Middle East Standoff
Live Reporting
Israel says Beirut strike killed about 10 Hezbollah commanders
The Israeli military said an air strike in Beirut that eliminated Ibrahim Aqil, the chief of Hezbollah’s elite unit, also killed about 10 commanders of the Lebanese militant group, AFP reports.
“We targeted those responsible for the daily rocket fire, Ibrahim Aqil along with senior commanders from the Radwan force. About 10 commanders were killed there,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israeli military, told a media briefing.
Source close to Hezbollah says Israeli strike killed elite unit chief
A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that an Israeli air strike has killed the group’s elite Radwan unit chief, while the Israeli military said it conducted “a targeted strike” on the Lebanese capital.
“The Israeli air strike killed Radwan Force commander Ibrahim Aqil, its armed force’s second-in-command after Fuad Shukr,” who an Israeli strike killed in July, also in Hezbollah’s southern Beirut stronghold, said the source who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
“Israel conducted an air strike on the Beirut southern suburbs near Al-Qaem mosque,” a Lebanese security source told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Israel’s president claims country needs ‘war’ to return residents to its north
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog says the Gaza conflict and the possible conflict in Lebanon is necessary to bring “the displaced citizens from north and south to their homes, schools, and businesses”.
“I repeat again and again — we did not want this war. We do not want war — not today, not ever,” he said on X.
“Last night, we saw the precise and impressive actions of Israel’s Air Force against Hezbollah. We salute them, along with all our security forces, for their tremendous efforts in this difficult war,” Herzog added.
Israeli aircraft putting out fires in Safed
Israel Hayom media outlet is reporting that Israeli aircraft are helping extinguish fires in Safed caused by Hezbollah rocket attacks earlier, Al Jazeera reports.
The Israeli army said it detected 140 rockets being fired from Lebanon at various areas in northern Israel.
Hezbollah said the attack was in support of the Palestinian people’s “valiant and honorable resistance” as well as retaliation against the Israeli military’s latest attacks in southern Lebanon.
Israel says submits challenge to ICC arrest warrant request for Netanyahu
Israel said it had submitted an “official challenge” to a request from the International Criminal Court prosecutor for an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, AFP reports.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in May requested the court issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
“The State of Israel submitted today its official challenge to the ICC’s jurisdiction, as well as the legality of the prosecutor’s requests for arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister and minister of defence,” foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said on X.
US concerned Israel will cut Palestinian banks off from its financial system
Washington is concerned that Israel’s finance minister will cut off Palestinian banks from the Israeli financial system next month, in a move that could cause chaos in the occupied West Bank, Axios reported citing two US officials, according to Reuters.
Health system of West Bank on the brink of collapse
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that escalating violence in the occupied West Bank threatens to collapse the health system as humanitarian organisations suspend their activities.
The West Bank is facing the worst violence since the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) began keeping records in 2005, the IRC said.
“Rising violence is undermining the health system in the West Bank, as hospitals are not prepared to handle mass casualty incidents, nor withstand continued attacks on facilities and personnel,” Bart Witteveen, the IRC’s country director for the occupied Palestinian territory, said in a statement.
The organisation added: “Israel must uphold its obligations to ensure immediate and active protection of civilians and health care services in the West Bank.”
Middle East teeters on the edge: Norway’s foreign minister
Norway’s foreign minister is the latest Western official to call for calm as Israel and Hezbollah spiral deeper into conflict, warning the Middle East is “on the brink”.
“I extend my heartfelt sympathy with civilians in Lebanon and across the region who now live in fear,” Espen Barth Eide said as Lebanon continues to reel from a series of deadly, coordinated explosions earlier this week. “I call on all parties to show maximum restraint.”
Israeli soldiers caught on camera throwing bodies off roof
A shocking video clip has gone viral on social media, showing Israeli soldiers are pushing bodies off a roof.
Media reports said that a recent Israeli raid in Qabatiya, in the occupied West Bank, resulted in the deaths of five Palestinians.
Death toll mounts in Gaza
At least 28 Palestinians have been killed across the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
Gaza’s civil defence claims that 12 people breathed their last in two Israeli attacks on Gaza City.
Spanish PM, Palestinian leader urge Mideast de-escalation
MADRID (AFP) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday called for a de-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, as Lebanon said 37 people had now been killed by booby-trapped hand-held devices.
"Today the risk of escalation is once more increasing in a dangerous way" in Lebanon, Sanchez told a news conference in Madrid after more than an hour of talks with visiting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
Iran tells Hezbollah chief Israel will face 'crushing response' after comms attack
DUBAI (Reuters) - Israel will face "a crushing response from the axis of resistance", Iran's Revolutionary Guards Commander Hossein Salami told Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday (Sep 19) according to state media, after attacks on Lebanese Hezbollah's communication devices.
The axis of resistance refers to Iran-aligned armed groups in the Middle East, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis, and Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces.
US warns all parties against escalation in the Middle East
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday (Sep 19) warned all parties in the Middle East against escalation as tensions between Iran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah and Israel remained high, saying Washington's priority is to find a diplomatic solution.
"We will continue to stand by Israel's right to defend itself, but we don't want to see any party escalate this conflict, period," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a regular briefing.
Fear, panic haunt Lebanese after devices explode
BEIRUT (Lebanon) (AFP) – Some panic-stricken Lebanese have tossed power banks, or sleep with mobile phones in another room, after hand-held devices used by Hezbollah operatives detonated two days in a row, killing 37 people.
"What happened in the last two days is so frightening. It's terrifying," Lina Ismail told AFP by phone from the eastern city of Baalbek where some of the explosions occurred.
Hezbollah leader vows retaliation against Israel for attacks on devices as both sides trade strikes
BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Hezbollah vowed to keep up daily strikes on Israel despite this week’s mass bombing attack on its communication devices, and said Israelis displaced by the fighting from homes near the Lebanon border would not be able to return until the war in Gaza ends.
Hezbollah and Israel launched fresh attacks across the border as Hassan Nasrallah spoke for the first time since the deadly device bombings he described as a “severe blow” — and for which he promised to retaliate.
Israel unleashes heavy strikes on Lebanon as US urges urgent diplomatic solution
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israeli warplanes carried out late on Thursday (Sep 19) their most intense strikes on south Lebanon in nearly a year of war, Lebanese security sources said, heightening the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah amid calls for restraint and urgent de-escalation.
The White House said a diplomatic solution was achievable and urgent, and Britain called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The US is "afraid and concerned about potential escalation", spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing.
