Live blog: Operational plans 'approved' against Lebanon — Israeli army

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

1856 GMT — Israel's defence forces have said it had approved operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon as Israel and Hezbollah stepped up rhetoric that could escalate into a war.

"As part of the situational assessment, operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated, and decisions were taken on the continuation of increasing the readiness of troops in the field," the Israeli army said.

More updates 👇

1918 GMT — No one wants to see regional war in Middle East: Pentagon

The United States does not want to see a wider regional war in the Middle East, the Pentagon has said, as Israel's defence forces approved operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon.

"I'm not going to get into hypotheticals and speculate on what might happen other than to say no one wants to see a wider regional war," Major General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters when asked about Israel's move to approve operational plans.

1904 GMT — Gaza pier to be operational 'again this week': Pentagon

The humanitarian pier off the coast of Gaza will be operational "again this week," the Pentagon has said.

"In terms of the JLOTS, we expect it will go operational again this week, and I don't have a specific date to give you right now," spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said last week it will "temporarily" remove the pier from its anchored position in Gaza and tow it to Ashdod, Israel, because of expected high seas.

1751 GMT — Palestinian doctor being investigated by Israel's Shin Bet dies in custody

A prominent Palestinian doctor from Gaza has died in custody while being investigated by the country’s domestic security service, the Shin Bet, Israeli media has reported.

Dr. Iyad Rantisi, 53, the head of a women's hospital in northern Gaza's Beit Lahia, was detained by the Israeli army last November. He died six days after his detention.

Rantisi died at the Shikma prison, a Shin Bet interrogation facility in southern Israel's Ashkelon, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.

Shin Bet said they arrested the Palestinian doctor over suspicion of involvement in hiding hostages.

1850 GMT — US rejects Netanyahu's weapons-holding claims

The White House has rejected the Israeli premier's remarks about the US withholding weapons from Israel, except 2,000-pound bombs.

"We genuinely do not know what he's talking about. We just don't," spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

"There was one particular shipment of munitions that was paused, and you've heard us talk about that many times. We continue to have these constructive conversations with Israelis for the release of that particular shipment that I just mentioned.

1836 GMT — Netanyahu says ‘there will be no civil war’ in Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that “there will be no civil war” in Israel amid protests demanding his resignation.

“Division is weakness. Unity is strength,'' Netanyahu said at a news conference after a memorial service for soldiers killed in Gaza.

''We are fighting on several fronts: In the south, until Hamas is eliminated and all of our hostages are returned. In the north, until we restore all of our residents securely to their homes,” he said.

1650 GMT –– US mediation in Gaza 'deceptive,' says Palestinian politician

The US participation in Gaza ceasefire mediation is a great deception since Washington itself is complicit in Israeli attacks there, a senior Palestinian People's Party official has said.

Party Secretary-General Bassam al Salhi told Anadolu that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian groups are fighting to stop Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.

"The essence of the draft should be a ceasefire and Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. All efforts to stop the war are important, but Washington is not an honest mediator. It is a party to this war."

“The US is complicit in the attacks on the Gaza Strip and its role as a mediator is a great deception,” he said.

1648 GMT –– US still 'reviews' bomb shipment to Israel over Gaza concerns

The US is continuing to review a shipment of bombs to Israel because of concerns about its possible use in heavily populated areas in Gaza, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

"We, as you know, are continuing to review one shipment that President Biden has talked about with regard to 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) bombs because of our concerns about their use in a densely populated area like Rafah that remains other under review," Blinken said a news conference in Washington with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

"Everything else is moving as it normally would ... and again, with the perspective of making sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against this multiplicity of challenges," he added.

1629 GMT –– Israel minister threatens Hezbollah with destruction in ‘total war’

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement would be destroyed in the event of a “total war”, as tensions flare on its shared border with Lebanon after exchanges of fire between the group and Israeli forces in recent weeks.

“We are very close to the moment when we will decide to change the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In a total war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be hit hard,” Katz said, according to a statement from his office.

1608 GMT –– Italy worried about escalation of clashes between Israel, Lebanon

Italy’s foreign minister has said that he is worried about the intensification of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah across the southern border with Lebanon, adding that Italy supports US mediation efforts aimed at stabilising the situation.

“In recent months we have witnessed an intensification of clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah,” Antonio Tajani told the Italian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. “These dynamics confirm the tight connection between the military operations in Gaza and in southern Lebanon.”

“It isn’t fortuitous that the latest resurgence of the fight in Lebanon coincides with the stalling of talks for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and with the beginning of the offensive in Rafah,” he added, referring to the southern Gaza city that served a refuge for over a million people but was targeted by Israel, drawing international condemnation.

1603 GMT –– Israel received US assurances to lift limits on arms transfers: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed to have received assurances from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about lifting restrictions on arms transfers to Israel.

Blinken visited Israel last week as part of a regional tour that included Egypt, Jordan and Qatar to advance efforts to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel.

“When Secretary Blinken was recently here in Israel, we had a candid conversation. I said I deeply appreciated the support the US has given Israel from the beginning of the war,” Netanyahu said in a video message. “But I also said something else. I said it's inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel.”

The premier claimed Israel is “fighting for its life, fighting against Iran and our other common enemies.”

"Secretary Blinken assured me that the administration is working day and night to remove these bottlenecks. I certainly hope that's the case. It should be the case,” he said.

1557 GMT –– Gaza rescuers report deadly strikes although clashes slow on Eid

Israeli strikes killed at least 13 people in central Gaza, the civil defence agency in the Hamas-run territory said, although fighting has largely subsided as Muslims mark Eid al Adha.

An Israeli announcement at the weekend of a daily "pause" of military activity to facilitate aid flows coincided with the Muslim holiday and has brought relative calm to parts of besieged Gaza after more than eight months of war.

Witnesses reported gunfire and artillery shelling near Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, where the civil defence agency said at least 13 people died in two separate strikes on a family home and on a commercial building.

Al Awda Hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of "six martyrs and 15 wounded as a result of Israeli air strikes on various areas in the central and southern Gaza Strip".

1550 GMT –– Two Democrats in Congress clear the way for $15B sale of fighter jets to Israel

Two top Democrats in Congress have cleared the way for a $15 billion US sale of F-15s to Israel to move forward, after a delay while one sought answers from the Biden administration on Israel’s current use of US weapons in the war in Gaza.

New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democratic member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, the chair of the Senate version of the committee, confirmed on Tuesday they had agreed to the deal, for F-15s and related gear that would be delivered by 2029.

Meeks’ and Cardin’s Republican counterparts on the two committees earlier gave their approval. The sale now moves to a stage in which the administration formally notifies Congress of the planned sale.

1550 GMT –– UNRWA unable to deliver aid on Israeli-designated safe route for aid: UN

A UN official said the agency responsible for most of the aid distribution in Gaza was still unable to use a route the Israeli military said it would secure to help humanitarian goods flow into the besieged territory.

The official said the agency, known as UNRWA, tried to send a convoy of aid trucks down the route Tuesday after cancelling its convoy Monday because of persistent law and order concerns. However, Palestinians took goods from most of the trucks along the way and Tuesday's convoy had to stand down, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to discuss with the media the movement of aid along the newly declared route.

The UN official also disputed an Israeli claim that aid groups no longer needed to coordinate their use of the route, saying that coordination was still necessary because the area remains an active combat zone.

1512 GMT — Israeli police disperse protesters demanding hostage swap with Hamas

Israeli police have dispersed protesters in West Jerusalem demanding a hostage swap deal with Hamas.

Protesters blocked a road at the Givat Mordechai Interchange by placing ladders in the middle of the road and displayed signs calling for the release of Israelis held captive by Hamas, Israeli Channel 12 reported.

"Elections now" chanted the protesters in the latest pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down.

1505 GMT — Hezbollah reconnaissance drone films vital military locations in northern Israel

The Lebanese group Hezbollah published a video of what it said was footage gathered by one of its reconnaissance drones of vital military locations in northern Israel.

The 9-minute video seen by Anadolu news agency shows several Israeli locations as military contractor Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, air defence sites, Iron Dome batteries and David’s Sling military system.

It also shows the city of Haifa’s sea and air ports, naval base, submarine pier and the Israeli army's Sa'ar 4.5 and 5-class missile boats.

There was no comment from the Israeli army on the Hezbollah video.

1350 GMT — Israeli army says it is pushing forward in Rafah, central Gaza

The Israeli army has continued its incursions into Rafah city in southern Gaza and in the territory's central areas amid clashes and fighting with Palestinian resistance groups.

In a military statement, the Israeli army said its Givati Brigade, part of its 162nd Division, engaged in clashes with Palestinian gunmen in Rafah, claiming to have killed several of them, without providing an exact number.

According to an Anadolu news agency reporter in the city, which straddles Gaza's southern border with Egypt, the Israeli army has been heavily shelling the Tel al Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah since the early morning.

In central Gaza, Israeli troops in the 99th Division also continued their attacks while jets and artillery pounded the area.

1345 GMT — Hezbollah says it targeted Israeli tank after 48-hour undeclared pause

Hezbollah has said it targeted an Israeli army's tank in an aerial attack in what looks like a resumption of fighting with Israel after 48 hours of an undeclared pause.

The Lebanese group said fighters attacked a Merkava tank inside the army's Hadab Yarin site with a combat drone and achieved a direct hit.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported earlier that a rocket was fired toward the Metula settlement in northern Israel that set off sirens in the area and caused a fire in an agricultural section of the settlement.

KAN noted that it was the first rocket incident from Lebanon in 48 hours.

1319 GMT — 2 Palestinians injured in assaults by illegal Israeli settlers near Nablus

At least two Palestinians were injured in assaults by illegal Israeli settlers near Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank.

Witnesses told Anadolu news agency that dozens of illegal settlers attacked the Burin village and assaulted Palestinian villagers as they tried to fend off the attack.

The illegal settlers also set fire to a Palestinian-owned car and burned agricultural lands belonging to the village.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said medical teams transferred the two Palestinians, including a woman, who were severely beaten by the settlers, to a hospital.

1239 GMT — French court rules against Israeli ban from arms expo: lawyer

A French court ordered organisers of a defence trade show to suspend a ban on Israeli firms, the lawyer for the Franco-Israeli chamber of commerce told AFP news agency.

The Paris Commerce Tribunal said the decision by Coges Events to ban 74 Israeli exhibitors from Eurosatory was "discriminatory," said the lawyer, Patrick Klugman.

1237 GMT — Israeli army raids several areas across West Bank to arrest Palestinians

Israeli forces at dawn raided several areas across the occupied West Bank to arrest Palestinians.

Witnesses told Anadolu news agency that Israeli forces raided the cities of Nablus, Qalqilya in the northern West Bank and the cities of Ramallah and Hebron in the central and southern West Bank, respectively, and surrounding areas.

Clashes erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the village of Qusra near Nablus, where at least two Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces.

1026 GMT — Death toll in Gaza from Israel's brutal war rises to 37,372

At least 37,372 Palestinians have been killed and 85,452 have been wounded in Israel's military offensive in Gaza since October 7, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said in a statement.

The toll includes at least 25 deaths in the past 24 hours, the statement said.

0959 GMT — UN human rights chief: situation in occupied West Bank 'drastically deteriorating'

The United Nations human rights chief has warned that the rights situation in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, was rapidly deteriorating, while there had been "unconscionable death and suffering" in Gaza.

"The situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is dramatically deteriorating," Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the opening session of the UN Human Rights Council.

He said that as of June 15, 528 Palestinians, 133 of them children, had been killed by Israeli security forces or settlers since October, in some cases raising "serious concerns of unlawful killings."

0905 GMT — US wants to avoid 'greater war' along tense Lebanon-Israel border, envoy says

US envoy Amos Hochstein has said that Washington was seeking to avoid "a greater war" following an escalation in cross-border fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli military along Lebanon's southern frontier in recent weeks.

Hochstein described the situation along the border as "serious" and said that was why US President Joe Biden had dispatched him to Lebanon.

Hochstein was in Lebanon for one day of meetings following a brief trip to Israel.

0715 GMT — Hamas sees disbanding of Israel's War Cabinet as victory for Palestinian resistance

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has declared that the Israeli government’s decision to disband the War Cabinet, which was formed to manage the war on Gaza, is a victory for the Palestinian resistance.

In a statement, Izzat al Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said the armed resistance, led by Hamas' armed wing Al Qassam Brigades, "dismantles the Zionist (Israeli) War Cabinet that was originally formed eight months ago to dismantle the (Palestinian) resistance."

0421 GMT — Israeli strike kills several Palestinians in Gaza's Nuseirat

An Israeli air strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza has killed several Palestinians, according to local media.

A number of people were also injured in the attack, according to the WAFA news agency.

The Israeli military carried out a series of air strikes on various parts of Gaza as Palestinians marked the second day of the Muslim festival Eid al Adha, killing and injuring several people, according to medical sources and witnesses.

0331 GMT — Israeli army says it struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military has said that its warplanes carried out strikes on targets belonging to the Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon.

A military statement said that fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military building and infrastructure in the Aitaroun area.

A Hezbollah military building in the village of Ayta ash Shab and infrastructure in Chaqra in southern Lebanon were also targeted, according to the statement.

0315 GMT — Thousands of Israelis protest Netanyahu gov't, demand prisoner swap with Hamas

Tens of thousands of Israelis have gathered in the streets near Israel's parliament in Jerusalem to protest the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demand early elections and a prisoner swap with Hamas.

The protesters filled the nearby streets, carrying Israeli flags and photos of Israeli prisoners held in Gaza. Some signs depicted Netanyahu with a red “X” and the text “Evil Demon” in Hebrew and English.

Demonstrators chanted slogans like “Bring down the deceptive government,” “Elections now,” “Traitors” and “Shame,” according to Anadolu’s monitoring of Israeli media outlets that live-streamed the protest.

0304 GMT — Illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinian villages in occupied West Bank during Eid al Adha

Illegal Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinian villages and properties in several areas of the occupied West Bank that were marking the second day of the Muslim holiday Eid al Adha.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that illegal settlers attacked Palestinian residents in the town of Deir Dibwan east of Ramallah.

The agency said a group of settlers invaded the town's outskirts, gathered in the area and threw stones at residents, resulting in three injuries.

In the northern West Bank, WAFA said illegal settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles in the town of Huwara south of Nablus.

In the south, the agency noted that settlers established an illegal outpost on privately owned Palestinian land east of Hebron on Monday.

0221 GMT — Israel's opposition leader says Netanyahu 'sells our fighters'

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has accused warmonger Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of undermining national security and betraying the country's soldiers amid the army's ongoing war in besieged Gaza.

Lapid's remarks came ahead of a meeting of a parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and defence to discuss a draft law that lowers the age of exemption from mandatory service for Haredi yeshiva students that is set to be voted on in its second and third readings before becoming law.

"Tomorrow, the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee will begin discussions on the evasion and refusal law. This is a betrayal of the fighters, a betrayal of the reservists, a betrayal of the Israeli middle class, and a betrayal of the IDF (army)," Lapid wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"The Israeli government undermines the security of the state. Netanyahu sells our fighters. Him and his smile," he added.

0128 GMT — Key Democrats approve major US arms sale to Israel: Report

Two key Democrats in the US Congress have signed off on a major arms sale to Israel that includes 50 F-15 fighter jets worth more than $18 billion, The Washington Post reported.

Citing three unnamed US officials, it said Representative Gregory Meeks and Senator Ben Cardin agreed to support the deal under heavy pressure from the Biden administration.

Meeks told the Post that he had been in close contact with the White House about the package and urged the administration to push Israel over humanitarian efforts and civilian casualties. According to the paper, he said the F-15s will be delivered "years from now."

Cardin's spokesperson said the sale went through the "regular review processes." "Any issues or concerns Chair Cardin had were addressed through our ongoing consultations with the Administration, and that's why he felt it appropriate to allow this case to move forward," Eric Harris, the communications director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was quoted as saying by the Post.

0112 GMT — 'Best way' to resolve tensions on Israeli-Lebanon border is Gaza ceasefire: US

The US State Department has said that a ceasefire in besieged Gaza would make resolving the border tensions between Israel and Lebanon "much easier."

Spokesperson Matt Miller said the US had been worried about an escalation in the north and the possibility of a full-scale conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group since the very early days after October 7.

"But our assessment of the situation continues to be that the best way to get a diplomatic resolution in the north, which we think all sides ultimately prefer, is to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, and so the two are related," said Miller during a press briefing.

"It doesn't mean you can say with 100 percent certainty that you wouldn't be able to get a ceasefire in the north without resolution in Gaza, but certainly having a ceasefire in Gaza makes a resolution in the north much, much easier," he added.

2312 GMT — US claims it destroyed Houthi radars, uncrewed vessel and drone

The US military claimed it had destroyed four Houthi radars, one uncrewed surface vessel and one drone in the past 24 hours.

The radars and uncrewed surface vessel were destroyed in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, US Central Command said in a post on the social media site X.

The drone was destroyed over the Red Sea.

2107 GMT — Biden administration has no say over Israel's war Cabinet: State Dept

A spokesperson for the US Department of State has said the Biden administration plays no part in deciding who is and who is not part of Israel's war Cabinet and will work with whatever government Israel decides on.

Matthew Miller spoke at a briefing for reporters, hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the war Cabinet following the departure days earlier of Benny Gantz, a centrist former military chief.

Miller said that though the Biden administration will not hesitate to speak out on policy differences with Israeli officials, it has no say on who makes up the government and that Israel can select its own leaders.

2038 GMT — Israeli intelligence ignored warning of October 7: report

Israeli security authorities ignored an intelligence document last September that predicted the Hamas surprise blitz of October 7, an Israeli state-run media outlet reported.

The report, revealed by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, claimed the document, dated September 19 — about three weeks before the attack that Israel has described as the worst in its history — was prepared by the military intelligence unit 8200.

The outlet cited unnamed Israeli security sources saying the document "was known to intelligence leadership and, at least, to the Gaza command" of the Israeli military.

The report noted that despite the warning, Israeli security authorities ignored the intelligence document.

For our live updates from Monday, June 17, 2024, click here.