Rubble lies at the site of the historic 'Al-Manshiya' building damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, near the Roman ruins of Baalbek, in the eastern city of Baalbek, Lebanon, November 7
Reuters
Diplomatic incident in French-owned Jerusalem compound
Israeli police entered the French-owned Eleona church compound in Jerusalem, on Thursday, briefly detaining two gendarmes and prompting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to abandon a scheduled visit, as per an AFP report.
"I will not enter the Eleona Domain today, because Israeli security forces entered with weapons, without prior French authorisation, without agreeing to leave today," Barrot said at the scene, calling the standoff "unacceptable".
France claims the sanctuary on the Mount of Olives as its territory under international treaties. It has been the focus of diplomatic incidents in the past.
Israel police enter French domain in Jerusalem: AFP report
Five peacekeepers wounded in Israel strike in Lebanon: UN
Five UN peacekeepers were wounded in an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon on Thursday, the United Nations said, in a raid that also killed three civilians.
Israel army tells north Gaza residents to leave 'combat zone'
The Israeli military called for the evacuation of several areas in northern Gaza on Thursday, again warning that Palestinian militants were launching rockets from there.
"We inform you that the designated area is considered a dangerous combat zone. For your safety, move south immediately," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X along with a map of the area in Gaza City's northwest.
The latest call follows a series of evacuation orders for large swathes of the Gaza Strip's north, where Israeli forces have intensified their operations since early October.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told reporters that "we are isolating Gazan civilians away from Hamas terrorists so we can get to the terrorists" still in that area.
"Right now, there are residents of the northern part of Gaza who have been evacuated to safer places," he added.
Israeli strike destroys Ottoman-era building near Baalbek ruins
Sirens sounded in the Haifa Bay and surrounding areas, northern Israel
70 projectiles fired by the Hezbollah cross from Lebanon into Israel: IDF
Terrorists eliminated during 'close-quarters combat' in Southern Lebanon: IDF
Following intelligence indications of terrorist activity in the area, Israeli troops raided a Hezbollah combat compound and encountered several terrorists who were embedded in one of the buildings. During the battle, 16 soldiers were wounded, and five reserve soldiers from the brigade fell in combat, IDF said in a post on Telegram.
Credit: IDF
Credit: IDF
Credit: IDF
Scenes from Gaza as families stream out of north Gaza
Huthi leader says Trump will 'fail' to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The leader of Yemen's Huthi rebels said on Thursday that Donald Trump will fail once more to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after his historic re-election as US president this week.
"Trump failed in the project of... the deal of the century despite all his arrogance, haughtiness, recklessness and tyranny, and he will fail this time as well," Abdul Malik al-Huthi said in his weekly speech. (AFP)
Four UN peacekeepers wounded in Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon; three civilians killed too: Lebanese army
"The Israeli enemy targeted a car while it was passing through the Awali checkpoint in Sidon," the Lebanese army said in a statement.
Three civilians inside the car were killed, the military said, and four members of the Malaysian contingent in the UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, were injured.
Three soldiers at the checkpoint were also hurt, it said.
Dozens of Lebanon MPs demand UN protection of heritage sites from Israel attacks
New law allows Israel to deport relatives of attackers, law experts expect it to be struck down
Israel's parliament passed a law early Thursday that would allow it to deport family members of Palestinian attackers, including the country's own citizens, to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip or other locations.
The law, which was championed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and his far-right allies, passed with a 61-41 vote. But legal experts said that any attempt to implement it would likely lead to it being struck down by Israeli courts.
It would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed east Jerusalem who knew about their family members' attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.”
They would be deported, either to the Gaza Strip or another location, for a period of seven to 20 years. The Israel-Hamas war is still raging in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed and most of the population has been internally displaced, often multiple times.
Israeli strike kills 10 in school sheltering displaced people in Gaza city, medics say
An Israeli strike killed 10 and wounded several others in a school sheltering displaced persons in Gaza City, said medics.
Hezbollah calls for US action, not words, as Trump reclaims White House
Hezbollah welcomes any effort to stop the war in Lebanon but does not pin its hopes for a ceasefire on a particular US administration, Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim al-Moussawi said on Thursday when asked about Donald Trump's election victory.
"It might be a change in the party who is in power, but when it comes to Israel, they have more or less the same policy," Moussawi said. "We want to see actions, we want to see decisions taken," he said.
"Our hearts are broken - we are losing very dear lives. This feeling that cannot be punished or brought to international justice is a result of US support which renders them immune to accountability," he said.
"America is a full partner in what's happening because they can exercise influence to stop this destruction."
Lebanon says three killed in Israeli strike on Sidon
More families stream out of north Gaza, as tanks push deeper
Israeli forces stepped up bombardment across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and ordered more evacuations, creating a fresh wave of displacement from northern Gaza where Palestinians fear they will not be able to return.
As Israeli tanks advanced in Beit Lahiya a month into a new push on northern Gaza, dozens of families streamed out, arriving at schools and other shelters housing displaced people in Gaza City with whatever belongings and food they could bring.
Drones hovered overhead broadcasting evacuation orders, which were also carried on social media outlets, audio and text messages sent to residents' phones, a displaced man said.
"After they displaced most or all of the people in Jabalia, now they are bombing everywhere, killing people on the roads and inside their houses to force everyone out," the man told Reuters via a chat app, giving only one name, Ahmed, for fear of repercussions.
Palestinian officials say Israel is carrying out a plan of "ethnic cleansing" and they and residents say no aid has entered Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun since the raid began on Oct 5.
The Israeli military says it was forced to evacuate Jabalia and start evacuating nearby Beit Lahiya on Wednesday so it can take on Hamas militants it says have regrouped there.
It denied press reports that people evacuated from northern Gaza would not be allowed to return and said it was continuing to allow aid into northern Gaza and the Jabalia area, where it said it was engaged in "intense combat".
"The statement attributed to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) in the past 24 hours, claiming that residents of northern Gaza will not be allowed to return to their homes, is incorrect and does not reflect the IDF’s objectives and values," it said.
UN peacekeepers hurt in Israeli strike: Lebanon media
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon were wounded on Thursday in an Israeli strike near their vehicle at the entrance to the southern city of Sidon, the official National News Agency said.
"Enemy aircraft targeted a car in Sidon near the army checkpoint," NNA said, adding vehicles from the UNIFIL peacekeeping force were in the "same lane" during the raid, which led to injuries among its members who were receiving treatment at the scene. (AFP)
Woman killed in Israeli strike on car near Beirut: security source
A woman was killed Thursday in an Israeli strike targeting a car on a key road linking the capital Beirut with the Bekaa Valley and Syria, a security source told AFP.
The source, who requested anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, said a man was also injured in the strike.
Lebanon's National News Agency reported earlier that "an enemy drone targeted a car in Araya," adding that the strike left the route blocked to vehicle traffic.
Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim al-Moussawi says Republicans, Democrats have similar policy on Israel
Hezbollah welcomes any effort to stop the war in Lebanon but does not pin its hopes for a ceasefire on any particular US administration, Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim al-Moussawi said on Thursday, when asked about Donald Trump's election victory.
'Window' to end Gaza, Lebanon wars exists after Trump win: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot
European soccer's governing body UEFA said the PSG won't face sanctions for fans' 'Free Palestine' banner
UEFA said on Thursday that PSG will not face disciplinary proceedings as it only bans political messages deemed insulting or provocative.
"There will therefore be no disciplinary case because the banner that was unfurled cannot be in this case be considered provocative or insulting in that precise case," a UEFA spokesperson said.
Lebanon's only international airport 'operating normally' after Israeli strikes
The transport minister Ali Hamie told AFP that planes were taking off and landing without any issue. A heater factory next to the airport's perimeter wall had been badly damaged in the Israeli strike.
French minister slams PSG's 'Free Palestine' banner at soccer match
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on Thursday criticised the unveiling of a giant 'Free Palestine' banner at a Paris Saint Germain (PSG) soccer match, saying it was "unacceptable."
Asked if he would seek sanctions against PSG, Retailleau told Sud Radio: "I am not ruling out anything. I will demand explanations from PSG."
On Wednesday night, fans from Paris St Germain's Auteuil Kop unveiled a giant 'Free Palestine' banner before their Champions League game against Atletico Madrid, eight days before France take on Israel in Paris in a Nations League game.
The huge banner covered an entire section of the stadium at PSG's home venue of Parc des Princes in Paris Wednesday night ahead of their defeat at the hands of Spanish rivals Atletico Madrid.
As well as the slogan "Free Palestine", the banner showed a bloodstained Palestinian flag, a gesticulating man with a keffiyeh scarf covering all his face except his eyes, the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and a young boy wrapped in the Lebanese flag.
It was shown as Israel presses military operations against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza and the militant Shiite group Hezbollah in Lebanon and international concern grows over civilian casualties.
"This banner had no place in this stadium," right-wing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau wrote on X.
"If this were to happen again, we will have to consider forbidding banners for clubs that do not enforce the rules," he added.
In a later interview with Sud Radio, Retailleau made no attempt to hide his anger, saying the banner was "unacceptable".
"I want to know more and now how this banner came to be unfurled. The Paris police chief (Laurent Nunez) explained what happened. We agreed on a certain number of things but I am demanding accountability," he added.
The banner, which was unfurled by the Paris Ultras Collective (CUP) hard-core fan group, was shown above another slogan which read: "War on the pitch but peace in the world."
"The club was not aware of the plan to display such a message," PSG said in a statement Wednesday evening.
"PSG emphasises the Parc des Princes is -- and must remain -- a place of communion around a shared passion for football and firmly opposes any message of a political nature in the stadium."
The president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, Yonathan Arfi, described the banner as "scandalous", saying it depicted "a masked Palestinian fighter" and that it also showed "a map where the State of Israel no longer exists" in an image of the Palestinian keffiyeh.
"This is not a message of peace but a call to hatred," he said. (AFP)
Middle East latest: Large airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs as Israel expands northern Gaza operations
Several large airstrikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs early Thursday, including one on a site adjacent to Lebanon's only international airport. The Israeli military had issued an evacuation notice for the site, saying there were Hezbollah facilities there, without giving more details.
Also Thursday, the Israeli military announced it expanded its month-old ground operation in northern Gaza to include part of Beit Lahiya, a town that has been heavily bombed since the earliest days of the war, where Israel says Hamas militants have regrouped.
Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a speech aired Wednesday that the Lebanese militant group is open for cease-fire negotiations only once “the enemy stops its aggression.” His speech marked the 40-day mourning period since former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in Beirut.
Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,000 people have been killed and some 13,600 wounded in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reported. (AP)
Israel signs $5.2 bln deal to acquire 25 F-15 fighter jets from Boeing
Delivery of the new F-15IA aircraft will begin in 2031, with 4-6 aircraft to be supplied annually, Israel's defence ministry announced on Thursday.
It said the $5.2 billion agreement was part of a broader package of US aid approved by the US administration and Congress earlier this year and included an option for 25 additional aircraft.
The aircraft will be equipped with weapons systems integrated with existing Israeli weapons as well as having increased range and payloads.
"These advantages will enable the Israeli Air Force to maintain its strategic superiority in addressing current and future challenges in the Middle East," the ministry said in a statement.
"This F-15 squadron, alongside the third F-35 squadron procured earlier this year, represents a historic enhancement of our air power and strategic reach - capabilities that proved crucial during the current war," the director general of the defence ministry, Eyal Zamir, said in the statement.
Zamir said that the government has secured procurement agreements worth nearly $40 billion since the onset of the war in Gaza that began Oct. 7, 2023.
"While focusing on immediate needs for advanced weaponry and ammunition at unprecedented levels, we're simultaneously investing in long-term strategic capabilities," he said.
For Boeing, the F-15 agreement is the second major deal this year. In August, flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines, signed a deal with Boeing for the purchase of up to 31 737 MAX aircraft worth as much as $2.5 billion, beating out rival Airbus.
Ido Nehushtan, president of Boeing Israel, said the company's relationship dates back to Israel's establishment and "will continue working with the U.S. and Israeli governments to deliver the advanced F-15IA aircraft through standard military procurement channels."
Palestinians say one killed in Israeli West Bank strike
The Palestinian health ministry said an Israeli strike killed one person in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, after the Israeli military announced it had targeted the area.
The ministry said in a statement that "a martyr shot by (Israeli) forces" had arrived at Tulkarem Governmental Hospital from the Tulkarem camp.
Hours before, the Israeli army said in a statement that "an Air Force aircraft attacked a squad of armed terrorists in Tulkarem". (AFP)
At least 22 killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since dawn
At least 14 of them were killed in northern Gaza, the sources said.
-Al Jazeera
Lebanon state media says Israeli drone targets car near Beirut
Lebanese state media said an Israeli drone strike on Thursday targeted a car on a key road linking the capital Beirut with the Bekaa plain and eastern neighbour Syria.
"An enemy drone targeted a car in Araya," the National News Agency said, adding the road had been cut off by the strike that comes after two cars were targets on the same route last week, including a van loaded with Hezbollah ammunition.
-AFP
Netanyahu and Trump speak, discuss 'Iranian threat,' says Israeli leader's office
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Donald Trump to congratulate the Republican leader on his US presidential election victory, Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday.
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Hamas official says Trump will be tested on saying he can stop war within hours
"We urge Trump to learn from (President Joe) Biden's mistakes," Senior Hamas official Abu Zuhri said.
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Hezbollah chief says indirect talks on ceasefire possible only if Israel stops attacks
In a pre-recorded televised address, Qassem said there would be a road to indirect negotiations through the Lebanese state only if Israel stopped its attacks on Lebanon.