Israel-Lebanon live: Houthis fire ballistic missile at Tel Aviv as Israeli airstrike kills entire family of 9

An Israeli airstrike killed an entire family of nine, including four children and a pregnant woman

Moment of explosion in Lebanon as Hezbollah radio devices detonate

In a dramatic escalation, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi forces launched a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv and a drone at Ashkelon on Friday, in retaliation for Israeli military actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese border town of Shebaa killed entire family of nine, including four children and a pregnant woman.

The Houthis, who have been vocal supporters of Palestine and Lebanon, announced they would continue targeting Israeli cities until Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Lebanon cease. Although the Israeli army intercepted the missile fired from Yemen, the threat from the Houthis remains, with their spokesperson promising more attacks in the coming days.

This development coincides with growing civilian casualties in Lebanon, where an estimated 700 people have been killed this week according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Fears of an all-out war are now at their highest since Hezbollah stepped up its attacks on Israel, a day after the deadly Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October, in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

Key Points

• Netanyahu rejects international calls for ceasefire
• Family of nine, including pregnant mother, killed in strike
• Air force commander killed in Beirut strike named
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas calls out US government at UN summit
• Israel claims to have hit 75 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
• Britain joins US, France and allies in call for 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah

[27 September 2024 09:00 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

ICYMI: Blinken tells Israel escalation will make civilian return more difficult

US secretary of state Antony Blinken warned Israel that further escalation of the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon would make it harder for civilians on both sides of the border to return home.

“The Secretary discussed the importance of reaching an agreement on the 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border,” the state department said in a statement referring to talks between Blinken and Israeli minister for strategic affairs Ron Dermer.

“He underscored that further escalation of the conflict will only make that objective (of civilian return) more difficult.”

File. Secretary Blinken (Getty Images)

Despite global calls for a ceasefire, including from the US and France, Israel has continued its military strikes in Lebanon, heightening fears of a wider regional war.

[27 September 2024 08:30 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

White House defends ceasefire proposal

The White House has defended its ceasefire proposal, saying they believed Israel was open to considering it, especially for the Lebanon border.

Global calls for a 21-day ceasefire, led by US president Joe Biden and France’s Emmanuel Macron, have been dismissed by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters: “He and his cabinet and the Israeli people have every right to want to thwart that threat,” Mr Kirby said.

“We still believe an all-out war is not the best way to get people back in their homes. If that’s the goal, an all-out war, we don’t believe is the right way to do that.”

[27 September 2024 08:00 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

ICYMI: Israel-Hezbollah conflict: Why is Lebanon being attacked and will there be a ceasefire?

Tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate as Israel ramps up its assault on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Beginning with a major bombardment on 23 September, Lebanon has now experienced its deadliest attack since the end of the 1975 - 1990 Civil War, with over 90,000 civilians displaced from their homes.

Israel has called the bombardment a “new phase” of its war on Gaza, striking more than 1,000 targets in Lebanon which it says were Hezbollah strongholds or military facilities in homes.

Since the 7 October Hamas attack where over 240 Israeli hostages were taken, Hezbollah has been striking Israel from Lebanon on the country’s northern border in support of Hamas. Israeli forces have continued to respond with strikes on the paramilitary group which regularly fired missiles and rockets to intercept military technology like drones or tanks.

Read the full story here:

[27 September 2024 07:30 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

‘Sirens’ heard across central Israel after ‘missile launched from Yemen’

The Israel Defence Forces said that sirens were sounding across central Israel late on Thursday. In a post on X, the IDF attributed the alarms to “a missile launched from Yemen”.

“The missile launched from Yemen was successfully intercepted by an ‘Arrow’ interceptor,” they said in a post on X.

“The alarms and explosions that were heard are the result of the interception process and the interception fragments.”

[27 September 2024 07:00 · Alex Croft]

Mahmoud Abbas calls out US government at UN summit

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas said the “entire world is responsible” for events in Gaza and the West Bank.

He opened his speech at the UN general assembly in New York by telling the members: “We will not leave. We will not leave. We will not leave.”

“Palestine is our homeland. It is the land of our fathers, our grandfathers. It will remain ours. And if anyone were to leave, it would be occupying usurpers.”

Abbas added, according to The Guardian: “Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending weapons to Israel. This madness cannot continue.”

He also called out the US for their failure to vote for a ceasefire in the UN security council and their veto of full Palestinian membership in the UN.

“This is the United States, the very country that was the only member in the security council that voted against granting the state of Palestine for membership in the UN,” Abbas said.

“We don’t deserve membership in the eyes of America, so they use a veto against it.”

Abbas criticised the US government’s failure to support Palestine politically (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

[27 September 2024 06:30 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

Norwegian police search for missing man linked to pager explosions

Norwegian police have issued an international search warrant for Rinson Jose, a 39-year-old Norwegian-Indian man, in connection with the sale of pagers to Hezbollah.

These pagers exploded recently, killing dozens of people in Lebanon. Jose, who founded the Bulgarian company Norta Global Ltd., allegedly part of the pager supply chain, went missing during a work trip to the US.

Oslo police said: “Yesterday, the Oslo police district received a missing person report in connection with the pager case. A missing persons case has been opened and we have sent out an international warrant for the person.”

Jose’s employer also reportedly lost contact with him after he left for a Boston conference on 17 September.

[27 September 2024 06:00 · Alex Croft]

Scotland’s First Minister says a binding ceasefire across the Middle East is ‘essential’

Scotland’s First Minister has said the situation in the Middle East is cause for the “deepest concern” as he called for a binding ceasefire in the region.

UK citizens are being urged to leave Lebanon after Israel launched an intense series of air strikes earlier this week.

The UK has joined the US, France and other allies in calling for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Lebanon, warning the escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah is “intolerable”.

Writing on X, John Swinney said: “The worsening situation in the Middle East is a cause of the deepest concern.

“It is essential that there is a binding ceasefire now to end the suffering in Gaza and to act to avoid escalating conflict in Lebanon.”

[27 September 2024 05:30 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

Protesters gather outside UN headquarters ahead of Netanyahu’s visit

Protesters in New York gathered ahead of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s UN General Assembly address, voicing opposition to the ongoing war in Gaza.

The protests were led by Jewish and Israeli groups calling for a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution, with participants criticising Netanyahu’s leadership and demanding the release of hostages taken by Hamas.

A New York-based rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum told The Guardian: “It’s outrageous that Netanyahu is here on this world stage. He has been an obstacle to ending this war, bringing the hostages home.”

“This isn’t a sports game,” Mr Kleinbaum added. “There isn’t a winner and a loser, and people who imagine there’s going to be one side wins if the other side loses … that’s not where I stand at all. I believe in a shared future, and I want to protest the dehumanisation of either side, and both peoples have terrible leaders.”

[27 September 2024 05:00 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

Blinken tells Israel escalation will make civilian return more difficult

US secretary of state Antony Blinken warned Israel that further escalation of the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon would make it harder for civilians on both sides of the border to return home.

“The Secretary discussed the importance of reaching an agreement on the 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border,” the state department said in a statement referring to talks between Blinken and Israeli minister for strategic affairs Ron Dermer.

“He underscored that further escalation of the conflict will only make that objective (of civilian return) more difficult.”

Despite global calls for a ceasefire, including from the US and France, Israel has continued its military strikes in Lebanon, heightening fears of a wider regional war.

[27 September 2024 04:30 · Alex Croft]

Opinion: I watched terrified Britons flee Lebanon in 2006 and I fear it will happen again

The Independent’s Assisstant Editor Caroline Gammell witnessed the evacuations 18 years ago in Beirut, and says the government should take heed of a blueprint that worked: