Live

Israel-Gaza-Lebanon updates: Israel planning limited ground operation in Lebanon

The operation could begin "immediately," according to a senior U.S. official.

Last Updated: September 30, 2024, 5:53 AM EDT

Israel is firing strikes into Lebanon as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies.

Israel believes it has eliminated around 30 top Hezbollah leaders over the last several weeks, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday, U.S. and Israeli officials said.

5:53 AM EDT

Hezbollah deputy gives first statement since Nasrallah assassination

Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's deputy secretary general, addressed followers Monday in the first leadership statement since Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday.

Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's deputy secretary general, delivers an address from an unknown location on Sept. 30, 2024, days after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Al Manar Tv/via Reuters

"The mujahadeen will continue," Qassem said of the militant group's fighters, their work informed by "what [Nasrallah] designed."

Qassem did not announce a replacement for Nasrallah, but said Hezbollah's next leader will be chosen "sooner rather than later."

Details of Nasrallah's funeral are still unconfirmed. A three-day mourning period in Lebanon began on Monday.

-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti

Sep 29, 2024, 9:19 PM EDT

IDF confirms new attacks on Hezbollah targets

The Israel Defense Forces said it carried out an operation against more Hezbollah targets early Monday morning local time.

The Israeli Air Force attacked targets in the Bekaa region of Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement.

Targets included launchers and buildings where the IDF said weapons were held.

The Israeli Air Force also attacked what it said were military buildings in southern Lebanon.

-ABC News Will Gretsky

Sep 29, 2024, 5:51 PM EDT

At least 105 people killed Sunday in Lebanon: Ministry of Health

The death toll in Lebanon as a result of Israeli airstrikes Sunday rose to 105, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Nearly 360 individuals were wounded in the strikes, the ministry reported.

The strikes occurred in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa, Baalbek-Hermel and the southern suburbs of Beirut (Dahieh), according to the ministry.

Sep 29, 2024, 5:19 PM EDT

Netanyahu announces former rival Gideon Sa'ar joined Israeli cabinet

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed opposition lawmaker Gideon Sa'ar to rejoin his cabinet, the politicians announced in a joint statement Sunday.

Sa'ar will serve in the Security Cabinet, according to Netanyahu.

"I appreciate the fact that Gideon Sa'ar responded to my request and agreed today to return to the government," Netanyahu said, noting how the leaders have put aside their disagreements.

"We will work together, and I intend to use him in the forums that influence the conduct of the war," Netanyahu added.

Sa'ar was once a member of Netanyahu's Likud Party but defected after an unsuccessful bid for party leadership. He formed his own party in 2020 called New Hope.

"I am joining the government at this stage without a coalition agreement - but with an orderly worldview and with a strong patriotic attitude for our people," Sa'ar said in the joint statement.

Related Topics