News between Israel and Hezbollah: Israel “strikes for the first time within the city limits of Beirut” – Lebanon is “on the brink of catastrophe” | World News

Hello and welcome back to our live coverage of the conflicts in the Middle East.

Before we begin our updates and analysis today, let’s take a look at the key events from the last week in the region.

Israel bombs Lebanon

Israeli attacks on Lebanon dominated the headlines.

A series of attacks in Beirut on Friday killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who led the group for 32 years.

A huge crater appeared at the explosion site, leveling high-rise buildings. Israel declined to comment on whether American 2,000-pound bombs were used.

Nasrallah’s body, which sources said was “intact,” was recovered on Sunday.

reaction

When his death was announced on Saturday, his supporters took to the streets, firing shots into the air and crying.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was said to be shaken by his friend’s death and was taken to a safe location.

But when he arrived at a public speech, he made little commitment to supporting Hezbollah in the fight against Israel. There was little sign of retaliation.

Hezbollah, for its part, vowed to keep fighting, but several members of its leadership were killed in the same explosion and others have been killed in separate airstrikes in recent days.

Other members of the Iran-backed Axis of Resistance – Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Houthis – also said they would continue their campaign against Israel.

Speculation about who would replace Nasrallah began on Sunday, but given the high number of assassinations, Hezbollah has limited candidates. The favorite among them is Hashem Safieddine – one of Nasrallah’s cousins.

Death and expulsion

Nasrallah’s killing was followed by an unprecedented five hours of continuous attacks on the outskirts of Beirut on Saturday, by far Israel’s fiercest attacks on the capital during the nearly year-long war with Hezbollah.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, 44 people were killed and 303 injured in Israeli attacks on Friday and Saturday.

Local officials also said about a million Lebanese were displaced by the bombing, fleeing their homes and camping on streets and roundabouts or in one of 700 shelters.

What’s next?

By the end of the week, there was fear on the streets of Beirut of an Israeli ground offensive – an action that the IDF did not want to rule out.

The Israeli military mobilized additional reserve soldiers and tanks were spotted in the northern region.

Professor Fawaz Gerges, chair of contemporary Middle East studies at the London School of Economics, told Sky News he believed Israel would “soften” Hezbollah for a ground invasion.

“What we have now is total war. We have been warning about this for the last 12 months,” he said.

Gaza

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip said at least 41,595 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since October 7.

Another 96,251 were injured, it said.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants when counting the dead, but about 60% of those identified are women, children or the elderly.

About 100 Israeli hostages held by Hamas remain in the Gaza Strip.

The humanitarian crisis has worsened, health services have been decimated and the threat of famine remains.

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee, the UN’s top humanitarian coordination forum, said more than two million Palestinians were without protection, food, water, sanitation, shelter, health care, education, electricity and fuel.

“Families were repeatedly forcibly displaced from one unsafe place to the next with no way out,” it said.