Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
Israel has continued its attacks on Lebanon, with its military claiming to have hit dozens of Hezbollah targets in the past hours, a day after the Lebanese militant group confirmed its leader Hassan Nasrallah had been killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut.
Israel has killed hundreds of people, including children, in its attacks on Lebanon over the past week, which included the massive strike on a densely populated area of south Beirut that is believed to have killed Nasrallah on Friday and levelled several entire apartment blocks.
Iran vowed to avenge his death on Saturday, while US President Joe Biden said his killing provided a “measure of justice for his many victims”. Biden did not mention the many civilians killed by Israel, including children, in this week’s attacks.
Lebanon is to hold three days of official mourning for Nasrallah from Monday, according to the prime minister’s office. Hezbollah has yet to announce a date for his funeral.
In other developments:
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More than 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 6,000 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks in the past two weeks, the health ministry said, and about one million Lebanese people have been displaced by the strikes, including hundreds of thousands since Friday, Nasser Yassin, the minister coordinating the government’s crisis response, has told Reuters.
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The Lebanese ministry of public health reported last night that the Israeli attacks across Lebanon yesterday killed 33 people and injured 195 others, according to Wafa, the Palestinian news agency.
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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has confirmed the death of Brig Gen Abbas Nilforoushan, deputy commander of IRGC operations. He was killed in the Israel’s air strikes on Lebanon on Friday which also killed other senior Hezbollah figures, including the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah. In its statement mourning Nilforoushan’s killing, the IRGC condemned “crimes of the Zionist regime” in Lebanon and praised his role in defending the “resistance front” and Iran. It didn’t vow revenge against Israel.
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The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has said Lebanese people are the new target of “Israel’s policy of genocide, occupation and invasion.” The Turkish leader, who has been highly critical of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, said children were among Lebanese civilians who have been “murdered” by “brutal” Israeli strikes conducted on Lebanon this week.
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“By the grace and power of God, the blows struck by the Resistance Front on the worn-out, deteriorating body of the Zionist regime will become even more crushing,” said Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei about Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. He went on to add: “The foul-natured Zionist regime has not become victorious by carrying out this atrocity.”
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Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, commenting on the killing of Nasrallah, said on Sunday that what Iran terms “resistance groups” will continue to confront Israel with the help of Iran, according to Iranian state media. Iran has called for the UN security council to meet over Israel’s assault on Lebanon and across the region.
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Joe Biden ordered the Pentagon to enhance America’s defence posture in the region. He said: “The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups.”
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UN secretary general António Guterres said he is “gravely concerned by the dramatic escalation of the events in Beirut in the last 24 hours”. He went on to add: “This cycle of violence must stop now. All sides must step back from the brink.”
Key events
Israel says it has killed another senior Hezbollah figure
The Israeli military said it has killed senior Hezbollah figure Nabil Kaouk. Hezbollah has not yet confirmed this yet. We will bring you more information as soon as we get it.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it has launched an emergency operation to provide food for up to 1 million people affected by the conflict in Lebanon.
“Further escalation of the conflict this weekend underscores the need for urgent humanitarian response,” the WFP said in a post on X.
#Lebanon: WFP has been providing assistance from day one of the crisis.
Further escalation of the conflict this weekend underscores the need for urgent humanitarian response.
We call on the international community to mobilize resources & support for these critical operations.
— World Food Programme (@WFP) September 29, 2024
The WFP has operated in Lebanon for 10 years. Its says workers are dispatching food, hot meals, “ready-to-eat rations” and cash for civilians, including displaced people who have fled Israeli attacks and those staying in shelters.
At least 18 Palestinian people were detained by Israeli forces last night into Sunday morning in a series of raids across the occupied West Bank, Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, reports, citing sources.
The detentions were reported to have taken place in various locations, including Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus and Jenin. The total number of Palestinians detained in the occupied West Bank since 7 October 2023 is estimated to have risen to well over 10,000.
Human rights groups and international organisations have alleged widespread abuse of inmates detained by Israel in raids in the occupied West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of a future independent state along with Gaza.
China says it is “deeply concerned” and is “closely following” soaring tensions in the Middle East, after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in strikes on Lebanon.
“China is closely following this incident and deeply concerned about the escalation of tensions in the region,” Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry urged “all parties, particularly Israel, to take immediate steps to cool down the situation.” The ministry said it opposes any violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
The world’s second largest economy, China has recently stepped up its involvement in various crises. In July, it hosted talks between Palestinian rivals including Hamas and Fatah in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping helped broker a March 2023 deal to end a diplomatic rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran, leaving the US on the sidelines.
During the UN general assembly on Saturday, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, called for a cessation of fighting in the Middle East.
William Christou
William Christou has been reporting for the Guardian from Beirut
Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel continued through the night and early morning, with Israeli warplanes carrying out airstrikes across south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley.
Hezbollah launched a rocket salvo at the “Ofik base” using the group’s medium range Fadi-1 rockets, according to a statement on Sunday morning. It was not immediately clear if Hezbollah’s attacks resulted in any Israeli casualties.
Among those killed by Israel’s overnight airstrikes were four paramedics while they were working in their medical centre in Tair Dirba, south Lebanon, Lebanon’s national news agency reported on Sunday.
The day prior, Israeli strikes killed 33 people and injured 195, the country’s health ministry reported.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
Israel has continued its attacks on Lebanon, with its military claiming to have hit dozens of Hezbollah targets in the past hours, a day after the Lebanese militant group confirmed its leader Hassan Nasrallah had been killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut.
Israel has killed hundreds of people, including children, in its attacks on Lebanon over the past week, which included the massive strike on a densely populated area of south Beirut that is believed to have killed Nasrallah on Friday and levelled several entire apartment blocks.
Iran vowed to avenge his death on Saturday, while US President Joe Biden said his killing provided a “measure of justice for his many victims”. Biden did not mention the many civilians killed by Israel, including children, in this week’s attacks.
Lebanon is to hold three days of official mourning for Nasrallah from Monday, according to the prime minister’s office. Hezbollah has yet to announce a date for his funeral.
In other developments:
-
More than 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 6,000 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks in the past two weeks, the health ministry said, and about one million Lebanese people have been displaced by the strikes, including hundreds of thousands since Friday, Nasser Yassin, the minister coordinating the government’s crisis response, has told Reuters.
-
The Lebanese ministry of public health reported last night that the Israeli attacks across Lebanon yesterday killed 33 people and injured 195 others, according to Wafa, the Palestinian news agency.
-
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has confirmed the death of Brig Gen Abbas Nilforoushan, deputy commander of IRGC operations. He was killed in the Israel’s air strikes on Lebanon on Friday which also killed other senior Hezbollah figures, including the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah. In its statement mourning Nilforoushan’s killing, the IRGC condemned “crimes of the Zionist regime” in Lebanon and praised his role in defending the “resistance front” and Iran. It didn’t vow revenge against Israel.
-
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has said Lebanese people are the new target of “Israel’s policy of genocide, occupation and invasion.” The Turkish leader, who has been highly critical of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, said children were among Lebanese civilians who have been “murdered” by “brutal” Israeli strikes conducted on Lebanon this week.
-
“By the grace and power of God, the blows struck by the Resistance Front on the worn-out, deteriorating body of the Zionist regime will become even more crushing,” said Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei about Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. He went on to add: “The foul-natured Zionist regime has not become victorious by carrying out this atrocity.”
-
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, commenting on the killing of Nasrallah, said on Sunday that what Iran terms “resistance groups” will continue to confront Israel with the help of Iran, according to Iranian state media. Iran has called for the UN security council to meet over Israel’s assault on Lebanon and across the region.
-
Joe Biden ordered the Pentagon to enhance America’s defence posture in the region. He said: “The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups.”
-
UN secretary general António Guterres said he is “gravely concerned by the dramatic escalation of the events in Beirut in the last 24 hours”. He went on to add: “This cycle of violence must stop now. All sides must step back from the brink.”