Live: Three journalists killed in 'deliberate' strike on southeast Lebanon

25/10/2024 - 11:46

Lebanon PM condemns Israel's 'deliberate' targeting of journalists

Lebanon's prime minister accused Israel of intentionally targeting journalists after a strike in the country's south on Friday killed three media workers, in what he called a "war crime".

"The new Israeli aggression targeting journalists" was among the "war crimes committed by the Israeli enemy", Najib Mikati said in a statement, adding the attack was "deliberate" and "aims to terrorise the media to cover up crimes and destruction".

25/10/2024 - 11:37

Israel must stop 'ethnic cleansing', Jordan foreign minister tells Blinken

Jordan's foreign minister on Friday called for pressure on Israel to end "ethnic cleansing", in strong remarks as he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London.

Deploring the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, Ayman Safadi told Blinken: "We do see ethnic cleansing taking place, and that has got to stop."

25/10/2024 - 11:35

'Real sense of urgency' to reach diplomatic resolution in Lebanon, says Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday there was a real sense of urgency to reach a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon following Israel's military operations in the country.

"We have a sense of real urgency in getting to a diplomatic resolution and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, such that there can be real security along border between Israel and Lebanon," Blinken said in London.

He said it was important so "people at both sides of the border can have the confidence to be able to return to their homes".

25/10/2024 - 11:33

Lebanon says 163 rescuers, health workers killed in year of Israeli strikes

Lebanon's health minister said on Friday that more than 160 rescuers and health workers had been killed in Israeli strikes, during more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

"The total number of rescuers and health sector workers killed has so far has reached 163, with 272 others wounded," Firass Abiad told reporters during a press conference detailing "damage caused by Israeli attacks on the health sector in Lebanon".

25/10/2024 - 11:13

Israeli army says it has intercepted drone approaching from Syria

Israel's military on Friday said its air force intercepted a drone that entered the country's north from the direction of Syria.

"Following the sirens that sounded between 11:08 and 11:17 in the Upper Galilee area and southern Golan Heights," the air force intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle "that crossed into Israel from the direction of Syria", the military said in a statement.

25/10/2024 - 11:13

Education on hold as Lebanon’s schools turned into shelters for displaced

Hundreds of thousands of students in Lebanon have been left unable to access education as public schools have been turned in to shelters for those fleeing the conflict.

FRANCE 24's Rawad Taha reports from Beirut. 

25/10/2024 - 11:04

EU says 'race against time' to avoid Lebanon 'conflagration'

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Friday said the international community must speed up efforts for a political solution to end the fighting in Lebanon and prevent a "conflagration".

In a statement released the day after a conference on aid for Lebanon in France, Borrell said the first step needed was a "ceasefire" between Israel and Hezbollah. 

"We are currently engaged in a race against time between the possible start of a political process in Lebanon and a generalised conflagration with incalculable consequences," Borrell said.

"Without a suspension of hostilities, nothing will be possible," he said. 

25/10/2024 - 09:44

Israeli army says five soldiers killed in south Lebanon

The Israeli army said on Friday that five soldiers were killed and two others seriously wounded in fighting in southern Lebanon.

The soldiers "fell during combat in southern Lebanon" the previous day, the army said in a statement, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon to 32 since the start of the ground operation on September 30.

25/10/2024 - 09:24

Gaza rescuers say at least 20 killed in Israeli strikes on Khan Yunis

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes hit two homes at dawn on Friday in Khan Yunis, the territory's main southern city, killing at least 20 people.

Fourteen people were killed in a strike that hit the home of the Al-Fara family, and another six were killed in a separate air raid, according to agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal.

25/10/2024 - 08:56

Lebanon minister says Israel strike puts second Syria crossing out of service

Lebanon's Transport minister said Friday that Israeli bombing put a second border crossing between the country and Syria out of service -- leaving one official passage between the two nations operational.

"The Qaa crossing has been put out of service after an Israeli strike on Syrian territory, hundreds of metres from Syrian border guards," Ali Hamieh told AFP, adding that the strike blocked the passage of vehicles.

25/10/2024 - 08:43

Lebanon says Israel's killing of three journalists a 'war crime'

Lebanon's Information Minister Ziad Makary accused Israel on Friday of intentionally targeting journalists in a strike on the country's south that killed three journalists, which he described as a "war crime".

"The Israeli enemy waited for the journalists' nighttime break to betray them in their sleep ... This is an assassination, after monitoring and tracking, with prior planning and design, as there were 18 journalists there representing seven media institutions. This is a war crime," Makary said in a post on X.

25/10/2024 - 05:15

Three journalists killed in Israeli air strike, Lebanese state media says

Lebanese state media said Friday three journalists were killed in an Israeli air strike overnight in eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria.

"Our correspondent in Zahle reported the death of three journalists in an Israeli raid on Hasbaya," Lebanon's National News Agency reported, adding that "Israeli warplanes raided at 3:30am (00:30 GMT) on the Lebanese-Syrian border."

Local news station Al Jadeed aired footage from the scene — a collection of chalets that had been rented by various media outlets — showing collapsed buildings and cars marked PRESS covered in dust and rubble. The Israeli army did not issue a warning prior to the strike.

25/10/2024 - 04:46

Russia gave Houthis satellite data to target Red Sea ships, report finds

Russia earlier this year provided satellite data to help Yemen's Houthi rebels strike ships in the Red Sea, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The US daily -- citing "a person familiar with the matter" and two anonymous European defence officials -- reported that the data was transmitted by Iranian intermediaries and used to target ships with missiles and drones.

The Huthis, who control vast swaths of Yemen, started targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war, sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The attacks have led to a dramatic drop in traffic through the key shipping lane.

25/10/2024 - 02:57

• Blinken and Lebanese PM to meet in London on Friday, says US official
• Russia gave Houthis satellite data to target Red Sea ships, report finds
• 3 journalists killed in Israeli air strike, Lebanese state media says
• Israeli army says five soldiers killed in south Lebanon

25/10/2024 - 02:57

Blinken and Lebanese PM to meet in London on Friday, says US official

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet in London on Friday with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati as Washington appeals to Israel to keep its military campaign against Hezbollah short, a US official said.



The top US diplomat arrived late Thursday in London after a three-nation tour of the Middle East, where he also pleaded to protect Lebanese civilians but stopped short of urging an immediate ceasefire by Israel.

Blinken will also meet Friday separately with the foreign ministers of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, two key US partners in a post-war plan for Gaza, the State Department official said.

Blinken, at a news conference earlier Thursday in Qatar, said that Israel was working to remove the "threat" of Hezbollah but there must ultimately be a diplomatic solution.

25/10/2024 - 02:56

Welcome to our live blog, where we post the latest news on the war in the Middle East. To read all about yesterday's key developments, click here.

Yesterday's key developments:

• Israeli spy chief David Barnea will head to Doha on Sunday for talks aimed at restarting negotiations towards a Gaza hostage release deal, the Israeli prime minister's office said Thursday.
• The United States and Qatar announced a resumption of negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said mediators were exploring new options after months of failing to seal a US-led plan.
• Palestinian medics said an Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering in the central Gaza Strip killed at least 17 people on Thursday, nearly all women and children.
• A Paris conference on aid for conflict-stricken Lebanon raised around $1 billion in pledges for humanitarian aid and support for the country's armed forces, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, and Reuters)