Live blog: Israel striking targets in Lebanon, violating ceasefire

Monday, December 2, 2024

1852 GMT — The Israeli military has said it was currently striking "terror" targets in Lebanon amid mutual accusations of ceasefire violations between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

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1853 GMT — Trump wants Israeli prisoners released before his Jan. 20 inauguration

US president-elect Donald Trump said there would be "hell to pay" in the Middle East if Israeli prisoners held in Gaza were not released prior to his Jan. 20 inauguration.

"Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America," Trump said in a post on social media.

1847 GMT — US believes Lebanon 'ceasefire holding' despite incidents

The United States said it believed that a ceasefire was still holding in Lebanon and that it was looking at potential violations.

"The ceasefire is holding," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters after Lebanon accused Israel of violating the truce, and Israel in turn accused Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of a "serious" breach.

"When we get reports of potential violations, we have a mechanism that we put in place with the government of France to look at those potential violations, determine if they are in fact, violations, and then engage with the parties to ensure that they aren't repeated," Miller said.

1710 GMT — Hamas says 33 hostages killed in course of Israeli war in Gaza

Hamas has said that 33 hostages in Gaza had been killed during the almost 14-month-old Israeli war on the besieged enclave.

The Palestinian resistance group added that other hostages had gone missing.

"With the continuation of your crazy war," it said in a statement addressed to Israel, "you could lose your hostages forever. Do what you have to do before it is too late."

1538 GMT — Israel vows 'harsh response' to Hezbollah attack

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed a "harsh response" to a Hezbollah rocket launch targeting a military position in breach of the ceasefire in Lebanon that began last week.

"We promised to act against any violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah - and that's exactly what we will do. Hezbollah's fire toward an (Israeli army) post on Mount Dov will be met with a harsh response," the minister said on X, referring to a disputed area on the Israel-Lebanon border.

1538 GMT — Hezbollah launches strike, citing truce violations by Israel

Hezbollah said it carried out a "defensive warning strike" on an Israeli military position in the occupied Shebaa Farms area, citing repeated Israeli ceasefire violations including air strikes and shelling in Lebanon.

The Israeli military said the Hezbollah strike consisted of two missiles and caused no casualties.

Earlier, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency NNA said Israeli forces fired two artillery shells toward the southern Lebanese town of Beit Lif in the Bint Jbeil district, while heavy machinegun fire targeted Yaroun. No injuries were reported in either incident, NNA added.

1523 GMT — Fatah-Hamas talks seek to bring post-war Gaza under PA's full control: Egypt

Delegations from the Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas are meeting in Cairo to "reach a mutual understanding" on the Palestinian Authority's management of Gaza after the end of the Israeli war, Egypt's foreign minister said.

"There are indeed two delegations from the Fatah and Hamas movements in Cairo consulting and deliberating to quickly reach a mutual understanding regarding the management of daily affairs in Gaza under the full control of the Palestinian Authority," Badr Abdelatty told a news conference in Cairo.

1454 GMT — Israel claims Hezbollah fired missiles near Israel-Lebanon border

The Israeli military has claimed Hezbollah fired two missiles towards the Har Dov area near the disputed Shebaa Farms along the Lebanese border, causing no casualties.

Hezbollah has not commented on the incident.

1454 GMT — UK urges Israel to ensure unhindered aid to Gaza

A British minister has renewed her appeal to the Israeli government to take steps ensuring unimpeded aid access to Gaza amid the "catastrophic situation."

International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds expressed deep concern over the desperate need for food and shelter in Gaza as winter approaches, urging Israel to "immediately act" to address the crisis.

Dodds made the remarks ahead of her three-day visit to the region, where she will attend a humanitarian conference in Cairo.

"The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. Gazans are in desperate need of food and shelter with the onset of winter," she said in a statement released by the Foreign Office.

1440 GMT — Israel FM rejects accusations of truce violations in Lebanon

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has rejected US and French accusations that Israel was violating the terms of a truce that came into effect in Lebanon last week.

"We hear claims that Israel is violating the ceasefire understandings in Lebanon. On the contrary! Israel is enforcing them in response to Hezbollah's violations, which demand immediate action," Saar said in a statement.

1430 GMT — France, Israel discuss Lebanon ceasefire, Gaza

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot held a phone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Saar, focusing on the ongoing conflict in Lebanon and Gaza, as well as broader regional security issues.

Barrot emphasized the importance of all parties adhering to the ceasefire in Lebanon, underscoring France's efforts, in collaboration with its American partners, to uphold peace in the region, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

He stressed that the Lebanese ceasefire agreement should serve as a stepping stone towards an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and the unrestricted delivery of humanitarian aid to the area.

1225 GMT — Israeli attacks kill 37 more in Gaza as death toll nears 44,500

At least 37 more Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, pushing up the overall death toll since last year to 44,466, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said.

A ministry statement added that some 105,358 others were wounded in the ongoing assault.

"Israeli forces killed 37 people and injured 108 others in four massacres of families in the last 24 hours," the ministry said.

1219 GMT — Two killed in Israeli strikes despite truce: Lebanon

At least two people have been killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire, Lebanese authorities said.

One person was killed in an Israeli air attack on the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun, about 10 km (six miles) from the border with Israel, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.

Lebanon's state security said an Israeli drone strike had killed a member of its force while he was on duty in Nabatieh, 12 km from the border. State security called it a "flagrant violation" of the truce.

1216 GMT — Lebanon asks ceasefire committee to oblige Israel to stop breaches

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has asked the committee supervising the ceasefire with Israel to oblige Israel to stop ceasefire violations and withdraw from the Lebanese territories, his office said in a statement on Facebook.

1102 GMT — Situation in Gaza 'appalling and apocalyptic': UN

The United Nations chief has said the situation in war-torn Gaza was "appalling and apocalyptic", warning conditions faced by Palestinians in the territory may amount to the "gravest international crimes".

In remarks read out on his behalf at a Cairo conference aimed at increasing humanitarian aid, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to "build a foundation for sustainable peace in Gaza and across the Middle East".

1052 GMT — Egypt renews rejection of Israeli military presence at Gaza corridors

Egypt has renewed its rejection of Israeli military presence at the Rafah crossing and Philadelphi Corridor on the border with Gaza.

"Egypt rejects the Israeli military presence on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor, and the obstruction of humanitarian aid,” Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said during a meeting in Cairo with UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on the sidelines of a conference for Gaza humanitarian response.

1027 GMT — Gaza has the most child amputees per capita globally: UN

The United Nations has said that Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world, after more than a year of Israel's war on the Palestinian enclave.

"Gaza now has the highest number of children amputees per capita anywhere in the world —- many losing limbs and undergoing surgeries without even anaesthesia," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in remarks read out by his deputy at a Cairo conference aimed to accelerate humanitarian aid to the Gaza.

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1019 GMT — Lebanese soldier wounded in Israeli drone strike despite ceasefire

A Lebanese soldier was wounded in an Israeli drone strike in Hermel in eastern Lebanon despite a ceasefire deal, Lebanese media has said.

A drone hit a Lebanese bulldozer while carrying out some work inside the Abbara military site in the Hosh Sayyed Ali-Hermel area, the state news agency NNA reported.

0909 GMT –– At least 25 killed as Israeli jets flatten home in Gaza’s Beit Lahia

At least 25 people were killed when Israeli warplanes hit and levelled an inhabited home in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, a local source said.

Witnesses said that efforts were still ongoing to search for survivors under the rubble of the building in Beit Lahia Project area, where women and children had sheltered.

0600 GMT — Israeli shelling kills Palestinian in central Gaza

A Palestinian young man was killed after Israeli artillery shelling east of Deir al-Balah.

WAFA reported that Sabri Hassan al-Masdar, 25, was killed after heavy shelling by the occupation artillery east of the town of al-Masdar east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

0001 GMT — Britain ups Gaza aid ahead of donor conference

Britain will provide an additional 19 million pounds ($24 million) in humanitarian aid to Gaza, the international development minister has said, calling for Israel to give greater access ahead of a key conference on the conflict.

"Gazans are in desperate need of food, and shelter with the onset of winter," the minister, Anneliese Dodds, said in a statement as she headed for a three-day visit to the region, including an international conference in Cairo Monday on the Gaza Strip's aid needs.

"The Cairo conference will be an opportunity to get leading voices in one room and put forward real-world solutions to the humanitarian crisis," she added.

"Israel must immediately act to ensure unimpeded aid access to Gaza."

2306 GMT — Muslim scholars urge support for Gaza, rebuilding Lebanon

The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has called to support the Lebanese people in reconstruction efforts while stressing the importance of continued support for Gaza.

This came in a statement issued after IUMS’ Board of Trustees meeting on Saturday and Sunday in the Qatari capital Doha.

The statement urged "the scholars of the Muslim Ummah, its elites and components to fulfil their roles and strengthen their presence in advancing the Islamic civilizational project."

It emphasized "preserving the shared values among peoples of diverse cultures which protect humanity, dignity and innate human nature."

2246 GMT — Hamas, Fatah discuss Egyptian proposals for border reopening

The Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) has said it is holding discussions in Cairo with the resistance group Hamas on Egyptian proposals regarding the reopening of the Rafah border crossing.

"Fatah is keen on an immediate end to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, expediting aid delivery and initiating reconstruction,” a Fatah official, Abdullah Abdullah, told Anadolu.

"A Fatah delegation is present in Cairo discussing with a Hamas delegation Egyptian proposals related to reopening the Rafah border crossing (between Gaza and Egypt) and having the Palestinian Authority manage it on the Palestinian side," he said.

Cairo has kept the Egyptian side of the crossing closed since Israeli forces occupied the Palestinian side of it in May. It insists on ending the occupation of the crossing to reopen it.

Abdullah did not disclose the nature of the Egyptian proposals.

For our live updates from Sunday, December 1, 2024, click here.