The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza -- particularly in the north of the strip -- and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called "precise strikes on military targets" in several locations in Iran following Tehran's Oct. 1 missile barrage.
At least 40 people have been killed in a fresh round of Israeli airstrikes in eastern Lebanon, according to Lebanese officials.
The Israel Defense Forces has described its airstrikes as "limited and localized," claiming that all targets are linked to the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Overnight strikes also caused several large explosions in the capital Beirut, including one which erupted close to the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Fire rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on Nov. 7, 2024.
Fadel Itani/AFP via Getty Images
Lebanese officials say the death toll from Israel's military operations has surpassed 3,000. Bombardments have been especially intense in Hezbollah-controlled southern and eastern Lebanon, and in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiya, which is also known as a stronghold for the group.
Lebanon's National News agency reported that at least 44,000 homes across the country have been destroyed since mid-September. Several videos have emerged of Israeli forces using explosives to demolish several villages and towns in the south of the country close to the Israeli border.
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti
Nov 07, 2024, 3:11 AM EST
IDF reports 110 strikes in Lebanon, Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday it struck more than 110 "terror targets" in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, as its intense military operations in both areas continue.
The IDF claimed to have killed around 60 Hezbollah fighters in strikes in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek and north of the Litani River.
A Hezbollah flag flutters at a site damaged in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the town of Al-Ain in the Baalbek region in Lebanon on Nov. 6, 2024.
Mohammed Yassin/Reuters
The IDF's operation in north Gaza continued, with the force claiming to have killed around 50 militants there over the past day. The focus is on the Jabalia and Beit Lahiya areas.
In Gaza's southern Rafah area, the IDF said its forces killed "a number of armed terrorists and dismantled terrorist infrastructure."
Nov 06, 2024, 4:10 AM EST
Israeli leaders congratulate Trump on election result
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top officials congratulated former President Donald Trump on a "huge victory" in Tuesday's presidential election.
Netanyahu wrote on X: "Congratulations on history's greatest comeback."
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night event, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
"Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America," Netanyahu added.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, newly-appointed Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also all offered their congratulations.
Nov 05, 2024, 1:21 PM EST
Netanyahu fires Defense Minister Gallant
Protests erupted in Tel Aviv after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and replaced him with current Minister of Foreign Affairs Yisrael Katz.
The prime minister and defense minister must have "complete trust" during war, and "over the past few months this trust has been cracked between me and the Minister of Defense," Netanyahu said in a statement.
Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, left, and Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, attend a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, Oct. 27, 2024, in Jerusalem.
Gil Cohen-Magen/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Netanyahu said he tried to bridge the gaps, but "they kept widening."
"They also came to the attention of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse, they came to the attention of the enemy - our enemies were pleased with this and benefited greatly from it," he said.
Netanyahu said Katz "has already proven his abilities and his contribution to national security as Minister of Foreign Affairs, as Minister of Finance, as Minister of Intelligence for five years, and no less important than that, as a member of the political-security cabinet for many years."
"He is known as a bulldozer in a combination of responsibility and firmness, quiet firmness," Netanyahu said.
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, H.E. Israel Katz speaks during the Security Council at the United Nations Headquarters, March 11, 2024, in New York.
John Lamparski/Getty Images, FILE
Families of hostages are critical of Netanyahu’s decision, saying it's "unfortunate proof of the Israeli government's poor prioritization."
"The dismissal of Defense Minister Gallant is a direct continuation of the 'efforts' to torpedo the hostage deal," the families said in a statement. "We demand that the incoming Defense Minister express an explicit commitment to ending the war and implementing a comprehensive deal to return all the hostages immediately."
Gallant said in a brief statement, "The security of the State of Israel was and will always remain the mission of my life."
On Tuesday, Gallant highlighted the three points he said led to his ousting: Gallant believes all Israelis should serve in the Israel Defense Forces while Netanyahu favors exemptions for Orthodox youth; Gallant wants to make compromises to return hostages from Gaza now; and Gallant wants an immediate state commission of inquiry to look into the events that led to Oct. 7.
