Israel Hezbollah War: Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei condemns Israel’s actions, calls for 'inner strength' among Muslims

Israel's military said it was striking more Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Saturday evening, after announcing it had hit thousands of rocket launchers and other targets earlier in the day.

The military "is currently striking targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation in Lebanon," a statement said.

Israel's military reported on Saturday that its air force carried out strikes on thousands of rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, which were described as posing an "immediate" threat to Israeli territory. The strikes come amid escalating fears of a broader conflict with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Israel's military said its air force struck on Saturday thousands of rocket launchers in southern Lebanon that posed an "immediate" threat, as fears grew of all-out war with Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Israeli aircraft "struck thousands of launcher barrels that were ready for immediate use to fire toward Israeli territory" as well as "approximately 180" other, unspecified targets, a military statement said.

The Israeli military said Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired some 90 rockets at Israel on Saturday as cross-border exchanges again intensified, raising fears of all-out war.

Hezbollah militants launched "about 90" rockets on Saturday as of 5.00pm (1400 GMT), the military said in a statement to AFP.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Saturday he had cancelled a trip to the United Nations General Assembly and decried "horrific massacres" after deadly attacks in Lebanon blamed on Israel.

Mikati said in a statement that he cancelled his trip "in light of the developments linked to the Israeli aggression on Lebanon", after this week saw an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs and attacks on Hezbollah devices blamed on Israel.

Two Hezbollah leaders were among those killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb , Israel’s military said Saturday, as Lebanon raised the death toll from the attack to 37, including women and children.

Israel and Hezbollah continued to trade fire Saturday, a day after the airstrike claimed the lives of Ibrahim Akil, who was in charge of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, and Ahmed Wahbi, another senior commander in the group’s military wing.

Firas Abiad told reporters that the dead included seven women and three children. He said another 68 people were wounded of whom 15 remained in hospital, adding that search and rescue operations were still ongoing, with the number of casualties likely to rise.

The rare strike hit an apartment block in a densely populated south Beirut neighborhood on Friday afternoon during rush hour. It was the deadliest strike targeting the Lebanese capital since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

Hezbollah confirms more than a dozen operatives were killed.

The toll from an Israeli air strike targeting Hezbollah military commanders in Beirut's southern suburbs has risen to 37 dead, Lebanon's health ministry said on Saturday.

"The number of dead has risen to 37 people," a ministry statement said, adding that rubble was still being removed from the site of Friday afternoon's strike.

The Israeli military said on Friday it had opened an investigation after videos showed soldiers pushing what appear to be dead bodies off a roof in the occupied West Bank during a raid against Palestinian militants. The videos, which began circulating online Thursday, showed three soldiers on the roof of a building in the town of Qabatiya, dragging, pushing, throwing and in one case kicking what appear to be dead men off the edge. The Israeli military said the incident was serious and was not in keeping with its values.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of expanding the Gaza war to Lebanon, citing recent attacks, and urged Western nations to take "deterrent steps" against Israel. Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, Erdogan warned of a potential regional disaster if pressure on Israel is not increased. He emphasised the need for global efforts to halt Israeli actions and ensure humanitarian aid flows. Turkey, which has condemned Israel's retaliation against Hamas, has suspended trade with Israel and sought to join South Africa’s International Court of Justice case accusing Israel of genocide—charges Israel denies as baseless.

Lebanon's Hezbollah said it fired rockets at two military positions in northern Israel on Saturday, as the Israeli military said it was carrying out new strikes against Hezbollah targets.

In separate statements, the Iran-backed group said it fired "a salvo of Katyusha rockets" each at two Israeli barracks "in response" to Israeli attacks "on steadfast southern villages and civilian houses".

AFP correspondents reported heavy Israeli strikes in several areas of south Lebanon.

22 people have been killed after Israel targeted a school in the south of Gaza City, Gaza Health Ministry says.

At least 16 Hezbollah militants were eliminated in an Israeli strike in Beirut on Friday, an Israeli military spokesperson said on Saturday.

Cyprus's president called for restraint over escalating tensions in the Middle East in separate telephone conversations with the Lebanese and Israeli prime ministers on Saturday, his spokesperson said in a statement.

The east Mediterranean island is the closest European Union member state to the Middle East and has good relations with both Lebanon and Israel. Cyprus was ready to act as a conduit for diplomacy and facilitate contacts between the sides, said spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis.

There has been a sharp escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, a dominant force in Lebanon, since explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies killed 39 and maimed thousands of its members this week, and an Israeli airstrike on Friday killed 31 people, including 16 Hezbollah members.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides "expressed his strong concern" at escalating tension in the region in phone calls to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, said Letymbiotis.

"He underlined the need for an immediate end to actions that may lead to further destabilisation but also have wider regional effects," he said.

Christodoulides underscored the importance of solving disputes through dialogue and diplomacy, within the framework of UN resolutions and international law.

"To this end the president referred to the readiness of Cyprus to continue to be a conduit of such efforts, as well as contact between the sides on the basis of excellent relations with all countries in the region," said Letymbiotis. Earlier this year, Cyprus became a bridge in delivering badly-needed humanitarian aid into Israel-beseiged Gaza. It has also said it would assist in evacuating civilians from the region if tensions were to escalate.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in the Palestinian territory's largest city killed 17 people, while Israel's army said it was targeting Hamas militants.

"At least 17 martyrs, including eight children, and more than 30 injured, most of them children and women... following an Israeli rocket strike on Al-Zaytoun School C" in Gaza City, agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said, noting that thousands of displaced people had sought shelter at the school.

At least 13 Palestinians were killed by an Israeli strike that hit a school sheltering displaced people in southern Gaza City, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Saturday.

Several other people were wounded in a separate strike that hit a school in the same neighbourhood, Wafa added.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, condemned Israel's recent actions, accusing the country of committing "shameless crimes" against children rather than combatants.

Khamenei also urged Muslims to find "inner strength" to eliminate what he referred to as the "malignant cancerous tumor" in Palestine.

His remarks followed Friday’s Israeli airstrike on Beirut, which killed 31 people, including three children and seven women, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Lebanon's Health Minister, Firass Abiad, announced that the death toll from Friday's Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah military leaders in Beirut has risen to 31.

Among the dead are three children and seven women. The strike specifically hit a meeting of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force commanders, killing 16 of them.

The incident has further heightened tensions in the region as Israel continues its campaign against Hezbollah operatives.

The Israeli military announced the killing of Muhammad Mansour, a senior Hamas intelligence officer, in an airstrike on Gaza. Mansour was described as a key source of technological knowledge within Hamas's military intelligence.

The strike is part of broader IDF operations, with 20 targets hit in Gaza over the past day, including buildings and operatives tied to Hamas.

In southern Gaza’s Rafah, IDF’s 162nd Division continued operations, uncovering weapons and engaging gunmen.

Meanwhile, in central Gaza, reserve brigades from the 5th and 14th units were deployed under the 252nd Division, replacing the Jerusalem and Harel brigades.

Brett McGurk, the White House's Mideast czar, acknowledged that while the Biden administration has no sympathy for Hezbollah's commander Ibrahim Aqil—who was involved in the 1983 Beirut Embassy bombing—they are wary of the escalation risks posed by Israel’s actions.

Addressing the Israeli-American Council, McGurk noted concerns about Israel’s tactics, stressing that the US seeks a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon to prevent further conflict, while fully supporting Israel's right to defend itself.

Hamas has expressed grief over the death of Hezbollah’s senior commander, Ibrahim Aqil, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut. The Palestinian terror group condemned the act, calling it a “crime” and “folly” for which Israel will “pay the price.”

Aqil’s death marks a significant loss for Hezbollah and tensions in the region remain high following the strike.

"During the strike, senior operatives in Hezbollah's Operations Staff and commanders from the Radwan Unit were eliminated alongside Aqil. Ibrahim Aqil and the Radwan commanders who were eliminated today were planning Hezbollah’s “Conquer the Galilee” attack plan, in which Hezbollah intended to infiltrate Israeli communities and kidnap and murder innocent civilians in a similar manner to the October 7 Massacre," IDF said.

"The IDF will continue to remove the threat of Hezbollah's capabilities and will continue to operate in all arenas to protect Israeli civilians," it added.

Lebanon's Prime Minister has condemned a recent Israeli strike, asserting that it demonstrates Israel's disregard for humanitarian, legal, and moral principles. The statement came in response to an attack that the Prime Minister deemed unjustifiable.

In his remarks, the Prime Minister emphasized that "Israel 'gives no weight to any humanitarian, legal, or moral considerations'" when carrying out such actions

A source close to Hezbollah in Lebanon said an Israel air strike Friday killed one of its top military leaders, with Israel confirming it had carried out a "targeted strike" in Beirut.
Requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, the source said the Israeli strike on Hezbollah's stronghold in south Beirut killed the head of the group's elite Radwan unit, Ibrahim Aqil.

A total of three people were killed and 17 wounded, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Israel said it had conducted a "targeted strike" in Beirut, where a security official said an air strike had hit Hezbollah's stronghold in the south of the city.

The air strike is the third to hit the southern suburbs of Beirut since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, with the focus of the violence shifting dramatically this week from Gaza to Lebanon.

Strikes blamed on Israel killed a top commander of Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, in July, and a leader of allied Palestinian militant group Hamas, Saleh al-Aruri, in January.

Lebanon's Health Ministry says at least 3 killed, 17 wounded in Israeli strike on Beirut's suburbs.

A militant from Iraq's Hezbollah Brigades armed group was killed Friday in a strike targeting the pro-Iran faction in Syria, the group said, blaming Israel for the attack.
The group named the slain militant as Abu Haidar al-Khafaji and said he was working in Damascus as a security adviser to the government.

A Brigades member earlier told AFP that Khafaji was killed in a dawn strike on one of the group's premises that also wounded a second militant.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the death of a Brigades member but was unable to verify the strike itself.

Lebanon security official says Israel conducts air strike on Hezbollah south Beirut stronghold.

An initial investigation by Lebanese authorities has revealed that hand-held devices that exploded earlier this week were booby-trapped before entering the country, Lebanon's mission to the United Nations reported on Thursday. The devices, which included pagers and walkie-talkies, were rigged to detonate via emails and targeted users linked to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.

"Initial investigations showed that the targeted devices were professionally booby-trapped... before arriving in Lebanon, and were detonated by sending emails to the devices," said a letter from Lebanon's mission to the UN, seen by AFP.

The letter accused Israel of orchestrating the attacks, which killed 37 people and wounded nearly 3,000 over two days. The blasts triggered widespread panic across the country as the devices exploded in public places such as supermarkets, streets, and even funerals

. The attacks have been described as "unprecedented in their brutality," further destabilizing Lebanon and hampering diplomatic efforts to halt ongoing fighting between Israel and Gaza, as well as the clashes between Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces on Lebanon's southern border.

Bulgarian authorities said on Friday a company based in Sofia had nothing to do with the delivery of exploding communications devices to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies detonated across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 37 people, wounding nearly 3,000 and generating panic.

Hezbollah and several international media organisations have blamed Israel for sabotaging the electronic devices. Israel has not made any public comment.

"Following verifications, it has been indisputably established that no communication equipment corresponding to those that exploded on September 17 was imported, exported or manufactured in Bulgaria," the National Security Agency (SANS) said.

The SANS said on Thursday it had launched an investigation after Hungarian website Telex said Norta Global -- a company registered in Sofia by a Norwegian, had imported the devices and then delivered them to Hezbollah.

Israeli forces killed at least 14 Palestinians in tank and air strikes on north and central areas of the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said, as tanks advanced further into northwest Rafah near the border with Egypt.

The unrelenting fighting between the Israelis and Hamas militants in the enclave carried on even as a parallel conflict in the Lebanon-Israel border area involving Hamas' allies Hezbollah intensified.

Meanwhile some Palestinians displaced by the Israeli assault on Gaza said they feared their temporary beachside camp would be inundated by high waves.

Palestinian health officials said shelling by Israeli tanks killed eight people and wounded several others in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central area of Gaza, and six others were killed in an airstrike on a house in Gaza City.

In the northern town of Beit Hanoun, an Israeli strike on a car killed and wounded several Palestinians, medics said.

It was not clear how many of the casualties were combatants and how many were civilians.

The UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon urged de-escalation on Friday after a big increase in hostilities at the Lebanese-Israeli border, where Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire for almost a year.

The UNIFIL force had witnessed "a heavy intensification of the hostilities across the Blue Line" and throughout its area of operations, spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Reuters.

"We are concerned at the increased escalation across the Blue Line and urge all actors to immediately de-escalate," he said.

The Blue Line refers to the frontier between Lebanon and Israel.

Late on Thursday, Israeli warplanes carried out their most intense strikes on southern Lebanon of the conflict.

It followed attacks this week which blew up thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, killing at least 37 people and wounding thousands more.

The University of California board of regents approved Thursday additional non-lethal weapons requested by UCLA police, which handled some of the nation's largest student protests against the Israel-Hamas war.

Clashes between protesters and counterprotesters earlier this year on the campus led to more than a dozen injuries, and more than 200 people were arrested at a demonstration the next day.

The equipment UCLA police requested and the board approved included pepper balls and sponge rounds, projectile launchers and new drones. The board also signed off on equipment purchase requests for the nine other police departments on UC campuses.

Student protesters at the regents meeting were cleared from the room after yelling broke out when the agenda item was presented.

Faculty and students have criticized UCLA police for their use of non-lethal weapons in campus demonstrations, during which some protesters suffered injuries.

During public comment, UCLA student association representative Tommy Contreras said the equipment was used against peaceful protesters and demonstrators.

Two people from Taiwanese companies were questioned as part of a probe into pagers that exploded while being used by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, investigators said Friday, as top officials insisted the devices were not from the island.

Questions and speculation have swirled over where the devices came from and how they were supplied to the militant group after hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies detonated across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 37 people and wounding nearly 3,000.

The New York Times reported this week that Israel had inserted explosive material into a shipment of pagers from Taiwan's Gold Apollo, citing American and other anonymous officials.

But Gold Apollo head Hsu Ching-kuang denied producing the devices, pointing the finger instead at Hungary-based partner BAC Consulting KFT, which Gold Apollo had allowed to use its trademark.

cLocal media reported that the second person questioned was Wu Yu-jen, a representative connected to BAC Consulting KFT, who had set up a company based in Taipei called "Apollo Systems".

"Our country takes the case very seriously," said the prosecutors' office in Taipei's Shilin district in a statement Friday.

"We instructed the Investigation Bureau's national security station to further interview two people from Taiwanese companies as witnesses yesterday."

The two witnesses were allowed to leave after multiple rounds of questioning.

Israel lifted orders restricting movement and large gatherings issued on Thursday night for a number of communities in northern Israel and the Golan Heights, its military said on Friday.

The restrictions were ordered following the start of an intense wave of Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday afternoon which added to growing fears of a serious escalation in months of conflict along the border.

The University of California board of regents approved Thursday additional non-lethal weapons requested by UCLA police, which handled some of the nation's largest student protests against the Israel-Hamas war.
Clashes between protestors and counter-protestors earlier this year on the campus led to more than a dozen injuries, and more than 200 people were arrested at a demonstration the next day.

The equipment UCLA police requested and the board approved included pepper balls and sponge rounds, projectile launchers and new drones. The board also signed off on equipment purchase requests for the nine other police departments on UC campuses.

Student protesters at the regents meeting were cleared from the room after yelling broke out when the agenda item was presented.

Faculty and students have criticized UCLA police for their use of non-lethal weapons in campus demonstrations, during which some protesters suffered injuries.

During public comment, UCLA student association representative Tommy Contreras said the equipment was used against peaceful protestors and demonstrators.