The Guardian

Middle East crisis live: Woman killed in suspected terror attack in southern Israel; IDF says it has killed Hezbollah commander

By Yohannes Lowe (now); Neha Gohil and Helen Davidson (earlier),

11 hours ago

2.56pm BST

Hezbollah said it launched attack drones at an Israeli military base near the northern city of Haifa on Sunday. The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group said it fighters “launched an air assault with a squadron of attack drones on the maintenance and rehabilitation base south of Haifa”.

2.48pm BST

Israel has reiterated its call for the complete evacuation of northern Gaza.

Up to 300,000 people are estimated to have remained in the heavily destroyed north after earlier Israeli warnings that sent around a million people fleeing to the south.

“We are in a new phase of the war,” the Israeli military said in leaflets dropped over the area, according to the Associated Press. “These areas are considered dangerous combat zones.”

Palestinians across northern Gaza have been told to flee to al-Mawasi on the southern coast, a so-called “humanitarian area” where an estimated one million displaced people are sheltering. Mawasi, which has been the target of deadly Israeli airstrikes, is severely overcrowded and aid agencies struggle to provide even the most basic services.

In May, an aid worker described to the Guardian the “horrific and dehumanising” conditions, with limited food, filthy and scarce water, overwhelmed healthcare facilities and almost no sanitation.

Another said the coast was “totally jam packed, with block after block of tents and only narrow gaps between them”.

“There is no infrastructure inside the camps and very limited new supplies getting in of course,” he said.

2.35pm BST

Summary of the day so far...

Police and emergency responders said at least one person was killed and 10 others injured in a shooting attack at a bus station in Israel’s southern city of Beersheba . The attacker has been killed and the shooting is being treated as a “suspected terrorist attack”.
The Israeli foreign ministry said its air force has killed Hezbollah commander, Hader Ali Taweel . The statement said Taweel, along with Mohamed Hader and Hassan Nteer el Rasheeni who were killed earlier in the week, were responsible for an anti-tank missile that hit Israel’s northern border in January.
The Israeli military issued new evacuation alerts for residents of about 25 areas in southern Lebanon , calling on them to head immediately to the north of the Awali river .
Israel’s military has said it anticipates possible long-range rocket fire from the Gaza Strip ahead of the anniversary of the Hamas-led 7 October attacks, according to reports from the Times of Israel.
Gaza’s health ministry said 26 people were killed by Israeli strikes on a school, and a mosque serving as a shelter in Deir al-Balah , central Gaza, on Saturday. The ministry said at least 41,870 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since last October.
There were reports of intense Israeli airstrikes over Beirut from late Saturday into Sunday. The Lebanese health ministry said 23 people were killed in Israeli bombing across Lebanon yesterday, which targeted areas including those in southern Lebanon and in the eastern region of Bekaa.

2.10pm BST

An Israeli airstrike targeted three cars carrying medical and relief materials in the central Syrian province of Homs , the country’s state news agency reported on Sunday, adding that material damage was reported.

Updated at 2.11pm BST

2.01pm BST

We have some more information on the shooting in southern Israel. Police and emergency responders have said at least one person was killed and 10 others injured during the shooting in Beersheba , which is being treated as a “suspected terrorist attack”. The attack took place near a McDonald’s inside Beersheba’s central bus station terminal, BBC News reports.

“Paramedics have pronounced a 25-year-old female deceased, and are evacuating 10 casualties,” emergency service provider Magen David Adom said in a statement.

“A short time ago a report was received at the police headquarters about a suspected shooting incident at the central station in Beer Sheva,” said a police spokesperson in a statement.

“A number of injured on the scene. The terrorist was neutralised at the scene and many police forces of the southern district are at the scene,” the statement added.

The incident comes just days after a Hamas-claimed shooting attack last week in which seven people were killed in Tel Aviv.

The Tel Aviv attack – one of the deadliest in the country since the 7 October Hamas attack – came as Iran fired about 200 missiles at Israel, sending hundreds of thousands of people into public shelters.

Updated at 2.04pm BST

1.35pm BST

Woman killed and several injured in attack in southern Israel

A woman has been killed and several people injured in a shooting attack at a bus station in Israel’s southern city of Beersheba , police have said.

Police say the suspected “terror attack” took place in the last hour while Israel’s ambulance service have now said eight people are being treated.

Officers say the attacker has been killed.

Updated at 2.18pm BST

1.17pm BST

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops along the border with Lebanon on Sunday, his office has said.

This comes nearly a week after the Israeli military launched ground operations against Hezbollah inside southern Lebanon and ahead of the one year anniversary of the 7 October attacks.

You can read the Guardian’s series marking one year since the Hamas attacks on Israel and the war in Gaza here.

1.01pm BST

Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has warned Iran that it may end up like Gaza or Beirut if it attempts to harm Israel, according to the AFP news agency.

“The Iranians did not touch the air force’s capabilities - no aircraft was damaged, no squadron was taken out of order,” Gallant said in a statement, referring to Iran’s recent missile strike on Israel.

“Whoever thinks that a mere attempt to harm us will deter us from taking action should take a look at (our achievements) in Gaza and Beirut,” Gallant added.

Iran said the missile strike, that hit two bases of the Israeli air force, was in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian general Abbas Nilforoushan in a September 27 strike on Beirut.

12.55pm BST

20,000 Palestinian refugees forcibly displaced by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon

The UN has said 20,000 Palestinian refugees have been forcibly displaced by Israeli airstrikes on camps in Lebanon.

The UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said it has activated emergency shelters for over 4,300 displaced people, including Palestinian refugees, Lebanese and Syrians.

“We have been preparing for this emergency for weeks and months,” Dorothee Klaus, UNRWA’s director in Lebanon, said.

12.46pm BST

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq group has said it launched three separate attacks on Israeli positions in the occupied Golan Heights, according to reports by the BBC.

This comes after the group launched two drones at a military base in the occupied territory earlier this week, killing two Israeli soldiers and wounding 24.

The Islamic Resistance is a group allied to Hezbollah and Iran who are opposed to Israel in the region.

The IDF has not commented and it remains unclear if any damage has been caused.

12.32pm BST

Iran’s oil minister has visited an oil facility on Kharg Island amid growing concerns over possible Israeli air strikes targeting the region, according to the ministry’s news agency.

Israeli officials have warned the country is preparing a response after Iran launched a barrage of missiles this week. Iran said the missiles were fired in response to the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian general Abbas Nilforoushan in a September 27 strike on Beirut.

Oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said on state television: “We are not afraid that our enemies will ignite a crisis, and visiting the region is a normal business trip.”

Kharg Island is home to Iran’s largest crude oil export terminal.

On Friday US president Joe Biden advised Israel against striking Iran’s oil facilities, after previously stating he was in “discussions” with Israel over possible air strikes.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned Iran would respond to Israeli strikes in Iran with a “a proportional and similar reaction…and even stronger.”

12.14pm BST

Lisa O’Carroll is a senior correspondent for the Guardian

Ireland’s president has said it is “outrageous” for the Israeli Defence Force to have “threatened” the UN peace keeping mission on the border between Lebanon and Israel.

But his comments drew the ire of Israel which responded through a statement from its embassy in Dublin saying it did not threaten troops but merely asked them to move for their own safety.

“It is outrageous that the Israel Defense Forces have threatened this peacekeeping force and sought to have them evacuate the villages they are defending. Indeed, Israel is demanding that the entire Unifil operating under UN mandates walk away,” Michael D Higgins said, in relation to the 10,000 strong peace keeping mission.

The embassy said the IDF “made a request through different channels to have some Unifil troops move from areas of military activity for their own protection and safety.”

“Let it be clear that the safety of peacekeeping forces is of immense importance to Israel. To attempt to characterise this as a threat to Unifil forces is another unfounded and inflammatory accusation levelled at Israel, as we have seen in the past months.”

Updated at 12.22pm BST

12.06pm BST

Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant , has visited the Nevatim airbase, in the Negev desert, which was struck by Iranian missiles in Tehran’s attack against Israel on Tuesday .

He said no aircraft was damaged in last week’s Iranian attack on the facility, which was directly hit at least 32 times, according to experts who analysed social media and satellite footage.

Gallant was quoted by Hareetz as having said earlier today:

The Iranians haven’t even scratched the capabilities of the air force. There has been no disruption in our operations.
Those who think that attempting to strike Israel will deter us from responding should look at what’s happening in Gaza and Beirut.
We are strong in both defence and offense, and we’ll demonstrate this in the manner, time and place of our choosing.

Updated at 1.43pm BST

11.54am BST

IDF says they have killed Hezbollah commander

The Israeli foreign ministry has said its air force has killed Hezbollah commander, Hader Ali Taweel .

The statement said Taweel, along with Mohamed Hader and Hassan Nteer el Rasheeni who were killed earlier in the week, were responsible for an anti-tank missile that hit Israel’s northern border in January.

The missile resulted in the deaths of a member of Kfar Yuval’s emergency response squad, Barak Ayalon, and his 76-year-old mother.

Hezbollah is yet to comment on the statement.

Updated at 12.27pm BST

11.48am BST

Israeli military issues new evacuation alerts for areas in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson has issued new evacuation alerts for residents of about 25 areas in southern Lebanon , calling on them to head immediately to the north of the Awali river (which is north of the southern Lebanese city of Sidon).

“Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, installations or weapons is putting his life in danger,” Avichay Adraee said. “Village residents, you must evacuate your homes,” he said. Houla, Meiss el-Jabal and Bilda are among the villages told to evacuate.

“We will inform you of the appropriate and safe time to return to your homes,” Adraee added.

Updated at 11.50am BST

11.32am BST

The UK prime minister has warned the conflict in the Middle East risks lighting the “touchpapers in our own communities” and condemned the spread of “vile hatred” since the 7 October attacks.

Writing for the Sunday Times , ahead of the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks, Keir Starmer said:

The flames from this deadly conflict now threaten to consume the region. And the sparks light touchpapers in our own communities here at home. Because Israel and the Middle East are not just inseparable from our nation’s history. They have a deep relationship with our multicultural society. Millions have family ties to the region…
Since October 7, we have watched vile hatred against Jews and Muslims rise in our communities. So we will not look the other way as Jewish children are afraid to wear their school uniforms, Jewish shops are defaced, or Jews targeted on the streets.
And we will not ignore it when mosques are attacked, and British Muslims are assaulted or told to “go home”. Any attack on a minority is an attack on our proud values of tolerance and respect. We will not stand for it.”

Starmer reiterated calls for the release of the hostages, an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the removal of restrictions on all humanitarian aid.

11.19am BST

As we reported in an earlier post , the Israeli military has said its forces have surrounded the Jabalia area of northern Gaza because of what is claiming is the presence of “terrorists” and their “infrastructure”. Israeli forces have regularly targeted Jabalia, displacing most residents there.

Moath al-Kahlout, reporting for Al Jazeera, was broadcasting a news update near Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabalia when he was interrupted by what appeared to be an airstrike. Shortly afterwards, a van rushed to the hospital bringing injured people, Al Jazeera reported .

“The situation here in northern Gaza is deteriorating as the Israeli army intensifies its bombing,” al-Kahlout said.

He added:

An entire family was killed by the Israeli army in the overnight attacks.
The Israeli army dropped leaflets on the Jabalia refugee camp ordering them to flee their homes, and this alarming development suggests that the Israeli army is preparing for further attacks.
This may lead to more civilian casualties and injured people.

Updated at 11.30am BST

11.13am BST

The Lebanese government has said schools will postpone the start of the academic year due to intensifying Israeli airstrikes against the Hezbollah militant group.

Education minister, Abbas Halabi , has said the new start date for the more than one million Lebanese students will be 4 November due to “security risks”, according to news agency AFP.

Updated at 12.31pm BST

10.51am BST

Israeli military preparing for possible rocket launches ahead of 7 October anniversary

Israel’s military has said it anticipates possible long-range rocket fire from the Gaza Strip ahead of the anniversary of the 7 October attacks, according to reports from the Times of Israel.

Military sources told the newspaper it is bolstering its defences along the Gaza border and in the Netzarim Corridor area in the Strip’s centre, where the IDF maintains a semi-permanent presence, in anticipation of possible attacks.

The IDF said it is also coordinating with police and medical services in Israeli border towns.

“The Southern Command is prepared in defence and attack for several scenarios during the coming month, along with allowing memorial events in the [Gaza border communities] to be carried out safely,” the IDF said in a statement seen by the newspaper.

Although much of Hamas’ military organisation has been dismantled, Israeli operatives said it can still carry out rocket attacks.

This week marks one year since the 7 October attacks on Israel, where Hamas militants and allied groups killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.

Updated at 10.52am BST

10.48am BST

Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz , has reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza ahead of the first anniversary of Israel’s war on the territory, which broke out after the Hamas-led 7 October attacks, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

“Unfortunately, on this first anniversary of Hamas’s terror attack on Israel, peace or even reconciliation in the Middle East seem more distant than ever,” Scholz said in a video message.

The German government “continues to persistently advocate for a ceasefire, which must now finally come about,” he added.

“We are in close contact with our international partners to prevent a further escalation of the conflict,” Scholz said.

He went on to warn against rising anti-Jewish sentiment in Germany, which has been one of Europe’s most unconditional backers of Israel since last October.

“It must never be the case that Jewish citizens here in Germany have to live in fear and terror,” Scholz said.

“We will never accept antisemitism and blind hatred of Israel. The Jewish people here in Germany have the full solidarity of our state,” he added.

More than 5,000 antisemitic incidents were recorded in Germany in 2023, half of them after the 7 October attacks, according to Felix Klein, the government’s commissioner for the fight against antisemitism.

There were a record 1,926 anti-Muslim incidents registered in Germany last year by the CLAIM network of NGOs monitoring Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred. That marked a 114% rise on 2023, with incidents shooting up in particular after 7 October.

Updated at 10.51am BST

10.43am BST

The Israeli military are reported to have detained at least 15 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during the last 24 hours, including a journalist and former prisoners.

The arrests were made across the areas of Hebron , Bethlehem , Tulkarem and Tubas , the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission said.

Over 11,000 Palestinians have been detained in Israeli raids across the occupied West Bank since last October, the groups said.

Human rights groups and international organisations have alleged widespread abuse of inmates detained by Israel in raids in the occupied West Bank.

They have described alleged abusive and humiliating treatment, including holding blindfolded and handcuffed detainees in cramped cages as well as beatings, intimidation and harassment.

Updated at 10.49am BST

10.35am BST

A member of the UK government has said it is on “standby” should there be more demand for Britons to get out of Lebanon.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, science and technology secretary Peter Kyle said the government would use “whatever is needed whether it’s more chartered flights or whether it’s the military” to get people out.

Kyle said: “We’ve already laid on three flights which have brought people out, there’s a fourth one leaving today. And we’re on standby: if the demand is there we will use whatever is needed, whether it’s more chartered flights or whether it’s the military.”

Nations around the world have begun evacuating their citizens from Lebanon due to escalating tensions and conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese armed movement, Hezbollah.

The U.S. deployed dozens of troops to Cyprus to prepare for an evacuation of Americans. It is also working with airlines to ensure additional flights are available for Americans to leave the country.

Other countries coordinating evacuation efforts include: Brazil, China, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Australia and Turkey.

10.24am BST

26 people killed in Israeli attacks on former school and mosque in Gaza, health ministry says

Gaza’s health ministry has issued an update on the amount of people killed by Israeli strikes on a school, and a mosque serving as a shelter in Deir al-Balah , central Gaza, on Saturday. The previous death toll was 24. It has been increased to 26. Dozens of people were reported to have been injured. The Israeli military claimed it had targeted Hamas militants in the strikes.

Updated at 10.30am BST

10.19am BST

At least 23 people were killed and 93 others injured in Israeli bombing across Lebanon yesterday, the health ministry has said.

Israeli raids targeted towns and villages of south Lebanon, Nabatieh, the eastern governorate of Beqaa, Baalbek-Hermel, Mount Lebanon, and the north, the ministry added in a tweet on their X account.

These figures do not include casualty deaths from more recent Israeli bombardment on Beirut’s southern suburbs after midnight.

Since 23 September, Israeli strikes against Hezbollah across Lebanon have killed more than 1,110, according to official figures released earlier today.

Updated at 2.28pm BST

9.55am BST

Death toll from war in Gaza rises to 41,870

At least 41,870 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since 7 October, according to latest figures released by Gaza’s health ministry.

The health ministry also reported at least 97,166 people have been injured. The ministry previously said thousands of other dead people are most likely lost in the rubble of the enclave.

The Guardian’s Jason Burke and Malak A Tantesh spoke with families in Gaza about their year of loss and displacement. You can read more about this here.

9.52am BST

Al Jazeera is reporting the Israeli military has surrounded the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

The media outlet quoted a Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal who said there were many casualties after multiple strikes rocked Jabalia through the night.

The Israeli military said in a statement: “The troops of the 401st Brigade and the 460th Brigade have successfully encircled the area and are currently continuing to operate in the area.”

The statement added intelligence indicates the “presence of terrorists and terror infrastructure in the area of Jabalia … as well as efforts by Hamas to rebuild its operational capabilities in the area.

“Prior to and during the operation, the [air force] struck dozens of military targets in the area to assist ground troops.”

The Jabalia refugee camp has regularly been targeted by Israeli forces since the start of the war in Gaza, displacing and killing its residents.

9.34am BST

Najib Mikati , the caretaker Lebanese prime minister, has said that his government continues to support the “joint call for a ceasefire” which was launched last week by France and the US, as Israeli airstrikes continue to hit his country.

The BBC are quoting him as saying earlier today that Lebanon continues to “demand that pressure be exerted on Israel to respect the ceasefire and immediately implement resolution 1701”.

Mikati has said that a diplomatic end to the escalating war would be a “win-win” for Israel and Lebanon and “all parties” would respect such a deal. He has said he hoped to deploy 10,000 Lebanese army troops in the south if a ceasefire is agreed.

The proposal for a 21-day temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced by the US president, Joe Biden, and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on 26 September 2024 , to make way for broader negotiations.

They urged Israel and Lebanon to back the move, which was also endorsed by the UK, Australia, Canada, the EU, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Updated at 9.49am BST

8.56am BST

As we have mentioned in a previous post , there have been reports of intense Israeli airstrikes over Beirut from late Saturday into Sunday. Nafiseh Kohnavard, the BBC’s Middle East correspondent, who is in Beirut, described it as the worst night of attacks on the Lebanese capital and its suburbs since the start of this conflict, which began in late September (although the Israeli military and Hezbollah have been trading fire since 8 October 2023).

Lebanon’s official national news agency said targets included a petrol station and a warehouse for medical supplies. Lebanese media described the blasts on the Lebanese capital as “very violent”, saying ambulances rushed to affected sites. Israeli attacks hit several neighbourhoods in Dahiyeh, the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as the road leading to the Rafic Hariri international airport, according to Al Jazeera.

Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, said it targeted Israeli forces with artillery after they tried to infiltrate towards Khallat Shuaib in Blida, in southern Lebanon.

A statement said fighters fired rockets at Israeli troops during the evacuation of “dead and wounded soldiers” in the Menara border area shortly after midnight. Hezbollah also said it launched assault drones against an Israeli military base.

8.36am BST

23 out of 38 hospitals in Gaza now out of service - report

Reporters from Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, have been told by medical sources that 23 out of 38 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are now out of service amid relentless Israeli airstrikes which have targeted healthcare facilities over the nearly year-long war.

Local health authorities further reported that 986 healthcare workers have been killed during the war, with Israeli attacks reportedly rendering 130 ambulances inoperable. These figures have not been independently verified by the Guardian.

The following is from a press release from Doctors without Borders published earlier this week . Citing data from a UN humanitarian update on 23 September 2024, the charity said 17 out of 36 hospitals are partially functional amid crippling shortages of fuel, medicine and essential supplies.

The press release reads:

As medical needs are growing exponentially, people’s options for care are shrinking. Israeli forces have committed widespread and systematic attacks on Gaza’s health care system and other vital civilian infrastructure. The health care system is now on the edge of collapse.
Today, only 17 out of 36 hospitals are partially functional. Warring parties have conducted hostilities near medical facilities, endangering patients, caretakers, and medical staff. Six MSF colleagues have been killed. From October 2023, staff and patients from MSF have had to leave 14 different health structures, due to serious incidents and ongoing fighting.
Each time a medical facility is evacuated, thousands of people lose access to lifesaving medical care. This will have consequences on people’s health, not just in the immediate term, but in the weeks and months to come.

8.01am BST

Summary

Israel strikes hit south Beirut and its outskirts on Saturday night, official Lebanese media reported. “Israeli enemy warplanes carried out four very violent strikes on [Beirut’s] southern suburbs, and one strike on the Chweifat” area, with ambulances rushing to the site, Lebanon’s National news agency said. Correspondents in Beirut reported hearing explosions, and footage from the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency showed plumes of smoke rising from the targeted areas.

At least 24 people have been reported killed in the strike on a school and mosque in Gaza . Eyewitnesses and a nearby hospital told news agencies that the mosque was being used to house displaced people.
An Israel military spokesperson said the country would retaliate against Iran for the Iranian missile attack at “the timing which we decide”. “The way in which we respond to this disgraceful attack will be in the manner, at the location and the timing which we decide, according to the political leadership’s instructions,” Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said in a broadcast statement on Saturday.
Iran said any attack by Israel would be met with an “even stronger” retaliation, as tensions continue to rise between the two countries. “Our reaction to any attack by the Zionist regime is completely clear,” Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, told reporters in Damascus, Syria. “For every action, there will be a proportional and similar reaction from Iran, and even stronger.”
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, was a “disgrace” for calling for a halt on arms deliveries to Israel. “The axis of terror stands together. But countries who supposedly oppose this [axis] call for an arms embargo on Israel. What a disgrace,” Netanyahu said. “Well let me tell you this Israel will win with or without their support but their shame will continue long after the war is won.” Macron’s office responded with a statement of its own later Saturday, describing Netanyahu’s reaction as “excessive and detached from the friendship between France and Israel”. It said France was still “a steadfast friend of Israel”.
The president of Ireland sharply criticised Israel’s demand that UN peacekeepers leave their positions in southern Lebanon . “It is outrageous that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have threatened this peacekeeping force and sought to have them evacuate the villages they are defending,” Michael Higgins said. The IDF had requested that peacekeepers operating on the “blue line” between Israel and the Golan Heights “relocate”.

Updated at 12.54pm BST

7.49am BST

Heavy Israeli airstrikes hit southern Beirut

Here is our latest wrap of the events overnight.

Heavy consecutive strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs from late Saturday into Sunday, witnesses said, while Gaza’s civil defence agency said 21 people were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a mosque in central Gaza early on Sunday.

The strike on the mosque, near the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, came as the war between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian territory approaches its first anniversary on 7 October. Witnesses said the number of casualties could rise as the mosque was being used to house displaced people, while the Israeli military said it was being used as a Hamas command centre.

In the Lebanese capital, the Israeli strikes sent booms across the city and sparked flashes of red and white for nearly 30 minutes visible from several kilometres away.

The strikes came after days of Israeli bombing of Beirut suburbs considered strongholds for the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, killing its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and possibly his potential successor. A Lebanese security source said on Saturday that Hashem Safieddine, the potential successor, had been out of contact since Friday, after an Israeli airstrike near the city’s international airport that was reported to have targeted him.

Updated at 8.56am BST

7.26am BST

Israel has issued new evacuation orders for Palestinians in the north of the strip.

On Sunday morning it said two evacuation routes from northern Gaza have been reopened to allow for people to move to the southern “humanitarian zone”: one along the Salah al-Din road and the other along the Al-Rashid coastal road.

A spokesperson for the military told residents that Hamas had established “terrorist infrastructure in your region, exploiting the population, shelters, and health facilities as a human shield”, according to Al Jazeera, and ordered people to head south ahead of continued Israeli operations in the north.

Updated at 8.37am BST

7.04am BST

Death toll from Gaza mosque strike rises to 24 – authorities

The death toll from the Israeli strike on the Gaza mosque has risen to 24, according to local authorities. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said 93 people were also wounded in the strikes on the mosque and the school, near the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital told the Associated Press that the strike hit a mosque sheltering displaced people. Eyewitnesses told Reuters the same. However Israeli forces say the mosque was being used as a Hamas command and control centre “to plan and carry out terrorist operations against the IDF forces and the State of Israel”, and that it took steps to reduce the chance of harming civilians. An AP reporter counted 18 bodies at the hospital morgue, and said hospital records listed all those killed as men.

Updated at 7.40am BST

6.46am BST

Israel says it successfully intercepted two surface-to-surface missiles launched from Lebanese territory. Sirens were earlier reported between Haifa and Hadera along the coast.

6.35am BST

The Israeli air force has published a statement about the air strikes on Beirut, which appear to be over for the night. The statement, posted to its X account, is in full below:

During the night, Air Force fighter jets under the precise intelligence guidance of the Intelligence Division, carried out a series of targeted attacks throughout Beirut against several munitions warehouses and other terrorist infrastructures in the area. Before the attacks, many steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming those not involved, including advance warnings to the population in the area. The terrorist organization Hezbollah places its weapons and production sites under residential buildings in the heart of Beirut and puts the population in the area at risk. The IDF will continue to attack powerfully, damage and degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities and infrastructure in Lebanon.

6.04am BST

Thousand protest worldwide as 7 October anniversary nears

The Australian protests on Sunday are among many held across the world this weekend.

Thousands also took to the streets in the US and across Europe on Saturday. In London, thousands marched through the capital to Downing Street amid a heavy police presence. The atmosphere was tense as pro-Palestinian protesters and counter-demonstrators, some holding Israeli flags, passed one another. Scuffles broke out as police officers pushed back activists trying to get past a cordon. At least 17 people were arrested, London’s Metropolitan Police said.

In the northern German city of Hamburg, about 950 people staged a peaceful demonstration with many waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags or chanting “Stop the Genocide,” the DPA news agency reported, citing a count by police. Two smaller pro-Israeli counterdemonstrations took place without incident, it said.

Several thousands protesters gathered peacefully at Paris’ Republique Plaza in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people. Many were waving Palestinian flags while holding posters reading ”stop the genocide,” “free Palestine,” and “hands off Lebanon.”

In Rome police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators after a rally turned violent. Several thousands had demonstrated peacefully Saturday afternoon until a smaller group tried to push the rally toward the centre of the city, in spite of a ban by local authorities who refused to authorise protests, citing security concerns.

Some protesters, dressed in black and with their faces covered threw stones, bottles and paper bombs at the police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons, eventually dispersing the crowd. At least 30 law enforcement officers and three demonstrators were injured in the clashes, local media reported.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also gathered at New York’s Times Square to call for a cease-fire, chanting “Gaza!” to a drumbeat. Some wore keffiyeh scarfs, waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags and held a large cardboard image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with red paint symbolizing blood across his face.

Updated at 7.11am BST

5.35am BST

Gaza’s civil defence agency says an Israeli strike on a mosque-turned-shelter in central Deir al-Balah killed 21 people.

“The number of deaths rose to 21 and a large number of wounded as a result of the occupation (Israel) bombing of a mosque sheltering displaced people in front of the gate of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip,” said agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal.

Israel’s military has said it targeted the mosque because Hamas was using it as a command and control centre.

5.03am BST

Australian supporters of Palestine have taken to the streets in Sydney and Melbourne, a day before the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks by Hamas in Israel.

Rallies were scheduled to take place in cities across Australia, with demonstrators warned not to display symbols linked to designated terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.

Police in New South Wales had sought to block the Sunday rally from taking place, but an agreement reached with organisers allowed the event to go ahead with an altered route.

The full story is here:

Updated at 5.05am BST

4.27am BST

António Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations, released a video message this morning on the eve of the anniversary of the 7 October attack that sparked this latest round of extraordinary violence.

He said the attacks “scarred souls”.

“On this day we remember all those who were brutally killed and suffered unspeakable violence, including sexual violence as they were simply living their lives. This is a day for the global community to repeat in the loudest voice our utter condemnation of the abhorrent acts of Hamas including the taking of hostages.”

Guterres said he had met many families of hostages and “shared their pain and anguish”, demanding again the immediate and unconditional release.

He said 7 October was “naturally a day to focus on events of the awful day”.

“Since October 7th a wave of shocking violence and bloodshed has erupted. The war that has followed the terrible attacks of a year ago continues to shatter lives and inflict profound human suffering for Palestinians in Gaza and now the people of Lebanon.
I have spoken out about this often and clearly. It is time for the release of the hostages, time to silence the guns, time to stop the suffering that has engulfed the region. Time for peace, international law and justice.”

He said the UN was committed to achieving the goals, and that it was important to “hold on to hope” amidst the bloodshed.

“Let us never stop working for a lasting solution to the conflict, where Israel, Palestine and all other countries of the region can finally live in peace and dignity and with respect for one another.”

Last week Guterres spoke to the UN Security Council, demanding an end to what he called a “deadly cycle of tit-for-tat violence”. It came after a statement by Israel’s foreign minister declaring Guterres persona non grata and barring him from entering Israel, accusing him of failing to “unequivocally” condemn Iran’s missile attack.

4.02am BST

The US state department has said it evacuated 145 US citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families from Lebanon on Saturday.

The cohort left on two flights from Beirut to Istanbul. Each flight could take 300 passengers.

A spokesperson for the state department said more than 600 people had been assisted to leave Lebanon via the government-organised flights, and more than 2,600 seats have been made available on those and commercial flights. The department has advised Americans since late September to depart Lebanon “while commercial options still remain available,” and warned those who stay to “be prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate further.”

3.37am BST

The death toll at the Gaza mosque strike has risen to 18 , according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The Israeli air strike on the Shuhada al-Aqsa mosque, near the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, also reportedly injured dozens of people. Eyewitnesses told Reuters the number of casualties could rise as the mosque was being used to house displaced people.

The Israeli Air Force earlier confirmed that the mosque in Deir al-Balah was a target, saying it was being used by Hamas. It also said it struck another site “that was previously used as the Ibn Rushd school”.

“The command and control complexes were used by Hamas terrorists to plan and carry out terrorist operations against the IDF forces and the State of Israel,” it said in a statement published on the Air Force’s X account .

The IAF did not detail casualties. It said that prior to the attack “many steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weaponry, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence information.”

3.32am BST

Beirut hit by 'most severe' strikes of conflict after intense overnight bombardment by Israel

In the last few hours Beirut has been under intense air strikes by Israeli forces. Local media have described the strikes as the most severe of the conflict so far, with some landing near the airport where flights are taking off with hundreds of foreign evacuees. Explosions have been reported and photographed across the city.

Israel has also continued to target Gaza and the West Bank, with air strikes on a mosque in Gaza killing at least five people, according to Reuters. Al Jazeera reports up to 18 fatalities at the mosque, which eyewitnesses told Reuters was being used to house displaced people. The Israeli air force said the mosque was being used by Hamas as a command centre, and that it took steps to reduce harm to civilians.

In other developments:

Israel strikes hit south Beirut and its outskirts on Saturday night, official Lebanese media reported. “Israeli enemy warplanes carried out four very violent strikes on [Beirut’s] southern suburbs, and one strike on the Chweifat” area, with ambulances rushing to the site, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. Correspondents in Beirut reported hearing explosions, and Agence France-Presse footage showed plumes of smoke rising from the targeted areas.
An Israel military spokesman said the country would retaliate against Iran for the Iranian missile attack at “the timing which we decide”. “The way in which we respond to this disgraceful attack will be in the manner, at the location and the timing which we decide, according to the political leadership’s instructions,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a broadcast statement on Saturday, according to a Reuters report.
Iran said any attack by Israel would be met with an “even stronger” retaliation, as tensions continue to rise between the two countries. “Our reaction to any attack by the Zionist regime is completely clear,” Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, told reporters in Damascus, Syria. “For every action, there will be a proportional and similar reaction from Iran, and even stronger.”
Benjamin Netanyahu said Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, was a “disgrace” for calling for a halt on arms deliveries to Israel. “The axis of terror stands together. But countries who supposedly oppose this [axis] call for an arms embargo on Israel. What a disgrace,” the Israeli prime minister said. “Well let me tell you this Israel will win with or without their support but their shame will continue long after the war is won.”
Macron’s office responded with a statement of its own later Saturday, describing Netanyahu’s reaction as “excessive and detached from the friendship between France and Israel”. It said France was still “a steadfast friend of Israel”.
The president of Ireland sharply criticised Israel’s demand that UN peacekeepers leave their positions in southern Lebanon . “It is outrageous that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have threatened this peacekeeping force and sought to have them evacuate the villages they are defending,” Michael Higgins said. The IDF had requested that peacekeepers operating on the “blue line” between Israel and the Golan Heights “relocate”.