Israel Hezbollah War Live Updates: Israel launched about 150 strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, says military

The Kremlin voices 'extreme concern' after looking at accelerating Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

The Israeli military said on Monday it carried out about 150 strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the course of one hour beginning at 6:30 am (0330 GMT). "In the morning there were about 150 strikes," a military spokesperson told AFP, specifying that they took place until 7:30 am.

Hezbollah and Israel exchanged heavy fire into Sunday, as the Lebanese militant group sent rockets deep into northern Israeli territory after facing some of the most intense bombardment in almost a year of conflict.

Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem told mourners at the funeral of one of the group's commanders killed last week in Beirut: "We have entered a new phase, the title of which is the open-ended battle of reckoning."

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said operations would continue until it was safe for evacuated people on his side of the border to return - also setting the stage for a long conflict as Iran-backed Hezbollah has vowed to fight on until a ceasefire in the parallel Gaza war.

World powers on Sunday implored Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement to refrain from escalating their conflict as the Gaza war threatened to spill over across the Middle East.

Hezbollah and Israeli forces have traded regular cross-border fire since Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel sparked the devastating war in Gaza.

Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Kassem said Sunday that his group is now in an open-ended battle with Israel and he threatened more displacement for people in Israel's north. "We admit that we are pained. We are humans. But as we are pained, you will also be pained," Kassem said at the funeral of top Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil.

Hamas on Sunday praised Hezbollah after the Lebanese group launched overnight rocket strikes at northern Israel amid escalating cross-border exchanges that have raised fears of an all-out war.

"Hamas saluted the resistance fighters in Lebanon for their resilience and bravery in facing the Zionist war machine and for their determination to continue fighting in support of the Palestinian people and their resistance in Gaza and the West Bank," the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.

Britain will keep under review possible new sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank and will act if it has to, foreign minister David Lammy said on Sunday, adding he was concerned by actions that were inflaming tensions.

Britain announced sanctions against Israeli settlers in February and May this year over what it said was extremist groups perpetrating settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Lammy, who became foreign minister in July after a Labour election victory, indicated the new government would take a similar approach and said that further sanctions were possible.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel had "landed a series of blows on Hezbollah" after a night of intense cross-border fire and attacks this week in Lebanon.

"In recent days, we have landed a series of blows on Hezbollah that it could have never imagined. If Hezbollah did not get the message, I assure you it will get the message," Netanyahu said in a statement.

According to Israel's military, a barrage of rockets, cruise missiles and drones were launched overnight on Sunday headed towards Israeli soil, mostly from Lebanon to the north.

A military statement said, "During the night and the morning hours, approximately 150 rockets, cruise missiles, and UAVs were launched toward Israeli territory, most of them aimed at northern Israel," adding there were "a small number of cases of hits" but no "significant damage".

Civil defence rescuers in Gaza City said an Israeli strike Sunday on a school-turned-shelter killed at least 7 people, with the Israeli military saying it had targeted Hamas militants.

The vast majority of the besieged Gaza Strip's 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once by the war, sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, with many seeking shelter in school buildings.

The rocket barrage overnight sent thousands of people scrambling into shelters. The Israeli military said rockets had been fired “toward civilian areas,” pointing to a possible escalation after previous barrages had mainly been aimed at military targets.

The barrage came after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday killed at least 37 people, including one of Hezbollah’s top leaders as well as women and children. The militant group was already reeling from a sophisticated attack that caused thousands of personal devices to explode just days earlier.

The Ministry of Social Development in Gaza has issued an urgent plea for international assistance as the forcibly displaced Palestinians will soon face the challenges of colder weather conditions.

According to a statement released by the Government Media Office in the enclave, "The lack of fuel, food and medications threatens thousands of children, elderly people and patients, particularly in the northern areas, with increased risk from the cold due to the lack of heating equipment and essential survival tools."

The situation has worsened due to the extensive displacement of families, with many residing in tents and shelters, while others are left without any form of shelter. The group further stated that numerous families have already turned to burning wood from destroyed furniture and plastic items to cope with the cold inside their improvised tents and shelters.

The Israeli health ministry has instructed hospitals in the northern region to take additional precautions to safeguard their facilities from incoming rocket and missile attacks, according to Al Jazeera.

According to the ministry, "Rambam hospital in Haifa will transfer patients to its underground facility."

As the conflict along the Lebanon-Israel border intensifies, the number of casualties continues to rise. The current level of cross-border fire has reached unprecedented levels, with no signs of abating in the near future.

Hezbollah rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Sunday forced hundreds of thousands of Israelis to seek shelter. Israel responded by launching airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, following the group's support for Hamas in the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. The violence has escalated, with an Israeli airstrike killing Hezbollah’s elite unit leader Ibrahim Aqil. Amid warnings from the UN of a potential regional catastrophe, both sides have suffered casualties. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for bombing Israeli military sites, while Israel continues to target Hezbollah’s infrastructure. International mediators are pushing for a ceasefire.

The Israel Defense Forces carried out fresh attacks early Sunday on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon after the group launched rockets at northern Israel. The IDF claimed that Hezbollah targeted civilian areas, leading to widespread disruption. This escalation follows an Israeli airstrike in Beirut that killed multiple people, including senior Hezbollah leaders.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is visiting Washington for the first time as a sitting president amid rising tensions in the Middle East, particularly due to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. His trip will focus on enhancing economic and technological cooperation with the US, alongside discussions about the ongoing conflict in Gaza and other regional issues, such as the situation in Sudan.

Presidential advisor Anwar Gargash emphasized that while the UAE recognises the significance of current conflicts, the primary objective of the visit is to deepen business ties, particularly in technology. The UAE aims to transition its economy away from oil dependency, acknowledging the "fall of the hydrocarbon age." Sheikh Mohamed's visit comes during escalating tensions in the region, raising concerns about broader conflicts involving Israel and groups like Hezbollah.

Numerous rockets launched by Hezbollah have struck areas in the vicinity of Haifa, as reported by the Israeli military. The attacks have triggered multiple fires, which firefighters are currently attempting to extinguish.

The Times of Israel states that three individuals sustained injuries when the rockets impacted Kiryat Bialik, a location close to Haifa. The strikes also resulted in property damage. In total, Hezbollah deployed a barrage of 85 rockets during the attack.

This comes after tensions escalated between Hezbollah and Israel with both attacking each other with rockets and missiles.

The Israeli military announced that it had initiated fresh attacks on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. This came in response to a barrage of rockets fired by the Iran-backed organization towards northern Israel.

"The IDF (military) is currently striking targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation in Lebanon," a military statement said. It further added that the group had fired some 115 projectiles "towards civilian areas in northern Israel" over the past few hours.

In the early hours of Sunday, more than 100 rockets were launched from Lebanon into Israel, with several impacting the area surrounding the northern city of Haifa.

According to Israeli first responders, the attack resulted in at least three injuries near Haifa, along with damage to structures and vehicles set ablaze.

The rocket assault followed an Israeli airstrike in Beirut that claimed the lives of at least 37 individuals, including a high-ranking leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, as well as women and children. This strike came on the heels of a complex attack against

"Hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians spent their night hiding in bomb shelters, while barrages of rockets were flying over their heads, some hitting their homes, and rocket alert sirens were constantly sounding throughout the night.

Thousands of children will stay in bomb shelters today instead of going to school due to the risk to their lives.

We must stop this reality," said IDF in a statement on X.

Izzat al-Risheq, a high-ranking official in Hamas's political leadership, denounced the decision to shut down Al Jazeera's office, characterising it as an act of retaliation against the network's journalistic integrity in reporting on the Israeli occupation's atrocities committed against the Palestinian people.

In a statement released on the Telegram messaging platform, al-Risheq asserted, "closing Al Jazeera is an attempt to cover up the resistance's performance in Gaza and Hezbollah's response and targeting of military bases deep in the Zionist territory".

Furthermore, al-Risheq condemned the decision as an egregious infringement upon press freedom, stating, "the closure of Al Jazeera's office is the culmination of the declared war against journalists who are subjected to systematic Zionist terrorism aimed at hiding the truth".

Following Hezbollah's assaults on northern Israel, educational institutions in the cities of Acre, Nahariyya, Tiberias, and Safed will be shuttered, according to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.

"The Times of Israel added that schools in Haifa would be closed as well." The decision was made in response to Hezbollah reportedly launching three rounds of projectiles aimed at the Galilee region and areas east of Haifa.

The Quad nations condemned the October 7 terror attacks and expressed concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas and an immediate ceasefire. They emphasised the need for increased humanitarian assistance and compliance with international law. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution that considers both Palestinian sovereignty and Israel's security concerns, urging an end to actions that undermine peace, such as settlement expansion and violent extremism.

Israel has delivered significant blows to Hezbollah by targeting its communications infrastructure and killing key members of its elite Radwan Force in a series of strikes. Notably, an Israeli airstrike killed 16 members of Hezbollah, including Radwan Force commander Ibrahim Aqil, who was involved in planning an attack on northern Israel. This comes after earlier Israeli sabotage attacks on Hezbollah’s communications systems, resulting in dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries.

Despite these setbacks, Hezbollah retains a large arsenal of rockets, although Israeli strikes have destroyed many in Lebanon and Syria.

Experts believe that while the strikes have damaged Hezbollah's morale, the group's military capabilities remain largely intact. However, Hezbollah is caught between supporting Hamas and avoiding full-scale war with Israel.

Israeli soldiers have seized Al Jazeera's cameras and are hindering the staff from covering the ongoing raid near the news organization's Ramallah bureau, according to Jivara Budeiri, who is currently outside on the street.

"If we try to move… or even seem to be thinking of moving… they point their weapons at us," she said.

Due to the military's actions, Budeiri and her team are unable to verify the situation inside the bureau. However, she noted that the Israeli soldiers are accompanied by engineers, raising concerns that they might attempt to destroy Al Jazeera's archives, which are housed within the office.

An Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza on Saturday killed at least 22 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli army claimed it targeted a Hamas command center embedded in the school, using precision munitions to minimize civilian harm. Video footage showed civilians searching through the rubble. Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry reported five workers were killed in another Israeli strike on a medical warehouse. The conflict has led to widespread displacement, with Israel accusing Hamas of using civilian sites for military operations, while Palestinian casualties continue to rise. Tensions escalated further after Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed senior Hezbollah commanders, sparking protests in Israel demanding a cease-fire.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children.

It was not immediately clear if any of the rockets had hit their target. Israel’s emergency medical services reported that a man was lightly wounded by shrapnel from a missile that was intercepted in a village in the lower Galilee.

Local media reported that rockets shot from Lebanon were intercepted in the areas of Haifa and Nazareth. The Israeli military said only that it had monitored the launch of “about ten rockets” from Lebanon, of which most were intercepted.

Hezbollah said it had launched “dozens of Fadi 1 and Fadi 2 missiles" - a new type of weapon the group had not used before - at the Ramat David airbase, southeast of Haifa, "in response to the repeated Israeli attacks that targeted various Lebanese regions and led to the fall of many civilian martyrs.”

Israeli forces raided Al Jazeera's office in Ramallah, ordering a 45-day closure without providing reasons. The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate condemned the action as a violation of media freedom. This follows Israel's earlier revocation of Al Jazeera journalists' press credentials and a ban on the channel's operations within the country.

(Source: Al Jazeera)

Israeli airstrikes in a Beirut suburb targeting Hezbollah commanders killed at least 37 people, including 16 Hezbollah members, among them senior leaders Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wahbi. The strike, which Israel claims dismantled much of Hezbollah's military command, leveled a residential building and killed several civilians, including children and women.

Hezbollah continues to retaliate, launching rockets at Israeli targets. Israel responded with heavy bombardment of southern Lebanon, striking around 180 targets. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati canceled his UN trip due to the conflict.

The US has expressed concern over the escalation, while urging a path toward a ceasefire. Despite fears of further violence, Israeli officials remain hopeful that Hezbollah may opt for a diplomatic solution. Over 740 people have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict escalated in October.

Iran on Saturday unveiled a new ballistic missile and an upgraded attack drone during a military parade, according to state media reports. This comes amidst heightened regional tensions and allegations that Iran has been supplying Russia with drones and missiles, which it has consistently denied.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Saturday said he was worried about escalation between Israel and Lebanon but that the Israeli killing of top Hezbollah leader Ibrahim Aqil brought justice to the Iran-backed group.

Weaponising ordinary communication devices represents a new development in warfare, and targeting thousands of Lebanese people using pagers, two-way radios and electronic equipment without their knowledge is a violation of international human rights law, the United Nations human rights chief said Friday.

Hungarian intelligence services have conducted several interviews with the CEO of BAC Consulting, a Budapest-based company linked to deadly explosions of pagers used by Hezbollah members this week, the Hungarian govt said on Saturday.

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire on Saturday as rescue crews in Beirut searched the rubble of an apartment building that was leveled by an Israeli airstrike that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group's senior leaders as well as women and children.