Middle East live: Israel says it killed two more Hezbollah commanders in Lebanon as Biden and Netanyahu speak
It comes as the Israeli military expanded its ground invasion of southern Lebanon with thousands of troops
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The Israeli military said it killed two more Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon and its fighter jets attacked ammunition depots in Beirut.
The Israeli troops also killed a member of Hezbollah's "Golan Terrorist Network" in the area of Quneitra in Syria, the military said.
The strikes took place as US president Joe Biden and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a potential Israeli response to Iran’s missile attack in a 30-minute phone call.
The “direct and very productive” conversation yesterday came after the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, reiterated to his country’s media plans for a “deadly, precise and above all surprising” strike against Iran.
Iran launched a missile attack last week following an escalation of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has since vowed retaliation, with some analysts predicting Israel is most likely to respond by targeting Iranian military installations.
Mr Biden reportedly urged Mr Netanyahu to minimise civilian casualties in Lebanon, where the government health minister says more than 2,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks.
Israeli soldier urges UK to be Churchill not Chamberlain against Iran
A wounded Israeli soldier urged the UK not to forget the mistake of Neville Chamberlain by being more like Churchill and standing up against “the evil of Iran”.
Barak Deri, an Israeli Defence Force reservist, has been hailed as a hero in his country and is visiting London this week as part of a mission to win support for Israel’s struggle in the ongoing war on multiple fronts in the Middle East.
The 32-year-old, who was wounded and is likely to be disabled for the rest of his life, arrived in the UK with a simple warning that “Israel’s war is the West’s war” and the demand: “We cannot be quiet, we must send a clear message that another Holocaust is not an option.”
David Maddox reports.
Israeli soldier urges UK to be Churchill not Chamberlain in standing against Iran
Wounded soldier Barak Deri said his war started on 7 October last year when he faced ‘the toughest choice’ of his life
Hamas, Fatah leaders to hold Palestinian unity talks in Cairo
Leaders from the Islamist group Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement will hold further unity talks in Cairo on Wednesday, a Hamas official said.
The media adviser of the Hamas political chief, the Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Tuesday, according to reports.
It was led by Khalil Al-Hayya, the group’s chief negotiator and Hamas’ second-in-command, currently based in Qatar.
“The meeting will discuss the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and the challenges facing the Palestinian cause,” Hamas officials said.
Two people killed in northern Israel by Hezbollah rocket fire, medics say
Two people were killed in a town in northern Israel that was hit by rocket fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon on Wednesday, Israeli authorities said.
Israel’s ambulance service said that a man and a woman had been killed in the town of Kirya Shmona. The military said about 20 projectiles had been launched from Lebanon in the barrage.
Underground weapons store destroyed in southern Lebanon, Israeli military says
The Israeli military said it had destroyed an underground weapons store found seven metres below a residential building in southern Lebanon.
“The soldiers located hundreds of weapons, including an underground weapons storage facility approximately seven metres under a home within the village where the troops are operating,” it said.
“Within the weapons storage facility, the troops discovered sniper rifles and numerous weapons.”
Pictured: Damage in Beirut following Israeli airstrikes
Biden and Netanyahu discuss Israel's response to Iran missile strike
Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday about a potential Israeli response to Iran’s missile strike last week.
Biden and Netanyahu talked about Israel’s plans in a call that lasted 30 minutes, the White House said.
The discussion was “direct and very productive,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, while acknowledging the two leaders have disagreements and are open about them.
Relations between Biden and Netanyahu have been tense over the Israeli leader’s handling of Gaza and Lebanon. The US has tried to prevent hostilities from escalating and has unsuccessfully sought to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
Israel has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, which caused little damage, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the oil-producing region that could draw in the United States.
Biden last week made comments discouraging Israel from striking Iranian oil fields and said he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites.
Some analysts say Israel is most likely to respond to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack by targeting Iranian military installations, especially those that produce ballistic missiles like those used in the attack. It could also seek to destroy Iranian air defence systems and missile-launching facilities.
Pictured: Hezbollah rockets over northern Israel
Israeli soldiers demand hostage deal
Over 100 Israeli soldiers have threatened to stop fighting if Netanyahu’s government does not secure a hostage release deal.
In a letter addressed to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant, 130 soldiers said: “If the government does not change course immediately and work towards securing a deal to bring the hostages home, we will not be able to continue serving.
“For some of us, the red line has already been crossed, and for others, it is rapidly approaching: the day when, with broken hearts, we will stop reporting for service.”
The group includes both reserve and regular soldiers, some of whom have served in Gaza and on Israel’s northern border since last year’s 7 October Hamas attacks.
185 Hezbollah targets hit in 24 hours, Israel claims
The Israeli military says it has hit around 185 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the past day. Soldiers had “dismantled” launch pads that “posed a threat” to northern Israel and located weapons, it added.
Hezbollah militants had also been killed in “close quarter encounters” and aerial strikes. In Gaza, the military said its operation against Hamas was still taking place, with “dozens” of fighters killed in the past 24 hours.
Weapons, including grenades and AK-47 rifles, had been destroyed, along with “infrastructure sites” and rocket launchers, it added.
Israel carries out new strikes in Gaza
At least 18 people were killed in overnight military strikes on Gaza as Israeli forces pressed on with a raid on the Jabalia refugee camp in the enclave’s north.
The Israeli military says the raid, now in its fifth day, is intended to stop Hamas fighters staging further attacks from Jabalia and to prevent them regrouping.
It has repeatedly issued evacuation orders to residents of Jabalia and nearby areas, but Palestinian and UN officials say there are no safe places to flee to in the Gaza Strip.
“At least 400,000 people are trapped in the area,” Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee Agency (UNRWA), posted on X on Wednesday.
“Recent evacuation orders from the Israeli Authorities are forcing people to flee again & again, especially from Jabalia Camp. Many are refusing because they know too well that no place anywhere in Gaza is safe.”
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