Summary

  • The UN says its peacekeepers will stay in their positions in southern Lebanon, despite repeated demands by Israel that they should move out of the way of its forces there

  • Lebanon says at least 21 people have been killed and eight others injured in a rare Israeli strike in the north of the country

  • The strike hit a residential building in Aitou, a mainly Christian village far from the areas where Israel has carried out strikes targeting Hezbollah. Israel says they are examining the incident

  • Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that Israel's PM told the Biden administration he was willing to opt for a more limited counterstrike in response to this month's missile attack by Iran

  • In Gaza, the UN has condemned the "large number of civilian casualties" caused by Israeli strikes on the north of the enclave in recent days

  1. In pictures: Clean-up begins in Aitoupublished at 09:55 British Summer Time

    We can bring you some pictures now from the site of an Israeli air strike in northern Lebanon.

    Yesterday, at least 21 people were killed and eight others injured in the predominantly Christian village of Aitou.

    Clean-up begins in the area today.

    A bulldozer clears rubble by a statue of Charbel, the patron saint of LebanonImage source, Joesph Eid/AFP/Getty Images
    Image caption,

    A bulldozer clears rubble by a statue of Charbel, the patron saint of Lebanon

    A dog walks through the debris in front of an excavatorImage source, Joesph Eid/AFP/Getty Images
    Image caption,

    A dog walks through the debris in front of an excavator

    Two destroyed cars at the site of yesterday's Israeli air strikeImage source, Joesph Eid/AFP/Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Two destroyed cars at the site of yesterday's Israeli air strike

  2. Funeral held for senior Iranian commander in Tehranpublished at 09:37 British Summer Time

    Huge crowds holding various flagsImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    The funeral in Iran's Imam Hossein Square is the third to take place, following two in Iraq on Monday

    Huge crowds have gathered in Tehran, Iran's capital, for the final funeral ceremony of the Abbas Nilforoushan, the operations commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC).

    Nilforoushan is believed to have been killed alongside former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Israeli strikes in Lebanon on 27 September.

    Yesterday, two separate funeral ceremonies took place in Iraq before the body was returned to his home country.

    The IRGC's commander, Esmail Qaani, attended the service, as shown on Iranian state TV, putting an end to speculation about his whereabouts.

    On Friday, the IRGC announced they had recovered Nilforoushan's body. He will be buried in his hometown of Isfahan, Iran, according to news agency AFP.

  3. Netanyahu threatens Beirut again in wake of Hezbollah drone attackpublished at 09:06 British Summer Time

    Joel Gunter
    Reporting from Beirut

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Monday that Israel would continue strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon “without mercy”, including targeting of the capital Beirut.

    His warning came a day after the Iran-backed group killed four Israeli soldiers and wounded dozens in a drone attack on a military base in northern Israel.

    Any fresh strikes on Beirut would break a four-day pause in what had become daily Israeli attacks on the capital.

    Unconfirmed reports said Netanyahu had suspended attacks on Beirut at the urging of the US government, following strikes in the centre of the city on Thursday night that killed 22 civilians, according to the Lebanese government.

    Lebanon’s National News Agency on Tuesday reported dozens of Israeli strikes overnight in the Beqaa Valley area in the centre of the country.

  4. 'We say goodbye to our children before we sleep': The daily lives of two Palestinianspublished at 08:43 British Summer Time

    Warning: The footage contains some distressing scenes

    After 7 October last year, two Palestinians began filming their daily lives for the BBC. Aya fled to the south of the territory to find safety, Khalid chose to stay in the north.

    Between them, they document explosions, multiple evacuations, deaths and the trauma experienced by children caught up in the conflict.

    Media caption,

    ‘I say bye to my kids, in case we don’t wake up’ – Gazans film year under Israeli attack

  5. IDF says strike in northern Lebanon was on a Hezbollah targetpublished at 08:21 British Summer Time

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it is looking into a strike in northern Lebanon yesterday that killed at least 21 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

    The strike hit a residential building in Aitou, a predominantly Christian village far from the areas where the Israeli military has carried out thousands of strikes targeting the armed Shia Islamist group Hezbollah.

    In response to the incident, the IDF says that the target belonged to Hezbollah.

    "The claim that Lebanese civilians were killed as a result of the strike is under review. The incident is being examined," IDF adds.

  6. Over 230 targets hit in the last day, says Israeli militarypublished at 07:49 British Summer Time

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has hit more than 230 targets in southern Lebanon and Gaza in the past day.

    In a statement, the group says it "eliminated dozens of terrorists" in both close-quarters combat and air strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

    The IDF "located vast quantities of weaponry and equipment, including rifles, helmets, communications devices, ammunition, and more", the statement says.

    It also says it continued an operation in Jabalia, a northern Gaza refugee camp. In recent days, at least 10 people were reportedly killed there by Israeli artillery fire.

  7. Cameron says he was planning to sanction two Israeli ministers while foreign secretarypublished at 07:34 British Summer Time

    Former Foreign Secretary David Cameron has told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was working up a plan to sanction two Israeli ministers until the UK election this summer intervened.

    Cameron, who served in the last Conservative government, believes that Labour should pursue action against Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir - the minister for national security.

    "I think there are other things we can do to put pressure on [Israel's PM] Netanyahu, and say, 'of course we respect your right to self-defence but we do want you to act within the law'," he says.

    "Saying to Netanyahu, 'yes we support your right to self-defence, no we're not going to end our sale of arms, but actually when there are ministers in your government who are extremists and act in this way, we're prepared to use the sanctions regime to say this simply isn't good enough and has to stop'."

    He says he's "concerned that nothing has happened" since he was foreign secretary and the government "needs to look again at this sanctions issue".

    "We all want to see this conflict end, but it's got to end in a way that's sustainable," he adds, saying it's right to back Israel's right to self defence, but it's not "a blank cheque".

    It's important that aid gets into Gaza and that UN peacekeepers in Lebanon are respected, he says.

    You can listen to the full interview with Lord Cameron on Today at 08:10 BST.

  8. Sirens heard across northern Israelpublished at 07:14 British Summer Time

    This morning, sirens warning of incoming rocket fire have been sounding across northern Israel, including in Haifa, which has been targeted repeatedly by Hezbollah in recent days.

    The alarms have also been activated in communities near Haifa, including Wadi Ara, Karmiel, and Menashe.

    The Israeli military says that following the sirens, two projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon and were intercepted by the air force.

  9. UN says it will not withdraw peacekeepers from Lebanonpublished at 06:50 British Summer Time

    Jonathan Head
    Reporting from Beirut

    Two white UN vehicles on a roadImage source, Reuters

    The United Nations says its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon will stay in their positions, despite repeated demands by Israel that they should move out of the way of its forces there.

    The head of UN peacekeeping operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told journalists in New York that the decision to keep the Unifil force in place had the full backing of both the UN Security Council and the member states contributing troops to the force.

    On Sunday Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly warned the UN to move from its bases in southern Lebanon, which he said were providing a human shield to Hezbollah fighters.

    But the UN is standing firm.

    Its head of peacekeeping said it was essential that the blue helmets stay in place, to carry out the mandate they were given by the UN Security Council and to assist the civilian population.

    Israel argues that the UN has failed to stop Hezbollah from building tunnels and positioning weapons like rockets and missiles near the border, in violation of the agreement which ended the last war there 18 years ago.

    The UN says its mission is to support the parties to the conflict, not to enforce the agreement.

    It has accused Israel of deliberately targeting its bases, with five peacekeepers injured in the past week, an accusation rejected by Netanyahu.

    In another statement last night he said Israel would do its utmost to prevent such incidents, but that UN peacekeepers needed to get out of harm’s way.

  10. Netanyahu weighs options for counterstrike on Iranpublished at 06:46 British Summer Time

    Yolande Knell
    Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

    A close up of Benjamin NetanyahuImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the United Nations General Assembly in September 2024

    In the two weeks since Iran fired some 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, the region has been bracing itself for Israel’s threatened response - fearing it could prompt a dangerous, full-scale war between the two countries.

    A Washington Post article, external - quoting two officials said to be familiar with the matter - reported that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had told the Biden administration he was willing to opt for a more limited counterstrike, targeting military infrastructure in Iran.

    The Washington Post also suggested that Israeli retaliatory action would be calibrated to avoid the perception of political interference in the US elections in three weeks’ time.

    In a brief statement overnight, the Israeli PM's office responded: “We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interest.”

  11. UN condemns civilian deaths in northern Gazapublished at 06:39 British Summer Time

    Palestinians carry their belongings as they flee areas north of Gaza City in the northern Gaza StripImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    People have been fleeing northern Gaza in recent days as ground operations intensify in the area

    The UN has condemned the "large number of civilian casualties" caused by Israeli strikes on northern Gaza in recent days.

    The comments come as at least 10 people have reportedly been killed by Israeli artillery fire at a food distribution centre at Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, where Israeli tanks and troops are continuing a ground offensive.

    The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said shells hit the centre on Monday as some people were trying to access food handouts.

    The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident, adding that it operates "only against terror targets".

    "The secretary general condemns the large number of civilian casualties in the intensifying Israeli campaign in northern Gaza, including its schools, displacing sheltered Palestinian civilians," a spokesman for the UN Secretary General said.

  12. Lebanon says 21 killed in rare Israeli strike in northpublished at 06:27 British Summer Time

    Welcome back to our live coverage of the Israel-Lebanon conflict and Israel's continued bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

    Here's what you need to know this morning:

    • An Israeli air strike in northern Lebanon yesterday killed at least 21 people and injured eight others, local officials said. The strike hit a residential building in the predominantly Christian village in Aitou - far away from where the Israel Defense Forces has been targeted the Shia Islamist group Hezbollah
    • The UN has decried the "large number of civilian casualties" in Gaza following recent Israeli strikes. The UN's Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, says 10 people were reportedly killed at a food distribution centre at the Jabalia refugee camp in the enclave's north
    • Israeli military said it found an 800m-long underground compound built by Hezbollah in south Lebanon, containing missiles, motorbikes and food supplies
    • The US will send a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) battery to Israel in order to bolster the country's air defence, following a missile barrage launched by Iran earlier this month

    Stay with us today as we bring you news and analysis from our journalists in London and on the ground.