23:00 A UNIFIL source tells CNN that Israel has breached its ceasefire agreement with Lebanon "approximately 100" times since the truce went into effect last Wednesday.
22:30 Lebanese official media reported multiple Israeli strikes on southern areas far from the border on Monday evening.
This came hours after Hezbollah claimed an attack on an Israeli position in south Lebanon, its first since the start of Israeli breaches of the 60-day truce on Wednesday.
"Enemy warplanes launched strikes... (on) the outskirts of the town of Jbaa," about 20 kilometres from the border, as well as the Deir al-Zahrani area, the National News Agency (NNA) said.
The NNA also reported a series of Israeli airstrikes close to two villages near Jbaa.
21:00 US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday warned Hamas of "massive repercussions" if its Israeli captives are not released by the time he takes office.
"If the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
20:30 Israel is using missiles in Gaza designed to explode and spread metal cubes that pierce blood vessels and nerves, causing death or paralysis, according to doctors who treated many wounded individuals in the strip.
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20:00 US officials told Axios on Monday that the Biden administration is expressing concerns about the sustainability of the 60-day truce between Israel and Lebanon, which was brokered by the US and France and took effect on Wednesday.
This comes amid repeated Israeli strikes on various towns in south Lebanon, which started on the first day of the truce.
It also comes as Hezbollah struck an Israeli position on Monday afternoon in the first response by the Lebanese group to Israeli breaches of the truce.
Earlier today, White House spokesperson John Kirby noted a "dramatic reduction in violence" and affirmed the ceasefire's overall hold.
US officials have privately warned that recent Israeli actions could provoke further escalation, reported Axios.
Israeli officials have indicated plans for a broader operation in southern Lebanon if hostilities resume, raising fears of a wider regional conflict, according to Axios.
19:30 Iraq armed forces are on high alert to maintain security on its borders and prevent any repeat of the 2014 extremist threat to the country as insurgents battle against the Syrian government across the border between the two countries.
Syrian insurgents led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which evolved from al-Qaeda's former branch in Syria, launched a two-pronged attack on Aleppo and moved into the countryside around Idlib and neighbouring Hama province.
Iraqi Major General Yahya Rasool, the spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, announced on Monday the deployment of "armoured units" from the Iraqi army towards the country's western borders in light of the attacks by armed factions in neighbouring Syria.
Iraq has placed all its military sectors on a state of emergency following the developments in Syria, accompanied by diplomatic efforts aimed at "keeping the country away from what is happening in Syria."
The Iraqi Ministry of Interior said that "the Iraqi-Syrian border is the most secure," affirming that "it cannot be breached."
"The situation cannot be compared to 2014," Iraqi Interior Ministry Spokesperson General Muqdad Miri said, referring to the fall of Iraq's city of Mosul into the hands of ISIS militants.
19:00 Hamas announced on Monday that 33 captives held in Gaza had been killed during the Israeli bombardment on the strip.
The Palestinian group added that other captives were unaccounted for.
In a statement directed at Israel, Hamas warned, "With the continuation of your crazy war, you could lose your hostages forever. Do what you have to do before it is too late."
18:00 Hezbollah claimed an attack on an Israeli position on Monday.
In a statement, the Lebanese group said it had targeted an Israeli position in the occupied hills of Kfar Shouba.
The Hezbollah attack on an Israeli position in south Lebanon comes after multiple Israeli violations of the 60-day truce deal that was brokered by the US and France and went into effect on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Israeli forces fired two artillery shells at the town of Beit Lif near Bint Jbeil in south Lebanon in their most recent breach of the truce.
Israeli soldiers also opened heavy machine gun fire toward the town of Yaroun, according to the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA).
17:30 The presidents of Russia and Iran on Monday pledged "unconditional support" to Syrian leader Bashar-al Assad amid a rebel offensive in the country's northwest, the Kremlin said.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian "expressed unconditional support for the actions of Syria's legitimate authorities to restore constitutional order and territorial sovereignty " in a phone call.
They also "emphasized the importance" of coordinating with Turkey, the Russian side said in its readout of the call.
17:00 The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Syria on Tuesday, following a lightning offensive by rebels who captured swathes of the country's north from government forces, diplomatic sources told AFP.
The Syrian government requested the meeting.
One of the sources added that three African members of the Council—Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Algeria—and Guyana backed the request.
16:00 France's foreign ministry said that Minister Jean-Noel Barrot stressed to his Israeli counterpart Minister Gideon Saar in a phone call "the need for all sides to respect the ceasefire in Lebanon" after several Israeli strikes hit Lebanon since the ceasefire started last Wednesday.
15:00 Several civilians were killed and others injured after Israeli airstrikes targeted a house in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, according to local reports.
The WAFA news agency, citing medical sources, reported that Israeli fighter jets struck a house near the Omari Mosque in Jabalia al-Balad.
In a separate incident, eight Palestinians were injured when a reconnaissance drone targeted the Halima Al-Sadia school, which was serving as a shelter for displaced individuals in Jabalia camp.
14:51 Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri accused Israel of violating the ceasefire with Lebanon after authorities said one person was killed and another wounded in Israeli strikes on Monday, the sixth day of the truce.
"The aggressive actions carried out by Israeli occupation forces... represent a flagrant violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement," Nabih Berri, who helped mediate the ceasefire on behalf of ally Hezbollah, said in a statement.
14:40 The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA ) chief Philippe Lazzarini says the agency “remains the backbone of humanitarian response” in Gaza.
In an address in Cairo, he called for “a robust international legal and political framework” to ensure the continuation of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“Without this, humanitarians, however selfless and courageous, cannot stay and deliver,” he added.
UNRWA says humanitarian aid reaching Gaza for the past year of war has been “nowhere near enough” for its 2.2 million population.
“While attacks continue, people, including children, are facing hunger, living in shelters and tents, and relying on humanitarian aid,” UNRWA said on X.
14:30 Turkey, which has supported some insurgent factions in Syria, rejected any suggestion that "foreign interference" was behind the offensive launched by jihadists in the country's north.
"It would be a mistake at this time to try to explain the events in Syria by any foreign interference," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, blaming instead an absence of dialogue between opposition groups and the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
14:15 Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has urged participants at the Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance Humanitarian Response in Gaza to make actionable financial pledges to support Gaza, warning that immediate relief is crucial to avert a worsening humanitarian catastrophe.
The high-level meeting gathered foreign ministers from 17 countries and high-ranking representatives of international organisations to address the urgent crisis in Gaza as millions face severe shortages of food, water, and medical supplies amid the continued brutal Israeli war.
At the meeting, he said that Egypt is prepared to facilitate the daily entry of substantial aid convoys into the besieged Gaza Strip, provided that field conditions ensure the safe delivery of supplies and the protection of relief agencies.
“We stress the urgent priority of an immediate Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, as well as from the Philadelphi Corridor."
14:00 The president of the International Criminal Court lashed out Monday against attacks on the court, which finds itself under the spotlight after issuing arrest warrants over wars in Gaza.
The ICC has faced criticism in some quarters after judges issued an arrest warrant last month for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister.
ICC judges said there were "reasonable grounds" to suspect the three men of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the Israeli military operation in Gaza.
File photo: ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane presents the Court’s annual report to the UN General Assembly. UN Photo
Addressing ICC members in the Hague, ICC President Tomoko Akane said the court faced "coercive measures, threats, pressure, and acts of sabotage."
"We are at a turning point in history... International law and international justice are under threat. So is the future of humanity," she added.
"The International Criminal Court will continue to carry out its lawful mandate, independently and impartially, without giving in to any outside interference," she pledged.
13:45 Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said the Israeli aggression on Gaza has surpassed all limits, stressing the necessity of Israel’s immediate withdrawal from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.
Abdelatty was speaking during the Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza, where the ongoing Israeli conflict has pushed the population to the brink of famine.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa (L) speaks during a humanitarian Aid to Gaza conference in Cairo. AFP
During the event, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed emphasised Israel is obstructing the arrival of humanitarian aid, leading to a growing famine in the strip.
She noted that Israel has prevented UNRWA employees from accessing the occupied Palestinian territories, hindering aid entry.
Mohammed highlighted the challenges humanitarian aid faces in reaching Palestinians, describing the situation as a clear violation of international law.
"We are doing our utmost to bring aid into Gaza, but we face many restrictions," she said.
"We stress the need to respect international law," she added.
13:15 A Hamas delegation discussed a ceasefire in Gaza with Egyptian intelligence officials, two officials from the Palestinian group told AFP.
The "delegation discussed ways to stop the war and aggression, bring in aid, and open the Rafah crossing" at Gaza's border with Egypt, said a senior Hamas official who was part of the Cairo meeting on Sunday evening.
A second Hamas official also present in Cairo told AFP that "Egypt, Qatar and Turkey are making great efforts to reach an agreement for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange".
"Our Palestinian people are waiting for American and international pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war and reach an agreement as happened in Lebanon," the official said.
13:00 In another violation of the ceasefire agreement, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said one person was killed in an Israeli drone strike that hit a motorcycle, shortly after the Lebanese army said that a soldier was wounded in an Israeli strike on a military bulldozer at an army base.
Since the ceasefire went into effect on Wednesday, Israel has struck several times in response to what it claims have been ceasefire violations by Hezbollah. Lebanon has accused Israel of violating the deal.
12:45 Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad said the insurgents' offensive in his country's north was an attempt to "redraw" the map of the region in remarks during a call with his Iranian counterpart.
"The terrorist escalation reflects the far-reaching goals of dividing the region and fragmenting the countries in it and redraw the map in line with the objectives of the United States and the West," Assad said, according to a statement from the Syrian presidency.
12:30 The United Nations said that Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world after more than a year of Israeli genocidal war on the Palestinian Strip.
"Gaza now has the highest number of children amputees per capita anywhere in the world -- many losing limbs and undergoing surgeries without even anaesthesia," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in remarks read out by his deputy at a Cairo conference aimed to accelerate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
12:15 The Israeli military said an Israeli American soldier who was believed to have been captured alive in the 7 October Hamas operation was killed that day, and his body was taken into the Gaza Strip.
Hamas is still holding around 100 captives inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead, according to AP.
The US Biden administration says it is making another push for a ceasefire and the release of the remaining captives after nearly a year of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas repeatedly stalled.
12:00 Iraq emphasized that the Syrian-Iraqi border is fully secured using "all available technical and human resources."
"The situation is incomparable to 2014", Iraqi Interior Ministry Spokesperson General Mikhail Miri, alongside Border Forces Commander General Mohamed Saker, said in a joint press conference.
The spokespersons also added that the Iraqi forces along the border do not require any external assistance.
General Miri emphasized ongoing coordination with the Syrian government to secure the border.
11:30 The Turkish secret service has killed a leader of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Syria, the state news agency said.
"The MIT neutralised Yasar Cekik, one of the leaders of the PKK/YPG, who was on the red list for those wanted for terrorism in the Tal Rifaat region," some 20 kilometres (12 miles) inside Syria, the Anadolu agency said.
Ankara said Cekik was an influential local leader of the Syrian Kurdish People's Defence Units (YPG), which it sees as an offshoot of the PKK, which has led a decades-long insurgency against Turkey.
Syrian militant groups supported by Turkey took the town of Tal Rifaat from Kurdish forces Sunday, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as part of the insurgents' offensive that took control of the country's second city, Aleppo, in a significant reverse for President Bashar al-Assad.
Tal Rifaat is located next to a strip of land long occupied by Turkey in northern Syria, from which it has launched operations against the Kurds.
The Observatory warned that around 200,000 Syrian Kurds in north Aleppo province have been "besieged by pro-Turkey factions."
11:15 The Kremlin said that it continued to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after insurgents last week wrested swathes in northern Syria from government control.
"We of course continue to support Bashar al-Assad and we continue contacts at the appropriate levels, we are analysing the situation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, adding that Russia would draw up a "position on what is necessary to stabilise the situation".
11:00 Warplanes belonging to the US-led International Coalition to defeat ISIS conducted airstrikes targeting areas under the control of the Syrian army and Iranian militias in Syria’s Deir El-Zor countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as reported by Al-Arabiya.
10:45 Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei announced that Damascus has requested that the presence of Iranian military advisers in Syria continue.
Baghaei also stated that Israel is the primary beneficiary of instability in Syria and the region.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei
"It might seem like a coincidence or an incidental event that terrorist groups resumed their activities immediately after the ceasefire was announced in Lebanon. However, if we look at the history of terrorism’s emergence in Syria since 2011 and 2012 and the suspicious ties between these groups and Israel, we cannot view these events as mere coincidences.", he told reporters.
Turkish media said Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in Ankara late Sunday, just hours after holding top-level talks in Damascus.
Officials said Araghchi was expected to meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday before talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Araghchi flew to Damascus on Sunday to deliver a message of support to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad after insurgents' advance in northern Syria, state media reported.
10:30 US Navy destroyers shot down seven missiles and drones fired by Yemen’s Houthi group at the warships and three American merchant vessels they were escorting through the Gulf of Aden. No damage or injuries were reported, according to AP.
US Central Command said late Sunday that the destroyers USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane shot down and destroyed three anti-ship ballistic missiles, three drones, and one anti-ship cruise missile. The merchant ships were not identified.
The Houthis claimed the attack in a statement and said they had targeted the US destroyers and "three supply ships belonging to the American army in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.”
10:15 The Lebanese Army reported that a soldier was injured when an Israeli drone targeted a military bulldozer in the Houche Al-Sayed Ali area in eastern Lebanon.
Earlier, the Lebanese Army announced it had begun carrying out its duties in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut, alongside bolstering its deployment south of the Litani River following the implementation of a ceasefire agreement.
The army said in a statement that its deployment actions aim to support the movement of displaced individuals, assist them in returning to their villages and towns, and ensure their safety and security.
Lebanese army soldiers man a checkpoint in southern Lebanon's Marjayoun area. AFP
10:05 China "supports Syria's efforts to maintain national security and stability."
"China is willing to make positive efforts to prevent further deterioration of the situation in Syria," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference.
9:50 Iranian-backed militias entered Syria overnight from Iraq and were heading to northern Syria to beef up beleaguered Syrian army forces battling insurgents, two Syrian army sources told Reuters.
Dozens of Iran-aligned Iraqi Hashd Al Shaabi fighters from Iraq also crossed into Syria through a military route near the Al Bukamal crossing, a senior Syrian army said.
"These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north," the officer said, adding the militias included Iraq's Katiab Hezbollah and Fatemiyoun groups.
9:20 A US-backed, Kurdish-led force in Syria is seeking to evacuate Kurds in parts of Aleppo to safe areas, its chief said, after pro-Turkey militants seized a town where tens of thousands of Kurds were living.
"We are actively coordinating with all relevant parties in Syria to ensure the safety of our people and facilitate their secure relocation... to our safe areas in the northeast of the country," Mazloum Abdi, head of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said.
Cars enter the northern Syrian town of Tal Rifaat. AFP
A Syria war monitor said late Sunday that around 200,000 Syrian Kurds were "besieged by pro-Turkey factions" who took over the city of Tal Rifaat and nearby villages.
Communications have been cut in Kurdish-majority areas, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
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