What we know
- Israel began a second year of war by expanding its ground invasion of southern Lebanon and said it had most likely killed the presumed successor to Hezbollah's assassinated leader.
- Naim Qassem, the militant group's deputy, vowed it was far from broken as it rained more than 100 rockets on the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, which until yesterday had not been hit in nearly two decades.
- The United Nations has warned that Lebanon could face the same "spiral of doom" as Gaza after weeks of Israeli attacks that have killed more than 1,400 people and displaced more than 1.2 million in the country.
- Vice President Kamala Harris said Iran was the U.S.' greatest adversary, while Tehran warned anew that it was "prepared for any scenario" and that any Israeli attack would be met with stronger retaliation.
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Israeli navy likely to take 'more prominent role' in Lebanon invasion, military expert says
Israel’s orders for civilians to evacuate areas along Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast south of the Awali River suggest its navy could soon take a “more prominent role” in Israel’s invasion of Lebanon as fighting between ground troops and Hezbollah members continues in the south, a military expert said.
“So far, the IDF largely relied on its ground and air force,” Michael Horowitz, a geopolitical and security analyst, said in an email this morning. “I doubt this signals difficulties,” he said of the efforts, but he said: “From a military standpoint, this may just be meant to let the navy take on a more prominent role — as it did in Gaza.”
Israel’s expansion of its evacuation orders has spread both confusion and fear among those sheltering near the Mediterranean coast, with many wondering whether they’ll be safe from Israel’s operations in the days ahead.
“The evacuation orders that the IDF has given have sometimes been very general, and hard to follow or understand — though some of them are more specific,” said Horowitz, the head of intelligence at Le Beck International, a security consultancy. “This one I think is also broad.”
Israel is a 'rogue state' engaging in 'genocidal war,' Palestinians tell U.N. Security Council
The State of Palestine urged the United Nations Security Council in a letter today to end Israel's impunity as it engages in a "genocidal war" in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
Excerpts of the letter were posted to the body's official X account, accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war and purposefully ignoring calls for a cease-fire. The letter also noted the devastation of Gaza's health system, depriving Palestinians in the enclave of lifesaving care.
"Israel proves every day that it does not believe it is bound by international law, that it has no regard for the international community, that it is a rogue State," the letter said.
The letter called Israel’s actions a “mortal threat” to peace and security. It also demanded that the occupation of the Palestinian territories end, saying Israel has no intention of allowing a two-state solution as the government seeks to "annex" Palestinian land.
Israel has repeatedly denied allegations it has violated international law, that it has purposefully blocked aid to Gaza and that it is engaged in a genocide. It has also rejected the International Criminal Court’s determination that its settlements on Palestinian land violate international law.
36 killed, 150 injured today in Lebanon, health ministry says
At least 36 people have been killed today and 150 more have been wounded across Lebanon as Israel continues to attack the country in its fight against Hezbollah.
The Public Health Ministry reported the deaths in the governorates of South Lebanon, Nabatieh, Bekaa, Baalbek-Hermel and Mount Lebanon.
They bring the number of casualties to 2,119 killed in the last year, when Hezbollah began firing at Israel just a day after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. The majority occurred in the last month, when Israel ramped up its bombings of Lebanon and began a ground invasion of the country.
U.K. prime minister plans talks with France and Germany about Ukraine and Middle East
French, German and British leaders plan to meet in Berlin for discussions about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East in a talk hosted by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his spokesperson told reporters today.
According to Sky News, the meeting Saturday was planned to coincide with President Joe Biden's state visit to Germany so the four countries could speak about recent "concerning development."
But the White House announced today that Biden's trip was had been called off so he can prepare for Hurricane Milton.
It's unclear whether the three European countries will continue without him, Sky News reported.
With hospitals full in Lebanon, family flees to give birth in Iraq
NAJAF, Iraq — Lubana Ismail had just fled her village in southern Lebanon with her husband and two children when she went into labor. She had swollen veins in her uterus and needed immediate medical supervision to give birth safely.
They searched for a hospital in Beirut or Sidon that would admit her, but all were full of the dead and wounded, she said.
“No hospital accepted me. We were turned away everywhere until my father suggested we go to Iraq,” she said.
So they boarded a flight and flew to Najaf. It was there, in a Shi’ite pilgrimage city in a former war zone 600 miles from home, that Lubana finally delivered Zahraa, healthy and safe.
Father Fouad Youssef recounted the perils of their evacuation.
“At first, we went to Tyre, but a strike hit directly next to us. We decided to go to Beirut, thinking it would be safer, but even on the way, a strike hit near us,” he said.
Northern Israeli medical center treated 18 people because of Hezbollah fighting
At least 18 people were taken to the emergency room for treatment today because of fighting with Hezbollah, according to Ziv Medical Center, which is in the northern Israeli town of Safed.
The medical center said in a statement that it discharged eight of those people and that two were admitted for further treatment. The remaining eight were undergoing evaluation at the time of the statement.
It is unclear whether those people were Israeli civilians or soldiers. The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
Entire generation of children at risk of being 'forgotten,' IRC says
Children in Gaza who have spent the last year out of school and under bombardment, many of whom have been separated from their parents, are at risk of becoming "forgotten," the International Rescue Committee said.
Bart Witteveen, the IRC’s director for the Palestinian territories, said children are bearing the brunt of the war against Hamas in Gaza. They face a malnutrition crisis, many of them have lifelong disabilities because of amputation, and at least 17,000 have been separated from their parents or caregivers.
"Children in Gaza cannot wait any longer," and "prolonged restrictions on humanitarian aid and continued fighting means that a generation of children will now experience lifelong health and developmental issues," Witteveen said.
The IRC called for an "immediate and lasting" cease-fire as the only way to scale up humanitarian aid, protect lives and enable the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
NBC News’ Gaza crew recording at the Nasser Medical Complex, in Khan Younis, caught a heartbreaking scene of mothers weeping over the bodies of their children, killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier in the day.
Bakery in northern Gaza on fire after Israeli shelling, Gaza civil defense says
Gaza's civil defense crews are working to put out a fire that they say was caused by Israeli shelling at a bakery in northern Gaza.
Civil defense identified it as the Al-Shalfouh bakery in the Al-Faluja area of the Gaza Strip. Journalist Youssef Fares identified it as the only bakery that was still operating in the northern Gaza area.
WFP director says it's impossible to meet the needs of the displaced as Lebanese villages turn to rubble
Thousands of people in Lebanon continue to be displaced as villages are reduced to "nothing more than rubble," according to Matthew Hollingworth, the World Food Program's country director.
Displaced people and families say they've had only a few hours to comply with forced evacuation orders before Israeli bombardments, he said in a statement. Hollingsworth said Lebanon's struggling infrastructure had no capacity to handle the abrupt displacement of the estimated 1.2 million residents displaced over just days.
“It’s impossible to meet the needs of more than a million people who have been suddenly uprooted, displaced and dispossessed without additional resources coming in,” he said.
In addition, Lebanon's agriculture has been damaged. The WFP estimates that 46,000 farmers have been affected as thousands of acres have been either abandoned or burned.
"Olive harvests in the south will not happen — bananas, citrus harvests will not happen,” Hollingsworth said.
