Israel Iran War Highlights: Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire; residents of over 20 towns in south Lebanon told to evacuate

Western nations have drafted contingency plans to evacuate citizens from Lebanon after a dramatic escalation in the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah, coupled with Iran’s missile attack on Israel on Tuesday.

No country has launched a large-scale military evacuation yet, though some are chartering aircraft as Beirut airport stays open.

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The United States has ordered dozens of troops deployed to Cyprus to help prepare for scenarios such as an evacuation of Americans from Lebanon. It is working with airlines to add flights out of Lebanon, with more seats for Americans, the State Department said on Tuesday.

(Read more about this Reuters report)

Smoke rises following an explosion over Beirut's southern suburbs after a strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, October 3, 2024. (REUTERS)

In its war with Gaza based Hamas militant group which is bound to get one year old, the Israeli military has targeted and destroyed residential buildings situated northwest of Nuseirat camp.

Al Jazeera in its report had earlier reported that the military has been striking the western part of Nuseirat refugee camp on an hourly basis.

The Israel-Gaza war began on October 7 last year when Hamas militants attacked Israel and killed at least 1,200 people and took close to 250 people hostage. In retaliation, Israel has eliminated over 40,000 Palestinian and the war is still ongoing.

The United Nations Security Council has expressed its full support for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and stated that it backs him as the UN chief was barred from entering Israel by the country’s foreign minister.

The 15-member council of the United Nations said in a statement that “any decision not to engage with the U.N. Secretary-General or the United Nations is counterproductive, especially in the context of escalating tensions in the Middle East.”

Though the statement did not name Israel directly, but such statements are unanimously agreed upon by a consensus, reported news agency Reuters.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov held a meeting with the Israeli envoy to Moscow Simona Halperin on Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said Bogdanov and Halperin discussed the situation in the Middle East, including Gaza and Lebanon, but provided no details.

(Reuters)

The Israeli military has issued an urgent warning to the residents of a building in Hadath neighborhood of southern Beirut and the next building which is adjacent to it.

The Israeli army’s spokesperson posted about the warning on X and said, “You are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which the [Israeli army] will operate in the near future.”

Israel has launched its ground incursion operation in Lebanon against the Iran backed Hezbollah militant group and its infrastructure and affiliates.

According to reports by Lebanon’s health ministry, in the last 24 hours, the Israeli airstrike has killed at least 37 people and wounded 151 others.

The fear of an imminent escalation of hostilities in the Middle East has risen as Iran earlier launched barrage of missiles on Israel and Israel launched its ground incursion operation in Lebanon to target Hezbollah militant group.

In a fresh round of airstrike by Israel’s defense forces against Hezbollah militant group, at least one strike hit near Beirut's international airport, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

A source in Lebanon's Ministry of Public Works and Transport told the Reuters news agency that the strike hit outside the perimeter of the international airport.

In a recent spate of attack on Lebanon based Hezbollah militant group, the Israeli forces have targeted the group’s media office and intelligence headquarters.

AFP news agency, quoting National News Agency reported that “Enemy aircraft launched three strikes on (Beirut’s) southern suburbs.”

The reports further suggested that the Israeli strikes targeted a building which housed Hezbollah’s media office but it was evacuated earlier.

The Israeli military has instructed Lebanese civilians in the vicinity of two buildings in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, to evacuate immediately in preparation for airstrikes.

Avichay Adraee, the spokesperson for the Israeli military, shared maps with the announcement, cautioning civilians to keep at least 500 metres away from the targeted sites.

Group of Seven (G7) leaders expressed their profound concern over the escalating crisis in the Middle East on Thursday, urging regional actors to "act responsibly" and exercise restraint while reaffirming their support for Israel's security.

"We, the Leaders of the G7, express deep concern over the deteriorating situation in the Middle East... We unequivocally reiterate our commitment to the security of Israel," stated a G7 communiqué released by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office.

The statement warned that a dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliation could lead to uncontrollable escalation in the region, which would serve no one’s interests. Therefore, the G7 leaders called on all regional players to act responsibly and with restraint. The G7 includes Britain, the United States, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, and Japan.

The Pentagon stated on Thursday that it is in discussions with Israeli officials regarding their potential response to Iran's missile attack earlier this week, although it refrained from providing further details on the talks.

"We are certainly talking to them about their response, but I won’t speculate further on what that response might be. However, we continue to engage with them," said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it "precisely struck several weapons production sites" and Hezbollah infrastructure locations in Beirut on Thursday.

The Israeli Air Force also targeted "Hezbollah intelligence sites in Beirut," including facilities used by intelligence operatives and command centres, as stated by the IDF.

"In advance of the strike, various measures were implemented to minimise the risk of civilian harm, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance," the statement added.

A Yazidi woman, kidnapped at the age of 11 by the Islamic State group in Iraq and later taken to Gaza, has been rescued after over a decade in captivity, according to officials from Israel, the US, and Iraq.

The Yazidis are a religious minority primarily residing in Iraq and Syria. In 2014, the Islamic State group attacked the Yazidi community in Sinjar, resulting in the massacre of thousands of men and the enslavement of women and girls.

The Israeli military reported that the now 21-year-old woman's captor in Gaza had been killed during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, likely due to an airstrike. Following this, the woman, identified as Fawzia Amin Sido, managed to flee to another location within Gaza.

Iran has issued a stern warning that it will consider Israeli infrastructure, as well as any nation that supports such an attack, as legitimate targets.

In a statement released by Iran's mission to the UN in New York, Iran declared:

"Should any country render assistance to the aggressor, it shall likewise be deemed an accomplice and a legitimate target. We advise countries to refrain from entangling themselves in the conflict between the Israeli regime and Iran and to distance themselves from the fray."

Iran further emphasised that no messages will be sent to "aggressors" except via Swiss diplomats, the designated channel for communicating with the US. This followed claims that Iran had been using Qatar as an intermediary with the US.

The Israeli military announced it intercepted a drone in the south of the country, with no injuries reported.

"A short time ago, the Air Force intercepted an unmanned aircraft in the south of the country. There are no casualties," the Israeli Air Force (IAF) said on X.

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief said on Thursday that 28 healthcare workers had been killed over the past 24 hours in Lebanon, where Israel has launched airstrikes and sent troops to fight Hezbollah in an escalating conflict.

"Many (other) health workers are not reporting to duty and fled the areas where they work due to bombardments," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online press briefing. "This is severely limiting the provision of mass trauma management and continuity of health services," he said, as quoted by Reuters.

The global health agency will not be able to deliver a large planned shipment of trauma and medical supplies to the country on Friday due to flight restrictions, he added

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group said on Thursday it targeted Israel's "Sakhnin base" for military industries in Haifa Bay with a salvo of rockets, news agency Reuters reported.

Ministers from Gulf Arab states and Iran attending a meeting on Thursday of Asian nations hosted by Qatar have discussed de-escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran, news agency Reuters reported, quoting sources.

The Gulf Arab states sought to reassure Iran of their neutrality in the conflict on the back of concerns that a wider escalation in violence could threaten Gulf oil facilities.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) announced that one of its strikes in was aimed at “targets belonging to Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters in Beirut, including terror operatives belonging to the unit.”

"Air Force fighter jets under the intelligence direction of the Intelligence Division, attacked targets of the intelligence headquarters of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Beirut, including the unit's operatives, collection means, headquarters, and other infrastructure," IAF said on X.

As the conflict in West Asia enters a new and unstable phase, with Iran launching a barrage of missiles on Israel overnight, both global and Indian traders are bracing for a prolonged disruption in trade, as the vital Red Sea shipping route may remain inaccessible to global shipping lines for a much longer duration than previously anticipated, potentially keeping freight rates uncomfortably high.

A major escalation of the year-long conflict in West Asia has emerged after Israel, having seemingly concluded its military operation against Hamas in Gaza, shifted its focus to the larger and more powerful Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, by launching a military operation in Lebanon. This followed dramatic explosions involving pagers and walkie-talkies targeting Hezbollah members, as well as the assassination of its long-time leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

The widening of the conflict has increased the risk of trade disruptions, as Hezbollah shares close ties with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are responsible for the majority of the attacks on ships traversing the Red Sea route. The escalation of conflict comes after Indian exporters began feeling the impact of the Red Sea shipping route crisis, with exports in August falling by as much as 9 per cent.

Read Ravi Dutta Mishra's report here

Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, has cancelled all Iraq, Iran, and Jordan flights for three days over "regional unrest."

"Emirates is cancelling all regular flights to/from Iraq (Basra and Baghdad), Iran (Tehran), and Jordan (Amman) on 4th and 5th October due to regional unrest," the airline said in a statement. The Dubai-based airlines also halted services to the destinations on Thursday.

Last week, the Emirates had announced cancellations between Dubai and Beirut until at least October 8.

Lebanon's transport minister Ali Hamieh said on Thursday that all border crossings were under government monitoring after Israel accused Hezbollah of smuggling weapons from Syria through the Masnaa border crossing.

Iran views the Group of Seven (G7) condemnation of its attack on Israel as "biased and irresponsible," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a statement on Thursday.

Iran launched more than 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday in what it said was retaliation for the killings of militant leaders and aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.

In a statement on Wednesday, the G7 leaders condemned Tehran's attack, expressing "strong concern" over the crisis in the Middle East, adding that a diplomatic solution was still viable and a region-wide conflict was in no one's interest.

(With inputs from Reuters)

The Lebanese army said on Thursday that another soldier was killed in an Israeli strike on a military post in Bint Jbeil area of southern Lebanon, adding that soldiers fired back at the sources of the fire.

It is the first time the army has fired back at Israeli forces since the conflict began a year ago, Reuters reported, quoting sources.

Earlier, one soldier was killed and another injured in an Israeli strike while carrying out an evacuation and rescue operation with the Lebanese Red Cross in the Taybeh, a border village in the south.

A total of 1,974 people have been killed, including 127 children, and 9,384 injured since the start of the Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the last year, the country's health minister Firass Abiad said on Thursday, news agency Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, Israel's military has killed at least 41,788 Palestinians and wounded 96,794 since October 7, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Thursday, news agency Reuters reported.

Israeli Air Force (IAF) confirmed ongoing attacks in the central Gaza Strip in an X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.

"In the last three months, over 450 terrorists were eliminated in airstrikes directed by the forces of the 252nd Division, and in face-to-face encounters. In addition, hundreds of terrorist infrastructures were destroyed in the area," the IAF said.

In a statement, Lebanon's Hezbollah announced it detonated a bomb against an Israeli force infiltrating Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon

Russia has started evacuating its citizens from Lebanon, with a special flight departing Beirut on Thursday carrying the families of Russian diplomats.

About 60 people will arrive in Russia from Lebanon on Thursday, Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov’s ministry said.

"The evacuation is carried out on the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin," the ministry said, as quoted by the news agency Reuters.

The Lebanese army said on Thursday that one soldier was killed and another injured in an Israeli strike while carrying out an evacuation and rescue operation with the Lebanese Red Cross in the Taybeh, a border village in southern Lebanon.