Israel-Gaza-Lebanon live updates: US denies giving Israel ‘a pass’ on Gaza

(LONDON )– As Jahanzeb Wesa fled toward the Pakistani border in the middle of the night, he wondered if his career defending human rights would help protect him now that he was a refugee himself.

A 28-year-old Afghan journalist and women’s rights advocate, Wesa said he was attacked by a Taliban fighter while covering a women’s rights protest just after the fall of Kabul in August 2021. If he didn’t make it across the border, he said, he knew he would likely be killed.

“We worked for 20 years for a better future for Afghanistan,” he recalled thinking. “Why did we lose everything?”

But arriving in a new country brought no sense of safety.

Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, some Afghan journalists said they have been in limbo waiting for humanitarian visas while living in exile in Pakistan, where they fled across the shared border when Kabul fell.

The Taliban’s violent suppression of criticism, along with draconian crackdowns on women’s rights, meant journalists who stayed in Afghanistan were at constant risk of being detained, tortured, disappeared or killed.

In Pakistan, unable to legally work and threatened with deportation through government ultimatums and face-to-face interactions, some Afghan journalists applied for visas from countries that promised to help Afghan refugees.

Almost three years later, many said they still have not received a decision.

In the meantime, their prospects in Pakistan are dire, several told ABC News.

Life in Pakistan

Several Afghan journalists living in Pakistan told ABC News that their fear of deportation is omnipresent.

Khatera, a journalist from northern Afghanistan who asked ABC News not to publish her last name for her safety, fled to Pakistan in April 2022 after the Taliban raided her newsroom, destroying radios and TVs.

“After that,” she said, “everything was a nightmare.”

Like many Afghan journalists in Pakistan, Khatera arrived on a tourist visa she had to renew every six months through a private travel agent. Visa renewals were sometimes denied without reason, and officials often asked for bribes, she said.

The Pakistani government did not reply to a request for comment.

Housing, health care and transportation in Pakistan can be prohibitively expensive for Afghans, whose tourist visas don’t allow them to work. Many rely on depleting savings, support from family members, or under-the-table jobs, according to those who spoke to ABC News. Given the economic strain, the biannual visa fee and the corresponding bribes present significant burdens, they said.

But not having proper documentation can bring serious consequences. “Anywhere you’re going, the police are asking about your valid documents,” said Khatera. They sometimes conduct nighttime home check-ins and try to deport those who can’t provide valid papers, she said.

Those disruptions to daily life don’t appear to be unique to journalists. A 2023 Human Rights Watch report declared a “humanitarian crisis” of Pakistani authorities committing widespread abuses, including mass detentions and property seizures, against Afghans in Pakistan. Over a month and a half, the report said, Pakistani authorities deported 20,000 Afghans and coerced over 350,000 more to leave on their own.

Afghan journalists regularly receive death threats from the regime at home over social media, Wesa said. “If I’m deported to Afghanistan,” he said, “the Taliban is waiting for me.”

“No journalist has been condemned to torture, disappearance, or death by the government of Afghanistan,” said a spokesperson for the Taliban-run Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that “all citizens of the country are equal in the eyes of the law regardless of their position and profession.”

Some journalists said they also face a widespread mental health crisis. Rahman, an Afghan journalist who asked ABC News to use his middle name due to what he described as ongoing threats from the Taliban, struggles with worsening depression and anxiety. He said he fears for himself and his family, still in Kabul.

“It’s daily mental torture,” he said.

An endless wait

The conditions in Pakistan have spurred many Afghan journalists to apply for humanitarian visas from the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and other European countries. Yet, some have not heard back for about three years.

Wesa applied for an Australian humanitarian visa on Jan. 4, 2022, six months after he arrived in Pakistan. He supplemented his application with support letters from Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International and other nongovernmental organizations stating his life was at risk, he told ABC News.

More than two years after filing his initial application, he has received a confirmation of receipt but no further updates, he said.

A departmental spokesperson from the Australian Department of Home Affairs said they “expect it will take at least 6 years from the date of receipt for processing to commence on [the applications] lodged in 2022, 2023, or 2024.”

“We will wait – there is no other way,” Wesa said in response. “I hope they help us as soon as possible.”

“Day by day, I’m faced with depression and health issues,” he said. “My only hope is that Australia will save my life.”

Rahman, who reported on women’s rights in Afghanistan, is saving up to apply for a family visa from Australia, where his fiancée lives. The process costs over $9,000. He said he believes a humanitarian visa application will not receive a response.

Requests for help from the French embassy and the U.N. have also yielded no results, he said.

“I believe these countries have always been for freedom and for democracy. They can help out,” he said. “I just wonder why it takes such a long time.”

Khatera applied for a visa from the Swiss embassy. It took a year and a half to receive the file number, she said. She was told she needed close relatives in the country, but otherwise, they would likely not be able to help.

“I’m getting depression,” she said. “I’m just trying to fight.”

Every Afghan journalist in exile interviewed by ABC News said they continue to receive threats from the Taliban over social media and fear for their lives every day.

The Taliban denied sending the threats, saying “the government and officials of Afghanistan have not threatened any journalists.”

Broken promises

Afghan journalists waiting in worsening conditions for responses to their visa applications said they feel that Western countries have broken their promises to help Afghan refugees.

The United States expanded a resettlement program for Afghan refugees in 2021 to include journalists and humanitarian workers who had helped the United States. However, as of 2023, The Associated Press reported that only a small portion of applicants had been resettled.

The U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

The Afghan Pro Bono Initiative, a partnership providing free legal representation to Afghan refugees, published a 2023 report entitled “Two Years of Empty Promises.” The report found that the U.K. resettlement programs for Afghan refugees were fraught with delays, understaffing, administrative hurdles, narrow eligibility and technical issues.

Earlier this year, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other NGOs called on Western countries to adopt prima facie refugee status for Afghan women and girls, which would grant refugee status without the need for individual assessments, potentially streamlining the application process and decreasing lengthy wait times.

Despite the dragging wait times and the pervasive hopelessness, many of the 170 Afghan journalists in exile in Pakistan continue to speak out against the Taliban.

Wesa’s X account includes frequent posts about Afghanistan — legal updates, protest videos and women singing to resist what they describe as draconian Taliban policies.

“In any country, I will stand for Afghan women,” he said. “I will risk my life for them.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Iran launched the largest missile attack on Israel to date on Tuesday, with hundreds of missiles fired into the country, according to Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Iran said the unprecedented attack was retaliation for a wave of assassinations carried out by Israel over the last several weeks targeting Hezbollah, including leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Sirens sounded across Israel and some citizens were urged to seek shelter in protected areas. Most of the missiles were intercepted, but “several hits were identified, and the damage is being assessed,” an Israeli security official said.

The U.S. fired missiles to help Israel defend itself against the missile attack, according to the Pentagon’s Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.

Here’s how the news is developing:

Israel response to Iran missile attack will ‘come fast,’ official says

An Israeli official told ABC News on Wednesday that “Israel’s response to Iran’s attack will be significant and come fast.”

Iran launched a large barrage of cruise missiles — either 220, according to a U.S. official, or 180, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — on Tuesday evening.

“This evening, Iran made a big mistake — and it will pay for it,” Netanyahu said shortly after the attack.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

IDF confirms 7 soldiers killed in south Lebanon

Seven Israeli troops were killed during fighting in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement posted to social media.

The IDF did not say how the troops died. Another seven soldiers were injured, the force added.

“All of the fighters went to the hospitals for medical treatment, their families were informed,” the IDF wrote.

Iranian leader blames US, Europe for Middle East turmoil

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday morning that “the basis of the region’s problems is the presence of the United States and some European countries who falsely claim peace and tranquility.”

Iran launched 220 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday night, according to a U.S. official. The attack was in protest of Israel’s recent operations against the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, including the assassination of its leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sept. 27.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran fired 180 missiles in its second direct attack on Israel since Oct. 7. 

“This evening, Iran made a big mistake — and it will pay for it,” Netanyahu said Tuesday.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that 90% of the missiles launched hit their targets.

Israel deploys more troops into Lebanon with air, artillery support

The Israel Defense Forces announced Wednesday that more troops “are joining the limited, localized, targeted raids on Hezbollah terror targets and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon that began on Monday.”

The IDF said its 36th Division — including soldiers of the Golani Brigade, 188th Armored Brigade, 6th Infantry Brigade and additional forces — would join the ground incursion.

The units will be accompanied by air and artillery units, the IDF added.

IDF says it hit ‘munitions production sites’ in Beirut

Recent airstrikes in southern Beirut targeted “munitions production sites and other terrorist infrastructures,” according to an Israel Defense Forces statement published on Wednesday morning.

“Fighter jets of the air force, under the precise intelligence guidance of the intelligence division, carried out a series of targeted attacks in recent days throughout Beirut,” the IDF wrote.

Beirut — and particularly its southern suburb of Dahiya — has faced intense airstrikes in recent days as Israeli warplanes target what the IDF says are a variety of Hezbollah-associated targets.

The southern suburbs were also the site of the airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sept. 27.

‘Israel is coming,’ opposition leader says after Iran attacks

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Iran will “pay a significant and heavy price” for Tuesday’s ballistic missile attack.

“With our military capabilities, our defense industries, the support of our allies and in particular the strength of our incredible people — we know that even when the cost is high, we will win,” Lapid wrote on X.

“Tehran knows that Israel is coming,” he added. “The response needs to be tough and it should send an unequivocal message to the terror axis in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza and in Iran itself.”

“Alongside that response, we need to develop a coherent regional strategy which translates military successes into a strategic victory, into change in the region. And we must not forget, not even for a moment, the urgent need to bring our hostages home,” he said.

Defense Sec. Austin says Iran should ‘halt any further attacks’

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has called on Iran to “halt any further attacks” following its missile strike on Israel.

“U.S. forces in the Middle East intercepted multiple missiles launched by Iran toward Israel, as we fulfilled our commitment to partner with Israel in its defense. We condemn this outrageous act of aggression by Iran, and we call on Iran to halt any further attacks, including from its proxy terrorist groups,” Austin said in his statement. “We will never hesitate to protect our forces and interests in the Middle East, and to support the defense of Israel and our partners in the region.”

Austin said he is “deeply proud” of the U.S. troops involved in helping save lives by intercepting missiles launched at Israel.

“Our forces remain postured to protect U.S. troops and partners in the Middle East, and the Department maintains significant capability to defend our people, provide further support for Israel’s self-defense, and deter further escalation,” Austin added. “I will continue to monitor the situation closely and to consult with our allies and partners.”

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

IDF issues more evacuation orders south of Beirut

The Israel Defense Forces just issued more evacuation orders for communities south of Beirut early Wednesday local time.

The orders come after the IDF said it was conducting strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut.

Israel striking Hezbollah targets in Beirut: IDF

The Israel Defense Forces said it is currently striking Hezbollah targets in Beirut.

The update comes about an hour after the IDF issued an evacuation order for parts of southern Beirut suburbs.

Iran’s missile attack largest ever on Israel, Israeli official says

The Iranian barrage marked the largest missile attack ever on Israel, according to Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations.

“Tonight, Iran carried out the largest and most violent missile attack against the State of Israel to date,” Danon said in a statement through his spokesperson earlier Tuesday. “We are ready and prepared defensively and offensively.”

Iran fired 220 total missiles over two waves in 30 minutes, according to a U.S. official.

US Embassy in Jerusalem lifts shelter-in-place order

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has lifted a shelter-in-place order for U.S. government employees and their family members, stating in an updated security alert, “The threat of missile barrages has diminished.”

Previous travel restrictions to areas outside the greater Tel Aviv region, Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva remain in place until further notice, it said.

2 US Navy destroyers fired missile interceptors: Pentagon

Two U.S. Navy destroyers fired “approximately a dozen” missile interceptors at the incoming ballistic missile barrage aimed at Israel, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a briefing earlier Tuesday.

Ryder said the two destroyers that launched missile interceptors were the USS Bulkeley and USS Cole.

A Navy official told ABC News they believe the two destroyers shot down multiple Iranian missiles.

No U.S. personnel were injured during the Iranian missile attack, Ryder said.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Iran fired 220 missiles in 2 waves: US official

Iran fired 220 missiles in two waves over 30 minutes, with a brief pause between the waves, according to a U.S. official.

Some of the missiles did impact Israel, but not in major areas, the official said. There was no direct impact near Tel Aviv, although some shrapnel fell in the area, the official said.

Many missiles were intercepted over Jordan, the official said.

Among the casualties from the attack, a Palestinian was killed in Jericho, and there are reports of a Bedouin killed in the Negev, according to the official.

-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz

IDF issues evacuation warning for southern Beirut suburbs

The Israel Defense Forces have issued an evacuation warning for residents in southern Lebanon.

The “urgent warning” was issued to residents of southern Beirut suburbs Tuesday night local time.

A similar warning was also sent on Monday.

Netanyahu: ‘Iran made a big mistake’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran’s attack “failed” while vowing to respond.

“Iran made a big mistake tonight — and it will pay for it,” he said in a statement. “The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies.”

“We will stand by the rule we established: Whoever attacks us — we will attack him,” he added.

Biden: ‘Make no mistake, the US is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel’

In his first on-camera remarks since Iran’s missile attack, President Joe Biden reiterated the United States’ full support of Israel.

“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” he said.

He said that at his direction, the U.S. military “actively supported the defense of Israel” and while they are still assessing the impact, the attack “appears to have been defeated and ineffective.”

Biden said there was “intensive planning” between the U.S. and Israel to “anticipate and defend against the brazen attack we expected.”

Asked how he would like Israel to respond, Biden said it was an “active discussion.”

“We’re gonna get all the data straight,” he said. “We’ve been in constant contact with the Israeli government and our counterparts, and that remains to be seen.”

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett

Discussions with Israel on response ongoing: State Department

Talks between the United States and Israel on what a response to Iran’s attack should look like are “already underway,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Tuesday.

Those conversations were happening across the State Department, the White House and the Pentagon, he said.

Miller declined to say whether Israel had presented possible targets to the U.S. or if Iran’s nuclear facilities might be a legitimate target.

“This is not to say that I’m ruling anything out and that I’m ruling anything in,” he said.

On whether Iran’s attack on Israel was over, Miller repeated the U.S. assessment that the current wave has ended, but that he could not definitively say whether there would be additional waves.

“Certainly, it would be incredibly reckless and would continue to be escalatory for Iran to launch further attacks on Israel and we’ll be monitoring in the hours ahead,” he said.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Emily Chang

2 US Navy destroyers fired missile interceptors: Pentagon

Two U.S. Navy destroyers fired “approximately a dozen” missile interceptors at the incoming ballistic missile barrage aimed at Israel, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a briefing.

Ryder said the two destroyers that launched missile interceptors were the USS Bulkeley and USS Cole.

He didn’t confirm whether they hit their targets, saying the assessment is ongoing.

No U.S. personnel were injured during the Iranian missile attack, Ryder said.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Iran ‘stands firmly against any threat’: President Pezeshkian

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X that the attack on Israel was “based on legitimate rights and with the aim of peace and security for Iran and the region.”

Pezeshkian also addressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly in his post: “Let Netanyahu know that Iran is not belligerent, but it stands firmly against any threat.”

“This is only a tiny part of our power. Do not step into a conflict with Iran,” Pezeshkian added.

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian

Israel appears to have ‘defeated’ Iran’s attack: US

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel appears to have “effectively defeated” Iran’s attack.

“A few hours ago, Iran — for the second time in the space of five months — launched a direct attack on Israel, including some 200 ballistic missiles. This is totally unacceptable and the entire world should condemn it,” he said during a previously scheduled meeting with India’s external affairs minister.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan also told reporters during a White House briefing that Iran’s attack “appears to have been defeated and ineffective” based on the United States’ early assessment.

Sullivan said the U.S. military worked closely with the IDF to defend Israel and was proud to do so, including in shooting down incoming missiles from U.S. naval destroyers positioned in the area, and that President Joe Biden will be involved in constant conversations with the Israelis about what should come next. He declined to provide any details about what level of response Biden will encourage.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Cheyenne Haslett

Iran says it targeted 3 military bases around Tel Aviv

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted three Israeli military bases around Tel Aviv in its attack on Israel.

The Iranian Mission to the United Nations told ABC News that “no notice was given to the U.S. prior” to the attack, though a “serious warning was issued afterward.”

-ABC News’ Hami Hamedi

IDF says 180 missiles fired from Iran

The Israel Defense Forces said it identified approximately 180 missiles fired toward Israel from Iran.

The Iranian missile attack began at 7:31 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the IDF said.

Most of the missiles were intercepted, but “several hits were identified, and the damage is being assessed,” an Israeli security official said.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir

UN Security Council expected to convene Wednesday

The United Nations Security Council is expected to convene on Wednesday to discuss Iran’s attack on Israel, according to Israel’s ambassador to the U.N.

-ABC News’ Josh Margolin

DHS warns of potential cyberattack threat against US following killing of Nasrallah

The Iranian regime is unlikely to take direct military action against the U.S. homeland following Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, though his death could prompt Iran or its proxies to take alternative actions like cyberattacks, according to a new Department of Homeland Security alert.

Nasrallah’s death is also unlikely to galvanize people within the U.S to take action, though the “expansion of the regional conflict and potential for increased circulation of graphic images highlighting civilian deaths could contribute to [extremist] radicalization to violence,” according to the Sept. 30 document obtained by ABC News and distributed to law enforcement agencies around the country.

“We also assess that it is unlikely that Iran or its proxies will target the homeland during any potential physical response to the airstrike,” the alert stated. “We are concerned that the incident may prompt Iranian government or other malicious cyber actors supportive of Tehran’s interests to conduct cyber attacks against poorly secured US critical infrastructure entities, among other targets.”

-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Josh Margolin

Israel will have a ‘significant response,’ Israeli official says

Israel will have a “significant response” to Iran’s attack, an Israeli official told ABC News.

“What Iran has suffered so far is only a promo,” the official said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

No additional threats from Iran at this time, no casualties reported: IDF

The Israeli military does not see any additional threats at this time from Iran, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.

Hagari said they have carried out a “large number of interceptions.” There were a “few hits” in the south and officials are assessing the damage, though there are no reported casualties, he added.

“We are on high alert both defensively and offensively,” he said. “We will defend the citizens of the State of Israel. This attack will have consequences.”

US says it has intercepted Iranian missiles

The U.S. has intercepted some of the Iranian missiles launched against Israel, but how many is unclear, an official told ABC News.

“In accordance with our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, U.S. forces in the region are currently defending against Iranian-launched missiles targeting Israel,” the official said. “Our forces remain postured to provide additional defensive support and to protect U.S. forces operating in the region.”

-ABC News’ Matthew Seyler

Biden says US prepared to help Israel defend against Iranian attack

President Joe Biden said Tuesday the U.S. is prepared to help Israel defend against the Iranian missile attack.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are monitoring the Iranian attack from the White House Situation Room and receiving regular updates from their national security team. Biden directed the U.S. military to aid Israel’s defense against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles.

Before the attack began, he posted on X that he and Vice President Kamala Harris had convened their national security team.

He said as well that the U.S. was ready to protect American personnel in the region.

Read more on the response from the Biden administration.

Lindsey Graham calls Iran’s missile attack ‘breaking point’

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina condemned Iran’s missile attack on Israel, calling it a “breaking point” on Tuesday and urging President Joe Biden’s administration to respond.

“This missile attack against Israel should be the breaking point and I would urge the Biden Administration to coordinate an overwhelming response with Israel, starting with Iran’s ability to refine oil,” Graham said in a statement.

Graham called for oil refineries to be “hit and hit hard” and said his prayers are “with the people of Israel.”

-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin

Iran confirms responsibility, says launches retaliation for assassinations

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said moments ago the missile attack was a retaliation for different assassinations carried out by Israel, Mehr News Agency reported.

The IRGC said the operation will continue if Israel does not stop, Mehr News Agency reported.

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, a key ally of Iran, was killed in a strike in Beirut last week, while a top member of the IRGC was also killed.

IDF warns some citizens to enter ‘protected space’

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari issued remarks Tuesday evening, announcing that missiles had been launched from Iran toward Israel.

He said messages have been sent to cellphones, warning Israeli citizens in certain areas to enter “protected space” and to seek shelter if they hear sirens.

Hagari added that if citizens hear explosions, they may be the result of interceptions or impacts.

“We are strong and can handle this event as well,” Hagari said. “The IDF is doing and will continue to do everything necessary to protect the civilians of Israel. The IDF is fully prepared for both defense and offense at peak readiness.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Flights diverting near Iran

Several flights near Iran are diverting ahead of expected missile launches at targets in Israel.

Several Lufthansa flights and one Swiss Air flight were diverted back to Frankfurt, Germany, and Turkey as they approached Iranian air space.

-ABC News’ Sam Sweeney

IDF says missiles launched from Iran toward Israel

Israel said missiles have been launched from Iran toward Israel.

Sirens are sounding across the country.

Israel expecting 240-250 missiles from Iran: Sources

Iran is expected to launch 240 to 250 missiles in two waves at four targets in Israel, including Mossad headquarters and three air bases, according to an Israeli source and a senior U.S. administration official.

Israel is not expected to launch a preemptive strike, according to the U.S. administration official. It should take the missiles less than 15 minutes to reach targets once launched.

The U.S. and Israel have all defenses activated, and Israel will “absolutely “ retaliate after it happens,” the official said.

The total number of ballistic missiles is about double the number launched by Iran in April — 99% of which were intercepted.

-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz

Israeli forces issue warning for residents to stay near shelter in greater Tel Aviv

The Israel Defense Forces issued a warning for residents of the “Dan area,” referring to the greater Tel Aviv area, to stay “near a shelter until further notice.”

Sirens sounded in central Israel, the IDF said in a second statement, after issuing the warning to stay in shelters. The sirens sounding in central Israel were due to launches from Lebanon, the IDF told ABC News.

“From this moment, Israelis living in central Israel are advised to stay by their safe rooms. Enter them during sirens and stay there until further notice,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in Hebrew.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir, Anna Burd and Jordana Miller

US Embassy in Jerusalem issues ‘shelter in place’ order

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued a statement directing all government employees and their family members “to shelter in place until further notice,” following reports of an imminent Iranian missile attack on Israel.

The embassy noted the “continued need for caution and increased personal security awareness as security incidents, including mortar and rocket fire and unmanned aircraft system,” which it said “often take place without warning.”

“The security environment remains complex and can change quickly depending on the political situation and recent events,” it added.

Netanyahu warns Israelis of ‘testing days ahead’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged unity among Israelis in a video statement published Tuesday, as Israel Defense Forces operations in Lebanon expanded and amid fears of an imminent Iranian missile attack.

“We are in the midst of a campaign against Iran’s ‘Axis of Evil,'” the prime minister said. “These are days of great achievements and great challenges.”

The “great achievements,” Netanyahu said, included the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a Beirut airstrike last week, plus the defeat of an alleged Hezbollah plan to launch an infiltration attack into northern Israel.

The country still faces “big challenges,” he continued.

“What I ask of you is two things: One — to strictly obey the directives of the front-line command, it saves lives. And second — to stand together. We will stand firm together in the testing days ahead.”

“Together we will stand, together we will fight and together we will win.”

–ABC News Joe Simonetti and Jordana Miller

Iran to launch ballistic missiles at Israel ‘imminently,’ US official says

A senior White House official told ABC News on Tuesday that the U.S. “has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel.”

“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack,” the official added.

“A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,” the official said.

Israeli special ops teams active in Lebanon for almost a year, IDF says

Israel special operations teams have been operating in southern Lebanon since November, an Israeli security source said Tuesday, conducting around 70 missions in groups of 20 to 40 operators.

The troops spent around 200 nights inside Lebanon, making it the most intense series of special operations missions in Israel’s history, the official said.

The units operated between 1 and 2 miles inside Lebanese territory, the official said, blowing up and dismantling hundreds of Hezbollah facilities including tunnels.

Some tunnels doubled as weapons caches and others stretched to the Israeli border. Officials said on Tuesday they believed Hezbollah was planning an imminent “Oct.7-style invasion” of northern Israel.

The security source claimed that Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force was at times as little as six hours from launching such an attack. ABC News was not immediately able to independently verify the official’s claims.

The Israeli special operations units operating in southern Lebanon encountered almost no resistance, the official said, and did not suffer any casualties.

Though some 2,000 Radwan troops are believed to be present within 3 miles of Israel’s border — and between 6,000 and 8,000 in southern Lebanon in total — they have not been fighting.

“During these operations, the troops also collected valuable intelligence and methodically dismantled the weapons and compounds, including underground infrastructure and advanced weaponry of Iranian origin,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

“Some of the weapons were recovered and taken by the soldiers back into Israeli territory.”

Airstrike hits southern Beirut suburb

The southern Beirut suburb of Dahiya was hit by a fresh airstrike early on Tuesday, as Israeli warplanes continued to bomb targets across Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah members and resources.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that the previous 24 hours saw at least 95 people killed and 172 wounded by Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s southern regions, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut.

Hezbollah disputes Israel’s incursion claims

Israeli claims that its soldiers began ground operations inside southern Lebanon “are false,” Hezbollah said in a Tuesday statement.

“No direct ground clashes have yet taken place between the resistance fighters and the occupation forces,” the group said, referring to Israeli troops.

“The resistance fighters are ready for a direct confrontation with the enemy forces that dare or attempt to enter Lebanese territory and inflict the greatest losses on them,” the group added.

Beirut not a target of Israeli ground incursion, official says

The Israel Defense Forces’ operation in southern Lebanon is occurring “right by the border” with no intention of pushing towards the capital Beirut, an Israeli security official said during a Tuesday briefing.

The IDF has three goals, the official said.

The first is to remove the threat of cross-border fire at Israeli citizens, they said. The second is to target senior militant leaders planning such attacks, the official added.

The third goal is to create a situation in which tens of thousands of displaced Israelis can return to their homes in the north of the country.

“We’re talking about limited, localized, targeted rates based on precise intelligence in areas near the border,” the official said when asked about the scope of the operation.

Beirut, they added, is not on the table, though airstrikes are expected to continue across the country and in the capital.

“We’re talking about Hezbollah embedding itself in the Lebanese villages, right by the border,” they said.

“We’re operating at the moment according to the mission we received from the political echelon. We’re acting in a limited area that is focusing on the villages right by the border,” they explained.

IDF claims Hezbollah was planning ‘invasion’ of Israel

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israeli troops were engaged in “limited and targeted raids” in southern Lebanon as of Tuesday morning, alleging that Hezbollah was planning “an Oct. 7-style invasion” into Israeli homes.

“Hezbollah turned Lebanese villages next to Israeli villages into military bases,” ​​Hagari said. “Hezbollah planned to invade Israel, attack Israeli communities and massacre innocent men, women and children.”

“I want to make it clear: our war is with Hezbollah, not with the people of Lebanon,” Hagari continued. “We do not want to harm Lebanese civilians, and we’re taking measures to prevent that.”

More than 700 people were killed by an intensified Israeli airstrike campaign across Lebanon last week. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported 95 people killed and 172 people by strikes on Monday. Israeli bombing continued overnight into Tuesday morning, including in the capital Beirut.

UK charters flight for citizens in Lebanon, urges Britons to ‘leave now’

The British government announced Monday that it chartered a commercial flight out of Lebanon for citizens wishing to leave the country.

British nationals, their spouse or partner and children under the age of 18 are eligible, a Foreign Office press release said. “Vulnerable” citizens will be prioritized, it added.

The flight is scheduled to depart Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport on Wednesday.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the situation in the country “is volatile and has potential to deteriorate quickly.”

“The safety of British nationals in Lebanon continues to be our utmost priority,” he added.

“That’s why the U.K. government is chartering a flight to help those wanting to leave. It is vital that you leave now as further evacuation may not be guaranteed,” he said.

IDF reports ‘heavy fighting’ in Lebanon border areas

Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee — the Israel Defense Forces’ spokesperson for Arab media — warned residents of southern Lebanon on Tuesday morning that “heavy fighting” is now underway in the region.

“Hezbollah elements,” he said, are “using the civilian environment and the population as human shields to launch attacks.”

Adraee told residents not to move vehicles from the north to the south of the Litani River, which is around 18 miles north of the Israeli border. Israel previously demanded that all Hezbollah forces withdraw north of the waterway in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolution that sought to end the 2006 border war.

“This warning is in effect until further notice,” Adraee said.

The IDF said Monday that its ground offensive into Lebanon was underway, following a week of punishing airstrikes and targeted killings across the country.

The IDF described the operations as “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon.”

A senior U.S. official told ABC News that the incursion is expected to be significant but not “major.” Lebanese leaders, meanwhile, are calling for an immediate ceasefire and the implementation of the 2006 U.N. resolution that would see Hezbollah forces leave southern Lebanon.

10 projectiles fired back at Israel from Lebanon amid ground incursion: IDF

After Israeli forces began the ground incursion into southern Lebanon, at least 10 projectiles crossed over into northern Israel, according to the IDF.

“Following the sirens that sounded in the area of Meron in northern Israel, approximately 10 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon,” the IDF said in a statement Monday.

“Some of the projectiles were intercepted and a number of projectiles fell in open areas,” the IDF said.

IDF begins ground incursion into Lebanon

Israeli forces have begun a ground incursion into southern Lebanon, a spokesperson for the IDF said in a statement.

The IDF described the operations as “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon.”

“The IDF is continuing to operate to achieve the goals of the war and is doing everything necessary to defend the citizens of Israel and return the citizens of northern Israel to their homes,” the statement said.

95 killed, 172 injured in Lebanon from attacks Monday

The death toll in Lebanon from Israeli attacks rose to 95 on Monday with 172 people injured, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.

Ground operations in Lebanon will be significant but not ‘major’: US official

The Israel Defense Forces’ ground movement into Lebanon will be significant but not “major,” a senior U.S. official told ABC News.

The operations will be limited to small unit commando teams, the official said, adding that the teams will have air power backup against Hezbollah fighters.

IDF issues ‘urgent warning’ to residents of southern suburbs of Beirut

The Israeli Defense Forces issued an “urgent warning” Monday to residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut.

In a post on X, the IDF urged people in three neighborhoods — Lilac, Haret Hreik and Burj Al-Barajneh — to evacuate.

“You are located near interests and facilities belonging to the terrorist Hezbollah, and therefore the IDF will act against them forcefully,” the IDF wrote. “For your safety and the safety of your family, you must evacuate the buildings immediately, starting at a distance of no less than 500 meters.”

UNRWA chief denies knowing suspended staffer was Hamas leader in Lebanon

On Monday, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini denied having being aware that staffer Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin had been the head of Hamas’ Lebanon branch.

Abu el-Amin and his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, a spokesperson for Hamas said Monday.

In his press briefing in Geneva on Monday, Lazzarini said Abu el-Amin had been suspended from his UNRWA position in March after allegations arose that he was involved in Hamas.

-ABC News’ William Gretsky

5 killed, 57 injured in Israeli air strikes on Yemen: Houthi spokesperson

Five people were killed and 57 were injured after Sunday’s Israeli air strikes in Al-Hodeidah, Yemen, the Houthi spokesperson said in a statement Monday.

“This crime will be responded to with escalating military operations against the criminal enemy during the coming period,” the Houthi spokesperson added in his statement.

-ABC News’ Ahmed Baider

12 killed, 20 wounded in Lebanon from attacks Monday

Twelve people have been killed and at least 20 were injured in attacks in Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.

The number of casualties from strikes in Lebanon on Sunday rose to 118 killed and 376 injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Hezbollah and Israel continued to trade attacks on Monday.

Hezbollah issued 10 statements taking responsibility for various attacks on Monday.

The Israeli Defense Forces said they destroyed a “surface-to-air missile launcher storage facility approximately 1.5 kilometers” from Beirut’s international airport in a release Monday.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller

Israeli forces conducting ‘training’ near northern border, IDF says

Israeli forces have been “conducting training near the northern border,” the IDF said in a release Monday.

“As part of increasing readiness for combat, IDF soldiers from the 188th Brigade have been conducting training near the northern border and at the command’s headquarters,” the IDF said in the release.

Sinwar goes radio silent in Gaza cease-fire negotiations

Senior Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, one of the key architects of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, has gone radio silent, according to an official familiar with negotiations to reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal.

Sinwar’s absence has created another hurdle for U.S. officials who are still trying to complete an overdue “final” proposal for a deal.

It has also sparked speculation that Sinwar is dead, but the official said there is no indication that’s the case.

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller spoke about Hamas’ role in delaying a cease-fire proposal during a briefing Monday, but did not weigh in on Sinwar’s status specifically.

“When it comes to Sinwar, I don’t have any update on his condition at all, one way or the other,” he said, before asserting that Hamas has been unwilling to “engage at all” with Egyptian or Qatari mediators “over the past several weeks.”

“So the reason you have not seen us put forward this proposal is we can’t get a clear answer from Hamas of what they’re willing to entertain and what they’re not willing to entertain,” he said. “We’re going to continue to try to work it.”

-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston

More officials say invasion possibly imminent, US fighter jets heading to region for air defense

Israel’s limited ground incursion into Lebanon could be imminent, two more U.S. officials have told ABC News.

One of the officials said Israel notified the U.S. of its intentions.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh would not confirm as much when repeatedly asked Monday, but did give new details on the additional forces being sent to the region to potentially defend Israel and its own forces.

“These augmented forces include F-16, F-15E, A-10, F 22 fighter aircraft and associated personnel,” Singh said.

The fighter aircraft are to be used for air defense, such as intercepting missiles if needed, according to Singh. There are “an additional few thousand” troops in the region as part of the augmented force, according to Singh.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Matt Seyler

Israel imminently planning limited ground operation in Lebanon: Senior US official

The U.S. expects Israel to imminently begin a limited ground operation into Lebanon that would be targeted, in order to clear out Hezbollah infrastructure near Israeli border communities and then pull their forces back, according to a senior U.S. official.

This could start “immediately,” according to the senior official.

-ABC News’ Selina Wang

Biden tells Israel to stop when asked about possible Lebanon invasion

Speaking to reporters Monday at the White House, President Joe Biden addressed Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon and reports that they are preparing for a limited ground operation.

The comment, which followed Biden’s remarks on Hurricane Helene, came after a reporter asked if he was aware of and “comfortable” with the possibility of Israel invading Lebanon.

“I’m more aware than you might know, and I’m comfortable with them stopping. We should have a cease-fire now,” Biden replied.

Middle East ‘safer’ without ‘brutal’ Nasrallah, Blinken says

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was “a brutal terrorist, whose many victims included Americans, Israelis, civilians in Lebanon, civilians in Syria and many others as well.”

During a ministerial meeting on defeating ISIS in Washington, D.C., Blinken said Hezbollah under Nasrallah’s leadership “terrorized people across the region and prevented Lebanon from fully moving forward as a country.”

“Lebanon, the region, the world, are safer without him,” Blinken added.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut on Friday, marking the most significant blow yet to Hezbollah over almost a year of cross-border conflict with Israel.

Israeli airstrikes are continuing across Lebanon and in the capital. A U.S. official told ABC News on Sunday that small-scale cross-border Israeli ground operations may have already begun, as a prelude to a wider offensive into southern Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah targets.

Blinken said the U.S. and its partners would continue to work toward a diplomatic solution “that provides real security to Israel, to Lebanon, and allows citizens on both sides of the border to return to their homes.”

“Diplomacy remains the best and only path to achieving greater stability in the Middle East,” he said. “The United States remains committed to urgently driving these efforts forward.”

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

‘Nowhere’ Israel cannot reach, Netanyahu warns Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to anti-government sentiment in Iran on Monday, telling the Iranian people: “With every passing moment, the regime is bringing you — the noble Persian people — closer to the abyss.”

“Every day, you see a regime that subjugates you make fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza,” the prime minister said in a video statement posted to social media.

“Yet every day, that regime plunges our region deeper into darkness and deeper into war. Every day, their puppets are eliminated.”

“Ask Mohammed Deif. Ask [Hassan] Nasrallah,” Netanyahu said, referring to the Hamas military commander — whose death the group has not confirmed — and the former Hezbollah leader. Israel claims Deif was killed in Gaza in July, while Nasrallah was killed in Beirut on Friday.

“There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach,” Netanyahu said.

“Iran’s tyrants don’t care about your future,” Netanyahu continued. “When Iran is finally free — and that moment will come a lot sooner than people think — everything will be different.”

“Our two ancient peoples, the Jewish people and the Persian people, will finally be at peace,” Netanyahu said. “The people of Iran should know — Israel stands with you.”

Tehran has not yet responded to Netanyahu’s statement. But on Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said his country would not deploy volunteer troops to Lebanon in response to Israel’s expanding campaign there against Hezbollah.

“We believe that the governments and nations of the region have the necessary ability and authority to defend themselves,” he said. “We have not had any request from anyone, and we know that they do not need deployment of human forces from our side.”

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Somayeh Malekian

Hamas leader in Lebanon killed in airstrike, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it killed Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine, the head of Hamas’ Lebanon branch, in an overnight airstrike.

“Sharif was responsible for coordinating Hamas’ terror activities in Lebanon with Hezbollah operatives,” the IDF said in a statement.

“He was also responsible for Hamas’ efforts in Lebanon to recruit operatives and acquire weapons.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

Deadly strike hits central Beirut for first time in 18 years

An overnight precision strike on an apartment building in the Cola neighborhood was the first such strike in central Beirut for 18 years.

Four people were killed, including three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine militant group.

Israel did not immediately claim the strike but is widely assumed to have carried it out.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

Hezbollah deputy gives first statement since Nasrallah assassination

Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general, addressed followers Monday in the first leadership statement since Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday.

“The mujahadeen will continue,” Qassem said of the militant group’s fighters, their work informed by “what [Nasrallah] designed.”

Qassem did not announce a replacement for Nasrallah, but said Hezbollah’s next leader will be chosen “sooner rather than later.”

Details of Nasrallah’s funeral are still unconfirmed. A three-day mourning period in Lebanon began on Monday.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti

IDF confirms new attacks on Hezbollah targets

The Israel Defense Forces said it carried out an operation against more Hezbollah targets early Monday morning local time.

The Israeli Air Force attacked targets in the Bekaa region of Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement.

Targets included launchers and buildings where the IDF said weapons were held.

The Israeli Air Force also attacked what it said were military buildings in southern Lebanon.

-ABC News Will Gretsky

At least 105 people killed Sunday in Lebanon: Ministry of Health

The death toll in Lebanon as a result of Israeli airstrikes Sunday rose to 105, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Nearly 360 individuals were wounded in the strikes, the ministry reported.

The strikes occurred in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa, Baalbek-Hermel and the southern suburbs of Beirut (Dahieh), according to the ministry.

Netanyahu announces former rival Gideon Sa’ar joined Israeli cabinet

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed opposition lawmaker Gideon Sa’ar to rejoin his cabinet, the politicians announced in a joint statement Sunday.

Sa’ar will serve in the Security Cabinet, according to Netanyahu.

“I appreciate the fact that Gideon Sa’ar responded to my request and agreed today to return to the government,” Netanyahu said, noting how the leaders have put aside their disagreements.

“We will work together, and I intend to use him in the forums that influence the conduct of the war,” Netanyahu added.

Sa’ar was once a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party but defected after an unsuccessful bid for party leadership. He formed his own party in 2020 called New Hope.

“I am joining the government at this stage without a coalition agreement – but with an orderly worldview and with a strong patriotic attitude for our people,” Sa’ar said in the joint statement.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — A ceasefire went into effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday morning after Israel’s Cabinet approved the U.S.-backed proposal to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah after prolonged negotiations.

The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the devastated Palestinian territory.

Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides.

IDF launches 4 more strikes in Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces has announced carrying out four more airstrikes Saturday in Lebanon, where a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is tentatively in place.

In all four attacks, the IDF says they hit Hezbollah-affiliated targets where they believed operatives were near to, or handling, weapons. It does not appear that Hezbollah has fired any weapons since the start of the ceasefire, nor has the IDF accused them of doing so.

This makes five total IDF strikes in Lebanon on Saturday alone. The IDF announced conducting one on Friday, and one on Thursday.

The Lebanon Ministry of Health said in a statement that a 7-year-old child was among three injured in an Israeli strike on a car earlier Saturday, and an additional person was injured in a separate strike.

The IDF said it is “deployed in the southern Lebanon area, operating against any threat to the State of Israel and enforcing any violation of the ceasefire agreement understandings.”

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

75 killed in 2 Beit Lahia strikes: Gaza Civil Defence

At least 75 people were killed in two air strikes in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence.

Video circulating online shows bodies under rubble, which the group said they are unable to reach as they remain trapped.

-ABC News’ Samy Zyara

MSF: Crisis in Gaza worsens as entry of medicine, supplies blocked

Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), is warning that people in Gaza with medical conditions are facing mounting catastrophes this winter.

Shortages of food, medicine, water, shelter and other crucial supplies are at critical levels, the humanitarian group said, and could worsen aid workers’ means to provide care.

“Shortages of critical supplies have reached such levels that we are now forced to turn away patients in some facilities,” Caroline Seguin, MSF’s emergency coordinator in Gaza, said in a statement. “Restrictions and obstacles to the entry of aid by the Israeli authorities continue to severely hamper our ability to provide care. Meanwhile, the looting of aid trucks within the enclave is making it difficult for that small amount of aid allowed by Israeli authorities to reach those in need. Ultimately, it’s the patients who suffer the consequences.”

Another IDF airstrike in southern Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces launched another airstrike in southern Lebanon on Friday after it said they identified “terrorist activity and movement of a Hezbollah portable rocket launcher.”

The IDF said the “threat was thwarted in an IAF strike.”

“The IDF is deployed in southern Lebanon and will actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement,” it said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir

Netanyahu threatens ‘intensive’ war if Hezbollah violates ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened an “intensive” war if Hezbollah violates the ceasefire agreement, according to an interview he did with a local reporter.

“I gave the IDF instructions,” Netanyahu said, speaking to the right-wing Channel 14. “If there is a massive violation of the agreement … we [will] operate surgically like we are doing now, and with force … I instructed the IDF to prepare for an intensive war.”

Israel conducts airstrike during ceasefire

The Israel Defense Forces said it fired at suspected terrorists Thursday. Hezbollah has not yet commented on the strike and there have been no indications rockets have been fired into Israel from the north.

“The IDF remains in southern Lebanon and acting to enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement,” the IDF said in a statement.

The Lebanese Army confirmed the strikes hit within its territory, saying Israel “violated the agreement several times” on Wednesday and Thursday.

“After the ceasefire agreement was announced, the Israeli enemy violated the agreement several times, through air violations and targeting Lebanese territory with various weapons. ‎The Army Command is following up on these violations in coordination with the relevant authorities,” the Lebanese army said in a statement.

2,500 children in Gaza need to be evacuated: UNICEF

Over 2,500 children in the Gaza Strip need “urgent medical evacuation,” according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
“The situation in the northern Gaza Strip is extremely difficult and tragic and is getting worse,” UNICEF spokesperson Kazem Abu Khalaf said in a statement.

“Thirty percent of children in the Gaza Strip suffer from severe malnutrition,” Abu Khalaf said. “Ninety-five percent of the schools that house displaced people in the Gaza Strip have been completely destroyed,” he said.

Nearly all attempts to deliver aid to northern Gaza have been thwarted, UNRWA says

Nearly all of the 100 attempts to deliver aid to northern Gaza over the last two months have failed, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

“Out of the 91 attempts the UN has made to deliver aid to besieged north #Gaza between 6 October and 25 November, 82 have been denied and 9 impeded,” the UNRWA said in a statement

“The conditions for survival are diminishing for the 65,000-75,000 people estimated to remain there,” the UNRWA said.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

IDF fires at ‘suspects’ in southern Lebanon, alleging ceasefire violation

The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday morning it fired at “suspects, some with vehicles” arriving in several areas of southern Lebanon.

The IDF did not give information on the identity of the targets but said their presence in the area “constitutes a violation.”

There have been sporadic reports of firing in several areas of southern Lebanon since the IDF-Hezbollah ceasefire went into effect early Wednesday morning.

The IDF has warned evacuated citizens of southern Lebanese towns and villages not to return to their homes until told to do so. Around 1.2 million people in Lebanon — roughly a quarter of its population — have been displaced by Israeli attacks and evacuation orders.

IDF says residents returning to south Lebanon are ‘in danger’

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee again urged south Lebanon residents not to return to their homes in a post to X on Thursday morning.

Adraee listed 10 villages in the south as still off limits to evacuated residents, despite Wednesday’s ceasefire.

“The IDF does not intend to target you and therefore you are prohibited at this stage from returning to your homes,” he wrote.

Anyone who travels south regardless will be “in danger,” Adraee added.

Israeli forces are expected to withdraw from their positions in southern Lebanon in phases during the 60-day ceasefire that came into effect on Wednesday morning.

They will be replaced by Lebanese Armed Forces troops, who will be tasked — with United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon assistance — with preventing the return of Hezbollah forces in the area between the Litani River and the Israeli border.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Hezbollah claims victory, says they will remain ‘fully prepared’ to deal with Israel’s ‘ambitions’

Hezbollah said it continued its war against Israel for “more than 13 months,” and it was “able to achieve victory over the delusional enemy,” the militia said in its first statement since the ceasefire was announced.

Throughout the “Israeli ground operation the attempts of the enemy forces to occupy and establish themselves in any of the towns of the first line of the front did not succeed nor did they succeed in establishing a military and security buffer zone as” Israel had hoped it would, Hezbollah said in a statement.

Hezbollah will remain “fully prepared to deal with the Israeli enemy’s ambitions” and “will continue to follow the movements and withdrawals of the enemy’s forces beyond the borders, and their hands will remain on the trigger, in defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty and for the sake of the dignity and honor of its people,” Hezbollah said.

‘We will see’ if Israel’s goals in war were realized ‘in the next 60 days,’ Israeli defense minister says

The goal of Israel’s ongoing war with Hezbollah was to “damage Hezbollah’s capabilities and create the conditions for the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said, in his first comments since the ceasefire went into effect.

“We will see in the next 60 days whether this goal is realized. When the details of the arrangement, including all its components, become clear to the public, and if effective enforcement is carried out, with Israel at the center, calm and deterrence will be created, it will be possible to say that the goal has been achieved,” Katz added.

Katz said the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire is “creating additional pressure on Hamas.”

“From here we look towards the southern front, with the most important goal being to return all the kidnapped people home safely and quickly. Results of the campaign in the north are creating additional pressure on Hamas and we intend to make every effort to create the conditions for a new hostage deal and to bring everyone home — this is the most important moral goal we are facing now, this is the ultimate goal,” Katz said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Isolated incidents reported as ceasefire begins

The Israel Defense Forces and Lebanese media are reporting several isolated incidents in southern Lebanon after the ceasefire went into effect.

Israeli forces fired “artillery shells” in Kfar Kila, Al-Aadaissah and Khiyam in southern Lebanon, Lebanese state media reported.

“In light of Hezbollah members entering the village of Kila, Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to act firmly and without compromise against such phenomena,” the Israeli defense minister’s office said in a press release.

“The IDF will operate against anyone who attempts to breach the ceasefire agreement and will continue to protect the citizens of Israel,” the IDF said in a separate release.

Two journalists were injured after Israeli forces opened fire on a group of them in the town of Khiam while they were covering the return of Lebanese residents to the town, Lebanese state media reported.

The Israel Defense Forces said they received the report regarding several journalists injured in the Khiam area and added the IDF is “unaware of fire toward the journalists.”

“As of now, only warning shots have been fired in the area,” the IDF said. “The IDF remains in southern Lebanon and will actively enforce every violation of the ceasefire agreement.”

An Israeli security official said there have been “several incidents” of gunmen and others trying to provoke Israeli forces in southern Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect. The Israeli security official called them “isolated incidents” that often happen in the first day of a ceasefire and have happened in previous wars.

The IDF’s position right now is that Lebanese residents should not come back to villages in southern Lebanon as they are not safe, the Israeli security official said.

The ceasefire calls for a handover from the IDF to the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon. The Israeli security official implied it would not be safe for Lebanese residents to return until that handover is complete.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the IDF not to allow the population to enter the area of ​​villages near the border in southern Lebanon, in accordance with the first phase of implementing the ceasefire outline,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a release Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller

Lebanese army warns residents not to return to front-line villages, towns in the south

Initial reports suggest the ceasefire is holding, but the Lebanese army is being cautious in parts of southern Lebanon, asking people to wait for Israeli forces to withdraw before returning to front-line villages and towns, in a statement to the public Wednesday.

The Lebanese army also said it is already starting to strengthen its deployments in the South Litani sector in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon on Wednesday.

The Israel Defense Forces warned residents of south Lebanon not to travel south of the Litani River from 5 p.m. local time Wednesday until 7 a.m. local time Thursday morning, in a post on X, warning any movement toward these areas exposes people to “danger.”

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

Biden says US to make ‘another push’ on Gaza ceasefire

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. “will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza” over the coming days, following the success of ceasefire talks in Lebanon.

Negotiations, Biden said in a post to X, must end “with the hostages released and an end to the war without Hamas in power.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Lebanon PM confirms ceasefire acceptance

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed Lebanon’s acceptance of the ceasefire in an address on Wednesday.

“We affirm the government’s commitment to implementing Security Council Resolution 1701 in all its provisions,” he said, referring to the 2006 U.N. Security Council measure that sought to end the last bout of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Resolution 1701 stipulated that Hezbollah must withdraw all forces north of the Litani River and that all Israeli forces must leave — and no longer violate the sovereignty of — Lebanon.

Mikati did not address the separate U.S.-Israeli agreement backing Israel’s right to continue to strike anywhere in Lebanon if deemed necessary for self-defense.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Somayeh Malekian

Hezbollah allies welcome Israel ceasefire

Hezbollah allies on Wednesday praised the group for securing its ceasefire deal with Israel.

In a press conference Wednesday morning, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran supports “ending Israel’s aggression against Lebanon as a part of the ceasefire.”

Iran — the founder and director of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” of which Hezbollah is a key element — maintains “unwavering support for the Lebanese government, people and resistance,” Baqaei said.

Hamas, meanwhile, said in an official statement that it welcomed the ceasefire and praised Hezbollah’s support of Palestinians, as well as the “great sacrifices” of the group’s members including late leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Israel’s acceptance of the deal, Hamas added, is a “milestone” in “destroying” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “illusions of changing the map of the Middle East by force and his illusions of defeating or disarming the resistance forces.”

Yemen’s Houthis — who have been attacking shipping and launching long-range strikes into Israel — also praised Hezbollah’s “steadfastness,” framing the ceasefire deal as an Israeli defeat.

“The conflict with the Zionist enemy is an inevitable conflict and the wars with it are rounds in a conflict that will inevitably end with its demise,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz, Samy Zyara and Somayeh Malekian

IDF attacked ‘dozens’ of targets in hours before ceasefire

The Israel Defense Forces said its warplanes bombed “dozens” of Hezbollah targets across Lebanon in the hours leading up to the Wednesday morning ceasefire.

The IDF said in a post to social media that the targets included “Hezbollah command centers, launchers, weapons storage facilities and terrorist infrastructure sites in Beirut, Tyre and Nabatieh.”

The IDF also struck “several smuggling routes between Syria and Lebanon, which were used by Hezbollah to smuggle weaponry,” the force said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Lebanese army preparing to deploy south after ceasefire

The Lebanese Armed Forces said in a Wednesday morning statement that it was “taking the necessary measures to complete the deployment in the south as mandated by the Lebanese government” after the ceasefire deal with Israel came into effect.

The ceasefire agreement stipulates that Lebanese troops will take up positions in the south of the country and prevent the return of Hezbollah forces — who are expected to withdraw north of the Litani River — to the area.

LAF commander General Joseph Aoun met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday to discuss the security situation in the south of the country, a statement posted to Mikati’s X channel said.

The LAF is expected to deploy around 5,000 troops to the area as part of the 60-day ceasefire. United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon soldiers will remain in southern Lebanon to assist.

Israeli troops are expected to withdraw from their positions in south Lebanon in phases during the same timeframe.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

Israel ceasefire ‘a test for all Lebanese,’ parliament speaker says

Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri said in a Wednesday address that the nascent ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is “a test for all Lebanese, from all sects, to save their country and protect its constitutional institutions.”

Berri — the leader of the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement who has been negotiating on Hezbollah’s behalf — said the Lebanese “people were able to neutralize the effects of the Israeli aggression” and saluted late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.

“We call on all our displaced people in all our regions and the sister countries that hosted them to return,” Berri added. “We are in dire need of national unity among all the Lebanese people.”

Berri called for the “speedy election” of a new Lebanese president and thanked all those “who contributed to the ceasefire.”

Hezbollah is yet to issue any official statement on the ceasefire, which went into effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti

IDF fires on vehicle in south Lebanon after ceasefire begins

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday its troops fired on a vehicle carrying several people “in a zone prohibited for movement in Lebanese territory” shortly after the ceasefire came into effect at 4 a.m. local time.

“IDF troops fired to prevent them from advancing and the suspects left the area,” the IDF wrote in a post to X.

The Israeli air force, it said “remains ready to act across Lebanese territory” while the Israeli air defense network “is also in a high state of defensive readiness.”

“The IDF will act against anyone who tries to violate the ceasefire agreement and will not allow damage to the security of the residents of Israel,” the force wrote.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

IDF warns southern Lebanese not to return home despite ceasefire

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Wednesday morning that Lebanese civilians who fled their homes in the south of the country should not return to their homes until told to do so, despite the start of the ceasefire.

Twenty minutes after the ceasefire came into effect, Adraee said in a post to X that the IDF remains “positioned in its posts in southern Lebanon.”

“Do not approach the villages that the IDF has evacuated or IDF soldiers in the area,” he wrote. “For your safety and the security of your families, avoid entering the area.”

“We will update you when it is safe to return to your homes,” Adraee added.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is now in effect

The ceasefire went into effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday morning.

Representatives of Hezbollah still have not said anything on the record about the agreement.

When submitting the deal for approval, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal still relies on the actions of Hezbollah.

“The duration of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in the statement. “We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. We will continue together until victory.”

Strikes reported in central Beirut minutes after ceasefire deal announced

There were reports of strikes in central Beirut minutes after President Joe Biden finished speaking, announcing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah.

The ceasefire is set to take effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire will begin at 4 am local time on Wednesday

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah will begin at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday under a U.S.-brokered deal, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday.

“Israel did not launch this war. The Lebanese people did not want this either,” Biden said in an address Tuesday.

“This has been the deadliest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in decades,” Biden said.

Biden warned that Israel “retains the right to self-defense” if Hezbollah or anyone else attacks Israel.

Biden also called for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. The U.S. is working with Egypt, Turkey and other partners to attain a ceasefire in Gaza, Biden said.

“The people in Gaza have been through hell,” Biden said.

Israeli cabinet approves Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal

Israel’s cabinet has approved the U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had submitted the proposal to the cabinet for approval Tuesday.

Far-right Israeli Minister Ben Gvir was the only minister who voted against deal. The 10 other ministers in the cabinet voted in favor of the deal.

Netanyahu thanked President Joe Biden for “the US involvement in achieving the ceasefire agreement,” and for “the understanding that Israel will maintain freedom of action in its enforcement,” a statement said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Gaza’s Civil Defense stops operating in Gaza City due to lack of fuel

Gaza’s Civil Defense vehicles — which serve emergency functions like search and rescue operations — are no longer operating in Gaza City because the agency is out of fuel, it announced Tuesday.

Gaza’s Civil Defense stopped operating in northern Gaza on Oct. 23.

More than 44,000 people have been killed and over 104,000 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

Israeli strikes hit Beirut, southern Lebanon, as ceasefire talks continue

At least seven people were killed and 37 were injured in Israeli strikes on the Dahieh area of Beirut on Tuesday as Israel continued to strike multiple areas throughout Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

The strikes come amid reports of Israel and Hezbollah nearing a ceasefire agreement.

The Israel Defense Forces issued multiple evacuation orders for areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut and areas in southern Lebanon, including nine warnings about strikes in the Dahieh area of Beirut.

Hezbollah fired 45 projectiles toward Israel on Tuesday, the IDF said. One person was seriously injured after one of the rocket salvos landed in the Haifa and Krayot area of Israel, Israeli emergency services said.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller

Israel strikes 20 targets in Beirut

Israel said it conducted strikes on 20 targets in Beirut, including components of Hezbollah’s military and financial systems.

“Among the targets struck were a Hezbollah aerial defense unit center, an intelligence center, command centers, weapons storage facilities, an operations room, an artillery storage facility, and terrorist infrastructure sites,” Israel said in a statement.

Israel also targeted Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association — a nonprofit that gives out loans — alleging it is used by Hezbollah to collect and store funds.

Israel had sent evacuation orders about 20 minutes before the strikes hit. The IDF said they are attacking Hezbollah in Beirut on “a large scale.” Black smoke was still visible and covering part of Beirut hours later.

The strikes began just minutes before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to meet with his cabinet to discuss a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah.

Earlier Tuesday, there were three other strikes in Beirut.

Israel bombs Beirut suburbs again

Fresh airstrikes shook Beirut’s southern Dahiya suburbs on Tuesday morning, with the Israel Defense Forces claiming to have targeted six Hezbollah targets including infrastructure sites used by the group’s coast-to-sea missile unit.

The IDF said it struck around 30 Hezbollah targets in Dahiya over the past week. The suburb — parts of which are close to the city’s international airport — is known as a Hezbollah stronghold and has borne the brunt of months of near-daily airstrikes on the Lebanese capital.

The strikes followed soon after an IDF warning for residents to evacuate parts of Dahiya.

Lebanese authorities said that 3,768 people in Lebanon had been killed by Israeli strikes as of Sunday.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israel says troops reached Lebanon’s Litani River

The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that its forces conducted operations near Lebanon’s Litani River — the waterway around 18 miles of the Israeli border which Israeli leaders have demanded serve as a buffer keeping Hezbollah units out of the country’s south.

Reaching the Litani would mark the deepest penetration of Israeli forces into Lebanon since the IDF withdrew from the country in 2000. Israeli troops did not push up to the Litani in the 2006 war with Hezbollah.

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” in operations in the Litani River region, the IDF said in a post to X.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

 

Lebanon death toll rises ahead of possible cease-fire

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said Tuesday that the death toll from Israel’s military operations in the country had risen to 3,768 people as of Sunday.

Another 15,699 people have been wounded since renewed fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah began on Oct. 8, 2023, the ministry said.

Israel continued airstrikes on Monday night and Tuesday morning even amid reports of an imminent cease-fire deal. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported six people killed in multiple attacks in the southern Nabatieh Governorate.

IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee also issued fresh evacuation warnings for Beirut’s southern Dahiya area on Tuesday morning ahead of planned airstrikes there.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

Details of Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire deal emerge

A cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah would begin soon after its announcement, with the aim of achieving a permanent cease-fire after 60 days, according to an Israeli source with knowledge of the potential deal.

The U.S. will head a committee, joined by French and Arab partners, to monitor and verify the implementation of the ceasefire, the source said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security cabinet meeting Tuesday to discuss the deal and hold a cabinet vote, Israeli officials said.

There is almost unanimous support in the cabinet for the U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal, and it is expected to be approved. Far-right leader Ben Gvir is expected to vote against it.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

‘We don’t believe we have an agreement yet’: State Department

The U.S. is hopeful that Israel and Hezbollah are close to a cease-fire deal, but striking a pact “is up to the parties, not to us,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a briefing Monday.

“We don’t believe we have an agreement yet. We believe we’re close to an agreement. We believe that we have narrowed the gap significantly, but there are still steps that we need to see taken, but we hope — we hope that we can get there,” Miller said.

Echoing comments earlier Monday by White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby, Miller emphasized that “nothing’s final until everything’s final.”

“Oftentimes the very last stages of an agreement are the most difficult, because the hardest issues are left to the end,” Miller said.

-ABC News’ Chris Boccia

Israeli strikes kill 31, injure at least 62 people in Lebanon

Israeli forces conducted strikes Monday in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut and in southern Lebanon as talks of a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel continued on both sides.

At least 31 people were killed and 62 others injured in the strikes on southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

No indication Netanyahu will call in cabinet and vote to approve Lebanon cease-fire

There are no indications that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to call in his cabinet and vote to approve the Lebanon cease-fire Monday night, Israeli officials told ABC News.

Netanyahu is planning a series of meetings Tuesday to discuss the Lebanon cease-fire deal, including talks with his minister of strategic affairs, former American ambassador Ron Dermer, along with his most senior defense officials.

Later in the afternoon, Netanyahu will hold a larger cabinet meeting that includes the far-right. That meeting may lead to a final vote to approve a deal, though that remains unclear. A deal can pass even if one of the two far-right leaders opposes it.

The cease-fire would last for 60 days, but would not require the Israel Defense Forces to withdraw right away.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Jordana Miller

White House says deal is close but nothing is final

A cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah was close, White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby reiterated in a briefing Tuesday, but he would not give details about the deal or specific timing, saying he had to be careful not to get in the way of the tenuous diplomacy.

“We believe that the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction. But again, nothing is done until everything is done. Nothing’s all negotiated till everything is negotiated. And you know, we need to keep at the work to see it through so that we can actually get the ceasefire for which we’ve been working for for so long and so hard,” Kirby said.

Kirby declined to say if any announcement from President Joe Biden and French President Emanuel Macron should be expected over the next few days.

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett

 Far-right Israeli minister says Lebanon cease-fire would be a ‘big mistake’

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Monday that a potential cease-fire agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon would be “a big mistake.”

Ending the war would be a “missed opportunity” to “eradicate Hezbollah,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X.

Ben-Gvir has previously pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reject any cease-fire deal in Gaza, where fighting continues with Hamas and other militant groups.

“We must continue until the absolute victory,” Ben-Gvir said of both the Gaza and Lebanon fronts.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Khamenei calls for ‘death sentence’ for Netanyahu, Israeli leaders

In an address to thousands of Basij militia members on Monday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued last week for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were insufficient.

“What [they have] done in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory, it is a war crime,” Khamenei said.

“Now they have issued arrest warrants for them; this is not enough,” he added of the ICC decision. “A death sentence must be issued for Netanyahu and the criminal leaders of this regime.”

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, who the Israel Defense Forces claimed to have killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July.

Netanyahu’s office expressed its “disgust” at the decision and dismissed the ICC warrant as “absurd.”

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian and Joe Simonetti

Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs

The Israel Defense Forces said its warplanes “conducted intelligence-based strikes on several Hezbollah command centers” in southern Beirut on Monday.

The strikes again focused on the Dahiya area in the south of the Lebanese capital, which is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.

Monday’s bombings followed an intense day of strikes on Sunday, as diplomats continued to push for a cease-fire agreement to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

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UAE arrests 3 people accused of rabbi’s killing

The United Arab Emirates’ Interior Ministry said Monday it arrested three Uzbek nationals suspected of the kidnapping and killing of Moldovan-Israeli rabbi Zvi Kogan.

Kogan, 28, was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who went missing on Nov. 21. He managed a kosher grocery store in Dubai.

The ministry identified the three detained men as Olimpi Tohirovic, 28, Mahmoud John Abdul Rahim, 28, and Azizi Kamilovic, 33. It did not say whether charges had been filed and did not suggest a motive.

Israeli leaders have framed the killing as an antisemitic terror operation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his nation would “act by all means” to “bring justice to the murderers and their senders.”

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

IDF issues new Beirut airstrike warnings

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Monday morning that Israeli warplanes would soon begin new airstrikes in Beirut, following 24 hours of intense bombing of the city’s southern suburbs.

Adraee ordered residents of the Haret Hreik area of the southern Dahiya suburbs — known as a Hezbollah stronghold — to flee their homes and stay at least 500 meters from target buildings identified on an IDF map.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

More strikes on southern Beirut suburbs

There were more strikes Sunday night in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which have been pounded by dozens of Israeli strikes in the last few days.

The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday night’s strikes in Dahieh were on “12 Hezbollah command centers.”

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé

29 dead in central Beirut after Saturday’s airstrike

The death toll from an Israeli strike Saturday in central Beirut has risen to 29, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

The update on casualties came as emergency workers continued to search collapsed buildings for survivors of the strike, an official said.

At least 67 people were also injured in the Israeli strike, according to the Ministry of Health.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

Israeli official confirms Netanyahu holding meeting on Lebanon cease-fire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding a meeting with security officials on Sunday night regarding ongoing Lebanon cease-fire talks, an Israeli official told ABC News.

The development comes after Netanyahu met last week in Israel with U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein and discussed a possible cease-fire in Lebanon. Hochstein also traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to discuss a cease-deal between Hezbollah and Israel.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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