23:10 Israel's military said Sunday it has fired on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours, days into a fragile ceasefire between it and the group.
The military claimed in a statement that it acted to "remove threats" that violated "the ceasefire agreement conditions".
Among the incidents, the army claimed it identified "several armed terrorists adjacent to a church in southern Lebanon that was actively used by" Hezbollah on Saturday.
Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported "the continued violation of the ceasefire" in south Lebanon by Israeli forces on Sunday.
It reported a series of incidents, among them that "enemy warplanes launched a strike" early Sunday targeting the border village of Yarun.
It also said Israeli forces shelled several locations, including the town of Khiam and the outskirts of Aitarun, and reported "enemy automatic weapons fire" elsewhere.
23:00 The Russian military said Sunday it was helping the Syrian army "repel" rebel forces in three northern provinces, as it seeks to support the government led by Moscow ally Bashar al-Assad.
"The Syrian Arab Army, with the assistance of the Russian Aerospace Forces, is continuing its operation to repel terrorist aggression in the provinces of Idlib, Hama and Aleppo," the Russian military said in a briefing on its website.
22:00 Israel has no excuse for hampering the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, a top German diplomat said on Sunday ahead of a conference in Cairo on the subject next week.
The country must "at last keep its promises to fluidify humanitarian aid into Gaza and to allow sufficient humanitarian access at any moment", said Tobias Lindner, the deputy foreign affairs minister, in a statement published ahead of his trip to Egypt.
"There is no excuse for that. Israel's right to legitimate self-defence finds its limits in international humanitarian rights."
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said something similar in November, accusing Israel of "constantly" reneging on its commitments.
The UN agency that deals with Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, on Sunday announced it was suspending the delivery of indispensable aid into Gaza through a key crossing point because the situation had become "impossible".
21:20 A spokesman for Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Sunday that the group conducted a "qualitative operation" targeting a U.S. destroyer and three of its supply ships in the Gulf of Aden.
In a statement, the group claimed to have used 16 ballistic missiles, one cruise missile, and a drone in the operation, describing it as a multifaceted attack that achieved precise hits in both the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
20:30 At least 10 Palestinians were killed, and others injured, with several reported missing, after Israeli airstrikes targeted a house in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on Sunday evening, local reports said.
Citing medical sources, the WAFA news agency reported that the airstrikes hit a residential area in the Beit Lahia project zone, causing significant casualties and destruction. Emergency crews continued to search for victims in the rubble late into the night.
In other parts of Gaza, Israeli forces reportedly demolished residential buildings near Awad Tower in Rafah, in the south, while artillery strikes targeted the Saftawi area north of Gaza City.
20:00 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad emphasised the importance of allies during a meeting Sunday with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, as Damascus faces a major rebel offensive in the country's north.
Assad emphasised "the importance of the support of allies and friends in confronting foreign-backed terrorist attacks", a statement from the presidency said after the meeting with the envoy from key ally Tehran.
19:00 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sat down in Damascus on Sunday with President Bashar al-Assad, Iranian state media said, in the Syrian leader's first meeting since a shock rebel offensive on Aleppo.
Araghchi and Assad "discussed bilateral relations and regional developments" during the meeting, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported, without providing further details.
18:00 Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied factions have imposed a curfew in Aleppo from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Al Arabiya reported.
17:30 Hamas' armed wing said its fighters struck an Israeli Merkava tank with a "Shawaz device," killing its occupants.
The group stated the incident occurred on Saturday in northern Gaza City, according to a message on its Telegram channel.
17:00 Four Palestinians, including children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting eastern Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Quds News Network reported.
16:30 The White House is pursuing a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza but has yet to reach an agreement, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.
"We are working actively to try to make it happen. We are engaged deeply with the key players in the region, and there is activity even today," Sullivan told NBC, according to a transcript released by the broadcaster.
"There will be further conversations and consultations, and our hope is that we can generate a ceasefire and hostage deal, but we're not there yet," he added.
16:00 The Palestinian health ministry said four people were killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, following an Israeli military strike in the Jenin area.
The ministry said in a statement that four people were killed "due to the Israeli occupation's aggression on the village of Siir in the Jenin district."
15: 22 Houthi group in Yemen said it targeted the Jaffa area in Israel with a hypersonic ballistic missile.
"We targeted a vital site in the Jaffa area and struck it accurately.", the military spokesperson for the Houthi group said.
"We will continue to escalate our military operations with missiles and drones in support of Gaza and the West Bank," he added.
15:14 The Syrian military rushed in reinforcements Sunday to push back insurgents from advancing farther into the northern Hama countryside after they seized Aleppo and surrounding strategic locations in an adjacent province in a surprise offensive.
The insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took over most of Aleppo on Saturday and claimed to have entered the city of Hama.
There was no independent confirmation of their claim. Rebel commander Col. Hassan Abdulghani said separately the insurgents also took control of Sheikh Najjar, also known as the Aleppo Industrial City, northeast of the city, Aleppo’s military academy and the field artillery college to the southwest.
Syrian state television said government forces had killed nearly 1,000 insurgents over the past three days.
Government airstrikes overnight in Idlib city killed four civilians and wounded 54 others, according to the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets.
According to Syrian state news agency SANA and a war monitor, the army overnight pushed back insurgents in the northern countryside of Hama province.
Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that government reinforcements created a “strong defensive line” in the northern Hama countryside.
The observatory and Syrian state news network Al-Ikhbariyah also reported Russian airstrikes, both in Idlib and some of the areas now under rebel control.
Anti-government fighters drive down a road in Maaret al-Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. AFP
14:50 Speaking at the opening of the 45th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Kuwait, the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, reiterated condemnation of the brutal Israeli occupation and the genocide it is committing in the Gaza Strip.
"We call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the swift delivery of humanitarian aid.", Kuwait's Emir said.
He also condemned Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, and stressed the support for the efforts by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
14:43 Jordan's King Abdullah II affirmed his country's support for Syria.
"Jordan stands by the brothers in Syria and its territorial integrity, sovereignty and stability," the king said in a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
14:12 The Israeli army has committed six massacres in Gaza in the past 24 hours, killing 47 people and injuring 108 others.
The total death toll from the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has risen to 44,429 people, along with 105,250 people injured since 7 October, 2023.
14:00 Pope Frances called on Lebanese politicians to urgently elect a new president, with a view of restoring normal government functions in the country.
"I address an urgent invitation to all Lebanese politicians to elect the president of the republic immediately," the pontiff said at Saint Peter's Square at the end of Sunday Angelus prayer.
Women mourn over the bodies of members of the Palestinian Akasha family, killed in an Israeli strike on the Sheikh Adwan neighbourhood north of Gaza City. AFP
13:24 The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has halted the delivery of aid through the Karm Abou Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing between Israel and Gaza because of security concerns, its chief said Sunday."We are pausing the delivery of aid through Kerem Shalom, the main crossing point for humanitarian aid into Gaza. The road out of this crossing has not been safe for months. On 16 November, a large convoy of aid trucks was stolen by armed gangs," UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X.
"Yesterday, we tried to bring in a few food trucks on the same route. They were all taken," he added, warning hunger was "rapidly deepening" in Gaza.
Lazzarini listed how the humanitarian operation had become "unnecessarily impossible" due to "the ongoing siege, hurdles from Israeli authorities, political decisions to restrict the amounts of aid, lack of safety on aid routes and targeting of local police".
He called on Israel to ensure aid flowed to Gaza and said the country "must refrain from attacks on humanitarian workers".
This follows an Israeli strike on Saturday that killed three contractors of the US charity World Central Kitchen.
Lazzarini reiterated his call for a ceasefire "that would also secure the delivery of safe and uninterrupted aid to people in need".
13:00 Hamas denounced extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's decision to confiscate loudspeakers from mosques in Arab towns in Israel as a "crime and an assault on freedom of worship."
Hamas called on the Palestinian citizens to reject this decision.
On Saturday, Ben-Gvir issued instructions to the police to confiscate loudspeakers from mosques, particularly in mixed cities (inhabited by both Arabs and Jews), claiming that they "disturb local residents."
The Israeli extremist wrote in a post on X: "I am proud to lead a policy aimed at reducing the unreasonable noise caused by mosque loudspeakers, which have become a nuisance for Israeli residents," as he claims. 11:39 "Nearly 100 martyrs were killed in the Gaza Strip within 24 hours due to the ongoing Israeli bombing of homes and civilian gatherings," the Civil Defence Agency said in a statement.
Israel is intensifying its attacks on civilian homes and gatherings, the agency added. The spokesman noted that the largest loss of life occurred in the bombing of a house belonging to the al-Araj family in the Tal al-Zaatar neighborhood, which sheltered more than 40 people.
The statement also highlighted that "Until now, Civil Defence crews have been prevented from carrying out their duties in northern Gaza, leaving hundreds of citizens trapped under the rubble."
Palestinians and rescuers search the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli strike on the Shujaiyah neighbourhood in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip. AFP
11:23 France issued a stern warning about the fragile ceasefire agreement signed last week to end the Israeli war on Lebanon, citing multiple violations by Israel. Paris reported 52 breaches of the ceasefire by the Israeli army that also killed three Lebanese civilians.
The French government also highlighted the continuation of Israeli drone flights at low altitudes over Beirut, a direct breach of the ceasefire terms. Furthermore, France expressed concern that Israel had not engaged with the international commission tasked with ensuring compliance with the agreement.
11:12 Hardcore Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he is "working hard with the Prime Minister to encourage migration from Gaza."
The extremist Israeli official added that he started to notice his openness regarding this issue."
“Ideas like settlement in Gaza are welcome,” he told the Israeli Army Radio. “But that doesn’t satisfy me. I also want to encourage emigration [of Palestinians from Gaza].”
10:39 In an official statement, the White House claimed it has nothing to do with the ongoing Tahrir Al-Sham-led offensive in Syria.
US National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said that the US has nothing to do with this offensive, which is led by "a designated terrorist organization."
Washington "is closely monitoring the situation in Syria," he added while blaming President Bashar Al-Assad for "the collapse" of the state lines in northwest Syria.
10:02 In a social media post, Israel has once again cautioned residents of ten southern Lebanese villages against returning to their homes. The warning comes even as a ceasefire agreement remains in effect.
09:41 Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi is expected in Damascus, Syria’s state news agency reported.
Araghchi said he will leave Tehran for Damascus to deliver a message of support for Syria’s government and armed forces, state media said, after a lighting advance by militants.
“I am going to Damascus to convey the message of the Islamic Republic to the Syrian government,” Araghchi said, emphasising Tehran will “firmly support the Syrian government and army,” the IRNA state news agency reported.
On Saturday, Araghchi spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the “dangerous escalation” and reiterated support for Syria’s sovereignty, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Syrian rebel fighters are advancing southward toward Hama after seizing control of most of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, posing the most serious challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years.
The rapid assault over the weekend is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist rebel group based in Idlib province in northwestern Syria. Government forces, supported by Russia and Iran, appeared to have withdrawn from some areas. Images from Aleppo and a military base in Idlib showed several Syrian army soldiers captured.
09:19 Two Palestinians kidnapped from the Gaza Strip, Mohammad Abdul-Rahman Idris, 35, and Moath Khaled Rayan, 31, have died in Israeli custody under circumstances described as mysterious by prisoner advocacy organizations, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
In a joint statement, the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), and the Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights reported that Idris’s death was confirmed on 29 November, by the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority. He reportedly passed away in Ofer prison.
Rayan’s death was revealed after inquiries to the Israeli army about his condition confirmed he died on 2 November. However, no details about the circumstances surrounding his death have been disclosed.
According to the statement, Idris had no known health issues before his 25 August detention.
Meanwhile, Rayan, who was paralyzed prior to his detention on 21 October, reportedly suffered from severe health complications during his imprisonment.
Advocacy groups condemned what they described as systematic abuse and medical negligence within Israeli prisons, citing torture, deprivation, medical crimes, and various forms of physical and sexual abuse as part of the inhumane treatment faced by Palestinian detainees.
The statement underscored the increasing number of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli custody due to prolonged mistreatment. It warned that the dire conditions in Israeli prisons, particularly for sick and injured detainees, could lead to more deaths.
The organizations also highlighted the ongoing practice of enforced disappearances of detainees, particularly from Gaza, in Israeli military camps, calling for immediate international intervention.
The number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails exceeds 10,200, with many detainees suffering from serious medical conditions and receiving inadequate care. Among them are over 90 women and more than 270 children.
09:00 Seven Palestinians were killed, including two children, and several others injured early Sunday in Israeli airstrikes across central and southern Gaza, according to local and medical sources, reported by WAFA.
The sources said that two children from the same family were killed and others injured when Israeli warplanes targeted a tent sheltering displaced people southwest of the Al-Mawasi, an area the Israeli army had allegedly designated as a safe zone southwest of Khan Younis.
In Rafah, also in the south, four Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on the Al-Shabura refugee camp. Many of the victims were displaced residents who had fled their homes after Israeli army vehicles invaded the city.
These residents, forced to live in makeshift tents on the city’s outskirts, had returned to the rubble of their homes in search of food and clothing. While some managed to return to their temporary shelters, others were killed in the ongoing airstrikes.
Additionally, a Palestinian was killed when Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the Al-Mufti area, north of the Nuseirat refugee camp.
woman mourns over the bodies of members of the Palestinian Akasha family, killed in an Israeli strike on the Sheikh Adwan neighbourhood north of Gaza City. AFP
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