Summary of the day so far …
It is 5pm in Beirut, Tel Aviv and Gaza City, and 6pm in Damascus
Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz has threatened that if the ceasefire in Lebanon collapses, Israel’s forces “will no longer” differentiate “between Lebanon and Hezbollah”. Katz, who was visiting the north of Israel, threatened “if we return to war we will act strongly, we will go deeper, and the most important thing they need to know, that there will be no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon”
Lebanon’s National News Agency has reported that caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati has held a series of diplomatic meetings today in which he “stressed … the priority of stabilising the situation for the return of the displaced to their towns and regions and expanding the army’s deployment in the south”
Israel’s military has reiterated its order prohibiting Lebanese civilians from returning to their homes in dozens of villages in the south of Lebanon
In Syria insurgents fighting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have launched attacks in the central province of Hama, threatening to cut off government troops from a key route linking the capital, Damascus, with rebel-held Aleppo. The army was engaging in “violent confrontations” with armed groups in Hama, the Syrian state news agency, Sana, reported
Health services are no longer functioning in the Syrian city of Idlib after a series of airstrikes on key hospitals damaged intensive care units and specialised services, doctors said. At least two intensive care patients have died because of power and oxygen shortages caused by the airstrikes, according to the rescue group White Helmets, and hospitals have had to evacuate patients or move them into basements
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that Israeli security forces have raided the Turkish governmental hospital in Tubas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Pictures sent over the news wires from the scene appear to show Israeli troops detaining Palestinians. Wafa claimed the Israeli forces “arrested a number of citizens, including a doctor”
The Hamas-led health authority in Gaza has issued new casualty figures for the conflict, stating that in the last 24 hours, 36 people have been killed and 96 injured in Israeli attacks. It claims the total death toll in Gaza since 7 October 2023 now stands at 44,502 Palestinians killed and 105,454 injured
Reuters reports that, in an Ankara readout of a call between them, president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Tuesday that Turkey’s priority was keeping calm borders, and that Syria’s government needs to engage in a real political process to de-escalate events in its north.
Erdoğan also reportedly told Sudani during the call that Turkey valued Syria’s territorial integrity, unity and stability, and that that Ankara wanted to avoid civilian deaths.
Turkey has frequently been accused of destabilising northern Syria due to its ongoing conflict with Kurdish separatist forces that Turkey defines as terrorists.
Kaamil Ahmed reports as part of the Rights and Freedom series:
Health services are no longer functioning in the Syrian city of Idlib after a series of airstrikes on key hospitals damaged intensive care units and specialised services, doctors said.
At least two intensive care patients have died because of power and oxygen shortages caused by the airstrikes, according to the rescue group White Helmets, and hospitals have had to evacuate patients or move them into basements.
The healthcare services struck in the past few days include the Ibn Sina children’s hospital and the Maternity Children’s hospital run by medical charity Syrian American Medical Society (Sams). The White Helmets said Idlib university hospital, the National hospital and the health directorate were also hit.
Regime attacks on the city have intensified in the past week since rebels launched a surprise offensive that has allowed them to capture the entire Idlib province and the key city of Aleppo.
Read more here: Health services across Idlib ‘no longer functioning’, say Syrian doctors
Syrian insurgents fighting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have launched attacks in the central province of Hama, threatening to cut off government troops from a key route linking the capital, Damascus, with rebel-held Aleppo.
The army was engaging in “violent confrontations” with armed groups in Hama, the Syrian state news agency, Sana, reported.
Separately, a longtime independent war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said on Tuesday morning that rebel factions in the province had managed to seize several “towns in the last few hours”.
“Syrian and Russian air forces carried out dozens of strikes on the area,” said the Britain-based monitor, which has a network of sources inside Syria.
After their lightning assault on Aleppo over the past few days, militants led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have advanced south towards Hama.
The city sits on a critical road linking Aleppo in the north with major central locations such as Homs city, the coastal ports of Latakia and Tartous, and Damascus in the south.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images on the news wires from the region.
The Hamas-led health authority in Gaza has issued new casualty figures for the conflict, stating that in the last 24 hours, 36 people have been killed and 96 injured in Israeli attacks.
It claims the total death toll in Gaza since 7 October 2023 now stands at 44,502 Palestinians killed and 105,454 injured.
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Lebanon’s National News Agency has reported that caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati has held a series of diplomatic meetings today in which he “stressed … the priority of stabilising the situation for the return of the displaced to their towns and regions and expanding the army’s deployment in the south.”
Israel’s military has issued an order prohibiting Lebanese civilians from returning to their homes in dozens of villages in the south of Lebanon.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that Israeli security forces have raided the Turkish governmental hospital in Tubas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Pictures sent over the news wires from the scene appear to show Israeli troops detaining Palestinians. Wafa claimed the Israeli forces “arrested a number of citizens, including a doctor.”
Israel’s military has said in a statement that the sound of explosions heard in the Israeli city of Qiryat Shemona “were caused by a supervised explosion conducted by IDF troops in the area.”
Lebanese political sources have told Reuters that senior figures have asked Washington and Paris to intervene and pressure Israel over accusations it has breached the ceasefire conditions.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati and the Hezbollah ally and speaker of parliament Nabih Berri reportedly spoke to officials at the White House and French presidency late Monday and expressed concern about the state of the ceasefire, the sources said.
Earlier we reported that Israel had carried out an airstrike on the Beqaa region of Lebanon, in which it had claimed to have “struck a terrorist cell.”
This was an error caused by a mistranslation from Hebrew, and a report filed by Reuters which was subsequently corrected.
The strike was carried out on Aqabah in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian news agency Wafa reports it struck a vehicle, and killed two people, wounding one other.
We apologise for the error, and have made corrections in the previous entries on this live blog.
Reuters reports, citing state media, that in Syria army forces are working on reinforcing defence lines in the countryside of Hama province in order to start a counterattack against armed groups.
Israel's defense minister Katz: if ceasefire collapses we will no longer differentiate 'between Lebanon and Hezbollah'
Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz has threatened that if the ceasefire in Lebanon collapses, Israel’s forces “will no longer” differentiate “between Lebanon and Hezbollah.”
Lebanon’s ministry of health has put the death toll from Israeli attacks inside Lebanon since 7 October 2023 at over 3,000, with more than 13,000 injured. Israel has said it carried out the pager and walkie-talkie explosions in September, and in recent weeks had carried out an extensive series of airstrikes which it claimed were targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.
Reuters quotes Katz, who was visiting the north of Israel, saying the Lebanese government must “authorise the Lebanese army to enforce their part, to keep Hezbollah away from the Litani and to dismantle all the infrastructure.”
He added “If the ceasefire collapses, there will be no more exemption for the state of Lebanon. We will enforce the agreement with maximum impact and zero tolerance. If until now we have differentiated between Lebanon and Hezbollah, that will no longer be the case.”
Israel’s military has issued orders prohibiting civilians in neighbouring Lebanon to return to dozens of villages in the south, where tens of thousands of people have been forcibly displaced from their homes.
Many Israelis in the north of Israel have also had to flee, due to near constant exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the IDF since 7 October 2023.
Katz threatened “if we return to war we will act strongly, we will go deeper, and the most important thing they need to know, that there will be no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon.”
Updated
Here are some images from Khan Younis today in Gaza, where Unrwa has been distributing flour supplied as part of Turkey’s humanitarian relief efforts.
14 killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza
Local medics reported that at least 14 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Most of the 14 reported dead in Gaza were killed by strikes on Beit Lahiya in the north of the territory. Israel’s military issued new forced evacuation orders in Khan Younis, citing rocket fire from the area.
In a statement Israel claimed to have killed seven named Hamas operatives who participated in the 7 October 2023 attack inside southern Israel. The claims have not been independently verified.
There were further reports of an Israeli strike on a vehicle near Damascus international airport in Syria. Fighting was also reported between Bashar al-Assad’s government forces and the Kurdish SDF forces in Deir ez-Zur province, with a Unicef statement saying over 45,000 people have been displaced already by renewed violence in the country.
The foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Russia are reported to have agreed to meet to discuss the crisis in Syria at the weekend in Doha, Qatar.
This block when originally published reported that Israel had carried out an airstrike on the Beqaa region of Lebanon. This was in error, due to a mistranslation from Hebrew and a subsequently corrected report filed by Reuters.
Updated
Israel’s military has issued a statement in which it claims that troops operating in the central corridor of the Gaza Strip over the last two weeks have killed seven named participants in the surprise 7 October 2023 Hamas attack inside southern Israel.
It said its forces “conducted several targeted raids in the area, during which they dismantled Hamas military terror sites, including military structures, observation posts, and sniper positions.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that Israeli security forces have detained 18 people in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since last night. It reports over 11,900 people have been arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem since 7 October 2023.
Syria’s state news agency Sana has reported an Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle on a road leading to Damascus international airport.
More details soon …
Israeli media reports that the cabinet is set to meet in the coastal city of Nahariya on Tuesday, a symbolic show of renewed security in the north after the ceasefire deal with Lebanon came into effect.
The move has received some criticism, however, with Hebrew news site Ynet reporting that the heads of local authorities in the north of Israel are angry that they have not been invited to participate.
Israel kills 12 people in Gaza and issues more forced evacuation orders
Reuters reports that Israeli military strikes have killed at least 12 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip so far on Tuesday, most of them in the town of Beit Lahiya, as the IDF issued new forced evacuation orders in the south of the territory.
Reuters cited local medics for the casualty figures, which have not been independently verified. Eight people had been killed in a series of strikes in Beit Lahiya where the Israeli army has been operating since October.
The Israeli army issued evacuation orders to residents in northern districts of Khan Younis, citing the firing of rockets from those areas. It said civilians should move to “the humanitarian zone”. Palestinian and UN officials say there are no safe areas in Gaza, where most of the population of 2.3m has already been internally displaced multiple times.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that three of the victims in Beit Lahiya were members of the Al-Masry family, killed “while they were going to inspect their homes.”
Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza for Al Jazeera, writes that “In Gaza City, a four-storey building was destroyed. Dozens of civilians are feared trapped under the rubble. Civil Defence forces, with the help of civilians, are trying to find survivors from the debris.”
Al Jazeera has been banned from operating inside Israel by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Iran’s official news agency IRNA, citing foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, reports that the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey will meet in Doha, Qatar, at the weekend to discuss the crisis in Syria.
Unicef: 48,500 people displaced by renewed fighting in Syria
Unicef’s MENA regional director Edouard Beigbeder has issued a statement about the recent escalation of violence in Syria, saying “children are bearing the heaviest brunt of the conflict.”
I am deeply alarmed by the recent escalation of hostilities in northwest Syria, which has reportedly resulted in the tragic killing of at least seven children and injured another 32.
Since 27 November, more than 48,500 people have been displaced, mainly children and women. Most of the children have been uprooted multiple times due to previous crises.
In Syria, children are enduring one of the world’s most complex emergencies, a combination of protracted hostilities, repeated displacement of civilians, economic recession, disease outbreaks, and devastating earthquake. Unicef calls on all parties to cease hostilities immediately.
Explainer: Who controls what territory in Syria?
If you wanted some background reading on the conflict in Syria, then over the past few hours we have published two useful explainers. This map and article explain who controls territory on the ground in the country.
Additionally my colleague Jason Burke has this piece explaining how Syrian militants HTS seized Aleppo so quickly. Here is an excerpt:
This sudden turn of events is shocking but not entirely surprising, veteran observers say. “Everyone watching Syria knows it has been a tinderbox under very great pressure both domestically and from regional powers for years. The war has been continuing in the background” said Charlie Winter, a Syria expert and director of ExTrac, a UK-based risk intelligence platform.
You can read more from Jason Burke here: Why did Syrian militants HTS seize Aleppo – and how did they do it so quickly?
Syrian army and Kurdish SDF forces reported fighting in Deir ez-Zur
The Syrian army and allied forces confronted an attack launched by forces affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance on villages in the northern countryside of Deir ez-Zur province on Tuesday, Reuters reports, citing the state news agency Sana.
The Kurdish-led SDF formed in 2015, and are considered the Kurds’ de facto army. The forces are an alliance of fighters including Kurds, Syriac Christians and Arab Muslim factions.
The SDF holds around a quarter of Syrian territory, and is considered the second most powerful military force after the army.
Turkey considers the SDF to be a terrorist group.
Al Jazeera reports that, since dawn, eight people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli strikes. Five have been killed in Beit Lahiya, two in Gaza City, and one in Rafah.
The claims have not been independently verified. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Israel this morning has reiterated its warning to Lebanese civilians that it is prohibiting their return to dozens of villages in the south of the country.
In a statement overnight, Israel’s military claimed that its attacks inside Lebanese territory “struck Hezbollah terrorists, dozens of launchers, and terrorist infrastructure throughout Lebanon.”
It said:
Hezbollah’s launches tonight constitute a violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. The state of Israel demands that the relevant parties in Lebanon fulfil their responsibilities and prevent Hezbollah’s hostile activity from within Lebanese territory. The State of Israel remains obligated to the fulfilment of the conditions of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. The IDF is prepared to continue operating wherever necessary and will continue to operate to defend Israeli civilians.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is looking increasingly fragile after both sides exchanged fire and accused each other of violating the US-brokered truce less than a week after it came into force.
At least nine people were killed and three injured on Monday from Israeli strikes on two southern Lebanese towns, Talousa and Haris, as the Israeli military said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon.
The latest Israeli strikes came shortly after Hezbollah accused Israel of violating the ceasefire and fired missiles on an Israeli military position in the disputed Shebaa Farms area in what the Iran-backed group called a “defensive warning strike”.
Lebanese speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who negotiated the truce on behalf of Lebanon, said Beirut had recorded at least 54 ceasefire violations by Israel since Wednesday.
In other developments:
US president-elect Donald Trump demanded the immediate release of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, saying that if they are not freed before he is sworn into office for a second term there will be “hell to pay”
A wave of airstrikes pummelled hospitals and neighbourhoods in the rebel-held region of Idlib in northern Syria as Islamist insurgents continued to battle forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad after the militants’ lightning assault on Aleppo. At least 18 people were killed and 35 injured, White Helmets civil defence forces based in Idlib said
Iranian-backed Iraqi militias crossed into eastern Syria overnight in an attempt to shore up struggling forces loyal to Damascus, battling an insurgency that has swept much of the country’s north-west as Islamist militants seized control of Aleppo.
The crisis in Syria is the result of President Bashar al-Assad’s refusal to engage in political dialogue with the opposition, and not external interventions, the Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said after meeting his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, for emergency talks in Ankara
The Hamas-led health authority in Gaza has said at least 44,466 Palestinians were killed and 105,358 wounded since Israel’s military offensive on Gaza began after the 7 October 2023 surprise attack inside Israel
