US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut to discuss Israel-Lebanon ceasefire proposal

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem is expected to give a speech on Tuesday, according to the group's media office.

US envoy Amos Hochstein said he held "very constructive talks" with Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, adding that "this is a moment of decision making."

Hamas negotiators are "not in Doha" but the Palestinian group's office there has not been permanently closed, Qatar said on Tuesday.

"The leaders of Hamas that are within the negotiating team are now not in Doha," foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said, adding: "The decision to... close down the office permanently, is a decision that you will hear about from us directly."

A man was shot at an Israeli police checkpoint in the Shu'afat camp northeast of Jerusalem, Israeli media said.

A man could be seen laying on the ground, but it was not immediately clear if he was killed or just wounded.

الاحتلال يطلق النار تجاه شاب عند حاجز مخيم شعفاط شمال القدس المحتلة ويتركه ينزف ويمنع الإسعاف من الوصول إليه. pic.twitter.com/4CL9wKFBIx

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) November 19, 2024

Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 43,972 Palestinians and wounded 104,008 since October 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Tuesday.

Three Palestinians were killed on Tuesday during an Israel military operation in the occupied West Bank near Jenin, said the governor of the region, citing local authorities.

"There are three bodies of martyrs that are now with the Israeli side, after they killed them," Kamal Abu al-Rub said, citing the District Coordination Office. The Israeli military has yet to comment on the operation.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said the peacekeeping mission's monitoring capacity is "very, very limited" due to the ongoing war, and reported damage to its towers.

Israel has directly targeted UNIFIL members and their installations numerous times since last month.

The UN said Tuesday that over 200 children have been killed in Lebanon in the less than two months since Israel escalated its attacks on the country.

"Despite more than 200 children killed in Lebanon in less than two months, a disconcerting pattern has emerged: their deaths are met with inertia from those able to stop this violence," James Elder, spokesman for the UN children's agency UNICEF, told reporters in Geneva.

"Over the last two months in Lebanon, an average of three children have been killed every single day," he said.

Argentina has notified the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon that it is withdrawing three of its officers, a UNIFIL spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.

"Correct. Argentina has asked its officers to go back," said Andrea Tenenti, UNIFIL spokesperson, in response to a question about a newspaper report. He declined to comment on the reason for their departure, referring the question to the Argentinian government.

An Israeli soldier was reportedly killed in battle in southern Lebanon Tuesday morning, Israeli media said.

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan emphasised that the ongoing Israeli wars on Gaza and Lebanon has caused unprecedented levels of human suffering, pushing the region to the brink of a wider war and undermining the credibility of international law and institutions.

He made his comments at the G20 summit in Brazil on Monday.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that some 40 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into central and northern Israel, with first responders reporting that four people were lightly injured by shrapnel.

"Following sirens that sounded between 09:50 and 09:51 in the Upper Galilee, Western Galilee, and Central Galilee areas, approximately 25 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israel. Some of the projectiles were intercepted and fallen projectiles were identified in the area," the military said in a statement.

That announcement followed earlier reports that some 15 projectiles fired that set of air raid sirens.

A spokesperson for Israeli first responders said that in central Israel it found "four individuals with light injuries from glass shards.... They were injured while in a concrete building where the windows shattered."

The Israeli police said they were searching the impact sites from projectiles intercepted by Israel's air defence systems but did not report any serious damage.

Israeli forces demolished a mosque in Jabal Mukaber in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday, Palestinian media reported.

الاحتلال يهدم مسجد الشياح في بلدة جبل المكبر بالقدس المحتلة ويحوله إلى ركام. pic.twitter.com/loprY772FN

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) November 19, 2024

Dozens of far-right Israeli settlers stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Tuesday, reported Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, carrying out religious rituals and provoking worshippers. The storming happened under the protection of Israeli police.

Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces Tuesday morning after being trapped in a building for hours in the Mothalath al-Shohada village south of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

The killing came after Israeli troops stormed the village in the early hours of Tuesday and clashed with Palestinian fighters.

Videos were shared online of the besieged building in which the Palestinian men were trapped before being killed.

Israeli bulldozers were also seen destroying infrastructure in other parts of Jenin, local media said.

#فيديو | بعد سحب الاحتلال جثامينهم.. جرافة الاحتلال تواصل هدم المنزل الذي تحصن فيه الشهداء وخاضوا اشتباكهم الأخير فيه في قرية مثلث الشهداء جنوب جنين. pic.twitter.com/AIrP1LbHrV

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) November 19, 2024

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Monday called on the UN Security Council to pressure Iraq's government to end attacks by "pro-Iranian militias" on Israel.

"This evening I sent a letter to the president of the UN Security Council in which I called for immediate action regarding the activity of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, whose territory is being used to attack Israel", Saar said in a post on X that featured a copy of the letter.

Warning that Israel has the right to defend itself under the UN charter, Saar said that Iraq "is responsible under international law to prevent the use of its territory as a base for attacks against other nations."

"Israel calls on the Iraqi government to fulfill this obligation and to take immediate action to halt and prevent these attacks," Saar added.

Saar said Israel would take "all necessary measures to protect itself and its citizens" from Iran-backed militias.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gidon Saar on Tuesday praised the European Union's decision to widen sanctions on Iran, calling it "necessary" to combat the threats from Iran.

In a post on X, Saar wrote that the fresh EU sanctions announced on Monday, imposed over Iran's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Iran denies, were "necessary steps in the international community's fight against the Iranian threat, which constitutes the greatest danger to the security and stability of the Middle East, Europe, and the entire world."

Sirens were activated in central Israel on Tuesday after around five projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory, the Israeli army said.

"Following the sirens that sounded in the areas of Dan, Sharon and Menashe [central Israel], approximately five projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Some projectiles were intercepted, fallen projectiles were identified," the army said in a statement.