heavy weaponry north of the Litani River, about 16 miles (25km) north of the border. During a 60-day transition phase, the Lebanese army will deploy to the buffer border zone alongside the existing UN peacekeeping force. Longstanding border disputes will be discussed after the 60-day withdrawal period.
Importantly for Israel, Hezbollah dropped its demand that a ceasefire in Lebanon was contingent on ending the fighting in Gaza. The Israel-Hezbollah deal will not have any direct effect on the fighting in Gaza, where US efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have not led to a deal. “Just as the Lebanese people deserve a future of security and prosperity, so do the people of Gaza,” Biden said during his address on Tuesday. Asked if he would be able to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza before leaving office, Biden crossed his fingers and replied: “I think so. I hope so. I’m praying.”
Biden issued a joint statement with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, pledging that both countries will work with Israel and Lebanon to ensure the agreement is “fully implemented and enforced”. “This announcement will create the conditions to restore lasting calm and allow residents in both countries to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line,” the two leaders said.
Biden’s announcement came after Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, endorsed the ceasefire after his full cabinet approved the deal. Israel’s national security cabinet voted to approve the deal by 10-1, according to the prime minister’s office. The far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he opposed the agreement, calling it a “historical mistake” but did not threaten to withdraw from Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.
Netanyahu said Israel would retain “complete military freedom of action” and would respond “forcefully” if Hezbollah violated the agreement. In televised remarks after the Israeli security cabinet voted on the proposal, Netanyahu said that there were three reasons to pursue a ceasefire: to focus on the threat from Iran; replenish depleted arms supplies and rest tired reservists; and to isolate Hamas.
Lebanon’s prime minister, Najib Mikati, welcomed the ceasefire deal, describing it as a “fundamental step towards restoring calm and stability”. Mikati thanked the US and France for their involvement, and reiterated his government’s commitment to “strengthen the army’s presence in the south”.
News of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal was welcomed by world leaders. The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, called for the ceasefire to be turned into “a lasting political solution”, adding that Britain and its allies will continue to be at the “forefront of efforts to break the ongoing cycle of violence” to achieve a “long-term, sustainable” peace in the Middle East. The president of the EU commission, Ursula von der Leyen, described it as “very encouraging news”.
Israeli airstrikes continued to pound Beirut even as Biden announced the ceasefire deal late on Tuesday. With just a few hours to go until the ceasefire went into effect, Israel’s military issued more evacuation warnings for Beirut’s southern suburbs. Several airstrikes were reported in Beirut.
Israeli airstrikes struck central Beirut earlier on Tuesday as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a flurry of evacuation warnings that sent large numbers of people fleeing to safer areas. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 10 people in central Beirut on Tuesday, Lebanon’s health ministry said. At least seven people were killed and 37 others injured after Israel launched attacks on 20 targets on the Lebanese capital in just 120 seconds, it said.
At least 3,823 people have been killed and 15,859 others wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since October of last year, according to the Lebanese health ministry on Tuesday. The latest figures include 55 people killed and 160 injured in strikes on Monday alone, the ministry said.
At least 13 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing medics. Dozens of people were also wounded in the strike that hit the Al-Hurreya School in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, medics said. Separately, seven people were killed during an Israeli airstrike on a house also in the Zeitoun area, and an Israeli strike killed at least one man in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, Reuters said.
Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said it should occupy the Gaza Strip and halve its Palestinian population by the “encouragement of voluntary emigration”. “We can and must conquer the Gaza Strip. We should not be afraid of that word,” Smotrich said at an event late on Monday.
Updated
Three killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon-Syria border - reports
Israeli strikes late on Tuesday targeted Lebanon’s three northern border crossings with Syria for the first time, Lebanon’s transport minister Ali Hamieh told Reuters.
The strikes came moments after the US president, Joe Biden, announced that a ceasefire in Lebanon would come into effect at 4am local time (0200 GMT) on Wednesday.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that two soldiers were killed as a result of an Israeli strike at the Dabussiyeh crossing.
In addition, Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on the Al-Arida crossing killed “one person”, Agence-France-Presse reported.
Syria’s state-run news agency Sana reported that Israeli strikes targeted the northern crossings between Syria and Lebanon.
Ten people were injured, including three critically, in the Israeli strike on the Al-Arida crossing, Reuters reported, citing Syrian state TV.
With just a few hours to go until the ceasefire in Lebanon goes into effect, Israel’s military issued more evacuation warnings for Beirut’s southern suburbs ahead of expected airstrikes.
#عاجل إلى جميع السكان المتواجدين في منطقة الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا في المباني المحددة في الخرائط المرفقة والمباني المجاورة لها في المناطق التالية:
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 26, 2024
🔸برج البراجنة
🔸الغبيري
⭕️أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على المدى الزمني… pic.twitter.com/Mcqxed0Ha5
A senior Biden administration said the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah “has the potential to be a gamechanger”.
The official, in a call with reporters following Joe Biden’s televised address, said the agreement was the result of a “long process of negotiations” over the past few months, “with significant intensity over the last several weeks”.
The Biden administration official said they began to feel during mid to late October that there was a “change in attitude” from both sides, which came from the “realisation … that the battlefield is not going to be final answer”.
Lebanon's prime minister says ceasefire a 'fundamental step’ towards regional stability
Lebanon’s prime minister, Najib Mikati, has welcomed a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah during a call with the US president, Joe Biden, on Tuesday.
A series of posts on X from Mikati described the proposal as a “fundamental step towards restoring calm and stability in Lebanon and enabling displaced persons to return to their towns and cities”.
He thanked the US and France for their involvement, and reiterated his government’s commitment to “strengthen the army’s presence in the south”. Mikati said:
While I value the joint efforts of the United States and France in reaching this understanding, I reaffirm the government’s commitment to implementing UN security council Resolution 1701, enhancing the presence of the Lebanese Army in the South, and cooperating with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil).
Updated
The president of the EU commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has described the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire to go into effect on Wednesday as “very encouraging news”.
She said the news was encouraging “first and foremost for the Lebanese and Israeli people affected by the fighting”.
“Lebanon will have an opportunity to increase internal security and stability thanks to Hezbollah’s reduced influence,” she posted to X.
Starmer calls for 'long overdue' ceasefire deal to become 'lasting political solution'
The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, has welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, calling for the deal to be turned into “a lasting political solution”.
A statement from Starmer reads:
Today’s long overdue ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah will provide some measure of relief to the civilian populations of Lebanon and northern Israel, who have suffered unimaginable consequences during the last few months of devastating conflict and bloodshed.
Now this deal must be turned into a lasting political solution in Lebanon, based on Security Council Resolution 1701, that will allow civilians to return permanently to their homes and for communities on both sides of the border to rebuild.
He said the UK and its allies will continue to be at the “forefront of efforts to break the ongoing cycle of violence” to achieve a “long-term, sustainable” peace in the Middle East, adding:
We must see immediate progress towards a ceasefire deal in Gaza, the release of all hostages and the removal of restrictions on desperately needed humanitarian aid.
Israel’s president, Issac Herzog, has thanked Joe Biden and his administration for its “unwavering” support of Israel and for “tirelessly working” to reach a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.
Herzog, posting to X, said the Israeli security cabinet’s decision to approve the deal is “correct and important”, adding that “it must be clear the state of Israel will defend its citizens, any place, any way”.
Israeli airstrikes target Beirut as Biden announces ceasefire agreement
Israel’s military launched airstrikes on Beirut on Tuesday just as the US president, Joe Biden, said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire deal.
Three explosions were heard in Beirut, according to multiple reports. Associated Press is reporting at least one Israeli airstrike shook the Lebanese capital late on Tuesday.
The US and French presidents, Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron, have issued a joint statement announcing a ceasefire deal in Lebanon.
“Today, after many weeks of tireless diplomacy, Israel and Lebanon have accepted a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon,” the statement reads.
Today’s announcement will cease the fighting in Lebanon and “secure Israel from the threat of Hezbollah”, Macron and Biden said.
This announcement will create the conditions to restore lasting calm and allow residents in both countries to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.
The two leaders said the US and France will work with Israel and Lebanon to ensure the agreement is “fully implemented and enforce”.
“We remain determined to prevent this conflict from becoming another cycle of violence,” they said.
US president Joe Biden, after his remarks at the White House’s Rose Garden, was asked by a reporter if he would be able to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza before leaving office.
“I think so. I hope so. I’m praying,” Biden responded, per pool report. He was pictured crossing his fingers.
Israeli security cabinet voted 10-1 to approve ceasefire deal
Israel’s national security cabinet voted to approve a ceasefire deal in Lebanon by 10-1, according to the prime minister’s office.
The only member of the security cabinet to vote against the deal was Itamar Ben-Gvir, the extremist national security minister who earlier called the deal a “historic mistake”.
Biden says today’s announcement brings the world closer to realising his vision for a future of the Middle East in which Israelis and Palestinians can enjoy “equal measures of security, prosperity and dignity”, and where Palestinians “have a state of their own”.
The US remains prepared to conclude a set of “historic” deals with Saudi Arabia to include a security pact and economic assurances, Biden says.
He says the US also remains committed to creating a “credible pathway” for establishing a Palestinian state and the full normalisation of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Achieving this will require some “hard choices”, Biden says.
Israel must be bold in turning tactical gains against Iran and its proxies into a coherent strategy that secures Israel’s long term safety, and advances a broader peace and prosperity in the region.
He adds that he applauds the decision made by leaders of Lebanon and Israel to end the violence, adding that it is reminds us that “peace is possible”.
Biden says he will continue to push for Gaza ceasefire
Biden says that if Hezbollah or any other party breaks the ceasefire deal, then Israel retains the right to self-defence “consistent with international law”.
The US president says the agreement “heralds a new start for Lebanon”.
“Just as the Lebanese people deserve a future of security and prosperity, so do the people of Gaza,” Biden says.
People of Gaza have been through hell, their world is absolutely shattered.
He says Hamas has refused for months to negotiate a good faith ceasefire and hostage deal, and says Hamas “has a choice to make”.
Hamas’s “only way out” is to release the remaining hostages and bring an end to the fighting, which would allow humanitarian relief into Gaza, he says.
Over the coming days, the United States will make another push for Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
Ceasefire deal effective from Wednesday 'designed to be permanent cessation of hostilities', says Biden
Biden says that under the deal reached today, the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah along the Lebanese-Israeli border will end effective at 4am local time on Wednesday.
“This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” the US president says.
What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel.
Over the next 60 days, the Lebanese army and state security forces will deploy and take control of their own territory, he says.
Israel will also gradually withdraw its remaining forces over the next 60 days, he says, so that civilians on both sides can return to their communities and begin to rebuild their lives.
The US, with the full support of France and allies, will work with Israel and Lebanon to ensure that this arrangement is “fully” implemented, Biden says.
We, along with France and others, will provide the necessary assistance to make sure this deal is implemented fully and effectively.
Updated
Biden: Israel and Lebanon accept ceasefire deal
The US president, Joe Biden, has begun speaking from the White House’s Rose Garden.
Biden says the governments of Israel and Lebanon have accepted a US proposal to end the “devastating” conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
He says he wants to thank his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, for his partnership in reaching this moment.
Updated
Sirens have sounded in northern Israel following long-range rocket fire from Lebanon, according to Israeli reports.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said three missiles launched from Lebanon were successfully intercepted by air defences a short while ago, the Times of Israel is reporting.
ActionAid has said reports that Israel has agreed to a temporary ceasefire deal for Lebanon is “not an acceptable long-term solution to the crisis”.
The announcement offers “temporary relief” for the millions of civilians caught in the conflict in Lebanon but it is not enough, the group said in a statement on Tuesday.
Are people in Lebanon now to live in limbo until bombs start dropping on their homes again? A permanent ceasefire is the only way to end the suffering and enable people in Lebanon to rebuild their lives.
It said the Israeli government’s attacks on Lebanon have “devastated entire communities, destroying homes, killing thousands and displacing countless families.”
“Crucially, we are still no closer to a ceasefire in Gaza,” ActionAid said.
Israel continues its plausible genocide in Gaza with impunity, murdering thousands of Palestinians – most of them women and children - and causing unimaginable human misery. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza in needed desperately.
Israeli minister calls for Gaza's population to be halved
Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has said it should occupy the Gaza Strip and halve its Palestinian population by the “encouragement of voluntary emigration”.
“We can and must conquer the Gaza Strip. We should not be afraid of that word,” Smotrich said at an event late on Monday organised by the Yesha Council, an umbrella group representing Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
There is no doubt that in Gaza – with the encouragement of voluntary emigration – there is here, in my opinion, a unique opportunity that is opening up with the new administration.
He said it was possible to “create a situation in which, within two years, the population of Gaza will be reduced by half.”
“It won’t cost too much money,” he added, noting that “even if it does, we should not be afraid to pay for it.”
Smotrich and fellow far-right cabinet minister, national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, previously sparked outcry in January with “voluntary transfer” plans for Gaza’s 2.4m population.
Israeli airstrikes targeted a building in a bustling commercial area of Beirut on Tuesday for the first time since the start of the 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The strike on the Hamra district was about 400 metres from Lebanon’s central bank, Associated Press reported. A separate strike hit the Mar Elias neighbourhood in the country’s capital today.
Residents in central Beirut were seen fleeing after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for four targets in the city.
Israel security minister to oppose ceasefire deal
Israel’s extremist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has said he will oppose the ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.
In a statement posted to X, he described the ceasefire agreement as a “historic mistake” but did not say that his party will quit in protest.
“This is not a ceasefire. It’s a return to the concept of silence for silence, and we have already seen where this leads,” Ben-Gvir wrote.
Updated
The death toll from an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City has risen from 10 to 13, Reuters is reporting, citing medics.
Dozens of people were also wounded in the strike that hit the Al-Hurreya School in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, medics said.
Meanwhile seven people were killed during an Israeli airstrike on a house also in the Zeitoun area, they said.
Another Israeli strike killed at least one man in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, raising the number of Palestinians killed by Israel on Tuesday to 21, Reuters said.
Lebanese prime minister demands 'immediate' implementation of ceasefire
Lebanon’s prime minister, Najib Mikati, has called on the international community to “act swiftly” and “implement an immediate ceasefire” to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Netanyahu’s address came after an intense wave of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, with health authorities reporting at least 18 killed.
At least seven people were killed and 37 others injured after Israel launched attacks on 20 targets on the Lebanese capital in just 120 seconds, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
The strikes on Beirut “reaffirms that the Israeli enemy has no regard for any law or consideration,” Mikati said in a statement posted to X.
At least 3,823 people have been killed and 15,859 others wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since October of last year, according to the Lebanese health ministry on Tuesday.
The latest figures include 55 people killed and 160 injured in strikes on Monday alone, the ministry said.
The US president, Joe Biden, will deliver remarks at 2.30pm ET (1930 GMT), the White House said shortly after Benjamin Netanyahu’s televised address.
During his speech, Netanyahu said Israel will “retain complete military freedom of action” “in full coordination with the United States”.
He added that Israel will enforce the ceasefire agreement and respond “forcefully to any violation” by Hezbollah.
Netanyahu says he will recommend his cabinet to approve Lebanon ceasefire deal
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he will recommend his cabinet approve a ceasefire deal agreement to end fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In a televised address, Netanyahu said he will put the deal to his full cabinet later on Tuesday. He said a vote was expected.
According to Israeli media, Israel’s smaller security cabinet approved the deal earlier today.
Netanyahu did not provide any details about the ceasefire deal during his address, and it was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect. Earlier Lebanese media reports said the ceasefire would go into effect on Wednesday.
Netanyahu warned that Israel will “respond forcefully to any violation” of the deal by Hezbollah. “For every violation, we will attack with might,” he said.
The ceasefire deal with Hezbollah would not affect Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu said a ceasefire with Hezbollah would further isolate Hamas in Gaza and would allow Israel to turn its focus to Iran – Hezbollah’s backer and Israel’s biggest threat in the region.
Netanyahu: Israel will react 'forcefully' if Hezbollah breaches ceasefire agreement
Netanyahu says that if Hezbollah breaches the ceasefire deal by rearming itself and attacking, then Israel will react "very forcefully”.
The Israeli prime minister says there are three main reasons as to why this is the right time for a ceasefire agreement. He says that the deal means that Israel can focus on the “Iranian threat”.
The deal also allows Israel to “refresh” and “rearm” its troops, Netanyahu says, adding that “it’s no secret” that there have been “big delays” in the supply of weapons.
Soon, we will arm ourselves with sophisticated weapons that will help us protect our troops and give us even greater force to complete our missions.
The third reason, he says, is to isolate Hamas. “Hamas was counting on Hezbollah fighting together and once Hezbollah is eliminated, Hamas is left alone,” he says.
Our pressure on Hamas will grow stronger, and this will help us … in bringing back our hostages.
Netanyahu says the duration of the ceasefire “depends on what happens in Lebanon”.
He says Israel has an “understanding” with the US, and that it will maintain its “full liberty to take military operations if Hezbollah tries to attack us”.
If Hezbollah tries to attack us, if it arms itself and rebuilds infrastructure near the border – we will attack. If they launch missiles, if they dig big tunnels – we will attack.
Netanyahu says Hezbollah is “not the same Hezbollah anymore” and that Israel has pushed the group “decades back”.
The Israeli leader says Hassan Nasrallah, “the head of the snake”, has been killed as has “all of the leaders” of Hezbollah.
We’ve destroyed most of the rockets and missiles. We’ve killed thousands of terrorists, and we destroyed the underground and terrorist infrastructure near our borders.
He says that all of this “sounded like science fiction” just three months ago, but “we made it.”
Netanyahu says he is “determined’ to keep Israel’s soldiers alive and safe.
“That’s why tonight, I will bring before the cabinet a plan for a cease fire in Lebanon,” he says.
Updated
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has started delivering a statement following a meeting of his security cabinet on an expected ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.
Netanyahu says Israel will “guarantee” that Gaza will no longer be a “threat” and vows to return the residents of the northern parts of Israel safely back to their homes.
“The war will not end until we obtain all of [our goals],” Netanyahu says.
Updated
Israeli cabinet approves Lebanon ceasefire deal - report
Israel’s cabinet has approved a ceasefire deal in its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Reuters is reporting, citing Israel’s Channel 12.
The country’s security cabinet met earlier on Tuesday to vote on the ceasefire proposal.
Updated
Here’s more from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who, speaking at a G7 gathering near Rome, a little earlier said that ceasefire talks between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon were in the “final stages”.
Blinken said that after months of “intensive diplomatic effort” with partners including France, working with Lebanon and Israel, he hoped to reach a conclusion “very soon”, AFP reports.
It will make a big difference in saving lives and livelihoods in Lebanon and in Israel. It will make a big difference in creating the conditions that will allow people to return to their home safely in northern Israel and in southern Lebanon,” he said.
Blinken also believes there is, therefore, a renewed optimism to be had about a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza, following the attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that was lead by the Hamas group that controls the besieged Palestinian territory.
Blinken added:
And I also believe that by de-escalating tensions in the region, it can also help us to end the conflict in Gaza in particular. Hamas will know that it can’t count on other fronts opening up in the war. So we’re tracking this very closely, and I hope and believe that we can get this over the finish line.”
Hamas and Hezbollah are powerful proxies of Iran in the Middle East. Both are categorized as terrorist organizations by the United States.
The authorities and residents in Beirut are scrambling to find victims in the rubble of destroyed buildings after Israeli air strikes on the city and, again, on its southern suburbs today. Here are some images coming through on the international news wires.
Israel sent its fighter jets north to the heart of the Lebanese capital, to strike Beirut today.
Hezbollah politician Amin Sherri, speaking to reporters at the scene of an Israeli air strike on Beirut, accused Israel of “seeking revenge on supporters of the resistance and on all Lebanese” ahead of a possible ceasefire, Agence France-Presse reports.
Smoke and fire has been seen billowing up over Beirut as, on the ground, people confront decimated buildings.
The Lebanese army, the official armed forces of the state, where the more powerful Hezbollah is the main power broker but not the official government, is expected to be used as the enforcer within Lebanon of any ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, back by the Lebanese authorities.
Lebanon ceasefire talks 'in final stages’ - US's Blinken
The US secretary of state Antony Blinken moments ago said that efforts to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon were “in the final stages”.
Blinken also said that any such deal to halt the conflict between Israel and its enemy and Lebanon’s main power broker, Hezbollah, could also help to bring an end to Israel’s war in Gaza, too.
“We’re not there yet, but I believe we are in the final stages…by de-escalating tensions in the region, it can also help us to end the conflict in Gaza,” Blinken told reporters after a meeting in Fiuggi, near the Italian capital city of Rome, where he is with his Group of Seven (G7) counterparts.
Updated
At least 10 killed in Israeli bombardment of central Beirut
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 10 people in central Beirut on Tuesday, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
This follows the first-ever Israeli evacuation orders issued for the area, Reuters reports.
A little earlier, the Associated Press said at least 37 people had also been injured, also citing the health ministry. These figures will be updated as more news emerges.
Israeli warplanes bombed the center of Lebanese capital as well as its southern suburbs today – a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on the militant group Hezbollah in the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold, AP said.
Hezbollah resumed its rocket fire into Israel, triggering air raid sirens across the country’s north, as the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was meeting with his security Cabinet to discuss a proposed ceasefire.
Israel’s evacuation orders for central Beirut on Tuesday has led to chaotic scenes in the Lebanese capital as large numbers of people attempt to flee to safer areas.
The Israeli military issued a flurry of warnings for many areas, including areas in Beirut that have not been targeted throughout the war, like the commercial Hamra district, where many people displaced by the war have been staying.
In areas close to Hamra, families including women and children were seen running away toward the Mediterranean Sea’s beaches carrying their belongings, Associated Press reported.
Traffic was completely gridlocked as people tried to get away, honking their car horns as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead, it said.
At least 10 Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on school in Gaza City, say medics
An Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 Palestinians at a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, medics said on Tuesday.
Dozens of people were also wounded in the Israeli strike that hit the Al-Hurreya School in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, one of the oldest suburbs of Gaza City, Reuters reported.
As we reported earlier, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said at least 11 civilians were killed and dozens injured in the Israeli strike.
A young man was also killed in an Israeli drone strike on Beit Hanoun, north of the Gaza Strip, it said.
A joint statement by G7 foreign ministers has called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Lebanon.
“We support the ongoing negotiation for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah,” the ministers said, adding: “Now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement.”
Netanyahu to deliver remarks on ceasefire agreeement at 8pm local time
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will deliver a speech at 8pm local time (1pm ET), his office has said.
Israeli warplanes struck central Beirut and the city’s southern suburbs on Tuesday, raising palls of smoke over the Lebanese capital.
Here’s a clip:
Israel’s military said 10 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel on Tuesday, triggering sirens in the port city of Haifa and other areas.
Israel strikes central Beirut after issuing evacuation warnings for first time - report
Israel has launched airstrikes on central Beirut, a security source told Reuters, just shortly after evacuation warnings were issued within the Lebanese capital for the first time.
Israel’s Arabic language military spokesperson published maps showing specific buildings in central Beirut, warning residents to leave the areas immediately.
#عاجل انذار عاجل إلى السكان المتواجدين في منطقة بيروت وتحديدًا لكل من يتواجد في المباني المحددة بالأحمر وفق ما يعرض في الخرائط المرفقة والمباني المجاورة لها في المناطق التالية:
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 26, 2024
🔸راس بيروت
🔸المزرعة
🔸مصيطبة
🔸زقاق البلاط
⭕️أنتم متواجدون بالقرب من منشآت تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيشن… pic.twitter.com/MtTfkxvFY7
Israel’s security cabinet has started discussing a proposed ceasefire deal in its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, an Israeli official has told Agence-France-Presse.
The meeting is taking place in Tel Aviv, the official in Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
An announcement on a ceasefire agreement is expected later today.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It’s just past 5.30pm in Tel Aviv, Beirut and Gaza. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Israel’s security cabinet is expected to discuss a proposed ceasefire in its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon on Tuesday. The meeting is expected to last a number of hours. According to Lebanese media reports, the ceasefire will be announced at 10pm local time this evening (8pm GMT / 3pm ET) and come into effect the following morning at 10am local time (8am GMT). Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, is also expected to make a statement.
The ceasefire deal is believed to involve Hezbollah pulling its forces north of the Litani River, creating a buffer zone between Israel and Hezbollah inside Lebanon, which is to be policed by the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers. An Israeli government spokesperson said the agreement will maintain Israel’s freedom of operation to act in defence to remove Hezbollah’s threat, and enable the safe return of the residents of the north of Israel to their homes.
Lebanon’s foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, said the army would be ready to have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdraw. But some community leaders in the north of Israel have expressed anger at the proposal, saying it does not go far enough in protecting them from the threat of a Hezbollah incursion into Israel in the future. Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right interior security minister, has said a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah would be a “historical missed opportunity”.
Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday, just hours before Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet was expected to meet to discuss a ceasefire agreement. Israeli strikes smashed more of Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs as its air force said it was “attacking terrorist targets of Hezbollah in the Beirut area on a large scale.”
Israel issued its biggest evacuation warning yet prior to the latest airstrikes, telling civilians to leave 20 areas in Beirut. Lebanese news outlet Al Mayadeen described it as “an unprecedented number of warnings for the area, reflecting a deliberate effort to uproot civilian populations”.
The Israeli military said one barrage of strikes had hit 20 targets in the city in just 120 seconds. Earlier Israel had said it had struck six targets in Beirut, which it said were centres of Hezbollah activity. At least three people were killed and 26 others wounded from an Israeli strike on the Noueiri district of Beirut, Lebanon’s National news Agency reported. It reported that one strike “destroyed a four-storey building housing displaced people.”
Israel will continue to act against threats even in the event of a ceasefire agreement, Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, told the UN’s special envoy for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, on Tuesday. “We will act against any threat, anytime and anywhere,” Katz was quoted saying, as he promised that Israel would show “zero tolerance” for any breach of an agreement.
A Hezbollah official warned that Lebanon faces “dangerous, sensitive hours” before the anticipated announcement of a ceasefire. Hassan Fadlallah, who is a also a member of parliament, said the group will remain active after its war with Israel ends, including by helping displaced Lebanese return to their villages and rebuilding areas destroyed by Israeli strikes.
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, voiced concern about the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, where his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and medics. He said that at least seven paramedics had been reported killed in three Israeli strikes in the south of Lebanon on 22-23 November, adding to 226 healthcare worker deaths since 7 October last year.
Nearly a dozen people have been killed by an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City in the north of Gaza, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Earlier on Tuesday, Gaza’s health ministry raised the death toll of Palestinians killed since Israel began its military campaign against the territory to 44,249 people, with 104,746 reported injured.
A senior official at the Al-Quds hospital in Gaza said 40% of children in the south of the Gaza Strip are suffering from malnutrition. People, especially elderly people and children, are suffering from various chest diseases due to a lack of warm winter clothing, Bashar Murad said, adding that “more than 10,000 tents” have been “blown away by strong winds and rain.”
Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah official and member of parliament in Lebanon, has said the country faces “dangerous, sensitive hours.”
Speaking to Reuters, he said Hezbollah will remain active after its war with Israel ends, including by helping displaced Lebanese return to their villages and rebuilding areas destroyed by Israeli strikes.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet is expected to meet today and may approve a ceasefire, which would be announced, according to Lebanese media reports, at 10pm local time this evening (8pm GMT / 3pm ET). It would come into effect the following morning at 10am local time (8am GMT)
In the last few minutes warning sirens have again sounded in Manara in Israel’s far north-east, and in Haifa and its surrounding areas on Israel’s Mediterranean coast to the west.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that eleven people have been killed by an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City in the north of Gaza.
Earlier, the Hamas-led health authority in Gaza raised the death toll of those killed since Israel began its military campaign against the territory to 44,249 people, with 104,746 reported injured.
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires from Lebanon, where Israel has mounted a series of airstrikes during the day.
Media reports in Lebanon are suggesting that a joint US-French ceasefire announcement would be at 10pm local time (8pm GMT, 3pm ET), and that Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati is also expected to make a statement.
Reuters reports Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, has just issued a statement through his office saying that he has “approved the continuation of military offensive operations on the northern front.”
Israel has carried out a significant number of strikes on Beirut today, claiming to have targeted across the day nearly 40 of what it called Hezbollah terror targets, including financial targets.
Haaretz reports that Israel’s military says it will investigate after video emerged of Israeli soldiers filming a mock Christian wedding in a southern Lebanon church in the village of Deir Mimas.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that the death toll from an Israeli strike on the Noueiri district of Beirut has risen to three, with 26 wounded. It reports work continues to search for victims in the rubble.
In a statement Israel’s air force has said it “completed attacks on 20 terrorist targets in Beirut using eight fighter jets” over a period of 120 seconds.
“In addition,” it claimed “air force fighter jets attacked 13 Hezbollah targets in Dahieh in Beirut, under the direction of the intelligence division.”
The statement came as Reuters reported Israeli strikes pounded a densely populated part of the Lebanese capital and its southern suburbs.
Lebanon’s health ministry said in a preliminary toll that at least one person was killed when a strike on Beirut hit the Noueiri district with no evacuation warning.
Israel’s military had issued forced evacuation orders to residents in 20 locations in neighbouring Lebanon’s capital.
Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has said the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is “at a critical moment, perhaps a moment that also gives hope.”
Speaking on the sidelines of a G7 foreign minister’s meeting in Italy, Reuters reports she continued “At the same time, we know from the past few months that we cannot rely on hope alone. That is precisely why it was so important that we discussed the situation in Lebanon so intensively with our Arab partners.”
Israel launches large-scale airstrikes on Beirut hours before cabinet due to discuss ceasefire
Israel’s air force said it was carrying out large scale strikes against Hezbollah targets in Beirut, hours before Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet was expected to meet to discuss a ceasefire agreement.
Israel’s air force said it was “now attacking terrorist targets of Hezbollah in the Beirut area on a large scale.”
Beforehand Israel’s Arabic language military spokesperson had issued another series of forced evacuation notices to residents of 20 areas of Beirut, described as “an unprecedented number of warnings for the area, reflecting a deliberate effort to uproot civilian populations” by Lebanese news outlet Al Mayadeen.
Earlier Israel had said it had struck six targets in Beirut, which it said were centres of Hezbollah activity. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that one strike “destroyed a four-storey building housing displaced people.”
Avi Mayer, the former editor of the Jerusalem Post, noted that “It is not uncommon for military activity to be ramped up in advance of a suspension of hostilities in order to ensure that as many military objectives as possible can be achieved before such activity must cease.”
The Israeli cabinet is expected to meet later to discuss a ceasefire deal, which is believed to involve Hezbollah pulling its forces north of the Litani River, creating a buffer zone between Israel and Hezbollah inside Lebanon, which is to be policed by the Lebanese army and UN peacekeeprs.
Israeli government spokesperson has David Mencer told Reuters earlier that a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon will maintain Israel’s freedom of operation to act in defence to remove Hezbollah’s threat, and will enable the safe return of the residents of the north of Israel to their homes.
Israeli media reports that Israel Katz, the recently appointed Israeli defense minister, has told UN special envoy for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert that Israel will continue to act against threats, even in the event of a ceasefire agreement.
Lebanon’s foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib said he hoped a ceasefire to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah would be agreed later today, and said the Lebanese army had 5,000 troops ready to be deployed to the south of the country.
Avi Mayer, the former editor of the Jerusalem Post, has made the observation that today’s increased assault on Beirut by the Israeli air force may well indicate a ceasefire is close.
He said “It is not uncommon for military activity to be ramped up in advance of a suspension of hostilities in order to ensure that as many military objectives as possible can be achieved before such activity must cease.”
Reuters has a quick snap reporting ten simultaneous Israeli strikes on Beirut.
A live video feed of the city skyline, provided by Reuters, shows smoke drifting across the city again.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported ten minutes ago that an earlier Israeli strike on Beirut “destroyed a four-storey building housing displaced people.”
In a statement Israel’s air force has said “the air force is now attacking terrorist targets of Hezbollah in the Beirut area on a large scale.”
Sana Basim, head of programmes with Islamic Relief Lebanon, has spoken about the impact of frequent israeli airstrikes on the densely populated areas of Beirut.
She said she was an apartment around a block away from one airstrike, adding:
It was like an earthquake shaking my building, which was engulfed by debris, smoke and a chemical smell of explosives. It was terrifying.
The tension is increasing all over Beirut. The continuous Israeli bombing, the sonic booms, the constant threat of death, the congestion and uncertainty hangs on your nerves and is degrading the population here.
I saw people on the road in a bad state, psychologically disturbed. The city of Beirut is in a cycle of fear. We feel no place is safe and Israel can do anything with no accountability. The sustained attacks without warning are causing chaos, fear and horror. The conditions people are living in are bad with crowded shelters or no shelter and the temperatures are getting colder.
Israel issues another 20 forced evacuation notices to residents in areas of Beirut
Israel’s Arabic language military spokesperson has issued another series of forced evacuation notices to residents of areas of Beirut in neighbouring Lebanon.
The warnings cover 20 locations, described by the Lebanese Al Mayadeen news channel as “an unprecedented number of warnings for the area, reflecting a deliberate effort to uproot civilian populations.”
#عاجل 1/6 إلى جميع السكان المتواجدين في منطقة الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا في المباني المحددة في الخرائط المرفقة والمباني المجاورة لها في منطقة الحدث
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 26, 2024
⭕️أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع بقوة على المدى الزمني القريب
⭕️من أجل سلامتكم… pic.twitter.com/ZssawP3Mxs
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it carried out raids in the Litani River region, north of which Israel wants to push the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to protect its own population.
“The soldiers raided several terrorist targets, engaged in close-quarters combat with terrorists, located and destroyed dozens of launchers, thousands of rockets and missiles, and weapons storage facilities hidden in the mountainside,” the army said in a statement, AFP reports.
Campaigners trying to block UK sales of F-35 jet engine parts to Israel will apply for an emergency high court injunction in the light of the international criminal court issuing arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Patrick Wintour, Guardian diplomatic editor reports.
Campaigners at Global Legal Action Network (Glan) and Al-Haq say it is unconscionable British manufacturers are still selling parts that can be used to bomb Palestinians in Gaza. The government has until Friday to file a defence.
At a high court hearing on 18 November, the UK government admitted potential damage to the UK/US relationship was a factor in deciding to continue allowing some exports.
In other previous hearings the court ordered ministers to disclose the rationale for continuing to sell F-35s, at a time when they admitted Israel was breaching international law. The court was not due to hear the case again until January when an extended hearing date was due to be set.
Ministers say F-35 parts go into a general pool and it is not possible to determine which parts will be sold to the Israelis for use in Gaza. The Labour government reversed a Conservative decision to allow some arms export licences to Israel to continue. Labour found that there was a risk the arms would be used to cause serious breach of international humanitarian law.
Read the full report here :
The UN human rights chief has voiced concern about the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, where his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and medics, Reuters reports.
“UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk is gravely concerned by the escalation in Lebanon with at least 97 people reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes between the 22nd and 24th of November,” Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, told a Geneva press briefing.
He said that at least seven paramedics had been reported killed in three Israeli strikes in the south of Lebanon on Nov. 22-23, adding to 226 healthcare worker deaths since Oct. 7, 2023. He did not specify how many of the recent deaths had been verified by U.N. human rights monitors.
Israel says it targets military capabilities in Lebanon and Gaza and takes steps to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. It accuses Hezbollah, like Hamas, of hiding among civilians, which they deny.
Israel has been locked in fighting with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah since Oct. 2023, and fighting has escalated dramatically since late September of this year.
Updated
In a statement Israel’s military has claimed that on Tuesday it struck “six Hezbollah terror targets” in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Hind Khoudary has been reporting from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza for Al Jazeera. In her latest dispatch for the news network she writes:
Israeli forces are using quadcopters to shoot at any Palestinian who is moving in Jabalia or Beit Lahiya. They have also been using explosive robots on residential homes and neighbourhoods. This is the first time these explosive robots have been used this much throughout northern Gaza.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has banned Al Jazeera from operating inside Israel or the Israli-occupied West Bank.
Reuters has a quick snap that Jordan’s air force has performed a humanitarian aid drop from the air over northern Gaza for the first time in five months.
Israeli forces have again carried out airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Weather conditions in Gaza have been making conditions in the makeshift shelters people are being forced to use by Israel’s military assault even more difficult. Here are some of the latest images from Deir al-Balah.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports “dozens were killed and injured” in an Israeli strike near a bakery in northern Gaza City.
More details soon …
Israel’s military has claimed to have killed a Hezbollah commander in its strikes on Tyre in Lebanon, naming him as Ahmad Sabhi Hazima.
The IDF, in a message on its official Telegram channel, suggested he had only been in the role of “commander of Hezbollah’s operations unit in the coastal sector” for a few days, as his predecessor had been killed by Israel on 17 November.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Israeli media reports that Israel Katz, the recently appointed Israeli defense minister, has told UN special envoy for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert that Israel will continue to act against threats even in the event of a ceasefire agreement.
He is quoted as saying:
We will act against any threat, anytime and anywhere. Every house in southern Lebanon that is rebuilt and in which a terrorist base is established will be demolished, every rearming and regrouping by terrorists will be attacked, every attempt to smuggle weapons will be thwarted, and every threat to our forces or Israeli citizens will be immediately destroyed.
Katz promised that Israel would show “zero tolerance” for any breach of an agreement, saying that if UN peackeeping forces and the Lebanese army could not enforce the terms and conditions of a deal with Hezbollah then “we will. And with great force.”
Israeli official: agreement with Lebanon will maintain Israel's freedom of operation there
Israeli government spokesperson has David Mencer told Reuters that a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon will maintain Israel’s freedom of operation to act in defence to remove Hezbollah’s threat, and will enable the safe return of the residents of the north of Israel to their homes.
Lebanon’s foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib said he hoped a ceasefire to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah would be agreed later today.
It is understood that the ceasefire deal to be discussed by the Israeli cabinet later today will see Hezbollah move its forces north of the Litani River, with the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers the only armed forces allowed between the Litani River and the UN-drawn blue line that separates Israel and Lebanon.
Bou Habib said the Lebanese army would be ready to have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdraw, and that the US could play a role in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Israeli strikes.
Some community leaders in the north of Israel have expressed anger at the proposal, saying it does not go far enough in protecting them from the threat of a Hezbollah incursion into Israel in the future.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right interior security minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, has said a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah would be a “historical missed opportunity”.
These images from northern Israel show the damage in Kiryat Shmona, where a rocket has hit a residential home. There are at present no reports of any injuries.
Israel has announced the death of one soldier, and that two more have been wounded.
A 23-year-old soldier has died from wounds sustained over 13 months ago during the 7 October 2023 surprise Hamas attack inside southern Israel. The IDF said he sustained the intial injuries “during combat in the communities near the Gaza Strip.”
The IDF said that the two wounded soldiers were both hurt during duty today, one by fighting in the central Gaza Strip, and another after a drone launched from Lebanon fell in the Mount Hermon area.
Palestinian news sources are carrying claims by Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, that it is has killed and wounded some Israeli troops inside the Gaza Strip in an attack in Jabalia, by detonating a booby-trapped building. The claims have not been independently verified.
More details soon …
Warning sirens have again sounded in northern Israel.
Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires of the southern suburbs of Beirut, which have been repeatedly targeted by Israeli airstrikes in recent weeks.
Community leaders in north of Israel express anger at prospect of ceasefire deal with Hezbollah
The Times of Israel reports that local community leaders in the north of Israel have expressed anger at the prospect of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah to end hostilities in Lebanon.
Metula mayor David Azoulay reportedly told Israel’s Channel 13:
Do not surrender to terrorism. Do not make this shameful agreement. This is a sad arrangement, an agreement of surrender by the Israeli government to Hezbollah, an arm of Iran. The threat has not been removed. We will not agree to return to the reality of [a new] 7 October in the north. For as long as there is no real security here, not just a “sense of security,” we will do everything to not return.
The Times of Israel also quotes the chair of the Margaliot moshav, Eitan Davidi, who said:
We will be relying on Lebanon to guarantee our safety. Northern residents didn’t leave their homes for over a year, just to return to having Hezbollah as neighbours. The massacre in the south will pale in comparison to what will happen here.
About 60,000 Israelis have been forced to flee their homes in the north of the country due to near-constant rocket fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon. Tens of thousands of Lebanese people have also been displaced on the other side of the UN-drawn blue line that separates the two countries.
Bashar Murad, a senior official at the Al-Quds hospital in Gaza, has said that 40% of children in the south of the Gaza Strip are suffering from malnutrition, and that “more than 10,000 tents” have been “blown away by strong winds and rain.”
Palestinian news agency Wafa was quoting an interview with Murad on Voice of Palestine radio, where he also said that people, especially elderly people and children, are suffering from various chest diseases due to a lack of warm winter clothing.
Israeli army radio reports that a building was damaged in Kiryat Shmona in Israel’s far north-east after “about five launches” were fired from Lebanon.
Israel’s military has issued another set of evacuation orders to citizens in neighbouring Lebanon, ordering residents in the southern suburbs of Beirut to flee their homes due to impending strikes.
#عاجل انذار آخر إلى جميع السكان المتواجدين في منطقة الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا في المباني المحددة في الخرائط المرفقة والمباني المجاورة لها في المناطق التالية:
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 26, 2024
🔸برج البراجنة
🔸تحويطة الغدير
⭕️أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على… pic.twitter.com/8rw4zjAnj2
Lebanon’s National News Agency reports an Israeli airstrike on Arnoun, in the south-east of the country.
Israeli opposition politician Benny Gantz, leader of the National Unity political alliance, has said that Israel must take advantage of any deal with Hezbollah to “fundamentally change the situation in the north.”
Rejecting the idea of a “temporary ceasefire”, he said we must not do half-hearted work, we must not miss the opportunity for a strong agreement.”
Posting to social media he said:
We paid so much – in the blood of our fighters, in the wounded, in the many battle days of the military men, in budgets and armaments. The residents of the north have been evacuated for over a year, and those who live on the second line are staying in shelters.
EU's Borrell: 'no excuse' for not implementing ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon
Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, has said there is no excuse for not implementing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Reuters reports he said that the proposed deal has the necessary security guarantees for Israel, and that the international community should put pressure on Israel to approve it.
Borrell also referenced the recent decision by the international criminal court to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and the Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif for alleged war crimes relating to the Gaza war.
Borrell said he hoped that Europeans would fulfil their obligations under international law, saying it was not possible to approve of the court when it pursues a case against Vladimir Putin, and oppose it when it puts a case against Netanyahu.
77-year-old Borrell is to be replaced in the role he has held since 2019 by former Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas at the beginning of December.
The National News Agency of Lebanon reports that “civil defence, ambulance and Lebanese Red Cross teams [have] resumed searching for missing persons in buildings destroyed by the enemy” in Tyre.
Haaretz reports that the head of Shlomi regional council, an area in the far north-west of Israel, has said that a ceasefire deal would be a tactic to buy time until there was a change of government in the US.
Gabi Ne’eman is quoted as saying in a letter a ceasefire would “buy time” and allow Israel a pause to “assess the situation on the ground.”
He continued on to say “the US government will change … and the situation will change significantly.”
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that “dozens were killed and injured” on Tuesday morning by an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia in the north of the Gaza Strip.
More details soon …
Overnight, in operational updates posted to its official Telegram channel, Israel’s military has claimed that “approximately ten projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory,” some of which were intercepted.
It also reported a drone was intercepted “from the east” crossing into Israeli-held territory in the Golan area. When used by Israel’s military, the phrase “from the east” usually means from the direction of Iraq.
Israeli minister: ceasefire with Hezbollah would be 'historical missed opportunity'
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right interior security minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, has said a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah would be a “historical missed opportunity”.
Media in Israel quotes him in an interview with Kan Radio saying:
We have a historic opportunity to decisively act in the south [in Gaza] and north [in Lebanon]. It will be a historical missed opportunity if we stop everything and go backwards.
In reference to the Israeli prime minister’s apparent readiness for a deal, Ben-Gvir said “it’s possible that someone doesn’t want to hear my objections.”
Updated
Opening summary
Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the Middle East crisis.
Israel’s security cabinet is due to meet on Tuesday to decide on a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon after more than a year of fighting between Israeli forces and the Shia militia Hezbollah.
Under the deal being considered, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would reportedly withdraw entirely from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah would pull its heavy weapons north of the Litani River, about 16 miles (25km) north of the Israeli border, and the Lebanese army would move in to provide security in the border zone alongside an existing UN peacekeeping force, during an initial 60-day transition phase.
Israeli ambassador to the US Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio on Monday that there remained “points to finalise” and that any deal required agreement from the government. But he said “we are close to a deal” and that “it can happen within days.”
In other developments:
A Guardian investigation has found that Israel used a US munition to target and kill three journalists and wound three more in a 25 October attack in south Lebanon which legal experts have called a potential war crime.
Israel’s military launched airstrikes across Lebanon on Monday, unleashing explosions throughout the country and killing at least 31. Israeli strikes hit commercial and residential buildings in Beirut as well as in the port city of Tyre. Military officials said they targeted areas known as Hezbollah strongholds.
Syrian state television reported Israeli strikes on several bridges in the Qusayr region near the Lebanese border on Monday, with the defence ministry reporting two civilians injured in the attacks.
Weather is compounding the challenges facing displaced people in Gaza, where heavy rains and dropping temperatures are making tents and other temporary shelters uninhabitable. Government officials in the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave said on Monday that nearly 10,000 tents had been swept away by flooding over the past two days, adding to their earlier warnings about the risks facing those sheltering in low-lying floodplains.
An Israeli strike has wounded the director of Kamal Adwan hospital, one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of Gaza, local and international health officials said. Dr Hossam Abu Safiya was in his office when it was hit by an Israeli quadcopter drone on Sunday, according to the humanitarian organisation MedGlobal.
