Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at University of Minnesota

(LONDON) — Israeli forces continued their intense operations inside Gaza after Hamas leader and Oct. 7, 2023 attack mastermind Yahya Sinwar was killed in a firefight with Israeli forces.

The development comes as Israel continues intense air and ground campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and mulls its response to Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday in a bid to kickstart stalled cease-fire talks and prevent further regional escalation.

Over 150 patients in northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital in critical condition

More than 150 people in northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital are in critical condition and are facing increasingly dire conditions, according to the hospital director.

Health services cannot be provided to the sick and injured due to the depletion of medical supplies, according to the director.

“Kamal Adwan Hospital remains partially functional but is struggling to meet growing needs due to intensified hostilities in the north and a shortage of medical supplies and fuel. A strike near the hospital causing damages to the gate was reported earlier today, 22 October,” the World Health Organization said in a statement Wednesday.

“As hostilities intensify in North Gaza, WHO is deeply concerned about the last two functional hospitals – Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda – which must be protected. A complete lack of health care in North Gaza would make an already catastrophic situation worse, and lead to more lives being lost,” the WHO said.

Gaza polio vaccine campaign postponed due to ‘intense’ attacks, UN says

The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that it has been forced to postpone the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza.

The WHO blamed “escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders and lack of assured humanitarian pauses across most of northern Gaza.”

The third and final round of the vaccination push was due to start on Wednesday, the WHO said, and aimed to vaccinate 119,279 children across northern Gaza.

“The current conditions, including ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure continue to jeopardize people’s safety and movement in northern Gaza, making it impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccination, and health workers to operate,” the organization wrote in a statement published on its website.

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor

Blinken to travel to Qatar, UK after Saudi visit

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Qatar and the U.K. after his Wednesday stop in Saudi Arabia, the State Department announced.

Blinken left Israel early Wednesday following meetings with officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

The visit was the first on a Middle East tour intended to kickstart stalled cease-fire negotiations in Gaza and encourage a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning ahead of a planned meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

-ABC News’ Cindy Smith

US has ‘not seen evidence’ of bunker under Beirut hospital: Austin

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Wednesday that U.S. officials have “not seen evidence” to support Israel’s claim of a Hezbollah bunker located under Al-Sahel hospital in southern Beirut.

“We’ll continue to collaborate with our Israeli counterparts to gain better fidelity on exactly what they’re looking at,” Austin added.

Israel claims Hezbollah is using the purported bunker to store hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold under the city’s southern Dahiya suburb. Hospital officials have denied the allegation.

The area — known as a Hezbollah stronghold — has been the focus of its intense airstrikes on the Lebanese capital over the past month.

-ABC News’ Chris Boccia

Austin says no staffers probed in FBI’s Israel leak investigation

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday denied reports that one of his senior staffers is under investigation by the FBI in connection with leaked Pentagon documents purportedly relating to Israel’s planned retaliatory strike on Iran.

“There’s no OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] official being named as a part of this investigation,” Austin told reporters while in Rome, Italy. “So that is not true at this point.”

“I’ve seen no evidence of that, or any indication that any OSD official will be implicated as part of this.”

-ABC News’ Chris Boccia

More overnight Israeli strikes rock Beirut

The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes conducted another night of airstrikes in the Lebanese capital targeting what it said were Hezbollah weapons storage, arms manufacturing and command center targets in the southern suburbs.

The airstrikes centered on Dahiya — an area of south Beirut known as a Hezbollah stronghold.

More than 2,500 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Oct. 7, 2023, with nearly 12,000 injured, according to tallies from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Will Gretsky

Blinken departs Israel for Saudi Arabia

Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed Israel early Wednesday for Saudi Arabia — the next stop on his latest Middle East tour.

Before boarding his plane in Tel Aviv, Blinken told reporters that Israel has now achieved most of its military objectives in Gaza — including the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — but at great cost to Palestinian civilians.

Blinken said it was time to end the conflict, having spent Tuesday meeting with Israeli leaders — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and the families of hostages in a bid to revive cease-fire and hostage release talks.

There is now a need to establish whether a post-Sinwar Hamas will be more open to a diplomatic resolution, Blinken said, plus to facilitate more aid into Gaza and to establish a concrete plan for the post-war governance of the territory.

Blinken said such questions would be part of his meetings with other Middle East leaders through this week.

-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston

US officials press Israel on ‘General’s Plan’

During their meeting Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about reports that some Israeli officials wanted to seize control of north Gaza using controversial methods, according to a senior U.S. administration official.

Coined the “General’s Plan” by media outlets, the idea would be to force evacuations of the area and assume anyone who stays behind is an enemy combatant and can be fired upon and starved.

The senior U.S. administration official said Blinken noted in the meeting that there’s a “perception” that this method is official Israeli policy.

The official said Netanyahu and his top aide, Ron Dermer, denied that it was and said the perception was “deeply damaging” to their efforts.

“We did hear a very clear commitment that that is not their state of policy,” the official told a reporter.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

Blinken, Netanyahu meet as US pushes for cease-fire

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for over 2 1/2 hours on Tuesday, as the U.S. makes a push for a cease-fire agreement to end Israel’s conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah.

Blinken and Netanyahu discussed the need to capitalize on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to reach an agreement that would secure the release of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza and putting in place a plan that provides lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.

Blinken also discussed the importance of increasing the flow of aid being allowed into Gaza. The U.S. warned Israel last week that assistance could be withheld if humanitarian aid doesn’t reach civilians in Gaza.

Lebanese hospital sustained ‘severe material damage’ in Israeli strike

Lebanon’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital will continue providing care despite the building sustaining “severe material damage” in an Israeli strike on Monday, according to Dr. Jihad Saadeh, the head of the hospital.

“Because of the targeting that has happened, we have sustained severe material damage to the hospital, including the destruction of solar panels, extensive destruction of all glass facades and damage to the hospital walls. Severe damage because it seems the shrapnel was very large,” Saadeh said.

“We will not stop. Several entities even called me yesterday asking if I would like to evacuate the hospital. I told them, not at all. We will not evacuate. There is no hospital left but us. After the sinful targeting of the suburb’s hospitals, there is no one left except for us. So we will continue our work, God willing,” Saadeh said.

Drone attack on Netanyahu’s house caused damage

The drone that targeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home on Saturday caused some damage to the structure, according to a person familiar.

Netanyahu called the attack an “attempt to assassinate me and my wife,” in a statement Saturday. They were not in the home at the time of the attack, according to the prime minister’s office.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

63 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon Monday

At least 63 people were killed and 234 were injured in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

Since the start of Israel’s increased strikes on Lebanon, at least 2,546 people were killed and 11,862 others were injured, the ministry said.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Gaza’s development set back 69 years by war, UN says

The United Nations Development Programme published a new report Tuesday suggesting that Israel’s war against Hamas has set the Gaza Strip’s development back by as much as 69 years.

Poverty levels in Gaza are projected to rise to 74.3% in 2024, affecting over 4 million people, the report said — including 2.61 million “newly impoverished” people.

The territory’s GDP is expected to contract by some 35.1% in 2024 compared to a no-war scenario, it added, with unemployment potentially rising to almost 50%.

“The assessment indicates that, even if humanitarian aid is provided each year, the economy may not regain its pre-crisis level for a decade or more,” UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said.

Evacuation leaflets accompany Israeli attacks in north Gaza

At least 12 people were killed or injured in Israel Defense Forces attacks in northern Gaza over the past 24 hours, officials from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday.

At least 87 people were killed over the weekend in an IDF attack in the Beit Lahia neighborhood, officials said, just north of the Jabalia refugee camp which has been the focus of recent Israeli operations in the area. The IDF disputed the death toll.

Meanwhile, the IDF dropped leaflets over Beit Lahia on Tuesday urging residents to evacuate southwards.

Footage from the area showed long lines of people — mostly women and children — fleeing with their belongings under the watch of Israeli forces.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Guy Davies

Beirut hospital won’t evacuate despite Israeli strike, director says

The general manager of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital said on Tuesday that staff would continue treating patients there despite a nearby Israeli airstrike.

“We are committed to continuing our work and will not evacuate the hospital,” Dr. Jihad Saadeh said. “Although the hospital has suffered damage from shrapnel, we are prepared to treat patients in the hospital corridors if necessary.”

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said 13 people including a child were killed and at least 57 others injured in the Israeli airstrike late Monday, with significant damage done to the nearby hospital — the largest public medical facility in Lebanon.

There was no warning issued before the strike on the hospital, sources told ABC News. The Israel Defense Forces denied the hospital was hit and said its strike was on a nearby Hezbollah target.

Saadeh told Tuesday’s press conference that some 50 healthcare centers, 150 ambulances, 150 paramedics and 15 hospitals have been targeted in Israeli attacks.

-ABC News’ Josiane Hajj Moussa and Guy Davies

IDF strike near hospital in Lebanon kills 13 and injures at least 57

An Israel Defense Forces strike near Rafik Hariri Hospital in southern Beirut on Monday killed 13 people including a child and injured at least 57 others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

Seventeen of those injured required hospitalization, with seven in a critical condition, the ministry said in a Tuesday statement.

The hospital, which is the largest public medical facility in Lebanon, sustained significant damage, officials said.

There was no warning issued before the strike on the hospital, sources told ABC News.

The IDF denied attacking the hospital in a statement, claiming it was targeting a Hezbollah target close to the facility. “The strike did not hit the hospital and the IDF emphasizes that the hospital was not targeted, and the hospital itself and its operation were not affected, the IDF said.

-ABC News’ Josiane Hajj Moussa, Jordana Miller and Guy Davies

Israel designates Al-Qard al-Hassan as a terrorist organization

Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced Tuesday that he designated the Al-Qard al-Hassan finance institution — which Israel alleges is a key financial vehicle for Hezbollah — a terrorist organization.

“Hezbollah’s bank is used to purchase weapons, pay the salaries of terrorists and keep Hezbollah’s terror machine going,” Gallant wrote in a post on X.

“Degrading Hezbollah’s capabilities requires both a military and economic campaign,” he added. “We are destroying the terrorist organization’s ability to both launch and buy missiles.”

Israel has been targeting Al-Qard al-Hassan infrastructure throughout Lebanon in recent days. The strikes have been especially fierce in Beirut, and particularly in its southern Dahiya suburb which is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Blinken lands in Israel

Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to begin a tour of Middle East nations in bid to reinvigorate cease-fire talks in both Gaza and Lebanon.

Blinken is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

The revival of stalled cease-fire talks and the prevention of further regional escalation are at the top of the agenda for America’s top diplomat.

Blinken’s latest regional tour comes just two weeks to go until the U.S. presidential election and with Israel still mulling its retaliation against Iran for the latter’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack.

-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston and Guy Davies

IDF claims 230 more strikes in Lebanon and Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces said in a social media post Tuesday that it struck around 230 Hezbollah and Hamas targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip over the previous 24 hours.

The strikes killed “dozens” of fighters, the IDF claimed, and hit targets including three purported command centers of a Hezbollah drone unit in southern Lebanon.

In Gaza, fighting continues in the Jabalia area in the north of the strip, which is under intense Israeli bombardment and sweeping evacuation orders.

The IDF said “thousands of civilians have been evacuated” from the area, while “dozens of terrorists were arrested from among the civilians.”

Another 10 fighters were killed in a strike in the area, the IDF added. Troops also dismantled several tunnel shafts and a rocket launcher in Beit Lahia, to the north of Jabalia.

Elsewhere, the IDF reported an airstrike on a rocket launcher and ammunition in the southern Rafah area.

IDF claims Nasrallah’s bunker located underneath Beirut hospital

The Israel Defense Forces claimed late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s gold-filled bunker is located underneath a Beirut hospital, which hospital officials said was being evacuated Monday out of an abundance of caution.

“There are millions of dollars in gold and cash in Hassan Nasrallah’s bunker. Where is the bunker located? Directly under Al-Sahel Hospital — in the heart of Beirut,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a video address Monday.

The IDF released 3D renderings of the hospital building and the bunker it said belonged to Nasrallah, who was killed in Israeli airstrikes in Beirut last month, but has not provided tangible proof. Hagari said the Israeli air force is monitoring the site but added, “We will not strike the hospital itself.”

“We are not at war with the people of Lebanon. We are at war with Hezbollah,” he said.

Following Hagari’s remarks, Lebanese hospital officials said the hospital is being evacuated out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the patients. Lebanese Parliament member Fadi Alameh, the owner of the hospital, said he has requested that the Lebanese army and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon investigate the Israeli allegations.

Lebanese official Wiam Wahhab said the “talk of weapons depots” at the hospital “is illogical and false.”

“This points to the beginning of targeting hospitals, and the army must deploy around the hospital and protect it,” he said.

Dr. Youssef Bakhash, the president of the Lebanese Order of Physicians, told the Lebanese media group Al Jadeed that the “pretext of the existence of tunnels and funds beneath Sahel Hospital is aimed at targeting and disrupting the healthcare sector.”

Israel’s conflict with Iran to last ‘many months’: Former IDF general

Israel’s planned attack on Iran will mark the “beginning of a war” that will last “many months,” retired Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi told ABC News.

Israel’s war with Hezbollah had gone incredibly well and the IDF had surpassed its own expectations in degrading the Iranian proxy, Avivi said, adding that the same mentality would be applied to dealing with the Iranian regime itself.

“We have a historical opportunity to deal with Iran so they don’t pose another threat to Israel,” said Avivi, the founder of the right-wing think tank Israel’s Defense and Security Forum.

Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran will be “fierce and strong and very surprising” when it happens, he said.

-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge and Jordana Miller

300 Hezbollah targets hit in Lebanon in past 24 hours: IDF

The Israel Defense Forces said it hit 300 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, which saw an intense night of airstrikes on Beirut.

Seven brigade commanders, 21 battalion commanders and 24 company commanders for Hezbollah were killed in its ongoing operations, the IDF said.

More strikes against Hezbollah targets are expected all over southern Lebanon Monday night, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.

Still unclear whether intelligence docs were leaked or hacked: White House

There’s no indication yet whether classified documents on Israel’s retaliation plans were leaked or hacked, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday.

“I’m just not able to answer your question whether it was a leak or a hack at this point. We’ll let the investigation pursue its logical course there,” Kirby said.

Kirby said that President Joe Biden was “deeply concerned” about the incident, and that while they don’t expect more documents to be revealed, they are on high alert amid the investigation.

“We’re certainly going to keep our antenna up and our eyes open for any potential future disclosures,” he said.

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett

7 Israeli citizens arrested after allegedly spying for Iran

Seven Israeli citizens were arrested after allegedly spying for Iran, Israeli authorities said Monday.

The Israel Security Agency and Israel Police said they “successfully dismantled a spy network” that allegedly gathered sensitive information on Israel Defense Forces bases and energy infrastructure.

The citizens were allegedly recruited by Iranian agents to conduct “security-related tasks” over at least two years, authorities said, including “extensive reconnaissance missions” on air force and navy installations, ports, Iron Dome system locations and energy infrastructure.

Photographs and videos of “numerous” IDF bases, ports and energy infrastructure were seized as part of the investigation, authorities said.

“It is assessed that these activities have inflicted security damage on the state,” the ISA and Israel Police said.

The seven Israelis were allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, often through cryptocurrencies, for their work, authorities said.

Prosecutors are expected to file an indictment against them in the coming days.

Austin: ‘Hard to say’ what Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran will look like

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters while traveling to Ukraine on Monday that it’s “hard to say” what an Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran will look like, when asked whether the response should be proportional.

“That’s an Israeli decision,” he said. “Whether or not the Israelis believe [it] is proportional and [how] the Iranians perceive it, I mean, those are maybe two different things.”

Austin told reporters that the U.S. is “going to continue to do everything we can” to get both parties to “begin to de-escalate.”

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Blinken to visit Israel in Middle East tour

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will begin a tour of Israel and other Middle Eastern nations on Monday in a bid to inject new life into stalled cease-fire and hostage release negotiations in Gaza, the State Department said.

Blinken “will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people,” the State Department notice said.

“He will continue discussions on post-conflict period planning and emphasize the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives and realize their aspirations free from Hamas’ tyranny,” the statement said.

Blinken will also “underscore that additional food, medicine and other humanitarian aid must be delivered to civilians in Gaza,” it continued.

The situation in Lebanon — where Israel is continuing an intense air and ground campaign and Hezbollah is still firing across the shared border — will also be a topic of discussion, the State Department said.

Blinken will continue pursuit of a “diplomatic resolution” that “allows civilians on both sides” of the border to return to their homes, the statement said.

-ABC News’ Cindy Smith

‘Beirut in flames’ after night of airstrikes, foreign minister says

“Beirut in flames,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Monday following an intense night of airstrikes on the Lebanese capital.

“A wide-scale Israeli attack targeted Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure in Beirut and across Lebanon last night,” Katz said.

“Massive fires were seen above Beirut as over 15 buildings were struck following evacuation warnings to residents,” the foreign minister wrote.

“Hezbollah has paid and will continue to pay a heavy price for its attacks on northern Israel and its rocket fire. We will keep striking the Iranian proxy until it collapses.”

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

IDF claims ‘dozens’ of strikes on Hezbollah financial targets

Israel Defense Forces warplanes launched “a series of targeted, intelligence-based strikes against dozens of facilities and sites used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to finance its terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a Monday post to X.

The Sunday night strikes hit targets in Beirut, southern Lebanon and elsewhere “deep within” the country, the IDF added.

The IDF said the targets were linked to the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, which Israel has accused of acting as a key financier of Hezbollah activities.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

US investigating intelligence leak on Israel’s alleged plan to attack Iran

Documents purporting to show classified U.S. intelligence-gathering on Israel’s preparations for a possible retaliatory strike against Iran appeared on social media platforms late last week.

The impact of the circulation of these documents on current and future planning by the Israeli military is unclear at this time.

U.S. officials declined to comment on the situation when reached by ABC News. However, a law enforcement source on Sunday confirmed with ABC News that there is an investigation underway.

Markings on the documents indicate that they would have originated from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which collects, analyzes and distributes intelligence gleaned from satellite and aerial imagery.

If the documents are authentic, it would indicate a major intelligence breach.

According to Mick Mulroy, an ABC News national security and defense contributor, who served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East: “The future coordination between the U.S. and Israel could be challenged, as well.”

The Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation and a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence all declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.

House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared on CNN Sunday and acknowledged that there is an investigation underway into the possible intelligence leak, adding, “We’re following it closely.”

-ABC News’ T. Michelle Murphy

IDF says it’s targeting infrastructure in Lebanon of group allegedly financing Hezbollah

The Israel Defense Forces announced it was targeting infrastructure Sunday night in Lebanon that has been linked to the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, an organization it alleges is involved in financing Hezbollah.

The United States placed sanctions on the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association in May 2021 related to financing Hezbollah activities.

The Al-Qard Al-Hassan group has 31 branches in Lebanon — including in Beirut and Bekaa, officials said. At least one strike was reported Sunday evening in the Chyah neighborhood of Beirut.

“The ‘Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association’ is involved in financing the terrorist activities of the Hezbollah organization against Israel, and therefore the IDF has decided to attack this terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF said in a statement Sunday. “The IDF continues to work forcefully to destroy Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure. Therefore, we call on people inside buildings used by Hezbollah to stay at least 500 meters away from them for the next few hours.”

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

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(NEW YORK) — Israeli troops are now active in southern Lebanon in what the Israel Defense Forces called “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids” targeting Hezbollah positions.

Israel believes it has eliminated around 30 top Hezbollah leaders over the last several weeks, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, U.S. and Israeli officials said.

Here’s how the news is developing:

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.

(NEW YORK) — Israel and Hezbollah are exchanging hundreds of cross-border strikes in the wake of the shocking explosions of wireless devices across Lebanon last week.

Here’s how the news is developing:

‘We are winning,’ Netanyahu tells United Nations

Taking the podium at the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation is at war, vowing to return the hostages taken by Hamas.

He also issued warnings to Iran and the entire Middle East as Israeli officials said it is preparing to launch a ground invasion into Lebanon.

“There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach. And that is true of the entire Middle East,” Netanyahu said.

“If you strike us, we will strike you,” Netanyahu said, addressing Iran.

Netanyahu received some boos and some members of the General Assembly walked out as he took the podium.

Netanyahu said he hadn’t intended to attend the U.N. this year, but “came here to set the record straight.”

Missile from Yemen targeting Israel intercepted as sirens go off

A ballistic missile was fired by the Yemen-based Houthis at central Israel, setting off sirens in several areas. Explosions were heard following the interception of the missile and there was falling shrapnel, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The missile launch follows a number of attacks by other Iranian-backed proxies based in Iraq in recent days.

In the last 72 hours, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have claimed responsibility for five attacks on Israel, including three explosive drones launched at Israel on Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Tom Soufi Burridge

19 injured in Israel after missile fired from Yemen

While the Israel Defense Forces said a missile fired from Yemen was successfully intercepted by the “Arrow” Aerial Defense System on Thursday night, 19 people were still injured.

One person was injured and is in moderate condition, and 18 people were injured while seeking shelter and are in mild condition, the Israeli emergency services said in a statement.

The individual in moderate condition — a 17-year-old female — was hit by a vehicle that swerved off the road after sirens went off.

-ABC News’ Anna Burd

At least 92 killed in Lebanon today: Ministry of Health

At least 92 people were killed and another 153 wounded Thursday in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

More than 700 people have been killed in Lebanon since Monday, the ministry said.

Hezbollah confirms top commander killed

Hezbollah has confirmed that Muhammad Hussein Srour, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Aerial Command, was killed in a Thursday strike in Beirut.

“With great pride and honor, the Islamic Resistance announces the martyrdom of the Mujahid leader Muhammad Hussein Surur ‘Hajj Abu Saleh,’ born in 1973 in the town of Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, who was martyred on the road to Jerusalem,” Hezbollah said in a statement.

Humanitarian situation in Gaza is worse than a month ago: UNRWA

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is worse than it was a month ago, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told reporters at the UN Thursday.

“Women in Gaza are now shaving their heads because they don’t have shampoo to wash their hair,” Lazzarini said, giving one example of the situation on the ground.

Lazzarini and Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi spoke with reporters after a ministerial meeting in support of UNRWA co-hosted by Jordan and Sweden at the UN headquarters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Thursday.

Lazzarini said about 50 countries attended the high-level meeting to show support for UNRWA, an agency that has come under intense scrutiny during the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel accused several UNRWA employees of being directly involved in the Oct. 7 attacks, prompting an internal UN probe and the halting of funding to the agency from many countries, including the U.S.

Since U.S. funding to UNRWA remains paused until March 2025, Lazzarini said the European Union and European Commission combined make up about 60% of the agency’s funding now.

“It is incomprehensible that a country is allowed to label a UN agency as a terrorist state,” Lazzarini said. “The world must not allow that, and we will stand up to it along with all of our partners who showed up in support of UNRWA today.”

“These are not just attacks against UNRWA, these are attacks against the broader United Nations system,” Safadi said.

In terms of getting more humanitarian aid into Gaza, Safadi said Jordan has the ability to scale up to send in 500 trucks a day, but the “problem is we’re not allowed to do that.” The other problem is once you get to the Kerem Shalom crossing, the only crossing point open into Gaza since the Rafah crossing closed in May, “you need to make sure people are empowered to receive it,” Safadi added.

“It’s not just allowing the aid in but also allowing the humanitarians to operate in Gaza,” Lazzarini said.

The successful completion of the first phase of the polio vaccine campaign “could not have happened without UNRWA,” Lazzarini said.

“UNRWA and its staff made the ultimate sacrifice” in the ongoing conflict, Lazzarini said, noting that 222 UNRWA staff members have been killed in Gaza.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

IDF strikes at least 220 Hezbollah targets

Israel struck 220 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Thursday, including launchers used to fire projectiles into Israel, weapons storage facilities and Hezbollah members, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Israel has now struck thousands of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon since Monday.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Israel waiting ‘years’ for opportunity to attack Hezbollah: IDF chief of staff

Israeli officials are insisting they will continue fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shot down a 21-day cease-fire proposal submitted by the U.S. and France.

“We need to continue attacking Hezbollah, we have been waiting for this opportunity for years,” Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the chief of the General Staff for the Israel Defense Forces, said Thursday.

The IDF is working to “eliminate” more Hezbollah senior officials, “thwart the transfer of weapons, to detract from Hezbollah’s firepower and to attack it throughout Lebanon,” Halevi added.

After landing in New York before he is set to speak at the United Nations on Friday, Netanyahu doubled down on continuing to fight Hezbollah.

“The policy is clear: we continue to hit Hezbollah with all our might — we will not stop until we achieve all our goals,” Netanyahu said.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir

‘No cease-fire’ in Lebanon, Israel’s foreign minister says

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared on social media on Thursday that there “will be no ceasefire in the north,” as U.S.-led efforts to prevent a full-scale Israeli invasion of Lebanon appeared to fall flat.

“We will continue to fight against the terrorist organization Hezbollah with all our might until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” Katz wrote in a post to X.

The statement came shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed reports that the U.S. was gathering international support for a 21-day cease-fire. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday the plan had “significant” backing.

“This is an American-French proposal, to which the prime minister did not even respond,” a post to Netanyahu’s official X page said.

The Israel Defense Forces continued its bombardment of southern and eastern Lebanon overnight into Thursday while its troops prepared for an expected ground operation.

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the chief of the IDF General Staff, told units at the northern border on Wednesday: “We are preparing the process of a maneuver, which means your military boots, your maneuvering boots, will enter enemy territory.”

IDF continues deadly strikes as ground offensive looms

At least 23 more people were killed as Israeli warplanes continued airstrikes in Lebanon through Thursday morning.

The Israel Defense Forces said its aircraft struck approximately 75 Hezbollah targets in the south of the country and the eastern Bekaa region overnight. The force said it is continuing operations “to dismantle and degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities.”

Since Monday, Israel’s intensified air campaign killed nearly 700 people and wounded more than 1,700 others, per data from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

The IDF said Hezbollah fired approximately 45 projectiles into Israel from Lebanon on Thursday morning, some of which were intercepted with the rest falling in open areas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, dismissed hopes of a U.S.-brokered cease-fire that would forestall Israel’s planned ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu “instructed the IDF to continue the fighting with full force and according to the plans presented to him,” according to a statement published on his official X page on Thursday.

Netanyahu says cease-fire news ‘incorrect,’ vows to continue fight in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said news about a potential cease-fire deal between Hezbollah and Israel being discussed is “incorrect.”

“This is an American-French proposal, to which the prime minister did not even respond,” he said in a statement posted on social media on Thursday.

He added, “The news about the supposed directive to moderate the fighting in the north is also the opposite of the truth. The Prime Minister instructed the IDF to continue the fighting with full force, and according to the plans presented to him. Also, the fighting in Gaza will continue until all the goals of the war are achieved.”

Biden says ‘significant support’ for Israel-Lebanon cease-fire plan

President Joe Biden told reporters outside the White House on Wednesday night that the U.S. was “able to generate significant support from Europe, as well as the Arab nations” for a 21-day cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah to head off a full-scale war in Lebanon.

“It’s important this war not widen,” the president said. “I’ll have more to say about it tomorrow.”

In a call with reporters just before the president landed, senior administration officials described the proposal as a “breakthrough” they hoped would produce momentum in Lebanon and in stalled talks between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip

“This is an important breakthrough on the Lebanon side, given all that has gone on there, particularly over the last few weeks,” a senior administration official said. “But you know, we will try to use the space that provides wisely on all on all fronts.”

The officials indicated that a response is expected over the next several hours.

“I guess the parties are going to respond for themselves to the call, but I can share that we have had this conversation with the parties and felt this was the right moment, based on the call, based on our discussion, they are familiar with the text and again, we’ll let them speak to their actions of accepting the deal in the coming hours,” a senior administration official said.

Officials said they’d been negotiating with Lebanon nonstop for the past 48 hours, and that its leaders there were aware they speak for “everything that happens on that side of the border,” indicating that they will accept the deal on behalf of Hezbollah.

“So our expectation is when the government of Lebanon or when the government of Israel both accept this, this will carry and be implemented as a ceasefire on both sides, on both sides of the blue line, for the period of the 21 days,” an official said.

US troops in Cyprus preparing for Lebanon evacuations, official confirms

A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News that the small number of additional American military personnel deployed to the Middle East are on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, where they are planning for “non-combatant evacuation operations” in Lebanon.

The planning remains a precautionary measure, the official said. ABC News understands that between 12 and 24 American troops are involved in the preparations, not all of whom are special operations personnel.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said Wednesday she could not confirm the exact number of personnel deployed.

“What I can tell you is that we are sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel forward to augment forces that are already in the region,” she told reporters.

“I’m just not going to be able to provide you more specifics,” she added. “I know it’s frustrating, but I’m just not going to be able to confirm more.”

Israel to use ‘all means’ in Lebanon if diplomacy fails, diplomat says

Danny Danon, Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations, told reporters on Wednesday that his nation would “prefer a diplomatic solution” to its unfolding conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, but that “if it fails to return our residents to their homes, then we will use all means at our disposal.”

“We are entirely focused on achieving our objectives, which in the north is the return of our displaced citizens who have become refugees in their own country,” Dannon said.

“Do not mistake a peaceful nation for a defenseless one. We have the means, we have the capabilities to achieve this goal,” he said.

Danon again expressed that Israel was “open to ideas” to avoid a full-scale war.

“But you know, we are very honest about it. Our goal is to push Hezbollah from the fence, allow the residents to come back to the communities, and I hope we’ll be able to achieve it without using our military capabilities,” he said.

Israel is already conducting an extensive airstrike campaign across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, as well as limited airstrikes in the capital Beirut and elsewhere.

Israeli actions have killed more than 650 people — including at least 50 children — and wounded more than 1,700 others since Monday, according to Lebanese authorities.

Danon declined to weigh in on whether progress had been made towards a pause, but said negotiators “know exactly what we expect.”

Iran will not be ‘indifferent’ if Israel invades Lebanon, minister says

Iran “will not remain indifferent in case of a full-scale war in Lebanon,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Araghchi also warned that Israel’s “crimes will not go unpunished,” and said the Middle East region “risks full-scale conflict” if the U.N. Security Council does not “act now to halt Israel’s war and enforce an immediate ceasefire.”

“The path to de-escalation is clear,” Araghchi said. “Israel must immediately stop its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. Without a ceasefire in Gaza, there will be no guarantee of peace in the region.”

“The Security Council must act now to halt Israel’s war and enforce an immediate ceasefire, and by that, to save innocent lives. If not, the region risks full-scale conflict and history will hold Israel’s enablers, especially the United States, responsible,” Araghchi continued.

“Iran will not remain indifferent in case of a full-scale war in Lebanon,” the diplomat added. “We stand with the people of Lebanon with all means.”

81 dead and 403 wounded in Lebanon today: Ministry of Public Health

On Wednesday, at least 81 people were killed and 403 were wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

In total, more than 650 people — including at least 50 children — have been killed and over 1,700 others injured since Monday, according to the ministry.

US in ‘active discussions’ to secure cease-fire between Israel, Hezbollah

The U.S. is currently “in active discussions” with Israel and other countries to try to secure a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, according to a U.S. official.

The Biden administration has floated at least one draft proposal aimed at temporarily halting the conflict, but Israel has signaled it intends to move forward with battle plans aimed at ending months of tit-for-tat exchanges with Hezbollah across its northern border by decimating the militant group, two officials told ABC News.

Negotiations are still ongoing, but at this hour officials said they are growing increasingly resigned to full-blown warfare on a second front in the Middle East.

The U.S. also has little leverage over Hezbollah, so it’s unclear whether the group would abide by any such agreement to pause the fighting, officials said.

The administration could potentially rely on partners with direct ties to Hezbollah to contain the group, but all of its efforts to halt its attacks on Israel over the last year have been unsuccessful, officials said.

The U.S. is still pursuing “concrete options” for de-escalation, and Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said on Tuesday that Israeli leadership remained “open-minded,” officials said.

The Biden administration is also still fervently focused on keeping Iran — a chief military and financial supporter of Hezbollah — on the sidelines through indirect diplomacy. Multiple conversations between countries that communicate directly with Iran are taking place on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly, officials said.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Michelle Stoddart

Netanyahu says operation in Lebanon will continue

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation in Lebanon will continue, despite international calls for a diplomatic resolution to Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah.

“I cannot detail everything we are doing, but I can tell you one thing, we are determined to return our residents in the north safely to their homes. We are inflicting blows on Hezbollah that [the group] did not imagine. We do it with power, we do it with guile. I promise you one thing — we will not rest until they come home,” Netanyahu said.

Biden says ‘all-out war’ is possible in the Middle East

When asked about how real the threat of a wider war in the Middle East really is, President Joe Biden said “an all-out war is possible,” but added that there’s still the opportunity for a resolution contingent on Israel changing “some policies.”

“We’re still in play to have a settlement that can fundamentally change the whole region,” Biden said, in an interview on “The View,” which covered a range of topics.

“The Arab world very much wants to have a settlement, because they know what it does for them. They’re willing to make arrangements with Israel and alliances with Israel, if Israel changes some policies.”

Biden said he has a strong relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he said that there “needs” to be a two-state solution.

“I don’t agree with his position. There needs to be a two-state solution. Ultimately, it needs to happen. There’s a way to do it, and they have a possibility,” Biden said.

Biden added that if a cease-fire agreement is reached in Lebanon, then they’ll have to deal with Gaza, but he insisted that he and his team are “using every bit of energy” to

Israel preparing a ground operation into Lebanon

Israel is preparing a ground invasion into Lebanon, according to Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the chief of the General Staff for the Israel Defense Forces.

“We will continue, we are not stopping; we keep striking and hitting them everywhere. The goal is very clear — to safely return the residents of the north,” Halevi said Wednesday, while visiting Israeli troops at the northern border.

“To achieve that, we are preparing the process of a maneuver, which means your military boots, your maneuvering boots, will enter enemy territory, enter villages that Hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts, with underground infrastructure, staging points, and launchpads into our territory and carry out attacks on Israeli civilians,” Halevi said.

Full-scale Israel-Hezbollah war ‘wouldn’t solve the problem,’ Blinken says

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC News’ Good Morning America on Wednesday that the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon “needs to be contained.”

“We’re working to make sure this doesn’t get into a full-scale war,” Blinken said. 

Asked if he believes such escalation can be prevented, Blinken responded: “I do.”

“Israel has a legitimate problem it has to solve,” Blinken said, noting Hezbollah’s near-constant cross-border strikes since Oct. 8 and the subsequent evacuation of parts of northern Israel.

Blinken also acknowledged those fleeing their homes amid Israeli retaliation in southern Lebanon.

The “best way” to address Israel’s problems in the north, Blinken continued, “is through diplomacy.”

There were “a number of times” where full-scale war at the shared Israel-Lebanon border seemed imminent since Oct. 7, Blinken said. 

“Diplomacy by the United States prevented that from happening,” he said.

“But if there were to be a full-scale war, that wouldn’t solve the problem,” Blinken said. 

President Joe Biden and his top administration officials say they are working hard to de-escalate the situation in Lebanon.

In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Biden condemned Hezbollah’s “unprovoked” attacks into Israel since Oct. 8.

“Almost a year later, too many on each side of the Israeli-Lebanon border remain displaced,” the president said.

“Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest,” he added. “Even as the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes on the border safely.”

“That’s what we’re working tirelessly to achieve,” Biden said.

Israeli strikes won’t destroy Hezbollah, Iranian leader says

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a series of posts to X on Wednesday that Hezbollah would survive Israel’s ongoing airstrike campaign in Lebanon.

Khamenei touted the “organizational and human strength and the authority and ability” of Hezbollah, which is supported by Tehran and coordinates closely with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Israeli attacks “martyred some of the effective and valuable elements of Hezbollah,” Khamenei wrote.

“This was definitely a loss for Hezbollah, but it is not to the extent that it destroys Hezbollah,” he added.

27,000 people in Lebanon displaced by Israeli bombing, UN says

More than 27,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced by Israeli military action over the past 48 hours, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Wednesday — citing Lebanese authorities.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said on Tuesday that the country already had around 110,000 people displaced before the intensification of Israeli strikes beginning on Monday.

“Now probably they’re approaching half a million” Habib said.

Filippo Grandi, UN high commissioner for refugees, said the “bloodshed is extracting a terrible toll, driving tens of thousands from their homes.”

“It is yet another ordeal for families who previously fled war in Syria only now to be bombed in the country where they sought shelter. We must avoid replaying these scenes of despair and devastation. The Middle East cannot afford a new displacement crisis. Let us not create one by forcing more people to abandon their homes. Protecting civilian lives must be the priority,” Grandi said.

Lebanon hosts an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees and over 11,000 refugees from other countries, per UNHCR’s count.

IDF in third day of ‘extensive strikes’ in Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday it was again “conducting extensive strikes in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa area” to the east of Beirut.

Almost 600 people — including at least 50 children — have been killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon since Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

Hezbollah targets Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv

Hezbollah claimed the launch of a Qadir-1 ballistic missile targeting the Mossad intelligence agency’s headquarters on the outskirts of Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning.

“It is the headquarters responsible for the assassination of leaders and the bombing of pagers and hand-held radios,” the militant group said in a statement, referring to last week’s communication device explosions in Lebanon and Syria.

Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv amid the attack. 

“One surface-to-surface missile was identified crossing from Lebanon and was intercepted,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

The IDF later said in a social media post that it destroyed the launcher from which the missile was fired in southern Lebanon.

The launch at Tel Aviv is the first time Hezbollah has attacked the city in central Israel since the war in the Gaza Strip began on Oct. 7.

Hezbollah confirms death of division commander

Hezbollah has confirmed the death of rocket and missile division commander Ibrahim Qubaisi in a post on their Telegram channel.

Hezbollah said he was killed in southern Lebanon.

Earlier Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces said an Israeli air attack in Da’ahia in Beirut killed Qubaisi.

52 killed in Gaza in past 24 hours, officials say

Israeli forces targeted eight residential homes in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, killing at least 52 people, spokesperson Major Mahmoud Basal of the Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense said Tuesday.

At least five of those people were killed after a house in the town of Al-Nasr, northeast of Rafah, was targeted, the civil defense spokesperson added.

The IDF said they were conducting “precise, intelligence-based operations in the Rafah area” in a statement Tuesday.

Nearly 500,000 displaced in Lebanon, foreign minister says

The number of people displaced in southern Lebanon as a result of Israeli airstrikes may be approaching half a million, according to Lebanese Foreign Minister Bou Habib, who stressed that “the war in Lebanon will not help the Israelis return to their homes, and negotiations are the only way to do so.”

Habib spoke at an event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Tuesday while attending the United Nations General Assembly.

He expressed his “disappointment” over U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech at the U.N., saying it was “neither strong nor promising and will not solve this problem,” but said he “hopes that Washington can intervene to help.”

“Lebanon cannot end the fighting alone and needs America’s help, despite past disappointments,” Habib said, adding that the U.S. is “the only country that can truly make a difference in the Middle East and with regard to Lebanon.”

Mediators as far from a cease-fire deal as ever, US officials say

Mediators between Israel and Hamas are as far away from a cease-fire deal as they have ever been, with both sides impeding negotiations, multiple senior U.S. officials told ABC News.

Many officials have long been skeptical that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar would ever sign off on an agreement that involves ceding rule of Gaza, and in recent weeks Hamas has deeply frustrated the Israeli government by adding demands related to Palestinian prisoners that would be released in an exchange.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also become increasingly intractable, according to U.S. officials. While high-level engagements between the U.S. and Israel often moved the needle at the beginning of the conflict, those meetings are now unproductive, officials said — a major reason Secretary of State Antony Blinken didn’t stop in Israel during his last visit to Middle East.

When it comes to these negotiations, the ball is actually in the Biden administration’s court. Blinken promised during the first week of September that the U.S. would present a new, final proposal to both Israel and Hamas “in the coming days,” but almost three weeks later, there’s no indication that has happened yet.

The reason for the delay is the struggle to devise an arrangement both sides might agree to — but that’s just one more factor contributing to the gridlock, according to U.S. officials.

-ABC News’ Cindy Smith, Shannon K. Kingston and Martha Raddatz

Israel has ‘additional strikes prepared,’ Gallant says

Israel has “additional strikes prepared” against Hezbollah, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, in a discussion with troops on Tuesday.

“Hezbollah, today, is different from the organization we knew a week ago – and we have additional strikes prepared. Any Hezbollah force that you may encounter, will be destroyed. They are worried about the combat experience you have gained,” Gallant said.

G7 warns escalation could lead to ‘unimaginable consequences’ in the Middle East

The foreign ministers of the Group of 7 said they have “deep concern” over “the trend of escalatory violence” in the Middle East, in a joint statement Tuesday.

The statement doesn’t call out Israel by name, it does call for “a stop to the current destructive cycle,” warning “no country stands to gain from a further escalation in the Middle East.”

“Actions and counter-reactions risk magnifying this dangerous spiral of violence and dragging the entire Middle East into a broader regional conflict with unimaginable consequences,” it reads, while calling for the full implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolution that implemented a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

Additionally, the statement reaffirms the G7’s “strong support” for the ongoing efforts to broker a hostage release and cease-fire deal in Gaza.

Israel claims it killed top Hezbollah commander

Israel claimed it killed a top Hezbollah commander in Tuesday’s strike on Beirut, which killed at least six people and injured 15 others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

The IDF said it targeted and killed Ibrahim Muhammad Kabisi, a commander of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket array.

“Kabisi commanded the various missile units of Hezbollah, including the precision missile units. Over the years and during the war, he was responsible for the launches towards the Israeli home front. Kabisi was a central center of knowledge in the field of missiles and was close to the senior military leadership of Hezbollah,” the IDF said in a statement.

The IDF also claimed he was responsible for the planning and execution of many terrorist plots against IDF forces and Israeli citizens.

At least six dead in Israeli strike on Ghobeiry neighborhood in Beirut

At least six people were killed and 15 others were wounded after Israel carried out a strike on the Ghobeiry neighborhood of Beirut on Tuesday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

It appears the top floor of a concrete apartment building took the brunt of the strike.

US continues to urge Israel to avoid ‘all-out war’ with Lebanon as tensions remain high

The U.S. is continuing to urge Israel to avoid an “all-out war” with Lebanon as tensions between the two countries remain high, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview on “Good Morning America” Tuesday.

“I think we don’t believe it’s in Israel’s interest for this to escalate, for there to be an all-out war there on the north on that blue line between Israel and Lebanon. If the goal is to get families back to their homes, we think there’s a better way to do that than an all-out conflict,” Kirby said.

“The Israelis will tell you, yesterday, that they had to take some of these strikes because they were about to be imminently attacked by Hezbollah. They do have a right to defend themselves, but what we’re going to keep doing is talking to them about trying to find a diplomatic solution here, a way to de-escalate the tensions so that the families can go back in a sustainable way,” Kirby added.

Given the State Department’s warning to Americans to get out of Lebanon while commercial travel is still available on if he believes Israel may target airports in Lebanon as they have in the past.

“We want to make sure that there are still commercial options available for Americans to leave, and they should be leaving now while those options are available. But I won’t get ahead of operations,” Kirby said.

Kirby also dodged questions on what we might see from Hezbollah’s response to Israel, telling GMA he “won’t get into the intelligence assessment.”

“It’s obviously going to be something we’ll monitor very, very closely. I will just tell you that while we won’t get involved in the conflict itself there, around that blue line, because we don’t want to see a conflict at all. We’ll do what we have to continue to do to make sure Israel can defend itself.”

Lebanon death toll rises to 558 people, ministry says

At least 558 people have been killed — including 50 children and 95 women — and another 1,853 people wounded by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Monday, according to the latest data from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

Officials released the updated figures during a press conference on Tuesday.

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck at least 1,600 targets in Lebanon over the past 24 hours.

Israeli bombing prompts exodus from southern Lebanon

Thousands of people fled their homes in southern Lebanon after Israel killed hundreds in intensified airstrikes through Monday and Tuesday.

The mass movement of people — encouraged by the Israel Defense Forces before and during its expanding bombing campaign — prompted gridlock on highways running north toward the capital Beirut.

A journey that usually takes 90 minutes took up to 13 hours.

Authorities are working to turn schools and other educational institutions into makeshift shelters to house displaced people.

IDF, Hezbollah begin new day of cross-border fire

The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday its warplanes struck “dozens of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon,” with artillery and tanks also conducting fire missions in the area.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, fired at least 125 rockets overnight into Tuesday morning. Sirens were sounding through the early morning in northern Israel.

At least nine people suffered minor injuries as a result of rockets fired into the Western Galilee region of northern Israel on Tuesday morning, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service.

At least 492 people were killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes on Monday, according to Lebanese authorities. At least 1,645 people were reported injured.

The IDF said it struck at least 1,600 targets in Lebanon over the past 24 hours.

Blinken seeks ‘off ramp’ as Israel pounds Lebanon, official says

A senior official in President Joe Biden’s administration told ABC News the U.S. cannot rule out the possibility of an Israeli invasion into Lebanon following the escalation of its airstrike campaign on Monday.

“I think it is important for everyone to take Israeli preparations seriously,” the senior administration official said.

The U.S. is putting its hope in engagements on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly this week, said the senior administration official, who expressed hope that the informal meetings could lead to “illusive solutions” or “at least make some progress” toward resolving the crisis in the Middle East.

The official said Secretary of State Antony Blinken would discuss “the increasing challenges” across the so-called “Blue Line” dividing Israel and Lebanon at a meeting with his G7 counterparts.

At that engagement and through the week, the a key U.S. focus will be “finding an off ramp,” they said.

“We’ve got some concrete ideas with allies and partners we are going to be discussing,” the official added.

New details emerge over US troops being sent to Middle East

A U.S. official tells ABC News that the “small number of additional U.S. military personnel being sent to the Middle East,” announced this morning by the Pentagon is a small special operations team that will work in planning for a non-combatant evacuation operation should it be needed.

Lebanon warns UN its citizens face ‘serious danger’ amid Israel-Hezbollah conflict

A Lebanese parliament member addressed the United Nations General Assembly Monday sharing a warning that the country’s citizens are in danger as tensions between Israeli forces and Hezbollah intensify.

Member Bahia El Hariri attended the U.N. meeting in place of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

“The people of Lebanon are in serious danger after the destruction of large areas of agricultural land and the targeting of residential buildings in the majority of the regions of Lebanon,” Hariri said.

“This has damaged the economy of our country and threatened our social order, especially since several countries have asked their nationals to leave our country,” she added.

Separately, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “gravely alarmed” by the escalating situation between northern Israel and southern Lebanon and the “large number of civilian casualties, including children and women, being reported by Lebanese authorities, as well as thousands of displaced persons, amidst the most intense Israeli bombing campaign since last October,” in a statement issued by his spokesperson Monday.

“The Secretary-General is also gravely alarmed” by the continued Hezbollah strikes on Israel, the statement added.

Israeli forces attacked 1,600 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, IDF says

Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked “1,600 terrorist targets of Hezbollah” in parts of southern Lebanon in “several attack waves,” on Monday, the IDF said in a post on X.

US Embassy in Jerusalem issues travel restriction for government employees

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued a security alert “temporarily” restricting travel for U.S. government employees and their family members to parts of northern and northeastern Israel.

“U.S. government employees and their family members have been temporarily restricted from any personal travel north of highway 65 toward Afula and north/northeast of highway 71 from Afula to the Jordanian border. Any official travel in this area will require approval. Approved travel will take place only in armored vehicles. This is provided for your information as you make your own security plans,” the U.S. Embassy alert said.

Afula is a city in northern Israel.

“US citizens should take this into consideration when planning their own activities,” the alert read.

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