🔴 Live: Fresh Israeli strikes pound southern Beirut, Lebanese state media says

Smoke rises into the sky after an Israeli bombardment of the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, on October 7, 2024 © Anwar Amro, AFP

Two new Israeli strikes struck Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday evening, Lebanese state media said, after Israel's military issued a warning to inhabitants of the area. An AFP correspondent saw smoke rise from the suburbs, and the country's National News Agency reported that the area had been "the target of two raids". Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments on the crisis in the Middle East.

Summary:

• Two new Israeli strikes struck Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday evening, Lebanese state media said, after Israel's military issued a warning to inhabitants of the area.

• More than 3,000 people attended an alternative memorial organised on Monday evening by relatives of victims and hostages in a Tel Aviv park to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks, with emotional testimonies from survivors and performances by singers. A pre-recorded official state ceremony aired later in the evening.
• Lebanese official media said Israeli aircraft again bombed Hezbollah's south Beirut bastion on Monday, later reporting six strikes on the area, which has been repeatedly hit since late last month.
• The armed wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for firing rockets into southern Israel on Monday, targeting Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, as well as kibbutz Holit, on the anniversary of its attack launched a year ago.
• More than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 last year, with 1,000 of those occurring in the last week. The Lebanese government estimates that roughly 1.2 million people have been displaced. 
• Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon since Israel launched a ground operation across its northern border on October 1. 

Yesterday's key developments:

• An Israeli strike on a mosque sheltering displaced people in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza early Sunday killed at least 21 people, according to the Gaza civil defence agency.
• Massive explosions shook the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight as Israel stepped up its bombardments of Hezbollah stronghold areas.
• French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called on the international community to halt arms deliveries to Israel destined for used in Gaza – a position which Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said brought "shame" on Macron. Macron’s office later said France was an “unfailing friend” to Israel, and Netanyahu’s words were “excessive”.
• Around 374,000 people have fled from Lebanon to Syria in recent days, according to Lebanese authorities, as Israel continues strikes throughout the county. Strikes were reported in the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as in north and east Lebanon.

(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and Reuters)