Russia sees ‘no grounds for negotiations’ with Ukraine, Putin spokesperson says

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

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

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

IDF launches 4 more strikes in Lebanon

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

75 killed in 2 Beit Lahia strikes: Gaza Civil Defence

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

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

-ABC News’ Samy Zyara

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

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

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

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

Another IDF airstrike in southern Lebanon

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Dana Savir

Netanyahu threatens ‘intensive’ war if Hezbollah violates ceasefire

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

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

Israel conducts airstrike during ceasefire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Isolated incidents reported as ceasefire begins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Lebanon PM confirms ceasefire acceptance

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Somayeh Malekian

Hezbollah allies welcome Israel ceasefire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IDF attacked ‘dozens’ of targets in hours before ceasefire

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Lebanese army preparing to deploy south after ceasefire

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti

IDF fires on vehicle in south Lebanon after ceasefire begins

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

IDF warns southern Lebanese not to return home despite ceasefire

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is now in effect

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

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

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

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

Strikes reported in central Beirut minutes after ceasefire deal announced

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Israeli cabinet approves Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller

Israel strikes 20 targets in Beirut

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

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

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

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

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

Earlier Tuesday, there were three other strikes in Beirut.

Israel bombs Beirut suburbs again

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israel says troops reached Lebanon’s Litani River

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

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

Soldiers “raided several terrorist targets, engaged in close-quarters combat with terrorists, located and destroyed dozens of launchers, thousands of rockets and missiles and weapons storage facilities” in operations in the Litani River region, the IDF said in a post to X.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

 

Lebanon death toll rises ahead of possible cease-fire

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

Details of Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire deal emerge

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Chris Boccia

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Jordana Miller

White House says deal is close but nothing is final

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian and Joe Simonetti

Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

1 hour ago

UAE arrests 3 people accused of rabbi’s killing

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

IDF issues new Beirut airstrike warnings

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

More strikes on southern Beirut suburbs

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

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

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé

29 dead in central Beirut after Saturday’s airstrike

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

Israeli official confirms Netanyahu holding meeting on Lebanon cease-fire

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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(DAMASCUS, SYRIA) — Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.

Meanwhile, the ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza.

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

US has unseen evidence of Assad atrocities, State Department says

In response to a question about the suspected mass graves being uncovered in Syria, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday that the U.S. has evidence of other atrocities that occurred under toppled President Bashar Assad’s regime that is not currently available to the public.

“When you look at the evidence that is coming out of Syria in the now 10 days since the Assad regime fell, it continues to shock the conscience,” he said.

“And I’m referring not just to the mass graves that have been uncovered, but information that we have been gathering inside the United States government, including information that’s not yet publicly known,” Miller added.

“We just continue to see more and more evidence pile up of how brutal they were in mistreating their own people, in murdering and torturing their own people,” Miller said.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

US in ‘intense’ talks to prevent escalating conflict in north Syria

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Tuesday that “fairly intense diplomatic discussions” aimed at staving off renewed fighting between Turkey plus its allied militias and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northern Syria were ongoing.

“We continue to engage with Turkey about the situation in northern Syria,” Miller said. “As you know, we worked out a ceasefire for the area around Manbij. That ceasefire has been holding. It had expired. It has been extended until the end of this week, and we continue to engage with the SDF, with Turkey about a path forward,” he said.

Although the U.S. is allied with the SDF, Miller described Turkey’s concern about the terror threat posed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party — a U.S.-designated terror group which Turkey claims is directly linked to the SDF — as “very legitimate.”

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

38 Palestinians killed in Gaza strikes, officials say

At least 38 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 injured in the past 24 hours of Israeli strikes in Gaza, according to Palestinian Civil Defence authorities in the Hamas-run territory.

The Israel Defense Forces also issued a new evacuation order for Palestinians residing in the Bureij area in the center of the strip.

-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Joe Simonetti

IDF removes alleged Israeli settlers from south Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces told ABC News on Wednesday it “removed from the area” a group of alleged Israeli settlers that crossed into Lebanese territory.

“The preliminary investigation indicates that the civilians indeed crossed the blue line by a few meters and after being identified by IDF forces, they were removed from the area,” the IDF said in a statemen.

“This is a serious incident that is being investigated,” the IDF added. “Any attempt to approach or cross the border into Lebanese territory without coordination poses a life-threatening risk and interferes with the IDF’s ability to operate in the area and carry out its mission.”

The south of Lebanon remains under IDF evacuation orders following Israel’s recent ground offensive there. Israeli forces have committed to withdrawing from all Lebanese territory within 60 days of a ceasefire that came into force on Nov. 27.

-ABC News’ Anna Burd and Joe Simonetti

64 patients at Kamal Adwan Hospital still facing relentless bombing

The Kamal Adwan Hospital has been facing relentless and continuous bombing injuring more people in the building.

“The third floor was set on fire, and the water tank was destroyed. The intensive care unit was also targeted while the patients were inside. There were terrifying sounds in the hospital courtyard, and we saw a military vehicle advancing towards the hospital. Barrels were placed, and three of them exploded, causing panic and terror in the hospital,” Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of the hospital, told ABC News.

“Drones are constantly dropping bombs on the hospital. Anyone moving in the hospital risks being injured or killed. So far, there is no electricity, water or oxygen at all,” the director said.

Israel will occupy Gaza Strip, defense minister says

Israel will have security control over the Gaza Strip, effectively occupying it, Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X Tuesday.

“After we defeat Hamas’ military and governmental power in Gaza, Israel will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action, just as in Judea and Samaria,” Katz said.

“We will not allow any terrorist organization against Israeli communities and Israeli citizens from Gaza. We will not allow a return to the reality of before October 7th,” Katz said.

Katz’s predecessor, Yoav Gallant, repeatedly insisted that Israel wanted to avoid the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip.

Ceasefire deal ‘possible’ if Israel does not add new conditions, Hamas says

Amid reports that a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel may be edging closer, Hamas said a “prisoner exchange is possible if the occupation stops putting new conditions.”

More than 45,000 people were killed and over 100,000 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry

Over 90% of Gaza’s 2.1 million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office.

HTS leader criticizes Israeli incursion, occupation

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham head Ahmed al-Sharaa — also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani — told The Times in a new interview that the transitional government in Damascus does “not want any conflict, whether with Israel or anyone else.”

Israel is continuing airstrikes across Syria and has occupied parts of a buffer zone — demilitarized in a 1974 bilateral deal — running between the two nations. Israeli leaders say their military operations are intended to prevent “extremists” from launching attacks into Israel.

But Sharaa said the new administration “will not let Syria be used as a launchpad for attacks.”

“The Syrian people need a break, and the strikes must end and Israel has to pull back to its previous positions,” he added.

Sharaa has asked the international community to pressure Israel to stop its strikes, withdraw from the buffer zone and respect the 1974 agreement.

-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Joe Simonetti

‘Massive’ Damascus graves could hold 100,000 bodies, NGO says

Mouaz Moustafa, the head of the U.S.-based Syrian advocacy organization, the Syrian Emergency Task Force, told ABC News there are believed to be well over 100,000 bodies in a “massive” burial site discovered 25 miles north of Damascus.

Moustafa told ABC News from the Syrian capital that the site in al-Qutayfah consists of “massive graves” where “lines or trenches were 6 to 7 meters deep, 3 to 4 meters wide and 50 to 150 meters long.”

“In my conversation with the gravediggers, they told me that four tractor trailer trucks each carrying over 150 bodies came twice a week from 2012 until 2018,” Moustafa said.

“The bulldozer excavator driver described how intelligence officers forced workers to use the bulldozer to flatten and compress the bodies to make them fit and easier to bury before digging the next line or trench,” he added.

The mass grave contained men, women, children and the elderly “tortured to death” by former President Bashar Assad’s regime, Moustafa said.

The overthrown president was in power from 2000 to his ousting on Dec. 8. In his first statement since fleeing Syria, Assad on Monday blamed a “terrorist onslaught” for his defeat. His toppling marked the end of a 14-year conflict between Damascus and a collection of rebel groups.

Opposition groups and rescue workers are still uncovering evidence of the regime’s human rights abuses. SETF believes it has identified three other mass graves so far, as well as two “smaller ones,” Moustafa said.

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

Israel to have ‘full freedom of action’ in Gaza after war, minister says

Israel “will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action” after the fighting in the devastated Palestinian territory ends, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a post to X on Tuesday.

Katz added that Israeli access to the strip will be comparable to its access to the occupied West Bank, which is nominally controlled by the Palestinian Authority but in coordination with Israel.

“We will not allow any terrorist organization against Israeli communities and Israeli citizens from Gaza,” Katz wrote. “We will not allow a return to the reality of before Oct. 7.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has faced domestic and international criticism for its failure to present a clear vision for post-war Gaza beyond the destruction of Hamas as a ruling force.

President Joe Biden is among the world leaders that have warned Israel against any post-war occupation of Gaza or permanent displacement of Palestinians.

State Department: Search for Tice still possible without team on the ground

The State Department’s lack of boots on the ground in Syria isn’t interfering in its efforts to track down missing American journalist Austin Tice, spokesperson Matthew Miller contended on Monday.

The department has had “more than one communication” with rebel group HTS “over the past week,” he told reporters. It was also in touch with other groups, like the White Helmets, that were helping with the search, he said.

“We feel that right now we are able to get good information,” he said.

Tice, an American freelance journalist and Marine Corps veteran, was kidnapped while reporting in Syria more than a decade ago.

In a recent letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu obtained by ABC News, Tice’s family “urgently” asked the Israelis to pause their strikes in a neighborhood in Damascus where they believe he may be held prisoner and to deploy assets to the area to help search for him.

“I’m going to be looking for help anywhere I can, and what I’ve learned in 12 years and four months is go to the top first,” Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, told reporters on Monday when asked about the outreach.

“I think it would be polite to say the least, that perhaps they’re not bombing as people are trying to clear the prison. That would be my first suggestion,” she added.

ABC News has reached out to the prime minister’s office for comment.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Will Gretsky

Israeli defense minister expresses optimism for ceasefire deal

Israeli officials are expressing optimism about the prospects of a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

“We are closer to a deal than in any other point since the previous deal, the matter is top priority,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said while addressing the Knesset on Monday, according to the spokesperson of the foreign affairs and security committee.

The remarks come after Mossad chief David Barnea traveled to Doha, Qatar, last week for ceasefire negotiations.

Assad says he fled Syria after drones attacked Russian air base

Former Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday released his first statement since the collapse of his regime, posting a statement to the presidency’s official Telegram channel.

“My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur in the final hours of the battles,” Assad said. “As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations.”

“Upon arrival at the Khmeimim air base that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen,” the statement continued.

“As the field situation in the area continued to deteriorate, the Russian military base itself came under intensified attack by drone strikes.”

“With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia,” Assad wrote.

“This took place a day after the fall of Damascus, following the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all state institutions,” he added.

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian, Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti

Gaza death toll passes 45,000, officials say

A series of Israeli airstrikes across Gaza over the weekend and into Monday morning pushed the total death toll in the strip since Oct. 7, 2023, to more than 45,000 people, according to data from the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Per ministry figures, more than 2% of Gaza’s total pre-war residents of 2.23 million people have been killed in 14 months of conflict with Israel.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

Israel has ‘no interest’ in Syria conflict, Netanyahu says as strikes continue

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his nation has no interest in conflict with the incoming Syrian government, though indicated that Israeli airstrikes and occupation of Syrian territory will continue.

“We have no interest in a conflict with Syria,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will determine Israeli policy regarding Syria according to the reality on the ground.”

“I recall that for decades Syria was an active enemy state toward Israel,” he said. “It has attacked us repeatedly.”

Speaking of former President Bashar Assad’s close ties with Iran and its proxies, Netanyahu continued, “It allowed others to attack us from its territory. It allowed Iran to arm Hezbollah through its territory.”

The prime minister issued the statement after another night of heavy airstrikes across Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday there have been around 473 Israeli airstrikes on the country since Assad’s fall on Dec. 8.

“Over the course of several days, we have destroyed the capabilities that the Assad regime took decades to build,” Netanyahu said. “We have also struck the weapons supply routes through Syria to Hezbollah.”

Netanyahu said he and Defense Minister Israel Katz had instructed the Israel Defense Forces “to thwart the potential threats from Syria and prevent terrorist elements from taking control close to our border,” a reference to Israeli occupation of a buffer zone between the two nations established in a 1974 peace deal.

“We are committed to preventing the rearming of Hezbollah,” Netanyahu said. “This is a prolonged test for Israel, which we must meet, and which we will meet. I unequivocally declare to Hezbollah and to Iran: In order to prevent you from attacking us, we will continue to take action against you as necessary, in every arena and at all times.”

Over the weekend, Netanyahu’s government also approved a plan to double the territory of the Golan Heights, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967 but is still recognized as Syrian territory by the vast majority of the international community.

“We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom and settle in it,” Netanyahu said.

Israel unilaterally annexed the strategic area — which overlooks Damascus from the southwest — in 1981. The U.S. recognized Israeli sovereignty over the region in 2019.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

US embassy tells Americans to leave ‘volatile’ Syria

The U.S. Embassy in Damascus — which suspended operations in 2012 — said in a Monday post to X that the “security situation in Syria continues to be volatile and unpredictable with armed conflict and terrorism throughout the country.”

U.S. citizens, it said, “should depart Syria if possible. U.S. citizens who are unable to depart should prepare contingency plans for emergency situations and be prepared to shelter in place for extended periods.”

U.S. officials have said they are in touch with the most prominent rebel groups now building a transition government after toppling former president Bashar Assad’s regime, but the eventual shape of U.S.-Syrian relations remains unclear.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — the most prominent of the rebel groupings — has roots in al-Qaeda and is still listed as a terrorist organization in the U.S. and European Union. Its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, is still the subject of a $10 million U.S. bounty.

The U.S. government “is unable to provide any routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Syria,” the embassy said. “U.S. citizens in Syria who are in need of emergency assistance to depart should contact the U.S. Embassy in the country they plan to enter.”

The embassy urged citizens in Syria to be “prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate” and to ensure access to all required travel documents.

Netanyahu says he spoke with Trump on Syria

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday night released a video in Hebrew addressing Israel’s actions in Syria. He says he discussed this with President-Elect Trump “last night.” He called it a “very friendly, very warm and very important conversation,” and said they spoke about “the need to complete Israel’s victory,” as well as freeing the hostages in Gaza.

On Syria, Netanyahu said he has instructed the Israel Defense Forces “to thwart potential threats from Syria, and to prevent terrorist elements from taking over near our border.” He also said the IDF’s airstrikes in Syria have destroyed “capabilities that the Assad regime had built over decades,” as well as the “arms supply routes from Syria to Hezbollah.”

Netanyahu said Israel has “no interest in confronting Syria” but also said Israel will continue to act to stop Hezbollah from rearming “as much as necessary, in every arena and at any time.”

-ABC News’ Bruno Nota

US aircraft carrier strike group enters Middle East

The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier strike group has arrived in the Middle East, according to U.S. Central Command.

The move from the Mediterranean was planned before the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, a U.S. official told ABC News.

The Truman replaces the USS Abraham Lincoln, which left the region last month.

-ABC News’ Matt Seyler

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Isolated incidents reported as ceasefire begins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Lebanon PM confirms ceasefire acceptance

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Somayeh Malekian

Hezbollah allies welcome Israel ceasefire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IDF attacked ‘dozens’ of targets in hours before ceasefire

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Lebanese army preparing to deploy south after ceasefire

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti

IDF fires on vehicle in south Lebanon after ceasefire begins

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

IDF warns southern Lebanese not to return home despite ceasefire

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is now in effect

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

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

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

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

Strikes reported in central Beirut minutes after ceasefire deal announced

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Israeli cabinet approves Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller

Israel strikes 20 targets in Beirut

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

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

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

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

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

Earlier Tuesday, there were three other strikes in Beirut.

Israel bombs Beirut suburbs again

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israel says troops reached Lebanon’s Litani River

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

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

Soldiers “raided several terrorist targets, engaged in close-quarters combat with terrorists, located and destroyed dozens of launchers, thousands of rockets and missiles and weapons storage facilities” in operations in the Litani River region, the IDF said in a post to X.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

 

Lebanon death toll rises ahead of possible cease-fire

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

Details of Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire deal emerge

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Chris Boccia

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Jordana Miller

White House says deal is close but nothing is final

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian and Joe Simonetti

Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

1 hour ago

UAE arrests 3 people accused of rabbi’s killing

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

IDF issues new Beirut airstrike warnings

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

More strikes on southern Beirut suburbs

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

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

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé

29 dead in central Beirut after Saturday’s airstrike

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

Israeli official confirms Netanyahu holding meeting on Lebanon cease-fire

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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