Putin’s Ukraine drone barrages are increasingly backfiring on his closest ally
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 5, 2023. (Photo by PAVEL BYRKIN/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — “Europe’s last dictator” — as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has often been termed — thus far appears to have kept his nation out of the worst of the spiralling war engulfing his neighbors to the east and south.
The 70-year-old provided invaluable material and political support for Russian ally President Vladimir Putin in his war on Ukraine, even offering Belarus as a launchpad for the doomed Russian drive towards Kyiv in the early stages of the full-scale invasion.
Since then, Russian forces have used Belarusian territory to launch ballistic missiles into Ukraine. Belarus houses bases at which Russian troops train for battle and hospitals where they recover.
Minsk even now hosts Russian nuclear warheads and Lukashenko brokered the short-lived settlement between the Kremlin and Wagner financier Yevgeny Prigozhin after the latter’s ill-fated 2023 mutiny.
As the war in Ukraine escalated and the enmity between Moscow and its Western rivals deepened, Lukashenko’s apparent hesitance to fully commit to the conflict seems to have bought him some level of freedom from retaliation.
But with Moscow’s drone and missile barrages into Ukraine growing in scale and regularity, Belarusian opposition groups say the danger to their country is increasing.
The Belarusian Hajun Project — an open-source intelligence group banned as an “extremist” organization by Minsk — said a record-high total of 151 drones entered Belarus during November. At least three were shot down by Belarusian air defenses, it added.
One Russian attack in late November saw a record 38 strike drones cross into Belarus, the group said. ABC News could not independently verify the drone flights.
Neither the Belarusian Defense Ministry nor Foreign Ministry replied to ABC News’ requests for comment.
Russian drones were first reported over Belarus in mid-July, their appearance then relatively sporadic. In October, the Hajun Project said it tracked a total of 49 Russian drones flying into Belarusian airspace across the month. The monthly total trebled by the end of November.
At least one drone landed and exploded in the southeastern Gomel Oblast, according to Ukrainian and opposition Belarusian media reports.
According to Ukrainian air force after-action reports, Russian drones enter Belarus near-nightly. The air force has noted that its evolving electronic warfare countermeasures play some role in the increasing number of Russian strike drones going off course.
Minsk has complained of Ukrainian drones violating its airspace. In July, Lukashenko himself demanded that Kyiv ensure “comprehensive measures be taken to rule out any such future incidents in the future which could lead to further escalation of the situation in the region.”
In September, Belarus’ military said it had downed foreign drones.
Chief of the General Staff Col. Sergei Frolov said drones were shot down without specifying their nation of origin. “Timely actions by the air defense forces on duty destroyed all the violators’ targets,” he said in a statement quoted by the state-run Belta news agency.
Jonathan Eyal of the Royal United Services Institute think tank in the U.K., told ABC News that Lukashenko “has always been very careful to calibrate the policy in a way that allows implausible deniability of any involvement in the Ukraine war — and at the same time makes himself useful to the Russians.”
“He also knows that most of the Belarusian population has no interest in being dragged into the war at all,” Eyal added, describing a “balancing act” in which the Belarusian leader has to at least pretend to be defending the nation’s airspace.
“It’s not a great secret that the Russians can do more or less what they want with Belarusian airspace,” Eyal added. “The idea that somehow the Belarusian military is determined to defend its sovereignty is a bit far-fetched.”
“These are very calibrated messages from Lukashenko trying to persuade people — both at home and overseas — that somehow he remains a complete master of his own destiny,” Eyal said.
For Belarus’ pro-Western opposition — many now living in exile following Lukashenko’s crackdown on the mass protests that followed the 2020 presidential election — the drone flights are a sign of Minsk’s weakness.
Franak Viacorka, the chief political adviser to Belarusian opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, told ABC News that drones “are flying over Belarus practically every single night.” An average week sees 40 or 50 UAVs transit border areas, he said.
Viacorka said Lukashenko’s government is working hard to hide any evidence of errant Russian munitions. “It’s very uncomfortable for them to say that the Russians are using our airspace,” he said. “It happens with the agreement of Lukashenko, or perhaps Russia doesn’t even ask Lukashenko for permission.”
Aliaksandr Azarau — a former police investigator who defected and now leads the opposition BYPOL group made up of former Belarusian security employees — said government propaganda seeks to hide the problem while framing all intruding drones as Ukrainian.
“The concern is only for the people who see these drones above their heads near the Ukrainian border,” Azaru said. “The rest of Belarusians don’t think about the drones — it’s not their problem.”
Official Belarusian reports of drones being intercepted, he added, are part of “a political game.” Azaru even claimed that Belarusian military aircraft have held fire and flown alongside Russian drones, effectively escorting them into Ukrainian airspace
When a drone does fall on Belarusian territory, Viacorka said, “the place is cleared immediately” and any witnesses are pressed by security services not to reveal any details.
The issue, he added, is politically sensitive for Lukashenko. “His narrative is that, thanks to him, Belarus has not gotten involved in war,” Viacorka said. “But when people see drones and shells flying over their territory, they see that Belarus is already involved in war.”
“It’s very worrying that Belarus is getting more and more involved,” Viacorka said.
Lukashenko and his Russian allies, he added, are “putting more and more people in Belarus in danger.”
Russia’s access to Belarusian airspace may also pose a threat to eastern NATO nations, three of whom — Poland, Lithuania and Latvia — border the country.
Russian freedom to act throughout Belarusian airspace has “many implications” for regional NATO states, Eyal suggested, as well as for western Ukrainian regions that will be more accessible for Moscow’s Shaheds.
In September, Latvia’s Defense Ministry reported that a Russian strike UAV crashed in the Rezekne region in the east of the country after flying across Belarus.
Since then, “improvements in all levels of Latvian airspace surveillance have been made, as well as in decision-making and information exchange algorithms,” a ministry spokesperson told ABC News. This includes the deployment of mobile air defense battle groups to the eastern Latgale border region, they said.
The procedures for NATO’s Baltic air policing mission “have also been clarified, allowing allied fighters to destroy aggressor drones entering Latvian airspace if necessary,” the spokesperson added.
“Russia has control over Belarusian foreign and domestic policies,” they continued. “Belarus is an additional Russian military district, so the threat coming from Belarus is orchestrated by Russia. Unfortunately, it is not up to Belarus and its citizens to decide how Russia uses Belarusian airspace to achieve its aggressive foreign policy goals.”
“Hybrid warfare is already happening between Russia and the West,” the ministry spokesperson said. “Belarus is just a tool for Russian aggressive foreign policy. In the short term, Russia will continue to use a wide range of hybrid warfare tools to weaken Western countries and divide their unity.”
“The Belarusian regime’s hybrid attack on the Latvian border with artificial migration demonstrates that we must prepare for all possible scenarios including violation of our airspace,” they said.
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike near the southern Lebanese village of Al-Mahmoudiye on September 24, 2024. (RABIH DAHER/AFP via Getty Images)
(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:
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.
This morning, @VP and I convened our national security team to discuss Iranian plans to launch an imminent missile attack against Israel.
We discussed how the United States is prepared to help Israel defend against these attacks, and protect American personnel in the region.
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.
(NEW DELHI) — An American climber along with her British climbing partner have been rescued at an altitude of more than 20,000 feet after becoming stranded in the Himalayas for three days.
American Michelle Dvorak and her British climbing partner, Fay Manners, were trying to climb Chaukhamba Mountain in northern India last Wednesday when a rockfall caused the two mountaineers to lose one of their bags containing most of their climbing equipment.
“We heavily rely on the equipment that we have,” Manners told ABC News following the incident. “It’s essentially like our route to survival, our path to survival.”
“I sent a quick message off to our tour operator,” Dvorak told ABC News. “I also used this SOS function and within like five minutes my phone died.”
The two climbers hunkered down for a day and then slowly tried to descend the mountain while waiting to be rescued.
“The weather definitely got worse and worse each day,” Dvorak said.
“We weren’t drinking enough. We weren’t eating,” said Manners. “Our bodies were becoming weaker. You’d spend the evenings being really cold … I felt almost hypothermic.”
Indian Air Force helicopters had been unable to spot them since they went missing but, on Saturday, a French mountaineering team who was also attempting the climb up Chaukhamba Mountain found the stranded duo and were able to help them down the mountain.
“You see other climbers in trouble, and you want to help them,” Manners told ABC News. “We just feel really happy that they were there.”
The rescue operation ended up taking 80 hours, with the Indian Air Force eventually picking them up on Sunday from a safer altitude.
Said Dvorak: “Every time we like plan something like this, it’s like it feels like it’s all about the mountain and the objective and the climb. And then in the end, it’s about the people that you’re with.”
(LONDON) — Ukrainian authorities said that at least 23 people were injured and 41 buildings damaged by a Russian missile strike in the northeastern city of Kharkiv overnight into Monday, as Moscow’s troops launched a fresh offensive effort in the region and claimed battlefield gains all along the eastern front.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram that the S-400 anti-aircraft missile impact in Kharkiv was part of a multi-pronged barrage against Ukrainian cities overnight. Kyiv, Odessa and Zaporizhzhia were all also targeted.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 145 drones, 71 of which were downed and 71 were lost during flight. One UAV flew into Belarusian airspace, the air force said.
The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, claimed to have downed 23 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions. The ministry also said it downed eight ballistic missiles, though did not specify their type.
Vladislav Shapsha, the governor of Kaluga Oblast that borders Moscow Oblast to the southwest, said falling drone debris sparked a fire at a manufacturing facility. Ukraine’s General Staff, though, said its strikes destroyed the Kaluganefteproduct oil depot in the city of Kaluga.
“In total, since yesterday evening, Russia has used about one and a half hundred attack drones, aerial bombs and missiles against more than 10 of our regions,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram early Monday.
“These attacks by Russia on Ukrainian life can be stopped,” he added. “With pressure, sanctions, blocking the occupiers’ access to the components they use to create the tools of this terror, arms packages for Ukraine and a determination that must be unwavering.”
Only 19 miles from the Russian border, Ukraine’s “second city” of Kharkiv has faced near-constant attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in early 2022.
Russian forces failed to encircle and capture Kharkiv during the opening weeks of the invasion, but fighting has continued along the shared border throughout the conflict.
Ukraine’s General Staff said in a post to Facebook on Monday that Russian forces launched assaults the settlement of Kozacha Lopan, around 2 miles from the border and 16 miles north of Kharkiv.
The Ukrainian Deep State Telegram military blogger reported that Russian forces also launched an amphibious operation across the Oskil River in eastern Kharkiv region, where Russian troops have been pushing towards the strategic objective of Kupyansk.
The Russian force established a foothold on the Ukrainian-controlled side of the waterway, Deep State wrote. The blogger’s claims could not be immediately be verified.
