Live: Iran launches missile attack on Israel

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said a missile attack under way against Israel on Tuesday was in response to the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah last week as well as that of the Hamas leader.

"In response to the martyrdom of (Hamas leader) Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah and (Guards commander) Nilforoshan, we targeted the heart of the occupied territories (Israel)," the Guards said in a statement reported by the Fars news agency.

 The IGRC threatened to carry out "crushing attacks" against regional for Israel if it retaliated after a missile attack by the Islamic republic.

"If the Zionist regime reacts to Iranian operations, it will face crushing attacks," the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps added.

Israeli police said gunmen opened fire in Israel's commercial capital, Tel Aviv, on the boundary with Jaffa on Tuesday, and there were a number of casualties.

TV footage showed gunmen getting off at a light rail station and opening fire. Israel media reported at least four people were seriously injured.

Israel's MDA ambulance service said it received a report at 7.01 p.m. (1601 GMT) of people injured by gunfire.

Medics and paramedics provided on-site medical treatment to a number of wounded people with varying degrees of injuries, including some who were unconscious, MDA said. 

(Reuters)

Israeli military says Iran has fired missiles at Israel.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant spoke with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on Tuesday, with the two discussing the "imminent" threat of a missile attack by Iran against Israel.

"The minister and secretary discussed the imminent threat of an Iranian missile attack against Israel. The minister and secretary discussed Israel's operational readiness to defend its citizens and military assets, as well as US force posture in the region," the defence ministry said in a statement.

Israel's military spokesman said on Tuesday that any missile attack from Iran was expected to be on a wide scale and urged citizens to take shelter in safe rooms in such an event.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, in a televised briefing, also said a barrage of rocket attacks aimed at the Tel Aviv region, which set off sirens, came from the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

(Reuters)

Israel's military said on Tuesday it had killed Muhammad Jaafar Qasir, a commander in charge of weapons transfers from Iran and its affiliates to the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. 

(Reuters) 

Iran is expected to attack Israel with ballistic missiles that can reach targets within 12 minutes, and not with drones or cruise missiles that take longer, a US Axios reporter said on Tuesday on X, citing a Western source familiar with the matter. 

A western source with knowledge: Unlike the April attack, this time Iran is expected to attack Israel only with ballistic missiles that reach Israel within 12 minutes and not with drones or cruise missiles that allow for much longer preparation time for defense and interception https://t.co/mCibJkNb9g

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) October 1, 2024

(Reuters) 

The United States unveiled further sanctions on Tuesday against Israeli settlers over attacks on Palestinians and destruction of property in the occupied West Bank.

The latest sanctions target the Hilltop Youth, which the US Treasury Department described as a "violent extremist group," and comes amid soaring tensions in the region nearly a year after Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel.

The US sanctions follow similar moves targeting the group by Australia, Britain and the European Union.

"The worsening violence and instability in the West Bank are detrimental to the long-term interests of Israelis and Palestinians, and the actions of violent organizations like Hilltop Youth only exacerbate the crisis," said Acting Treasury Under Secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Bradley Smith.

The West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, has seen a significant spike in violence since 7 October.

Hezbollah said it targeted an air base in Tel Aviv in retaliation for attacks on civilians in Lebanon, in the second operation Tuesday it dedicated to its slain leader.

The Iran-backed group said its fighters launched "a salvo of Fadi-4 rockets at the Sde Dov air base in Tel Aviv", adding the attack came in defence of Lebanon and "in response to the targeting of civilians and the massacres that the enemy carried out".

The group dedicated the attack on the disused base to its leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday.

The US embassy in Israel on Tuesday directed all US government employees and their family members in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza to shelter in place until further notice, a post on the mission's website said.

(Reuters)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Tuesday for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country to be respected, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

"An all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs," Dujarric said in a statement, adding that Guterres spoke with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati earlier on Tuesday, telling him the U.N. was ready to help those in need.

"The Secretary-General will continue his contacts, and his representatives on the ground will also continue their efforts to de-escalate the situation," Dujarric said.

(Reuters)

Turkey is ready to carry out a possible evacuation of Turks from Lebanon via air and sea, and is working with around 20 countries on preparing for a possible evacuation of foreign nationals via Turkey, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

It said the security conditions in Lebanon could deteriorate, as Israel launched a ground invasion into south Lebanon, and added a coordination centre had been set up to handle evacuation requests in line with the plans made by Turkish institutions.

"The guidelines for the evacuation of foreign nationals via our country have also been set, the necessary preparations are being carried out with around 20 countries that have requested support so far," it said. 

(Reuters)

Belgian citizens should leave Lebanon as soon as possible, the Belgian foreign ministry told Belga news agency on Tuesday.

Israel carried out invasions in southern Lebanon on Tuesday after weeks of intense Israeli airstrikes against the Hezbollah movement and months of cross-border exchanges of fire.

(Reuters)

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had not detected an incoming aerial strike from Iran "for now" after a US official said there were indications of an imminent missile attack.

"For now, we have not detected any aerial threat launched from Iran," military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, adding that the Israeli army was "prepared to defend and attack" Iran in the event of a strike launched from the Islamic republic.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Israeli strikes hit two areas of south Beirut on Tuesday in the latest raids targeting the Hezbollah.

NNA reported a "violent enemy strike that targeted the area between Jnah and Ouzai in the vicinity of Al-Zahraa Hospital", then another minute later on a roundabout near the Kuwaiti embassy.

Lebanon's Iran-aligned Hezbollah movement said on Tuesday it had launched missiles towards Sde Dov airbase on the outskirts of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

(Reuters) 

The Netherlands will repatriate its citizens from Lebanon, where Israeli commando and paratroop units have started launching raids, Dutch news agency ANP reported on Tuesday.

The invasion by Israeli troops in southern Lebanon that began overnight were limited and went only a short distance over the border, an Israeli security official said, adding that no direct clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters were reported.

(Reuters)

An Israeli strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said as the Israeli military announced it was targeting the Lebanese capital. 

"The IDF (Israeli military) conducted a precise strike in Beirut," the statement said, without offering details.

(Reuters)

The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel imminently, a senior White House official said on Tuesday.

"We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack," the official said in a statement, warning that such an action "will carry severe consequences for Iran."

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday condemned Israel's ground invasion into Lebanon and urged the United Nations and other international organisations especially to stop Israel without "wasting any more time".

"Whatever it does, Israel will be stopped sooner or later," Erdogan told the Turkish parliament at the opening of the legislative year.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it was calling up four additional reserve brigades for operational missions on the northern border with Lebanon.

"This will enable the continuation of operational activity against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation and the achievement of operational goals, including the safe return of residents of northern Israel to their homes," the military said in a statement.

On 25 September, the military had mobilised two reserve brigades to be sent to the north. An Israeli infantry brigade typically consists of 1,000 to 2,000 soldiers, while an armoured tank brigade has about 100 tanks.

(Reuters and other agencies)

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday Turkey would stand by Lebanon and support it with all its means after Israel launched an invasion into Lebanon as part of a "limited" ground incursion.

"We will never leave our Lebanese brothers on their own in these difficult days and will support them with all our means," Erdogan said in a speech at the reopening of the Turkish parliament following its summer recess. 

(Reuters)

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday that Israeli forces have been carrying out raids into southern Lebanon for months, claiming to have uncovered Hezbollah tunnels and weapon caches under homes and uncovering invasion plans by the group,

Hagari said the details were being declassified hours after Israel announced a ground invasion against the Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Dozens of such operations had allegedly uncovered detailed plans by Hezbollah to enter Israel and carry out an attack similar to the one on 7 October.

"Our soldiers entered Hezbollah's underground infrastructure; exposed Hezbollah's hidden weapons caches and seized and destroyed the weapons including advanced, Iranian-made weapons," Hagari said.

(Reuters)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani and Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani have discussed the recent Israeli military operations against Lebanon in a phone call.

"The call discussed the latest developments in the region, especially in the Lebanese arena, and the importance of intensifying efforts to stop the Zionist aggression against Lebanon and Gaza, which has led to the martyrdom and injury of thousands of civilians," Iraq's news agency INA reported on Monday.

The two leaders stressed the need to coordinate Arab and Islamic positions and efforts in order to come up with a unified position and put pressure on major countries and international organisations to take responsibility with regard to the Israeli escalation.

At least five Bangladeshi nationals have been injured in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon as many attempt to flee the country.

Of the five, three were reported injured in southern Lebanon and two in Beirut, according to a statement by the Bangladeshi embassy in Beirut.

Thousands of migrant workers are facing dire conditions with many living without shelter. 

Between 20,000- to 25,000 Bangladeshis from southern Lebanon have moved to Beirut.

They have urged the Bangladesh embassy to arrange special flights for those willing to leave the country.

Md Anwar Hossain, first secretary (labour) at the Bangladesh Embassy in Beirut said: "Only the Lebanese national airline is flying, and that too on a limited basis. No other country has evacuated its citizens so far."

He added that they had communicated the situation to the foreign ministry in Dhaka and were awaiting further instructions.

The Bangladesh embassy in Beirut issued an emergency notice last week advising Bangladeshis in Lebanon to stay in safe areas. The embassy opened emergency phone numbers and asked Bangladeshi migrants to call for support.

The Tunisian authorities have chartered a flight to help Tunisians leave Lebanon, according to local media reports.

The Tunisian embassy in Lebanon had arranged a special flight on the flag carrier Tunisair on 1 October to evacuate 260 nationals.

The embassy received over 400 requests from Tunisians seeking repatriation, with priority given to vulnerable individuals and those in high-risk areas.

Israel launched massive airstrikes on Yemen over the weekend. Now information has emerged over the flight path of the fighter jets that carried out the attacks pointing to the use of Saudi airspace.

Read the full story here.

Lebanon's Red Cross has made an urgent call for blood donations in a post on X.

The NGO said it had a low supply of all blood types and called on all Lebanese who are able to donate to head to their nearest centres.

نداء عاجل للتبرع بالدم 🩸‼️ pic.twitter.com/yWB5K6izHQ

— Lebanese Red Cross (@RedCrossLebanon) October 1, 2024

The Lebanese army has not observed any Israeli ground incursion into Lebanese territory, where Israel says it has launched a "limited" offensive against Hezbollah in the south, a military source told AFP.

"We have not observed any incursion of enemy forces into Lebanese territory," the source said, after a similar observation by the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) deployed along the Blue Line which marks the border between Israel and Lebanon.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant briefed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the ground invasion the army launched inside south Lebanon, his office said on Tuesday.

"The minister discussed the localised and targeted raids that the IDF (Israeli army) launched overnight, against Hezbollah terror targets in the border area of southern Lebanon," said the statement from the defence ministry.

China said on Tuesday that it opposed "infringements on Lebanon's sovereignty" after Israel said it had launched a ground offensive against its neighbour.

"China... opposes infringements on Lebanon's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, and opposes any actions that exacerbate conflicts and lead to a further escalation of the regional situation," a foreign ministry statement said.

A Lebanese army source said on Tuesday that the force had seen no Israeli ground invasion after Israel said it had launched an invasion in south Lebanon.

"We have not observed any penetration by Israeli enemy forces into Lebanese territory," the Lebanese army source told AFP, requesting anonymity, after United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah also denied any ground incursion had begun.

China said on Tuesday it was "highly concerned" after Israel said it launched a ground invasion into neighbouring Lebanon, escalating the conflict after a week of air strikes that killed hundreds.

"China is highly concerned about the current situation between Lebanon and Israel and is deeply concerned about the further escalation of regional tensions due to related military actions," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.

Lebanon's official news agency said an Israeli strike on early Tuesday killed six people including three children and the son of a militant in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp.

A Palestinian camp official had told AFP earlier that an Israeli strike targeted the house of the son of a top Palestinian militant in the Ain al-Helweh camp on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon.

"The Israeli raid targeted the house of the son of Mounir Maqdah" in the Ain al-Helweh camp, the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

It was unclear if Maqdah -- who Israel has accused of heading the Lebanese branch of Fatah's armed wing -- was at the property.

The official National News Agency said his son Hassan Maqdah, his wife and four other people, a woman and three children, had been killed.

At least 600 people sought refuge in a monastery on the Israel-Lebanon border on Tuesday after the Israeli military warned them to flee their Christian village of Ain Ebl, local residents said.

An Israeli military spokesperson warned residents of Ain Ebl and at least 20 other towns to evacuate their homes immediately because the military said it would target homes it claimed that armed group Hezbollah was using.

The residents fled to the monastery in the town of Rmeish, which did not receive an Israeli warning, and were waiting for an army convoy to escort them to Beirut, they told Reuters. 

(Reuters) 

Lebanon's powerful parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, on Tuesday called for a United Nations air bridge for aid deliveries for almost a million people displaced by Israeli strikes.

Berri called on the United Nations to establish an "air bridge to ensure the delivery of relief supplies", a statement issued by his office said, also urging the International and Lebanese Red Cross to "carry out their duties in delivering relief and medical supplies to south Lebanon".

Russia on Tuesday called on Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon, warning that the attack would lead to a further escalation of violence in the Middle East.

Israel said commando and paratroop units launched raids into Lebanon on Tuesday as part of a "limited" ground invasion, while Iran-backed Hezbollah said it had fired a barrage of missiles into Israel, including at its spy agency near Tel Aviv.

"Russia strongly condemns the attack on Lebanon and calls on the Israeli authorities to immediately cease hostilities, withdraw their troops from Lebanese territory and engage in a real search for peaceful ways to resolve the Middle East conflict," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

"It is obvious that such a step taken by the Israeli military and political leadership following the assassination of a number of Hezbollah leaders will lead to a further escalation of violence in the Middle East region."

(Reuters)

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said on Tuesday that violence is spiralling to dangerous heights with strikes throughout Lebanon and incursions across the Blue Line.

"This cycle of violence will not end well for anyone," Hennis-Plasschaert added. 

(Reuters)

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said nobody wanted a return to the past with Israel fighting in southern Lebanon over a long period, adding the price of a regional Middle Eastern war would be "huge".

"None of us want to return to the years in which Israel found itself bogged down in a quagmire in southern Lebanon," Lammy told broadcasters.

"None of us want to see a regional war. The price would be huge for the Middle East and it would have a significant effect on the global economy."

(Reuters)

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Tuesday that at least 41,638 people have been killed since 7 October.

The toll includes 23 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 96,460 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 people in Gaza on Tuesday, local medics said.

Palestinian health officials said at least 13 people, including women and children, were killed in two Israeli strikes on two houses in Nuseirat, one of the enclave's eight historic refugee camps.

There has been no immediate comment by the Israeli army on the two strikes.

Another strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinian families in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City killed at least seven people, medics added.

(Reuters) 

The head of Hezbollah's media office, Mohammad Afif, said on Tuesday that no Israeli troops have entered Lebanese territory and warned that the group's strikes on Tel Aviv hours earlier were "only the beginning".

In a written statement to Reuters, Afif said Hezbollah had not engaged in "direct ground clashes" with Israeli troops but that it would be ready to do so.

(Reuters)

More than 10,000 people in the Gaza Strip still need medical evacuation while more than 41,000 people have been killed in the last 12 months of the war, UNRWA spokesperson Louise Wateridge told a briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.

(Reuters)

The Israeli military on Tuesday called on residents in over 20 areas in southern Lebanon to evacuate hours after launching a ground invasion across the border.

"The IDF (Israeli military) does not want to harm you, and for your own safety you must evacuate your homes immediately. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, installations and combat equipment is putting his life in danger," army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X.

Israel should cease conducting an invasion in southern Lebanon to avoid an escalation of the conflict enveloping the region, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters on Tuesday.

Since February 2022, Spain has commanded the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and deployed 650 troops along the southern Lebanese border with Israel. 

(Reuters)

The United Nations voiced alarm Tuesday as Israel launched a ground offensive into Lebanon, warning against a "large-scale ground invasion".

"With armed violence between Israel and Hezbollah boiling over, the consequences for civilians have already been terrible -- and we fear a large-scale ground invasion by Israel into Lebanon would only result in greater suffering," Liz Throssell, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, told reporters in Geneva.

The UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon on Tuesday warned any crossing into the country would breach its sovereignty after Israel announced it would carry out a ground invasion.

"Any crossing into Lebanon is in violation of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity," said UNIFIL. "Civilians must be protected, civilian infrastructure must not be targeted and international law must be respected."

Turkey on Tuesday condemned Israel's ground offensive in Lebanon as an "unlawful invasion attempt" and called for the withdrawal of its troops.

"This attack must end as soon as possible and Israeli soldiers must withdraw from Lebanese territory," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Turkey's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Israel's ground invasion into Lebanon was an illegal attempt at occupation that violated Lebanese territorial integrity and added the operation must immediately end with Israel withdrawing from Lebanon.

Israeli paratroopers, commandos and armoured units launched raids at the start of a ground incursion into south Lebanon, as intense fighting erupted with Hezbollah on Tuesday.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said Israel's offensive targeted regional countries' security and stability as well and added it was "highly likely" that a new migrant wave would emerge from the fighting. It called on the UN Security Council to "do what is necessary" in line with international law. 

(Reuters)

The UN peacekeeping force said on Tuesday the Israeli army had notified it of its intention to undertake limited ground invasions into Lebanon.

UNIFIL said in a statement that despite the developments in Lebanon, peacekeepers remained in position. It urged all actors to step back from acts.

"Any crossing into Lebanon is in violation of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a violation of (UN Security Council) resolution 1701," UNIFIL said.

UNSC 1701 ended the month-long 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel and called for a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and that the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers be the only armed force south of the Litani River.

(Reuters)

Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Tuesday it had used new Fadi 4 missiles to attack the Tel Aviv headquarters of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and the Glilot military base, where the army’s 8200 intelligence unit is headquartered on the outskirts of the Israeli city. 

(Reuters)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 21 people in Gaza on Tuesday, local medics said.

Palestinian health officials said at least 13 people, including women and children, were killed in two Israeli strikes on two houses in Nuseirat, one of the enclave's eight historic refugee camps.

There has been no immediate comment by the Israeli army on the two strikes.

Another strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinian families in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City killed at least seven people, medics added.

(Reuters)

The Kremlin said on Tuesday it was deeply concerned about Israel's military activity in Lebanon and a strike on the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Israel said intense fighting had erupted with the Hezbollah movement in south Lebanon on Tuesday after its paratroops and commandos launched raids there at the start of a ground incursion that followed airstrikes against Hezbollah's leadership. 

(Reuters)

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has briefed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Israel's raids into Lebanon, Gallant's office said.

"The Minister discussed the localized and targeted raids that the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) launched overnight, against Hezbollah terror targets in the border area of southern Lebanon," it said.

"These ground operations build on the recent and ongoing measures taken to eliminate senior Hezbollah leadership and to degrade Hezbollah's offensive capabilities."

(Reuters)

A security official said on Tuesday that the invasion by Israeli troops in southern Lebanon that began overnight was limited and went only a short distance over the border, adding that no direct clashes with Hezbollah fighters were reported.

The official said a wider operation targeting the Lebanese capital, Beirut, which has been hit by repeated airstrikes in recent days, was "not on the table".

(Reuters)

Sirens sounded in central Israel following the launch of projectiles which then crossed the border from Lebanon, the Israeli military said on Tuesday.

An explosion was heard in Tel Aviv and air raid sirens went off, a witness told Reuters.

(Reuters) 

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, and UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, launched on Tuesday a $426 million appeal to help civilians affected by the escalating conflict, the UN said in a statement.

(Reuters)

A missile damaged a ship northwest of the rebel-held Yemeni port city of Hodeida on Tuesday, a British maritime agency said, just hours after an earlier attack.

"The vessel was attacked by a missile. The vessel has sustained damage. All crew are reported safe," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, shortly after reporting a sea drone strike on another ship in the area.

A sea drone hit a ship off Yemen's rebel-run port city of Hodeida on Tuesday, puncturing a ballast tank which is used to adjust buoyancy, a British maritime agency said.

"The vessel has been hit by an uncrewed surface vessel. Number 6 port ballast tank has been punctured," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, run by Britain's Royal Navy, said in a statement.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Tuesday it had received a report of an incident 97 nautical miles northwest of Yemen's Hodeidah, adding that the authorities are investigating.

British security firm Ambrey also reported that it is aware of the situation and said that this is the second reported incident in three hours. Ambrey said it is investigating.

(Reuters)

A vessel reported being hit by an Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) 64 nautical miles northwest of Yemen's Hodeidah on Tuesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency.

The vessel reported seeing four splashes close by, and that all crew were safe and it was proceeding to its next port of call, the agency added.

(Reuters)

As Israel has launched its ground invasion into southern Lebanon, the Israeli army said it will target Hezbollah strongholds along the border, not a war against the Lebanese people.

"These localized ground raids will target Hezbollah strongholds that threaten Israeli towns, kibbutzim and communities along our border," said military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. "Hezbollah turned Lebanese villages next to Israeli villages into military bases ready for an attack on Israel." 

(Reuters)

Yemen's Houthi movement targeted Israeli military posts in Tel Aviv and Eilat with drones on Tuesday, the group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised speech. 

(Reuters)

A Syrian state television presenter was killed in an Israeli strike on the country's capital, Damascus, Syrian state television reported early on Tuesday without providing further details. Three civilians were killed, and nine others were injured.

Syrian air defences intercepted "hostile targets" over the vicinity of Damascus three times in a row in one night, following explosions that were heard in the capital, state media added.

When asked about the reported attack, the Israeli military said it does not comment on foreign media reports.

(Reuters)

Lebanon is facing one of the most dangerous stages in its history, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Tuesday during a meeting with UN organisations and ambassadors of donor countries.

(Reuters)

Lebanese group Hezbollah said Tuesday it had twice targeted Israeli troop movements in Metula in northern Israel, after Israel announced the start of a "limited" cross-border ground operation.

The group targeted "a movement of enemy soldiers in Metula with artillery shells", it said in a statement. In another, it said it had targeted a "gathering of enemy soldiers" in the same area with rockets.

The Israeli military said several projectiles were fired Tuesday from across the border into the country's northern areas after Israel began targeted ground raids in southern Lebanon.

The projectiles were fired after sirens sounded in the Metula and Avivim areas, the military said, adding that some of the projectiles were intercepted while others fell in open areas.

The United Arab Emirates reaffirmed on Tuesday its unwavering position towards the unity of Lebanon, its national sovereignty, and its territorial integrity, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday offered support to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for "dismantling attack infrastructure" along the border with Lebanon after Israel launched "targeted ground raids" on Hezbollah.

Austin also issued a warning to Iran of "serious consequences" should it directly attack Israel in response to their attacks on the Tehran-backed militant group.

"We agreed on the necessity of dismantling attack infrastructure along the border to ensure that Lebanese Hezbollah cannot conduct October 7-style attacks on Israel's northern communities," he said in a statement posted to social network X after speaking with Gallant.

An Israeli strike in Lebanon early on Tuesday targeted Mounir Maqdah, commander of the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Fatah movement's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, according to two Palestinian security officials.

Maqdah's fate was unknown.

The strike hit a building in the crowded Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon, the sources said.

It marked the first strike on the camp, the largest of several Palestinian camps in Lebanon, since cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel broke out nearly a year ago. 

(Reuters) 

Canada announced Monday it has reserved 800 seats on commercial flights to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon, where the Israeli military has begun a ground operation.

"The security situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly dangerous and volatile," Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly wrote on X.

She added: "If you are a Canadian citizen in Lebanon, you must leave now."

About 45,000 Canadians are currently in Lebanon and the next flight is scheduled for Tuesday.

Many airlines have suspended flights to and from Beirut.

My update on efforts to help Canadians leave Lebanon: pic.twitter.com/HIU0suK74D

— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) September 30, 2024

Israel launched a strike on a building in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian camp near south Lebanon's Sidon early on Tuesday, a Palestinian source and Lebanese media said.

It marked the first strike on the overcrowded camp, Lebanon's largest of several Palestinian camps since cross-border hostilities broke out nearly a year ago.

(Reuters)

Britain said Monday it has chartered a commercial flight for its nationals wishing to evacuate Lebanon, where Israel has begun its ground invasion.

The flight will depart from Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport on Wednesday, with further flights dependant on demand.

"The situation in Lebanon is volatile and has potential to deteriorate quickly," Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.

"The safety of British nationals in Lebanon continues to be our utmost priority," he said, according to a statement from his office.

The government said it would prioritise "vulnerable British nationals" for the flight.

No Arab countries had released any reaction to the Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon as of 08:00 GMT, with the exception of the United Arab Emirates, which expressed deep concern over developments in Lebanon and their impact on regional stability, but did not make a direct reference to the offensive.

​​The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed in its statement "its unwavering position towards the unity of Lebanon" and called for concerted international efforts to stop the escalation of fighting.

Amid the horrors of Israel's bombing of Beirut, the capital also felt an earthquake that struck several hundred kilometres off Lebanon's shores.

The 6.6 Richter earthquake's epicentre was close to Cyprus, but Lebanese also felt the tremors amid a huge Israeli bombardment.

There were understandable fears that Israel had dropped a massive bomb on the capital, as the earth shook.

"Adding to the public's anxiety, and perhaps a moment of dark cosmic irony, Beirut also felt an earthquake of a 6.6 that hit around Cyprus and shook parts of Beirut," said The New Arab's Beirut-based International News Editor Yazan Al-Saadi.

Yazan Al-Saadi, The New Arab's International News Editor, is in Beirut and spoke of the strikes that rocked the capital on Monday night.

"Beirut is waking up to an eerily quiet Tuesday morning, October 1, after a very stressful night. The Israelis launched multiple strikes on certain places in the southern suburb, reportedly bringing down at least 10 residential buildings - way more than the 3 buildings the Israelis had ordered to be evacuated," he said.

"The casualty numbers are still unclear from that Israeli attack last night as the populace in Beirut watched in muted horror."

Israel launched a massive campaign of bombing across Lebanon on Monday night, with southern and central Beirut being hit by airstrikes.

Dahieh and the central Kola districts of Beirut witnessed huge explosions, which shook the city and led to fears that the Israeli invasion of Lebanon had started.

The Ein Al-Hilweh camp and other areas of southern Lebanon were also targeted in heavy strikes.

At least 95 people were killed in the bombing, Lebanon's health ministry said.