Middle East latest: ‘Countdown has begun’: Israel warns new Hezbollah leader after spate of killings

But we’ll be back in the morning to follow the latest developments from the conflicts in the Middle East.

In the meantime, here’s a recap of what happened today:

Hezbollah appointed the group’s deputy secretary-general Sheikh Naim Kassem as its new leader;
Israel’s defence minister said the clock is ticking for Mr Kassem, warning “the countdown has begun”;
At least 93 people were killed in an Israeli strike on the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, with medics claiming at least 20 children were among the dead;
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller described that attack as a “horrifying incident with a horrifying result” and said officials have reached out to the Israeli government to find out what happened;
The US – a key ally – told Israel earlier this month to take steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza in 30 days or face potential restrictions on military aid – but Mr Miller said today the US has so far not seen enough progress;
At least 10 people were killed in an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Sarafand, its mayor has told Reuters news agency, with most of those killed being women and children;
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon have been deliberately targeted by Israeli forces in some cases, the body’s peacekeeping chief told Sky News.

Analysis: Could US threat reverse Israel’s UNRWA ban?

The prospect of the US halting military aid could make Israel reverse its decision to ban UN aid agency UNRWA, our correspondent Ivor Bennet has said.

As we’ve been reporting over the past day, the UN and international leaders – including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – have been critical of the measure, which is expected to severely restrict the relief group’s work in Gaza and the West Bank where access is controlled by Israel.

The UN’s humanitarian office warned it could amount to collective punishment – a significant phrase, Bennett said, as legally that could make the move a war crime.

Speaking on The World with Yalda Hakim, correspondent Ivor Bennett said outrage from the UN was to be expected to an extent, but the condemnation from Israel’s allies has been more telling.

UNRWA headquarters in Gaza

“The UK, along with the US, France and Germany, have all sought to put pressure on Israel to make it change its mind, but at the moment they’re not budging,” he said.

“What could make them potentially reverse this decision is the prospect of US military aid to Israel being halted as a result.

“That’s because, under US law, the country is prevented from sending any military aid to a nation that is denying humanitarian access.

“And today, the US warned that could happen as a result of this ban.”

US demands now ‘much harder’ to meet

The US told Israel on 13 October it must take steps within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on aid.

Earlier today, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said they have so far not seen enough progress on the points they set out.

Bennett added the ban on UNRWA makes it “much harder” for Israel to satisfy those US demands.

“And now this clock is ticking,” he added.

“It will be very interesting to see if this moves the dial at all with Israel.”
UN peacekeepers ‘deliberately targeted’ in some Israeli attacks

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have been deliberately targeted by Israeli forces in some cases, the body’s peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix has just told us.

UNIFIL forces have faced a series of Israeli attacks on its peacekeepers this month, with the Israeli government demanding they leave their positions in southern Lebanon.

Speaking on The World with Yalda Hakim, Mr Lacroix said “in some instances we’ve seen clear indication of deliberate attacks”.

“But I wouldn’t say that all attacks or all incidents have been deliberate,” he added.

“In a number of cases, we still have to investigate.”

Earlier today, Austria’s defence ministry said eight of its soldiers belonging to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon were hurt in a rocket strike in Naqoura, a city in southern Lebanon.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix

“In some of the cases, we don’t have firm elements that would absolutely point to deliberate attacks,” Mr Lacroix said.

“In some of the cases, yes, we do have those elements. I mean, recently, like a little less than a week ago, there was an observation post of UNIFIL, which was destroyed by a bulldozer there from the IDF.

“And we have a video. I mean, it was obviously a deliberate attack.”

UNRWA ban ‘extremely worrying’

Mr Lacroix also described Israel’s ban on UN aid agency UNRWA as “extremely worrying” as the group is “absolutely essential” to getting humanitarian assistance to Palestinian populations.

The decision by the parliament yesterday is expected to severely restrict the relief group’s work in Gaza and the West Bank where access is controlled by Israel.

“Therefore, essentially forbidding UNRWA, preventing UNRWA from operating and providing humanitarian assistance to these populations, particularly at this time, is really extremely worrying,” he said.
Israel bans new diplomatic missions from Jerusalem unless they’re embassies

Israeli media is reporting politicians have passed a bill forbidding the opening of new diplomatic missions in Jerusalem that aren’t embassies.

While Israel considers Jerusalem its capital and wants all embassies based there, most countries do not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the entire city and believe its status must be resolved in negotiations.

Palestinians want eastern Jerusalem to be the capital of an independent state, and under international law Israel is consider an occupying force there, having captured it in 1967.

Given the disagreement over its status, several countries, such as the UK, have located their embassies in Tel Aviv while maintaining a consulate – a smaller diplomatic mission that doesn’t host an ambassador – in Jerusalem.

Only five countries have an embassy in Jerusalem – the US, Papua New Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras and Kosovo.

But new legislation passed today stipulates no new consulates can be established there – though this doesn’t affect those already operating in the city.

Dan Illouz, one of the politicians sponsoring the bill, said in a statement cited by The Jerusalem Post: “Whoever questions [a unified] Jerusalem questions the very existence of the state of Israel, and we will not accept this.

“This law clarifies once and for all: Jerusalem is ours, and it is not for sale.”
‘Mostly women and children’ among 10 killed in Israeli strike

At least 10 people have been killed in an Israeli strike on a southern Lebanese town, its mayor has told Reuters news agency.

Most of those killed are women and children, Sarafand’s mayor added.
Five killed and more than 30 hurt in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon – health ministry

Five people have been killed in two Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry.

It said rescue efforts are ongoing in the coastal city of Sidon, where the ministry claimed 33 others have also been wounded.

Within hours, Lebanon’s state-run media reported a third strike targeted another building in the same neighbourhood.

The National News Agency said the first pair of strikes hit an area sheltering displaced people next to a Hezbollah complex called Sayyed Shohada, a few hundred metres from a Lebanese army barracks, which is not linked to the militant group.

The Israeli army gave no warnings ahead of the bombing.

Earlier today, the Israeli military had issued evacuation orders for 16 villages in south Lebanon.

The aftermath in Sidon
Lebanon’s fragile economy at risk as war continues

We reported earlier that Israel’s finance ministry has said the country’s economy has lost billions since the conflict with Hezbollah escalated (see our 4.51pm post).

Now analysis from a humanitarian group has forecast a severe economic impact in Lebanon.

Mercy Corps’s Lebanon Crisis Analysis Team reports the economy could contract by 12.81% – or $2.3bn (£1.77bn) – by January next year.

A report by the group claims agriculture in south Lebanon, which drives 80% of its economy, may come to a halt and factories face shutdowns.

The service sector, particularly tourism, could lose $1.25bn (£960m), potentially crippling a vital part of the economy.

The economic impact would be even worse, the group added, if Israel expands bombing to key infrastructure – costing the economy $3.93bn (£3bn), which is equivalent to 21.9% of Lebanon’s GDP, according to the report.

Lebanon was already enduring a five-year economic crisis and had just begun showing signs of recovery before the war erupted.
More than 80 killed in Lebanon in past 24 hours, country’s health ministry claims

Lebanon’s health ministry reports 82 people have been killed in the past 24 hours, with 180 others injured.

The latest figures take the total number of people killed in Israeli attacks to 2,792 since October last year.

Another 12,772 have been wounded, the ministry adds.

Smoke over southern Lebanon as the conflict continues
Deadly Israeli strike on Gaza town ‘horrifying’, US official says

More now on Israel’s air strike in northern Gaza, which the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry reports has left at least 93 people either killed or missing (see our 12.05pm post).

The US – Israel’s key ally – has described the attack in the town of Beit Lahiya as a “horrifying incident with a horrifying result” and said officials have reached out to the Israeli government to find out what happened.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller added he is aware of reports that children are among the dead.

He said officials have “made clear we want to know exactly what happened, how you could have a result that produces, according to reports, dozens of children dead, and we don’t yet know the answer to that question”.

“It is critically important… that Israel be mindful of achieving a larger strategic success, and that [Israel] be mindful of finding a way to end this campaign in a way that brings the hostages home, in a way that ensures their security, and not just continuing in an endless, perpetual conflict,” he added.

The US told Israel earlier this month to take steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza in 30 days or face potential restrictions on military aid.

But the US has so far not seen enough progress on the points they set out, Mr Miller said.

The UN Human Rights Office said it was “appalled” by the attack, calling for a prompt, transparent investigation into the circumstances.

Reuters news agency reports it has seen video footage showing several bodies in blankets outside a bombed four-storey building.

“There are tens of martyrs (dead), tens of displaced people were living in this house,” witness Ismail Ouaida, who was helping to recover bodies, said in the video.

“The house was bombed without prior warning. As you can see, martyrs are here and there, with body parts hanging on the walls.”

Yesterday, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said around 100,000 people are trapped in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun without food or medical supplies.

Those wounded in today’s strike could not receive care as doctors had been forced to evacuate the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, the territory’s health ministry claimed.
Hamas ‘open to any deal’ to end suffering in Gaza

A senior Hamas official has said the militant group is studying new proposals from mediators to end the Gaza war – but maintained any deal should include the Israeli military’s complete withdrawal from the enclave.

In a televised speech, Sami abu Zuhri added the Israel-led blockade must end, aid must be unrestricted and Israeli hostages swapped for Palestinian prisoners.

“The movement has confirmed it is open to any deal or ideas that ends the suffering of our people in Gaza and achieve a permanent ceasefire, and the occupation’s withdrawal from all of Gaza,” he said.

His remarks do not signal a change to the faction’s outstanding conditions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has maintained the war can only end when Hamas is eradicated.

Yesterday, he said discussions will continue “in the coming days” between mediators and Hamas to “examine the feasibility of talks and a continued attempt to advance a deal”.

Benjamin Netanyahu
In pictures: Destruction in Lebanon as people flee across border

As we reported this morning, Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 60 people were killed in Israeli strikes across the eastern Bekaa Valley – see our 7.23am post.

Pictures show damage around the region as fighting continues.

Meanwhile, people could be seen crossing the border into Syria to escape the bombardment.

Smoke over Khiam in southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border

Damage in the town of al Alaq, in the Bekaa Valley

A woman holding a child’s hand at the Masnaa border crossing
Broadcaster bans pundit after ‘beeper’ comment to pro-Palestinian journalist

A conservative commentator has been banned from appearing on US network CNN after making derogatory remarks to a pro-Palestinian journalist on live TV.

Ryan Girdusky told British-American broadcaster Mehdi Hasan: “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off.”

The comment was an apparent reference to the exploding communication devices that targeted members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The pair were part of a panel on CNN Newsnight with host Abby Phillip discussing controversial comments made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe on Sunday at a Donald Trump rally.

During the debate, Mr Hasan said he is used to being called an antisemite over his support of the Palestinian people – to which Mr Girdusky responded with the comment appearing to reference the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded thousands last month.

“Did you just say I should die? You just said I should be killed,” Mr Hasan said in response.

Read the full story here…
Israel’s economy has lost billions since Hezbollah conflict escalated

Israel’s conflict with Lebanon-based Hezbollah has affected its own economy, according to its finance ministry.

Since the fighting escalated last month, the ministry said Israel’s economy has lost about £2.9bn, while its economists estimate a growth of 0.4% in 2024 – down from a prior forecast of 1.9% in May.

In a report, the ministry said: “This scenario is no longer relevant since the fighting expanded starting at the end of September to the northern arena.”

The ministry previously believed intense fighting would continue through the first quarter of 2025, but its latest forecast expects the worst of the conflict to end in 2024.

Growth looks to be 4.3% in 2025, it said, as the economy starts to rebound.

But if fighting continues into 2025, growth this year would be 0.2% and 3.4% next year, the ministry added.
US rejects ‘any effort to starve Palestinians’

The US rejects “any effort to starve Palestinians” in Gaza, the country’s ambassador to the UN has said.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council that Israel’s words “must be matched by action on the ground”.

“Right now, that is not happening. This must change, immediately,” she added.

The US told its ally Israel on 13 October it must take steps within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on aid.

Yesterday, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service claimed about 100,000 people are in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza without medical or food supplies – though this figure has not been independently verified.

Mourners of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes

It comes as the World Food Programme today called for immediate action to avert famine in Gaza, warning the crisis could escalate amid aid restrictions.

“As the situation in northern Gaza continues to deteriorate, the likelihood of a larger group being impacted by famine will surely increase unless conditions on the ground improve,” WFP said.

The group also called for more crossing points to be opened.
UNRWA ‘not just few bad apples’ but a ‘whole rotten orchard’, Israel claims

UN aid agency UNRWA has been “exposed” over links with Hamas to the point where the organisation is not a “few bad apples” but a “whole rotten orchard”, an Israeli government spokesman has claimed.

The aid agency, which is responsible for more than five million Palestinian refugees, has come under repeated attack by Benjamin Netanyahu, who says it has links to Hamas and other militant groups.

As we’ve reported, new laws passed in Israel yesterday banned the agency from operating in the country – see our 6.39am post.

David Mencer

Speaking to presenter Jayne Secker, spokesman David Mencer said members of UNRWA took part in the massacre on 7 October last year, when around 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken back to Gaza as hostages by Hamas, according to Israeli tallies.

“UNRWA employees have become exposed as the terrorists themselves, not on a small scale, not a few bad apples, but a whole rotten orchard, actually,” he said.

“And also because UNRWA buildings have been used as a cover for rocket launching sites.”

He also claimed all the militants involved in the 7 October attacks were “graduates of the UNRWA education system”.

Pressed by Secker that this is because there are no other organisations providing schools in Gaza or the West Bank, he said UNRWA is a “huge problem”.

Ban is ‘totally wrong’

Secker also put to him the US, UK, Canada, Japan and several other European countries have all expressed concern at the move – with British foreign secretary David Lammy describing the measures as “totally wrong”.

But Mr Mencer claimed Hamas has “completely infiltrated” UNRWA and Gazans deserve better – insisting Israel will do all it can to get aid to “ordinary Gazans”.

“They deserve an organisation which does not seek their death, because Hamas are not upset that civilians are being killed,” he said.

“They only wish that ten times more have been killed. And we want more of this aid to go to the ordinary Gazans for a better future for them, and not to the Hamas terrorist organisation.”

More than 1.9 million Palestinians are displaced from their homes and Gaza faces widespread shortages of food, water and medicine.
Four Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, says IDF

Four Israeli soldiers were killed during fighting in northern Gaza today, Israel’s military has said.

The troops, all aged between 20-22, were from the same unit in the Israel Defence Forces.

Another solider was seriously wounded during fighting, the military added.
UN: Middle East at ‘most dangerous juncture’ in decades

The UN’s special coordinator for Middle East peace has warned the region is at its “most dangerous juncture”.

Tor Wennesland is speaking at today’s UN Security Council meeting.

“We have now entered the second year of this horrific conflict, and the region is on the verge of yet another serious escalation,” he said.

“The violence in the occupied Palestinian territory and wider region shows no signs of abating.”

Reuters
UNIFIL troops injured in Lebanon after rocket attack ‘likely by Hezbollah’

Eight Austrian soldiers belonging to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have been injured in a rocket attack near the Israeli border, Austria’s defence ministry says.

“We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and demand that it be investigated immediately,” the ministry said in a statement.

It added that it was not clear where the attack came from and that none of the soldiers needed urgent medical care.

UNIFIL said no one was seriously injured and that the rocket was fired from the north of its hea