Closing summary
We’re going to end our live coverage here. For the latest on the UN security council and the ongoing crisis on the Israel-Lebanon border, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, has this new report:
At least 72 people were killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon on Wednesday and hundreds were wounded, according to figures by the Lebanese health ministry. The geographic scope of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah has widened, after Hezbollah aimed a long-range missile at Tel Aviv and Israel targeted the mountains north of Beirut for the first time in the war, drawing an Israeli warning that it was preparing a major response. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it hit more than 2,000 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the past three days.
Israel’s top general has said the country is preparing for a possible ground operation into Lebanon. As an intense bombing campaign inside Lebanon stretched in to a third day, Maj Gen Herzi Halevi said the airstrikes aimed to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and prepare for the possibility of Israeli troops crossing the border. “We are preparing the process of a manoeuvre,” he told troops during a visit to Israel’s north on Wednesday.
The Pentagon said an Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon did not appear “imminent”. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the US was making “a full-court press” for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. She referred reporters to Israel for questions about its operations and plans.
France’s foreign minister has told the UN security council that his country and the United States are working to hammer out a 21-day temporary ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel to allow time for broader negotiations. “A diplomatic solution is indeed possible. In recent days, we’ve worked with our American partners on a temporary ceasefire platform of 21 days to allow for negotiations,” Jean-Noël Barrot told the 15-member UN security council.
Najib Mikati, the prime minister of Lebanon, has told the UN security council that Israel is violating his country’s sovereignty “by sending its war planes and drones to our skies, by killing our civilians, including youth, women and children, destroying homes and forcing families to flee”. Mikati says hospitals are overwhelmed and unable to accept any more victims.
Danny Danon, Israel’s UN envoy, has said that his country does not seek a full-scale war. Danon has accused Iran of being the “driving force” behind the instability sweeping the Middle East. Danon also said that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to arrive on Thursday and address the UN general assembly on Friday.
Families fleeing the escalating conflict in Lebanon are pouring into Syria in growing numbers, waiting for hours in heavy traffic to reach the relative safety of another war-torn country, the Associated Press is reporting.
UN officials have estimated that thousands of Lebanese and Syrian families had already made the journey. Those numbers are expected to grow.
From Monday, lines of buses and cars extended for several kilometres from the Syrian border and some families were seen making the journey on foot. Once in Syria, people waited hours more to be processed by overwhelmed border officials, AP reported.
“Many will have to spend the night outdoors waiting their turn,” Rula Amin, a spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency, said in a statement.
Amin said some of the people arriving from Lebanon had visible injuries suffered from recent attacks.
The Times of Israel has reported that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has wrapped a security cabinet meeting and is now heading to Ben Gurion Airport for his flight to the UN general assembly in New York.
Israel’s envoy to the UN said earlier today that Netanyahu would address the UN on Friday.
The UN security council meeting has ended now, with EU foreign affairs envoy Josep Borrell giving the final address.
As the final representatives were speaking, French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that, in the last few hours, important progress had been made on a temporary ceasefire. He added that efforts would continue over the coming hours.
Asked separately whether a ceasefire could be reached soon, Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati said “hopefully, yes.”
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi tells the UN security council that the situation in the region is “extremely explosive”.
Araqchi says the US and UK’s “unwavering support for Israel has given them carte blanche for all sorts of sinister behaviour”.
Without a ceasefire in Gaza there will be no guarantee for peace in the region. The international community cannot afford to remain silent … the UN security council … must shoulder its responsibility and respond decisively.”
Israel's UN envoy says it does not seek a full-scale war
Danny Danon, Israel’s UN envoy, has said that his country does not seek a full-scale war.
However, Israel is under attack. In the last 24 hours, northern and central Israel have faced a new wave of relentless attacks. With over 150 rockets launched deep into Israeli territory.”
Danon accuses Iran of being the “driving force” behind the instability sweeping the Middle East.
Israel’s UN envoy has told the UN security council that “no nation would sit idly by as its citizens are attacked”, as he outlines the situation for Israeli citizens in the north of the country.
Over the past week, Israel has been conducting precise strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah’s command centres, launching sites, weapons stalls and their leadership.”
As he ends his address, Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati urges the UN security council to put pressure on Israel for an “immediate ceasefire on all fronts”.
Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati tells UN security council that Israel is 'violating our sovereignty'
Najib Mikati, the prime minister of Lebanon, has told the UN security council that Israel is violating his country sovereignty “by sending its war planes and drones to our skies, by killing our civilians, including youth, women and children, destroying homes and forcing families to flee”.
Mikati says hospitals are overwhelmed and unable to accept any more victims.
We are witnessing today an unprecedented escalation … the aggressor is claiming that they are only targeting combatants and weapons, but I assure you that the hospitals are full of civilians.”
UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, tells the UN security council “we are on the precipice”.
He says that the “rockets must stop now. The airstrikes must stop now. Talks must start now”
Lammy has said the UK has worked with the France and US to implement a ceasefire.
We talk of the danger of full scale regional war, but the truth is we are already witnessing conflict on multiple fronts, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon and in the Red Sea.”
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said prior to the security council meeting that the region was on the brink of a full-scale catastrophe and warned that Tehran would not remain indifferent in case of war in Lebanon.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the UN general assembly, Araqchi said Israel had crossed “all red lines” and that the UN security council must intervene to restore peace and stability.
US tells UN security council that Israel has 'right to defend itself'
The US representative at the UN security council has said “diplomacy will only become more difficult amid a further escalation of this conflict”, adding that “Israel has a right to defend itself against Hezbollah’s attacks.”
Hezbollah’s build up of weapons – many of which are supplied by Iran – and it’s presence along the blue line … has long been a source of instability. No one wants to see a repeat of the full blown war which occurred in 2006.”
France and the US working to implement a 21-day temporary ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel
As we mentioned earlier, France’s foreign minister has told the UN security council that his country and the United States are working to hammer out a 21-day temporary ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel to allow time for broader negotiations,
“A diplomatic solution is indeed possible. In recent days, we’ve worked with our American partners on a temporary ceasefire platform of 21 days to allow for negotiations,” Jean-Noël Barrot told the 15-member UN security council.
He said the plan would be made public soon.
“We are counting on both parties to accept it without delay, in order to protect civilian populations and allow for diplomatic negotiations to begin,” he said.
Barrot will head to Lebanon at the end of the week and said Paris had worked with the parties in defining the parameters for a diplomatic way out of the crisis under UN security council resolution 1701.
“It’s a demanding path, but it is a possible path,” he said.
Resolution 1701 – adopted after a month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 – expanded the mandate of a UN peacekeeping force, allowing it to help the Lebanese army keep parts of the south free of weapons or armed personnel other than those of the Lebanese state.
It has sparked friction with Hezbollah, which effectively controls southern Lebanon despite the presence of the Lebanese army.
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister is speaking at the UN security council now, saying that “our worst forecasts are coming to pass.”
He calls last weeks detonation of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon “terrorism”.
France’s minister for Europe and foreign affairs has told the security council that the ceasefire plan that he is working on with the United States would last for 21 days to allow for negotiations.
Jean-Noël Barrot said the full plan would be made public very soon and he was counting on all parties to accept it.
Barrot warns that Lebanon is already considerably weakened – but it would not be able to be restored if there was a war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s minister for Europe and foreign affairs has said war is not inevitable.
Barrot, who called for this UN security council meeting, is outlining a plan that France has been working on with the US to end the crisis. He says he will travel to Beirut at the end of the week to work with leaders there.
Barrot warns that the situation in Lebanon “may reach the point of no return”.
Benjamin Netanyahu set to address UN general assembly in New York on Friday
Just before this meeting got under way, Israel’s envoy to the United Nations said his country would prefer a diplomatic solution in Lebanon, but added that if diplomacy fails Israel would use all means at its disposal.
Danny Danon also said that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to arrive on Thursday and address the UN general assembly on Friday.
“Stop the killing and destructions, tone down the rhetoric and threats, step back from the brink”, Guterres says as he ends his speech to the UN security council.
The people of Lebanon, the people of Israel and the people of the world cannot afford for Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
Guterres has told the UN security council that Monday was the “bloodiest day in Lebanon in a generation.”
Guterres has also said that people is Israel have come under threat as well and that Hezbollah continues to launch rockets at military and civilian position in Israel.
“Earlier this week the UN special coordinator for Lebanon travelled to Israel for consultations, underscoring that military escalation is in no ones interest … Despite the dangerous conditions our peacekeepers remain in position.”
UN security council meeting on the Middle East begins
The representative from Slovenia – which holds the security council’s rotating president has opened the meeting and handed over to UN secretary general António Guterres.
Guterres begins by saying “hell is breaking loose in Lebanon” and that the country is “on the brink”.
He has called on the communities of norther Israel and southern Lebanon to be able to return to their homes.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
The UN security council is getting set to meet to discuss the Middle East. As we wait for that meeting to begin, here’s a recap of the latest developments:
At least 72 people were killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon on Wednesday and hundreds were wounded, according to figures by the Lebanese health ministry. The geographic scope of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah has widened, after Hezbollah aimed a long-range missile at Tel Aviv and Israel targeted the mountains north of Beirut for the first time in the war, drawing an Israeli warning that it was preparing a major response. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it hit more than 2,000 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the past three days.
Three days of Israeli bombardment has killed more than 600 people in Lebanon, according to authorities. At least a quarter of them are women and children. The UN said 90,000 people had been displaced since Monday, on top of more than 200,000 people who had left their homes in southern Lebanon over the past year as Hezbollah and Israel exchanged fire over the border.
Israel’s top general has said the country is preparing for a possible ground operation into Lebanon. As an intense bombing campaign inside Lebanon stretched in to a third day, Maj Gen Herzi Halevi said the airstrikes aimed to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and prepare for the possibility of Israeli troops crossing the border. “We are preparing the process of a manoeuvre,” he told troops during a visit to Israel’s north on Wednesday.
The Pentagon said an Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon did not appear “imminent”. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the US was making “a full-court press” for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. She referred reporters to Israel for questions about its operations and plans.
Israel’s Maj Gen Halevi’s comments came amid growing international pressure for a negotiated ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. The US is in “active discussions” with Israeli officials as well as other countries to negotiate a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, a US official said. A US-led initiative to secure a ceasefire has the support of France and Arab countries, but it relies on Hezbollah agreeing to stop firing on Israel before any ceasefire in Gaza is secured. France has called a UN security council meeting on Lebanon for Wednesday to discuss ideas around de-escalation.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel is delivering blows to Hezbollah that it could never imagine, promising not to rest until residents of northern Israel return home. Netanyahu is due to be out of the country to travel to the UN general assembly in New York.
With Israel and Hezbollah now in effect at war, world leaders repeatedly warned of the dangers of a full-blown regional conflict at the UN general assembly in New York on Wednesday. But as they called for de-escalation, they prepared for the opposite: from Moscow to London and Washington, governments told citizens in Lebanon to return home while they could, as airlines cancelled flights from Beirut.
The US president, Joe Biden, warned over the need to avoid “all-out war” in the region. “An all-out war is possible,” Biden said on Wednesday, adding that he believed an opportunity also existed “to have a settlement that can fundamentally change the whole region”. Biden has been widely criticised for mishandling the escalating Middle East crisis. Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said Washington and its allies were working tirelessly to avoid a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah. Blinken claimed Israel has a legitimate interest in seeking to remove Hezbollah from the borders of northern Israel and rebuffed calls to take a tougher line over the Israeli bombardment.
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, called for an end to Israel’s “escalation” in Lebanon along with the rocket attacks by Hezbollah on Israel. Macron said he would send his newly appointed foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, to Lebanon this week as part of efforts to prevent a full-fledged war. The White House said Biden met with Macron on the sidelines of the UN general assembly on Wednesday to discuss “efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah and prevent a wider war”.
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he was “very concerned” about the increasing escalation between Israel and Hezbollah. The UK is closely monitoring Beirut’s international airport amid fears it may be forced to close due to escalating fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which would probably lead to an evacuation of British and other foreign nationals from Lebanon. The UK government announced it would send £5m ($6.6m) in aid to Lebanon.
Israel continued to bombard the Gaza Strip as well as Lebanon. The health ministry in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday reported the killing of 85 people and the injury of 104 others by the Israeli military in the last 24 hours. The total figures since 7 October, given by the ministry, are as at least 41,495 Palestinians killed and 96,006 wounded.
Israeli forces detained at least 35 people in the occupied West Bank in the last 24 hours, according to a statement from the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society. The latest figure takes the total number of arrests since 7 October to more than 10,900.
A Lebanese official said there are serious efforts, led by the US, to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
The aim of negotiations is to reach a temporary four-week ceasefire, AP reported, citing the Lebanese official.
Talks are ongoing in New York where Lebanon’s prime minister, Najib Mikati, is attending the UN general assembly.
A new deal will be based on implementing UN security council resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, he said.
Local media have reported that if reached, the deal will begin with a four-week ceasefire during which there will be talks for on further issues including land border demarcation and boosting Lebanese army presences along the border area.
Updated
Biden and Macron discuss efforts to secure Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, says White House
The White House said the US president, Joe Biden, met with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York on Wednesday.
The two leaders discussed “efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah and prevent a wider war”, according to the White House.
Updated
At least 72 people killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon on Wednesday, says health ministry
At least 72 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Wednesday in Lebanon and hundreds were wounded, according to a Reuters compilation of Lebanese health ministry statements.
An 87-year-old French citizen was killed on Monday after the building he was living in near the Lebanese city of Tyre collapsed following a “powerful explosion” nearby, according to the French embassy in Lebanon.
The statement said no other French citizens were known to have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon in the past three days.
Updated
UK to send £5m in aid to Lebanon
The UK government has announced it will send £5m ($6.61m) in aid to Lebanon.
The government has also reopened its “register your presence” portal, which British nationals in Lebanon can fill in to notify the UK government of their whereabouts.
“The situation in Lebanon is deeply concerning,” Anneliese Dodds, the UK’s development minister, said in a statement.
While we continue to urge British nationals to leave and have launched our ‘register your presence portal’ to aid their departure, the UK will always be a strong supporter of the Lebanese people. That is why we are providing £5 million to Unicef to support civilians who have been displaced and are facing a humanitarian emergency.
She added:
We need to see an immediate ceasefire from both sides to prevent further civilian casualties and ensure that displaced people can return to their homes.
Updated
Israel says it hit more than 2,000 targets in Lebanon in three days
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said more than 2,000 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon have been struck by the Israeli air force in the past three days.
Hagari, at a press conference on Wednesday, said:
Today, we continued to strike in Lebanon. Fighter jets struck hundreds of targets, to destroy Hezbollah capabilities.
The former US president, Donald Trump, said he would threaten to blow Iran “to smithereens” if he was re-elected to the White House and a candidate faced threats from Tehran.
The Republican presidential candidate, at a campaign event in North Carolina on Wednesday, said:
If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country – in this case, Iran – that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens. We are going to blow it to smithereens.
The comments came after US intelligence officials reportedly briefed Trump about a suspected Iranian plot to kill him. Trump told supporters:
As you know, there have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know of, and they may or may not involve – but possibly do – Iran.
Trump went on to say he and the US have been “threatened very directly by Iran” and that a firm message needed to reach Tehran about the consequences.
The best way to do it is through the office of the president, that (if) you do any attacks on former presidents or candidates for president, your country gets blown to smithereens, as we say.
Updated
Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, in his speech to the UN general assembly on Wednesday, said he would be dispatching his newly appointed foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, to Lebanon this week as part of efforts to prevent a full-fledged war.
France has historical ties with Lebanon and has been working with the US on an initiative to stop the fighting and open the door to more diplomacy, Reuters reported, citing diplomats.
Updated
Macron urges Israel to stop 'escalation’ in Lebanon and Hezbollah to 'stop firing'
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, called for an end to Israel’s “escalation” in Lebanon along with the rocket attacks by Hezbollah on Israel.
“There cannot be, must not be war in Lebanon,” Macron said in a speech to the UN general assembly in New York on Wednesday.
We are firmly calling on Israel to stop the escalation in Lebanon and Hezbollah to stop firing towards Israel.
On the subject of Gaza, Macron said that while Israel had a right to defend itself, the war had lasted too long and needed to end now. He said:
There is no justification, no explanation for thousands of civilian Palestinian deaths. Too many civilians are dead.
Updated
The US is in “active discussions” with Israeli officials as well as other countries to negotiate a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, AFP reported, citing a US official.
As we reported earlier, Israeli sources told Reuters that the US and France are working on ceasefire proposals but that no significant progress has been made so far.
The proposal put forward by Washington includes a truce in the north of Israel to allow for a diplomatic solution, the Times of Israel is reporting.
The Pentagon’s spokesperson, Sabrina Singh, said the US military is not providing intelligence support to Israel for its operations in Lebanon.
She added that the US was making “a full-court press” for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon does not appear ‘imminent’, says Pentagon
The Pentagon said an Israeli ground operation inside Lebanon does not appear “imminent”, despite comments from Israel’s top general ordering troops to prepare for a possible ground incursion.
“It doesn’t look like something is imminent,” the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, Sabrina Singh, told journalists on Wednesday. She added:
We certainly don’t want to see any action taken that could lead to further escalation in the region … We want to see a diplomatic resolution and a solution to prevent an all-out war.
She referred reporters to Israel for questions about its operations and plans.
As we reported earlier, Israel’s chief of staff, Maj Gen Herzi Halevi, said earlier today that the country is preparing for a possible ground operation into Lebanon.
Updated
The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, an umbrella group for Iranian-backed Iraqi militias, has claimed responsibility for a drone strike on the port of Israel’s southern city of Eilat on Wednesday.
A statement published on the group’s Telegram reads:
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq attacked a strategic target in Eilat on Wednesday … using drones.
Israeli rescue services said two people suffered minor injuries from the attack, and that it caused minimal damage.
Updated
The US has announced new sanctions on individuals and groups associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah.
In a post on X, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said:
The US state department has announced sanctions on one individual and four entities, as well as the blockage of nine vessels for their involvement in illicit activity that financially supports Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and Hezballah.
We are imposing sanctions on one individual and four entities and blocking nine vessels for their involvement in illicit activity that financially supports Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and Hizballah.
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) September 25, 2024
Updated
Israel 'committing a genocide in front of the world', Turkey's Erdoğan says
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Wednesday told the Lebanese prime minister, Najib Mikati, that an international solution is urgently needed to stop Israel’s aggression across the region.
In a post on X, Erdogan’s office added:
President Erdogan said Israel was disregarding fundamental human rights, committing a genocide in front of the world, noting that stopping this and the humanitarian crisis that emerged as a result of the attacks was a humanitarian duty.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York, Reuters reports.
Updated
The Palestine Red Crescent Society has set up a new shelter camp for Palestinians who have been forcibly displaced by Israeli forces across Gaza.
In a new post on X, the PRCS announced that the shelter camp in Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis, was built in collaboration with the Saudi Center for Culture and Heritage and includes 125 tents.
The PRCS Disaster Risk Management teams established a new shelter camp in the area of Abasan al-Kabira, east of #KhanYunis, in collaboration with the Saudi Center for Culture and Heritage. The camp includes 125 tents that will house displaced families who lost their homes due to… pic.twitter.com/BjkKHjcHME
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) September 25, 2024
What is Hezbollah’s role and influence in Lebanon?
Here is the Guardian’s explainer by Oliver Holmes on Hezbollah’s role and influence in Lebanon:
The escalating conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah has put a renewed focus on the battle-hardened Lebanese militant group.
The two sides have been exchanging fire since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October last year, but the violence has increased markedly in the past week on the Lebanese side of the border, where Israel killed hundreds of people in strikes on Monday.
The violence is seen as the most likely avenue for the war in Gaza to explode into an uncontrollable regional conflagration. Here is a guide to the “Party of God” and its position in – and testy relationship with – the fragile Lebanese state.
For the full story, click here:
Updated
The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has criticized the security council for its “divisions and mistrust” which has in turn prevented the wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan from being stopped.
On Wednesday, Guterres said:
Peace demands action. And peace demands leadership … Instead, we’re seeing deepening geopolitical divisions and mistrust.
Pointing to repeated violations of the UN charter and international law, Guterres added:
It is imperative that council members spare no effort to work together to find common ground.
Updated
Netanyahu says 'will not rest' until north's residents return home
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that Israel is delivering blows to Hezbollah that it could never imagine, promising not to rest until residents of northern Israel return home.
נתניהו ברקע הדיווחים על מגעים להסדרה: "אנחנו מנחיתים על חיזבאללה מכות שהוא לא דמיין. אנחנו עושים זאת בעוצמה, אנחנו עושים זאת בתחבולה. אני לא יכול לפרט כל מה שעושים. דבר אחד אני מבטיח - לא ננוח עד שתושבי הצפון יחזרו הביתה"@AmichaiStein1 pic.twitter.com/jB6ejxO1tA
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 25, 2024
Updated
Starmer 'very concerned about the increasing escalation'
Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, was asked if he would put troops on the ground to help evacuate Britons if that becomes necessary.
The prime minister said:
I’m not going to get into the details of evacuation plans. As you would expect, we put contingency measures in place.
But here in New York, in the UN General Assembly, I’m being very, very clear this is a dangerous situation now and all parties need to pull back from the brink, to de escalate.
We need a ceasefire and this needs to be sorted out by diplomatic means. Very, very clear messaging on that, very firm messaging on that along with key allies.
But I am very concerned about the increasing escalation which is not just day on day, but almost hour on hour at the moment.
Updated
Joe Biden, the US president, has said in an interview with ABC that an all out war is possible in the Middle East but that there is also a possibility of a settlement.
The White House deputy national security adviser, Jon Finer, has told Axios’ Barak Ravid that the Biden administration sees a path to de-escalating the situation.
“We are working on it in real time in New York and in capitals around the world,” Finer said.
White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told me the Biden administration sees a path to de-escalating the situation on the Israel-Lebanon border. "We are working on it in real time in New York and in capitals around the world," Finer said https://t.co/QtcrUaIhRQ
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) September 25, 2024
An Israeli official has told the country’s public broadcaster that “we have no problem” discussing a settlement with the Americans as long as it would bring security for residents of the north but that “at this moment it seems there is no partner on the other side.”
גורם ישראלי לכאן חדשות: "אין לנו בעיה לדון עם האמריקנים על הסדר - בתנאי שיביא ביטחון ותחושת ביטחון לתושבי הצפון. אבל כרגע נראה שאין פרטנר בצד השני"@AmichaiStein1
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 25, 2024
The United States and France are working on ceasefire proposals but no significant progress has been made so far, Reuters reported citing three Israeli officials.
Israeli strikes 'prepare the ground for your possible entry' into Lebanon, chief tells troops
The chief of the general staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Herzi Halevi, has told troops that jets have been striking “to prepare the ground for your possible entry” and also to continue hitting Hezbollah.
He told the troops to prepare.
The goal, he said, is to safely return the residents of the north.
He added:
To achieve that, we are preparing the process of a maneuver, which means your military boots, your maneuvering boots, enter enemy territory, enter villages that Hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts, with underground infrastructure, staging points, and launchpads into our territory and carry out attacks on Israeli civilians.
Your entry into those areas with force, your encounter with Hezbollah operatives, that they will see what it means to face a professional, highly skilled, and battle-experienced force. You are coming in much stronger and far more experienced than they are.
הרמטכ״ל, רב-אלוף הרצי הלוי, ביקר היום בתרגיל החטיבתי של חטיבה 7 בגבול הצפון, עם מפקד פיקוד הצפון, מפקד אוגדה 98, מפקד המרכז לאימונים ביבשה, מפקד חטיבה 7 ומפקדים נוספים>> pic.twitter.com/N6rfsUWeZx
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 25, 2024
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At least 51 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, minister says
The Lebanese health minister, Firass Abiad, said at least 51 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon today, Reuters reported.
The Israeli Air Force said fighter jets hit 280 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon today.
ממשיכים בגל תקיפות: מטוסי קרב בשיתוף פיקוד הצפון תקפו במהלך היום כ-280 מטרות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בשטח לבנון.
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) September 25, 2024
בין המטרות נתקפו המשגרים מהם בוצעו הבוקר השיגורים לעבר מרחב צפת, נהריה והעמקים, מחסני אמל״ח, מחבלים, משגרים מוכנים לשיגור, ותשתיות צבאיות נוספות. pic.twitter.com/i1mgAV8MwS
The IDF said the air force conducted strikes against 60 Hezbollah intelligence targets.
60 Hezbollah Intelligence Directorate targets were struck by the IAF.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 25, 2024
The strikes eliminated intelligence-gathering tools, command centers, and additional infrastructure used by the terrorist army to build an intelligence situational assessment.
Here you can see all the… pic.twitter.com/Vzhv5JzsR5
Updated
'Risk of escalation in the region is acute', Blinken says
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, has said that Washington and its allies were working tirelessly to avoid a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah, Reuters reported.
“Risk of escalation in the region is acute,” he said, adding that “the best answer is diplomacy, and our coordinated efforts are vital to preventing further escalation.”
Israeli media reports that the IDF is calling up two reserve brigades
In a statement the army said the move “will allow the continuation of the fighting effort against the Hezbollah terror organisation, the protection of the citizens of the state of Israel, and the creation of the conditions for the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes.”
About 60,000 Israelis are thought to have evacuated their homes in the north of the country due to the constant exchanges of fire between Israel and anti-Israeli forces operating from inside Lebanon, including Hezbollah.
Updated
While diplomatic focus has shifted to the escalation of fighting between Israel, Hezbollah and other anti-Israeli forces in the north, to Israel’s south-west the it military operation in the Gaza Strip continues. Here are some of the latest pictures sent over the news wires from Gaza.
Israel detains another 35 people in occupied West Bank in past 24 hours
Citing a joint statement from the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, Al Jazeera reports that Israeli forces detained at least 35 people in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of arrests since 7 October to more than 10,900.
Israel’s military has now claimed to have struck “280 Hezbollah terror targets” in Lebanon today, and says in a statement on its official Telegram channel that “the IDF is continuing to conduct strikes against additional targets.”
The Times of Israel reports that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has convened a security cabinet meeting for 8pm local time (6pm BST) tonight, ahead of scheduled his trip to New York to speak at the UN general assembly.
Over 90,000 newly displaced people reported in Lebanon after Israeli airstrikes
After three days of concentrated airstrikes on Lebanon by Israel, the International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday that there were at least 90,530 newly displaced people. Nearly 40,000 were in 283 shelters, Reuters reports.
A large number of people in northern Israel and southern Lebanon had already been forced to flee their homes after nearly a year of fighting between Israel, Hezbollah and other anti-Israeli forces. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has set as a war goal returning the people in northern Israel to their homes.
Al Jazeera spoke to 63-year-old Souad Mahde, who had fled her village Qsaibah in the south. She told the news network, which is banned in Israel:
The day before yesterday, strikes started getting closer and planes were in the sky. We were scared. The first thing I thought of was to take some clothes. Just the basics, and medicine, of course. Nothing more than that. No one cares any more about things like the house because fear takes over. Our way out was very slow. The traffic was horrible. There were strikes here and there until we reached Beirut. It took us until evening. Even in Beirut, there is an atmosphere of war. Of course, we are in a war.
The UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) in Lebanon has said it is “gravely concerned about the serious escalation in Lebanon”, while UK for UNHCR has launched an emergency appeal for aid
Israel’s military has issued an operational update on its attacks in Lebanon, claiming to have targeted Hezbollah intelligence operations.
In a statement on its official Telegram channel, the IDF said:
Today, guided by the Intelligence Directorate, fighter jets struck 60 terrorist targets belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence directorate. The strikes destroyed intelligence-gathering tools, command centres, and additional infrastructure used by the enemy to build an intelligence situational assessment.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Palestinian authorities refuse to bury 88 bodies after Israel fails to disclose who they are and where they were killed
Reuters has confirmed the earlier report that Palestinian officials have refused the return of 88 bodies by Israel to Gaza on the grounds that Israel had not disclosed details about who they are and where it killed them.
The bodies were brought into Gaza in a container loaded on a truck through an Israeli-controlled crossing, but, according to Palestinian officials, there was no information provided about the names or ages of the victims or locations where they died. Health officials at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis refused to receive them and bury them.
UK PM Starmer: Britons in Lebanon should 'leave and leave immediately'
Rowena Mason is the Guardian’s Whitehall editor
The UK prime minister Keir Starmer has arrived at the UN general assembly where he will have various meetings on the Middle East and Ukraine, before making a speech on Thursday.
Asked for his message to Britons in Lebanon, he said they should not wait to be evacuated at a later date and should “leave and leave immediately” via commercial flights.
He told reporters
I am very worried about the escalation. I’m calling for all parties to step back from the brink, to de-escalate. We need a ceasefire so this can be sorted out diplomatically.
But I have a very important message for British nationals in Lebanon which is: the time to leave is now. The contingency plans are being ramped up but don’t wait for those, there are still commercial flights. It’s very important that they hear my message, which is to leave and to leave immediately.
Lebanese flag carrier Middle East Airlines remains one of the few operators still scheduling departures from Beirut International airport. There are flights still today to Cairo, Istanbul, Jeddah, Larnaca and Riyadh.
There were already thousands of internally displaced people in Lebanon after nearly a year of Israel, Hezbollah and other anti-Israeli forces exchanging fire over the UN-drawn blue line that separates Israel and Lebanon.
The tens of thousands fleeing the Israeli airstrikes this week have added to the stress on Lebanon’s resources. Here are some images from over the news wires of relief efforts in Sidon, where 10,000 people had fled to by Tuesday.
Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer has confirmed that Benjamin Netanyahu is still expecting to attend the UN general assembly in New York in person despite criticism of his plans from the families of those being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
US says Hezbollah missile aimed at Tel Aviv is 'deeply concerning' as Israel continues airstrikes across Lebanon
The US has said it is deeply concerned by reports of a Hezbollah rocket attack aimed at Israel’s intelligence service, but still believes a diplomatic solution can de-escalate tensions, Reuters reports.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday that the development was “deeply concerning,” adding “Evidence again ... that Israel is facing a legitimate threat from a terrorist group backed by Iran.”
He said the US continues to support Israel’s right to defend itself, and that “No nation should have to live with these threats right across their border, right next door.”
Since Israel began an intense series of airstrikes which it claims are aimed at Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Monday nearly 600 people have been killed, and thousands more have been wounded. Tens of thousands have been displaced from their home. The deaths and injuries come on top of the dozens killed and thousands injured in Lebanon last week, when pagers and walkie-talkies were detonated in what has been widely attributed to an Israeli attack.
Yesterday the Israeli air force claimed it had dropped nearly 2,000 weapons on 1,500 Hezbollah targets in the previous 24 hours.
22 killed in Lebanon on Wednesday bringing death toll from Israeli strikes closer to 600
The death toll across Lebanon from Israeli strikes on Wednesday has now reached 22, according to a Reuters tally of health ministry statements. Earlier this morning health minister Firass Abiad told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV that since Monday, the Israeli offensive had killed 569 people, including 50 children, and wounded 1,835 in Lebanon, suggesting a new total death toll of 591.
It announcement came as Israel unleashed more airstrikes on Lebanon and Hezbollah militants fired salvoes of rockets into Israel, including a longer-range projectile that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and across central Israel. Israel said it intercepted the projectile, and there were no reports of casualties or damage from that incident, although two people were reported to have been moderately wounded when rockets struck a kibbutz in northern Israel.
Half a million people are estimated to have been displaced in Lebanon, foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib said.
Updated
At least 15 people were killed and around 50 wounded in Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Wednesday on five different locations, according to a Reuters compilation of Lebanese health ministry statements.
Israel has expanded the zones it has been striking since Tuesday night, with attacks for the first time on the beach resort town of Jiyyeh just south of Beirut and Maaysrah.
The strikes also took place in Bint Jbeil, Tebnin and Ain Qana in the south, the village of Joun in the Chouf district near the southern city of Sidon, and Maaysrah in northern Keserwan district.
Summary of the day so far …
It is just approaching 2pm in Beirut, Tel Aviv and Gaza City. Here is a summary of the latest headlines:
The geographic scope of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah has widened, with the Israeli air force carrying out strikes farther north into Lebanon before, and Hezbollah targeting Tel Aviv with a missile for the first time
There are reports of deaths, including that of an infant, after widespread Israeli strikes on Lebanon. The death toll from Israeli attacks this week has already nearly reached 600, with thousands more wounded and tens of thousands of people forced to flee their homes
Israel’s military said a single surface-to-surface missile was intercepted by air defence systems, and it was “a heavy missile, going towards Tel Aviv, towards civilian areas in Tel Aviv”. In addition at least 40 projectiles have been fired into northern Israel from the direction of Lebanon, and Israel’s military also intercepted a drone it said came from the direction of Syria. Two people are reported to have been moderately wounded.
Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip as well as Lebanon. The Hamas-led health ministry in the Gaza Strip has reported the killing of 85 people and the injury of 104 others by military action in the past 24 hours. The total figures since 7 October are given by the ministry as at least 41,495 Palestinians killed and 96,006 wounded
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel has severely criticised prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his plans to attend the UN general assembly in person. “While the country is burning and 101 hostages have been abandoned in the Hamas death tunnels for 355 days, the prime minister chooses another unnecessary show trip to the US,” it said in a statement
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has proclaimed Hezbollah to be “victorious”, and said “Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which is standing up firmly for Gaza and putting itself in the middle of these bitter events, is taking part in jihad on the path of God”
Russia has advised its citizens to leave Lebanon. There are about 3,000 Russian citizens in the country
International travel has become limited with most airlines suspending flights to and from Beirut International airport. Lebanon’s own Middle East Airlines continues to serve destinations in the Middle East, Paris, Athen and Larnaca
Pope Francis called Israeli strikes on Lebanon a “terrible escalation” of the Middle East conflict. He did not specifically identify Israel, but said he was “saddened by news from Lebanon in recent days that bombardments have caused much destruction and many victims”
UK for UNHCR has launched an emergency appeal for aid for Lebanon. Emma Cherniavsky, the chief executive, said “These devastating bombings in Lebanon are claiming innocent lives and forcing thousands to flee their homes. This is a region that has already been devastated by war, and the toll on civilians is unacceptable”
Israeli media reports that two people have been moderately wounded after a barrage of rockets was fired into northern Israel. The impacts were in kibbutz Sa’ar, close to Nahariya.
Al Jazeera reports that the Hamas-led government media office in Gaza has said it has refused to receive a container of 88 bodies from Israeli authorities because Israel is not disclosing the names, ages or origins of the bodies. In a statement it called this an “inhumane and criminal move”.
Lebanon’s state National News Agency reports that six people, including an infant, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Bint Jbeil. The claim has not been independently verified.
Russia has advised its citizens to leave Lebanon due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier said “All measures are now being taken to recommend our citizens to leave the territory of Lebanon as soon as possible, using the available opportunities of commercial transportation. This is necessary to ensure the safety of these citizens.”
When questioned at his daily press briefing, Tass reports, Peskov said there were 3,000 Russians in the country.
The IDF has announced that it has begun “conducting strikes in the area of Nabatieh” in Lebanon.
Reports on Wednesday morning so far appear to show a widened arena of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The militant group claimed to have targeted the Mossad in Tel Aviv. The Israeli military said a single surface-to-surface missile was intercepted by air defence systems, and it was “a heavy missile, going towards Tel Aviv, towards civilian areas in Tel Aviv.”
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, at least three people have been killed and nine injured by an Israeli strike on the town of Maysaara, which is in the mountains north of Beirut, the farthest north Israel has struck since the beginning of fighting.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has added to his earlier comments about Hezbollah with a post on his official social media channels which says “Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which is standing up firmly for Gaza and putting itself in the middle of these bitter events, is taking part in jihad on the path of God,” adding in Arabic “Hezbollah is victorious.”
Lebanon’s #Hezbollah, which is standing up firmly for #Gaza and putting itself in the middle of these bitter events, is taking part in jihad on the path of God.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) September 25, 2024
حزب الله منتصر.
— الإمام الخامنئي (@ar_khamenei) September 25, 2024
Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip as well as Lebanon. The Hamas-led health ministry in the Gaza Strip has reported the killing of 85 people and the injury of 104 others by military action in the past 24 hours. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
The total figures since 7 October are given by the ministry as at least 41,495 Palestinians killed and 96,006 wounded. During the same time period, Israel says “346 soldiers have fallen in combat” during its ground offensive in Gaza
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports “Thousands of victims are still trapped under the rubble or scattered on the roads, as ambulance and civil defence teams are facing difficulties in reaching them due to the continued Israeli attacks, the massive amount of debris and the shortage of fuel and heavy equipment.”
Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires from Lebanon.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday “The organisational strength and human resources of Hezbollah is very strong and will not be critically hit by the killing of a senior commander, even if that is clearly a loss,” Reuters reports.
Pope Francis called Israeli strikes on Lebanon a “terrible escalation” of the Middle East conflict on Wednesday at the end of his weekly general audience at the Vatican.
The pope said the attacks were “unacceptable” and urged the international community to do everything possible to halt the fighting.
Reuters reports Francis did not specifically identify Israel, but said he was “saddened by news from Lebanon in recent days that bombardments have caused much destruction and many victims”.
Lebanese health minister Firas Abiad has been at Beirut International Airport, where a shipment of medical aid from Turkey was arriving.
A large number of flights to and from Beirut have been cancelled, due to the ongoing Israeli airstrikes across the country. Middle East Airlines is still scheduling flights to various destinations across the Middle East, but Athens, Paris and Larnaca are the only European destinations where flights are scheduled to depart for.
On its official Telegram channel Israel’s military has stated that it intercepted “several projectiles” out of “approximately 40 projectiles” fired into the Upper Galilee region. No casualties have been reported.
At least three people have been killed and nine injured, reports Lebanon’s health ministry, after an Israeli airstrike on Maysaara.
William Christou reports from Beirut for the Guardian
An airstrike targeted the town of Maysaara, a town in the mountains north of Beirut, the farthest north Israel has struck since the beginning of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah last year. The strike comes just a few hours after Hezbollah launched a missile which it claimed was targeting the Mossad in Tel Aviv, which Israel says it intercepted.
The strike on Maysaara, a little over 60 miles from the UN-drawn blue line that separates Israel and Lebanon, caused alarm in Lebanon. Many have looked at the mountains north of Beirut as a potential refuge in the case of a full-scale war with Israel, drawing on experience from the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel which left the area relatively untouched.
On Tuesday night, an airstrike carried out on Jiyeh, about 10 miles south of Beirut, was heard across the capital city and the surrounding mountainsides. Israeli media claimed a senior leader in the Palestinian militant organisation Islamic Jihad was the target of the strike, though the organisation did not confirm the claims.
Since the weekend, Israel’s intensified aerial campaign on Lebanon has re-defined which areas of Lebanon are “safe” from fighting, as strikes repeatedly hit Beirut and areas immediately south – a previous red-line over the last year.
Updated
Israel says it has launched new wave of strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon
Israel’s military has announced it is carrying out more strikes on southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
Nearly 560 people, including at least 50 children, have already been killed this week in Israel’s bombing campaign, which it says is targeting weapons and terrorist infrastructure used by Hezbollah. Thousands of people have been injured and tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes.
More details soon …
UK for UNHCR has launched an emergency appeal for aid for Lebanon. Emma Cherniavsky, the chief executive, said:
These devastating bombings in Lebanon are claiming innocent lives and forcing thousands to flee their homes. This is a region that has already been devastated by war, and the toll on civilians is unacceptable. An end to the hostilities is desperately needed. In the meantime, we urgently need donations to help UNHCR scale up emergency aid, and avert further suffering and devastation.
Israeli media reports the Hostages and Missing Families Forum has severely criticised prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his plans to attend the UN general assembly in person.
In a statement it said:
While the country is burning and 101 hostages have been abandoned in the Hamas death tunnels for 355 days, the prime minister chooses another unnecessary show trip to the US.
Israel claims Hezbollah missile was heading towards civilian areas in Tel Aviv
IDF International Spokesperson, LTC Nadav Shoshani, said the attempt to hit Tel Aviv this morning was the first time Hezbollah has fired towards Tel Aviv, and the group had deployed a surface-to-surface heavy long range missile.
The missile, which was intercepted, was heading towards civilian areas of the city and Israel responded with an attack against the launcher, he told journalists.
Hezbollah said the attack targeted headquarters of the Mossad intelligence agency, but Shoshani said it was directed at a different part of the city.
“The Mossad headquarters is not in that area, it is a bit east and north of that area. Their missile triggered alerts in Netanya and Tel Aviv along the coastline,” Shoshani said.
“Hezbollah is definitely trying to escalate the situation”, he said, but added the country treats all attacks against its citizens as an equal threat, whether in Haifa or Tel Aviv. “Any fire towards Israel is something we do not accept, and we plan on acting to defend ourselves and remove the threat,” he said.
He said Israeli attacks “in recent weeks” had taken out a significant part of Hezbollah’s arsenal and its chain of command, so although the group were trying to increase the number and range of their attacks on Israel, their capacity to do so had been reduced.
Israel estimated that Hezbollah had 150,000 missiles at the start of the war. Shoshani, declined to say how many had been destroyed.
Israel has brought in tighter restrictions, which include school closures, in northern parts of the country, including the city of Haifa. Shoshani said there are now over a million Israelis under these restrictions. Although an initial estimate would be up to 1.3 million people, many are thought to have headed south to stay with friends and relatives, he added.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that “several civilians were killed and others were injured on Wednesday after Israeli occupation warplanes targeted large areas in the Gaza Strip.”
It adds that “Israeli gunboats opened fire towards the western areas of the Gaza Strip” and that agricultural land east of Khan Younis was targeted by aircraft.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Lebanon’s minister of culture, Judge Mohammad Wissam El-Mortada, has been speaking to Sputnik Radio, and Lebanon’s National News Agency is carrying some quotes from the interview.
In it, he said “Lebanon is engaged in a confrontation in defence of everything that is humane in this world against the enemies of humanity. Israel is exceeding all restrictions.”
He said that the UN security council’s limited reponse to the detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon “reflects its inability to carry out the minimum moral and humanitarian duty. What happened has brought down all international systems and humanitarian laws, which has affected their credibility and effectiveness, and posed a major challenge to humanity in every sense of the word.”
Echoing the view of foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib, that only the US could stop the war, El-Mortada said “We believe that the United States, if it wants, can stop these crimes.”
Imran Khan, reporting for Al Jazeera from Marjayoun in Lebanon, has said “Overnight there were way more airstrikes than I’ve seen in previous days. There was also a barrage of outgoing Hezbollah fire. This was just in the area where I am. If you can imagine this is probably a microcosm of what is going on across the southern Lebanese border. The Israeli army say they are continuing to strike Hezbollah targets. And Hezbollah is actually ramping things up slightly and we are seeing a lot more outgoing rocket attacks than we’ve seen perhaps in the last 24 hours.”
Al Jazeera has been banned from operating inside Israel, and Israeli authorities have raided and shut down the news network’s Ramallah office in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel’s military has claimed to have intercepted “a UAV approaching from the east … crossing into Israeli territory from Syria.”
It added “The UAV was intercepted by IDF fighter jets south of the Sea of Galilee. No damage or injuries were reported.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees is bracing for a triple crisis as Israeli strikes on Lebanon add to the strain it is facing in Gaza and the West Bank, its chief has told AFP.
Unrwa, founded in 1949, provides services, including education and healthcare, for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
With three of its area of operations turning into “active frontlines,” the embattled agency already grappling with a severe financial shortfall is poised to come under even more pressure, said Unrwa’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
“We already have Gaza, we already have the West Bank, so we have two fields of operation which have become active frontlines,” he said.
“We (now) also have Lebanon, which would mean that basically three... contexts of operation will become humanitarian emergencies,” he added, calling the situation a “triple tragedy.”
Faced with mounting Israeli strikes, Unrwa has paused some operations in Lebanon as it converts its schools into shelters for hundreds of people displaced from the south of the country.
“The fear is that... we are going into a full-fledged war,” Lazzarini told AFP. “Another concern is that parts of Lebanon becomes like Gaza.”
Israeli media is reporting that Benjamin Netanyahu is still planning to attend the UN general assembly in New York, but has adjusted his itinerary after Israel this week stepped up its assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli prime minister will now fly out to New York on Thursday and board a return flight on Saturday night.
The decision has been openly criticised by an unnamed senior official in the government on Channel 12 news in Israel, who called it “reckless and irresponsible” for Netanyahu to travel in person, when the speech could be delegated to a diplomat.
In the last few minutes Israel’s military reported that sirens have again sounded in northern Israel.
A mother and her four children were killed by an Israeli airstrike near the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza late Tuesday, the Palestinian news agency Wafa has reported, as Israel continued its onslaught on the devastated enclave.
Wafa said the family were killed when Israeli warplanes targeted a house belonging to the Abu Jazar family in an-Nasser town, north-east of Rafah, and reported that others were also injured.
It was not possible for the Guardian to verify their deaths as Israel does not allow foreign journalists into the Strip.
Hezbollah fires missile targeting Mossad's headquarters outside Tel Aviv
Hezbollah has confirmed that it fired a rocket targeting the Mossad’s headquarters outside Tel Aviv early Wednesday. Hezbollah has blamed the Mossad for carrying out last week’s pager and walkie-talkie attacks in Lebanon, in which 42 people including children were killed and thousands injured.
Sirens had sounded in Tel Aviv early on Wednesday, sending residents to bomb shelters, though no casualties or damage was reported.
The Israeli military later said it had intercepted a surface-to-surface missile crossing from Lebanon.
Updated
US only country that can end war, Lebanon says, as number of displaced climbs to 500,000
Lebanon’s foreign minister has suggested the US is the only country that can end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and expressed disappointment in President Joe Biden’s response so far. In remarks reported by Agence France Presse, Abdallah Bou Habib, said of Biden’s speech to the UN on Tuesday:
It was not strong, it is not promising, and it would not solve the Lebanese problem … We are still hoping. The United States is the only country that can really make a difference in the Middle East and with regard to Lebanon.
Making a valedictory address to the UN general assembly, the US president, Joe Biden, urged Israel against an all-out war, but blamed the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia for an unprovoked attack on Israel after 7 October and for continuing to strike Israel since.
Biden said the US was working tirelessly on a deal that would enable the populations on the Lebanese-Israeli border to return to their homes, but Iranian diplomats said they had been told through third parties that the US administration had admitted it was powerless to stop the Israeli bombardment.
Bou Habib also said that the number of displaced Lebanese, which had numbered about 110,000 since 7 October and before Israel’s latest offensive this week, was now probably “approaching half a million”.
Noting that Israel had also seen displacement in the northern areas, he said, “All for what?”
Bou Habib also said he was convinced that Iran did not want conflict.
“I don’t think they want to be involved in a war,” he said.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
Israel has launched a series of fresh strikes on southern Lebanon, Lebanese media reported early Wednesday, the third consecutive day of a major Israeli assault on its northern neighbour in which hundreds of Lebanese have been killed.
“Since 5am enemy warplanes have launched strikes” on several areas of southern Lebanon, the official National News Agency reported, adding that there were unspecified casualties. Israel confirmed its attacks, saying it had targeted Hezbollah.
It also reported that “enemy warplanes and drones” had targeted multiple locations the Baalbek area in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley after midnight, also reporting casualties there. At least two dozen people were killed by Israeli attacks targeting the militant group Hezbollah on Lebanon on Tuesday, bringing the death toll since Monday, when Israel killed hundreds of people in strikes across the country, to 569, including at least 50 children.
In Israel, sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and the Israeli military said it had intercepted a missile crossing from Lebanon. No damage or casualties were reported.
On a trip to the US, the Lebanese foreign minister meanwhile voiced disappointment with US President Joe Biden’s response to the Israeli offensive, but nevertheless said only the US could bring an end to the conflict.
“It was not strong. It is not promising and it would not solve this problem,” Abdallah Bou Habib during a virtual event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, referring to Biden’s speech at the United Nations earlier in the day.
“I [am] still hoping. The United States is the only country that can really make a difference in the Middle East and with regard to Lebanon.”
More on that soonest. In other developments:
Thousands of Lebanese people fled the continuing bombing in the country’s south on Tuesday as Israel said it was conducting “extensive strikes” on Hezbollah targets, including on the southern suburbs of Beirut, for the second day in a row and third time this week. Israel carried out an airstrike in Jiyeh, a seaside town 20 kilometers south of Beirut late Tuesday night. The strong explosion was heard across Beirut and the surrounding mountains.
Hezbollah confirmed that an Israeli attack in Dahieh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut, on Tuesday had killed Ibrahim Muhammad Qubaisi, also known as Abu Issa, the commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile division. Lebanon’s health ministry said in a statement that the “Israeli enemy raid on Ghobeiri in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed six people and injured 15”.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to maintain the offensive against Hezbollah and said the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was leading Lebanon “to the edge of the abyss”. Israeli officials have said the recent rise in airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon is designed to force the group to agree to a diplomatic solution, cease its own attacks on Israel or unilaterally withdraw its forces from close to the contested border.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israel was striving for its current military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon to be as short as possible. But in his briefing with reporters on Tuesday, he added that Israel is also prepared for the operation to take time. Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said Hezbollah has suffered “extremely severe blows” and Israel has “more strikes ready”.
Hezbollah said it had targeted several Israeli military targets including an explosives factory about 35 miles (56km) into Israel and the Megiddo airfield near the town of Afula, which it attacked three separate times. Officials in Israel said more than 50 missiles and rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern parts of the country on Tuesday morning, most of which were intercepted.
Syrian air defences intercepted suspected Israeli missiles targeting the city of Tartous, Reuters reported, citing Syrian army sources. It comes after reports of multiple explosions heard over the Mediterranean port city early on Wednesday.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has told world leaders that Lebanon is on the brink of becoming a second Gaza, adding the crisis has “become a non-stop nightmare that threatens to take the whole region down”. In response, Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, accused the UN on Tuesday of not fulfilling its obligations in preventing rocket attacks into Israel by Hezbollah.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, described the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah as almost a “full-fledged war”. World leaders gathered in New York for the opening of the 79th UN general assembly as diplomatic efforts appear to have had little impact so far on the tensions on the border between Israel and Lebanon.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said his country is open to ideas for de-escalating the conflict in Lebanon. “We are not eager to start any ground invasion anywhere ... We prefer a diplomatic solution,” Danon told reporters on Tuesday.
Two staff members of the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) were among the 558 people killed in Lebanon on Monday, the UN high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi said. The UN agency said it was “outraged and deeply saddened by the killing of two beloved members of the UNHCR family in Lebanon” and warned that the protection of civilians is a must under international humanitarian law.
Nearly 30 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Nuseirat and Bureij camp refugee camps in central Gaza on Tuesday, according to hospital officials. A total of 29 Palestinians, including 14 children and 6 women, died as a result of the Israeli strikes on Tuesday, officials at Awda hospital said.
The US president, Joe Biden, addressed the risk of a potential full-scale war in Lebanon. During an address to the United Nations general assembly on Tuesday, Biden said that a “full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest” and added that “even though the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible.”
Britain is moving 700 troops to Cyprus to be ready for an emergency evacuation of UK citizens from Lebanon. The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, called for “restraint and de-escalation” at the border between Lebanon and Israel. Starmer made an unfortunate slip-up during his Labour party conference speech on Tuesday, calling for the return of “sausages” from Gaza.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, called for coercive UN measures against Israel to be put on the agenda, including the use of force against Israel. Erdoğan, in his UN general assembly speech, accused the US of continuing to arm Israel so it can continue its massacres when in public it pretends it is looking for a ceasefire.
