Israel-Hezbollah latest: ‘Unprecedented’ rocket attack targets Haifa as Israel expands Lebanon ground invasion
Israel has pushed into south-west Lebanon after days of fighting on the eastern side of the country
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Hezbollah has launched an “unprecedented” rocket attack on northern Israel as the Israeli military pushed further into southern Lebanon on Tuesday.
The Shia militia fired over 100 missiles across the area of Haifa, a port city just 26 miles from the border between Israel and Lebanon, the Israeli military said.
The mayor of Kiryat Motzkin, which is nearby Haifa, described the scale of the barrage - largely intercepted by Israel’s air defence - as unprecedented.
It comes as Israeli troops have moved into south-west Lebanon after nine days of focusing on the eastern side of the border - where Israel invaded on 30 September.
The 146th reservist division will carry out a “localised” ground operation alongside an artillery brigade against Hezbollah militants in the area, as up to 1.2million people have been displaced across Lebanon.
Overnight, Beirut’s southern suburbs were rocked by fresh Israeli airstrikes, with Israeli forces claiming it killed senior Hezbollah commander Suhail Hussein Husseini.
If confirmed, the death of Suhail Hussein Husseini would be the latest in a string of Israel’s assassinations of leaders and commanders of Hezbollah and its ally Hamas.
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Israeli military pushes further into Lebanon
The Israeli military has pusher further into southern Lebanon as Beirut was rocked by a fresh wave of airstrikes overnight.
Israeli troops have moved into south-west Lebanon after nine days of focusing on the eastern side of the border - where Israel invaded on 30 September.
The 146th division will carry out a “limited, localised, targeted” ground operation against Hezbollah militants in the area, Israel claimed, as up to 1.2million people have been displaced across Lebanon.
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Concern over proximity of Israeli tanks near Irish post in Lebanon
The presence of Israel tanks near an outpost where some Irish troops are stationed is “concerning”, the UN’s mission in Lebanon said.
The UN mission said the position of IDF troops “immediately adjacent“ to the peacekeeping post was “an extremely dangerous development”.
The mission “is deeply concerned by recent activities by the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] immediately adjacent to the Mission’s position 6-52, southeast of Marun ar Ras (Sector West), inside Lebanese territory,” it said in a statement.
“The IDF has been repeatedly informed of this ongoing situation through regular channels,” the mission said.
“UNIFIL urgently reminds all actors of their obligations to protect UN personnel and property.”
Iran says Quds force commander is alive and well
Ismail Ghaani, the commander of the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, is alive and well, his Deputy Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi said, dismissing speculations about his death.
Mr Ghani, who leads the Guard’s overseas military service, has been missing from the public eye for more than a week amid speculations about his death in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.
His deputy told local reporters yesterday that there was no need for the Guards to release any official statement to shut down the rumours, according to the Financial Times.
“He’s healthy and well and doing his job,” Big Gen Masjedi said of Mr Ghaani, while declining to provide further details.
Watch: ‘This is a tense life’: Teenager speaks from bombed Gaza
A teenager from north Gaza has shared what her life is like living in a tent after she was displaced under Israeli bombardment.
Enas Tantesh is 17 years old and lives in the Al Mawasi so-called humanitarian zone.
“This is a tense life... You cannot set a routine, you cannot do whatever you want. You might be displaced or even die at any moment,” she said.
‘This is a tense life’: Teenager speaks from Gaza’s bombed humanitarian zone
A teenager from north Gaza has shared what her life is like living in a tent after she was displaced under Israeli bombardment. Enas Tantesh is 17 years old and lives in the Al Mawasi so-called humanitarian zone. “This is a tense life... You cannot set a routine, you cannot do whatever you want. You might be displaced or even die at any moment,” she said. Enas was displaced after Israel unleashed its heaviest-ever bombardment of Gaza and a siege last October after Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 as hostages, according to Israeli estimates. Since then, Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza has killed almost 42,000 people, the majority women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry. A further 10,000 are thought to be under the rubble and an unknown number have been taken into Israeli detention.
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China to provide emergency medical supplies to Lebanon
China will provide emergency medical supplies to Lebanon, China’s official foreign aid agency said this morning.
Li Ming, the spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said in a statement that as the fighting escalated recently, explosions and air strikes “have occurred in many places in Lebanon, causing a large number of casualties”.
“At the request of the Lebanese government, the Chinese government has decided to provide emergency humanitarian medical supplies to Lebanon to help Lebanon carry out medical assistance,” the statement said.
No evidence Iran rushing to build a nuclear weapon, says CIA director
There is no evidence to suggest that Iran has decided to build a nuclear weapon, said CIA director William Burns, adding the US and its allies would be able to detect such a step.
Mr Burns said Iran has advanced its nuclear program by stockpiling uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels and could quickly secure enough fissile material for an atomic bomb.
“No, we do not see evidence today that the supreme leader has reversed the decision that he took at the end of 2003 to suspend the weaponisation program,” Mr Burns said at the Cipher Brief security conference in Sea Island.
Israel claims killing of Hezbollah HQ commander
The Israeli military today said it killed Suhail Hussein Husseini, the commander of Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut.
The military claimed Husseini was a partner in the weapons transfer agreements between Iran and Hezbollah and was responsible for the distribution of the smuggled weapons between the various units in Hezbollah.
US warns Israel not to attack Beirut airport
The US warned Israel not to attack the airport in Lebanon’s capital or the roads leading to it after Israel intensified its bombardment of southern Beirut around the one-year anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attack.
“We think it’s very important that not only the airport be open, but that the roads to the airport be open,” state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said yesterday.
He added the airport and the road around it needed to be spared so that the American and other foreign citizens “who want to leave can get out” of Lebanon safely.
The Israeli air force yesterday struck the southern suburbs of Beirut, near the international airport, security sources told AFP.
Mr Miller said some 8,500 Americans have contacted the state department to inquire about departure conditions, but this does not mean they all wish to leave.
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