Live blog: Hamas calls Cairo talks 'positive,' urges caution on conclusions

Sunday, November 3, 2024

1920 GMT — A dialogue among Palestinian factions in Cairo has been "positive", senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan has told Al Aqsa TV, though he added that he did not want to rush to any conclusions.

Hamdan also said that Hamas had not received any new written proposals regarding a possible ceasefire in Gaza, where the group has been battling Israeli forces for more than a year.

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1917 GMT — Hezbollah says fired missiles at Israeli base in Haifa

Lebanon's Hezbollah has said it launched a barrage of missiles at an Israeli military base in the northern coastal city of Haifa.

The Iran-backed group said in a statement that it had targeted "for the first time the technical base of Haifa, affiliated with the Israeli air force" with a barrage of missiles, after it earlier claimed a drone attack on another military base south of the city.

1906 GMT — Israel claims it carried out ground raid into Syria, seizing a Syrian citizen connected to Iran

The Israeli military said it has carried out a ground raid into Syria, seizing a Syrian citizen involved in Iranian networks. It was the first time in the current war that Israel announced its troops operated in Syrian territory.

Israel has carried out air strikes in Syria multiple times over the past year, targeting members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and officials from Iran, the close ally of both Hezbollah and Syria. But it has not previously made public any ground forays into Syria.

1845 GMT — Israel kills more people in Lebanon as death toll rises to 2,986

The death toll from Israel’s air strikes in Lebanon has reached 2,986 since October 2023, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

A statement reported that 13,402 people have been wounded since hostilities began last October.

Israeli air strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon left 18 dead Saturday and injured 83 others, according to the ministry. ​​​​​​​

Israel has escalated its air campaign in Lebanon since late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets in an escalation from year-long cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on Gaza.

Israel expanded the assault by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon on October 1.

1830 GMT — Palestinian child killed by Israeli army gunfire in southern occupied West Bank

A Palestinian child was shot dead by Israeli forces in the southern occupied West Bank.

Palestinian Red Crescent Society teams transported the 14-year-old child to the hospital, who was injured by Israeli forces in Halhul, a town north of Hebron, the humanitarian organization said in a statement.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the slain child as Naji Al-Baba.

Tension has been running high across the West Bank because of Israel’s brutal offensive on Gaza, which has killed more than 43,200 people, mostly women and children, following an attack last year by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

At least 768 Palestinians have since been killed and 6,300 injured by Israeli army fire in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

1622 GMT — Iran president says potential ceasefire 'could affect' response to Israel

Iran's president said a potential ceasefire between its allies and Israel "could affect the intensity" of Tehran's response to Israel's recent strikes on Iranian sites.

"If they (the Israelis) reconsider their behaviour, accept a ceasefire and stop massacring the oppressed and innocent people of the region, it could affect the intensity and type of our response," Masoud Pezeshkian said, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

1538 GMT — At least 5 killed as Israeli warplanes launch air strikes in southern Lebanon

At least five people were killed and nine others injured in Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon, the Health Ministry said.

Israeli warplanes carried out air strikes in Haret Sidon, killing three people and injuring nine others, the ministry said in a statement.

Two more people lost their lives in another strike in the town of Jbal El Botm in southern Lebanon, the state news agency NNA reported.

1533 GMT — Israeli killed in Hezbollah rocket attack in Nahariya

An Israeli settler died from wounds sustained from a Hezbollah rocket attack in the northern city of Nahariya last week, according to local media.

Israel’s Army Radio said a man, 57, was injured due to shrapnel from a rocket fired by Hezbollah into the city on October 23.

On that day, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing a barrage of rockets on the city and the Western Galilee region.

1448 GMT –– Israel kills 31 Palestinians, including children, across Gaza

At least 31 Palestinians were killed during Israeli bombardment across Gaza, Palestinian medics said, with nearly half of the deaths in northern areas where the army has waged a month-long brutal offensive.

Palestinians said the new aerial and ground aggressions and forced evacuations are ethnic cleansing aimed at emptying two northern Gaza towns and a camp of their population in order to create buffer zones.

Medics said at least 13 Palestinians were killed in separate attacks on houses in Beit Lahiya town and Jabalia, the largest of the enclave's eight historic refugee camps and the focus of the army's new offensive.

The rest were killed in separate Israeli air strikes in Gaza City and in southern areas, including one in Khan Younis, which health officials said had killed eight people, including four children.

1421 GMT –– Father of kidnapped Lebanese sea captain denies ties with Hezbollah

The father of a Lebanese sea captain kidnapped in a suspected Israeli naval operation has denied any ties for his son with Hezbollah.

A Lebanese citizen was kidnapped on Friday by armed men in Batroun, about 30 kilometers north of Beirut.

Lebanese authorities said that they were investigating whether Israel was behind the kidnap, saying that the abductee was a sea captain and identified him as Imad Emhez.

“My son has no affiliation with political parties, nor does he engage in politics,” Fadil Emhez said in a message published by Lebanese media on Sunday.

He called on the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL) “to intervene with the abductors and return Imad safely to his family."

1356 GMT –– Fatah member optimistic over talks with Hamas to form joint committee to run post-war Gaza

A member of Palestinian group Fatah sounded optimism over the ongoing talks with Hamas to form a joint committee to run Gaza following Israel’s brutal war on the enclave.

Egypt hosted talks between the two Palestinian groups on Saturday to discuss the formation of a joint committee to run post-war Gaza.

"The meeting seeks to unify visions on the reconstruction of Gaza and the situation in the enclave after the end of the Israeli aggression,” Taysir Nasrallah, a member of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, told Anadolu.

He voiced hope that a “consensus formula” will be announced later Sunday following the talks.

“The general trend goes for reconstructing the enclave, providing aid and managing the territory in coordination between the two groups, under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority,” he said.

1338 GMT –– Lebanon’s top Christian cleric calls for diplomacy to end Israeli war

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Bechara Bourtos Rai appealed to the UN Security Council and the international and Arab communities to diplomatically intervene to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon amid deadly Israeli attacks on the country.

“We are witnessing civilian casualties - men, women, and children - as if we are facing a war of extermination with the latest weaponry and missiles deployed without mercy or compassion,” he said during a Sunday Mass in Bkerke in eastern Lebanon.

The patriarch highlighted the extensive damage inflicted by the Israeli offensive, noting the destruction of homes, institutions, and places of worship, as well as the displacement of over 1.5 million people.

"The war has shattered the economy of the Lebanese people, taking their wealth, livelihoods, jobs, and businesses," he said.

"And yet, there is no ceasefire, only more victims, destruction, displacement, and thousands of injuries. How long will this go on? In war, everyone is a loser, defeated, and broken."

Rai issued an urgent call to the UN Security Council and the international and Arab communities to "step in diplomatically to halt the violence and find solutions, for the sake of mercy for Lebanon and its people."

1210 GMT –– Israel kills 27 more Palestinians as Gaza death toll tops 43,340

At least 27 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll since last year to 43,341, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

A ministry statement added that some 102,105 others were injured in the ongoing assault.

“Israeli forces killed 27 people and injured 86 others in four massacres of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

1015 GMT –– Israeli army reports new rocket barrage from Lebanon

The Israeli army said that it detected the launch of 27 rockets by Hezbollah from Lebanon into northern Israel.

A military statement said two rockets were fired into Karmiel and Menashe near Haifa, causing sirens to sound in the two areas.

The army said 15 more rockets were also launched towards the Galilee region, with some of the projectiles intercepted while others landed in open areas without causing damage.

The army said 10 more rockets were fired into Haifa Bay, triggering sirens there.

Hezbollah confirmed that its fighters had targeted with rockets Israeli troop deployments in five settlements in northern Israel.

1000 GMT — Israel army issues coercive evacuation diktats for eastern Lebanon

The Israeli military called for the evacuation of the Baalbek area in eastern Lebanon, warning that it was ready to strike Hezbollah targets there and in nearby Douris.

The latest evacuation call came as the military's Home Front Command activated sirens at regular intervals along the border as dozens of projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory since Sunday morning.

The military said its forces continued to carry out "targeted raids" in southern Lebanon aimed at eliminating Hezbollah fighters.

"You are currently located near the facilities and assets associated with Hezbollah, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will be targeting in the near future," the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X addressed to residents of Baalbek and Douris.

0938 GMT — Israeli brutality continues, fresh strikes kill more in Gaza

At least 18 more Palestinians have been killed and several others wounded in a series of Israeli air strikes in Gaza, according to medical sources and local media.

Israeli fighter jets struck three houses in the northern city of Beit Lahia, leaving 14 people dead, a medical source said.

Three more people have been killed and several wounded when an Israeli warplane hit another home in Jabalia in northern Gaza, the official news agency Wafa reported.

One more Palestinian has been killed and two others wounded in a drone strike northeast of Rafah in southern Gaza, the same source said.

0914 GMT — Thailand lodges protest over Israel sending its citizens to 'high-risk' areas

Thailand has sent a protest letter to Israel, requesting that no more Thai workers be sent to "high-risk" areas, as a rocket attack from Lebanon killed four Thai workers and injured another last week.

According to the Bangkok Post, the letter was sent following reports that some Israeli employers are still bringing Thai workers to high-risk workplaces on short-term contracts, with some workers staying in these areas for just 2-3 hours.

The ministry has advised Thai citizens to postpone non-essential travel to Israel and other affected areas in the Middle East at this time.

0854 GMT — Israel claims to have killed two Hezbollah commanders in Lebanon air strike

The Israeli military has claimed to have killed two senior Hezbollah commanders in an air strike in southern Lebanon.

A military statement claimed Israeli warplanes killed Farouq Amin al Ashi and Yusuf Ahmad Nun in the border town of Khiam.

The army accused Ashi and Nun of being responsible for numerous rocket attacks on northern Israel.

There was no comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli claim.

0644 GMT — Israeli soldier killed in grenade explosion in northern Gaza, army says

An Israeli soldier was killed in northern Gaza when a hand grenade exploded, the Israeli army has reported.

According to Israel’s Channel 13, the army stated that the incident occurred on Saturday morning, and an investigation is underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the explosion.

No additional details were released.

0058 GMT — Israel bombs Gaza home, kills several Palestinians

Many Palestinians were killed and wounded on early Sunday when Israeli forces bombed a house in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood, southwest of Gaza City.

Palestinian news agency, Wafa, citing local sources said several people were killed and injured as a result of the occupation bombing of a house belonging to the Abu Al-Auf family in Tal al-Hawa, amid urgent calls for ambulances to respond to the scene.

Israel has waged a war on Gaza since October 7 of last year, sealing off the enclave.

The assault has resulted in 43,314 Palestinian deaths, with many believed to be trapped under the rubble.

For our live updates from Saturday, November 2, 2024, click here.