- At least 492 people, including 35 children, have been killed in a day of unrelenting Israeli attacks on Lebanon, according to the country’s Health Ministry. At least 1,645 were wounded.
- Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired a barrage of missiles at Israeli air bases in response as world leaders and the United Nations called for urgent de-escalation.
- Israel, meanwhile, has continued its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, killing at least nine Palestinians in overnight attacks across the besieged territory.
- Hezbollah claims to have attacked Israel’s Ramot Naftali baseLebanon’s Hezbollah armed group says its fighters have attacked the logistical warehouses of the 146th Division in the Ramot Naftali military base with a missile salvo.The group did not elaborate on the timing and results of the attack.Earlier today, it said volleys of Hezbollah rockets bombed the Kiryat Shmona settlement in northern Israel.
- )China ‘deeply shocked’ by Israeli strikes on LebanonChina’s Foreign Ministry says it is “deeply shocked” by Israel’s air strikes on what it says are Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon.“China … is deeply shocked by the relevant military actions that have caused large numbers of casualties,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in response to a question about Israel’s strikes.Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least 492 people, including 35 children, have been killed and at least 1,645 wounded.
- Ex-Israeli army spokesman warns against ground offensive in LebanonBrigadier-General Ronan Manelis has told the Maariv newspaper that if Israel sends ground troops into Lebanon, it will be fulfilling the “biggest dream” of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.“We are trying to push Nasrallah to raise the white flag, which is probably not characteristic of him,” he said, adding that the belief that the war will end quicker if Israel exercises maximum force is a fundamental mistake.
- )Israel says over 50 projectiles fired from LebanonThe Israeli military says more than 50 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel this morning.The sirens sounded between 09:42 (06:42 GMT) and 09:44.“The majority of the projectiles were intercepted,” the army said in a statement.Approximately five projectiles also targeted the HaAmakim area, in central Israel, at about 09:36.No injuries were reported.
- Lebanon war is third war sponsored by Biden administrationIbrahim Fraihat, professor of international conflict resolution at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says “The spillover of Israel’s war on Gaza into Lebanon was expected but what was not expected is the massive single-day death toll.”“Nearly 500 civilians were killed in one day. The most surprising is the silence of the Western governments. There has been no real statements, no real pressure on the Israeli government to stop its attacks,” he told Al Jazeera.Fraihat said US President Joe Biden “is funding this war”.“This is the third war funded by the US during his presidency after Ukraine and Gaza. He is sending more troops and more weapons to Israel, so actions speak for themselves,” he added.Fraihat also said the war in Lebanon was the result of Biden’s failure in Gaza “because he has been supporting and encouraging Israel there”.“His secretary of state, Antony Blinken, achieved nothing during his seven visits to the region, not even a prisoners’ exchange. And who knows, maybe there is a fourth war coming before Joe Biden leaves office,” he said.
- UK’s top diplomat calls for immediate ceasefireBritish Foreign Secretary David Lammy says he is “deeply alarmed” by the ongoing air raids in Lebanon and Israel.“Further escalation risks even more devastating consequences. I repeat my call for an immediate ceasefire on both sides,” he said on X yesterday evening.
- Israel’s stated objectives could have been achieved through diplomacyGideon Levy, a columnist with Israeli newspaper Haaretz, says that Israel claims the attack on Lebanon aims to secure the return of 60,000 displaced people to northern Israel.“But this could have been achieved by a deal if Israel had agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza,” he said.“Israel was not ready to put an end to the war in Gaza, so here we are now in another war on a very big scale,” Levy added.He also warned that the war in Lebanon was “just beginning”, but even after months of attacks “nothing will be achieved”.“Even if anything is achieved, it will be the same that could have been achieved yesterday through diplomacy.”
Israel attacks Lebanon live: Hezbollah responds as Israeli raids kill 492
