The southern suburbs of Beirut, stronghold of pro-Iranian Hezbollah, were targeted by a series of Israeli airstrikes this Friday, November 1, as the United States tries to move towards a ceasefire in Lebanon. A few days before the American presidential election, the visit to Jerusalem by emissaries Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk aims in particular to find a solution to more than a month of war between Israel and the Lebanese Islamist movement, supported by Iran.
Information to remember
⇒ Four Thais killed in Israel by rocket fired from Lebanon
⇒ Strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut after an Israeli call to evacuate
⇒ Germany closes Iranian consulates after execution of dissident
10:04 a.m.
Israel: new strikes signal its “refusal” of any ceasefire, according to the Lebanese Prime Minister
The Lebanese Prime Minister said Friday that the “extension” of Israel’s strikes signaled “its refusal of all efforts made for a ceasefire”, while American emissaries tried to negotiate an end to the violence. “The extension, once again, of the aggression of the Israeli enemy against the Lebanese regions […] and the fact that he once again targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut with destructive raids, are all indicators that confirm his refusal of all efforts made to obtain a ceasefire,” declared Najib Mikati in a press release.
9:00 a.m.
Four Thais killed in Israel by rocket fired from Lebanon
Four Thai nationals were killed in Israel by a rocket fired from Lebanon, the Thai Foreign Minister announced on Friday. Maris Sangiampongsa posted on X that he was “deeply saddened” by the deaths near the border town of Metula on Thursday, adding that another Thai citizen had been injured.
8:30 a.m.
Strikes on southern suburbs of Beirut after Israeli call to evacuate
The official Lebanese agency reported at least ten strikes this Friday on the southern suburbs of Beirut, after a call to evacuate the sector by the Israeli army which has been shelling Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon for more than a month.
According to images broadcast by AFPTV, the strikes caused strong explosions and thick plumes of smoke then rose from the area. “The raids caused massive destruction in the targeted areas and dozens of buildings were razed,” reported the Lebanese agency, also reporting the outbreak of fires.
8:00 a.m.
Germany closes Iranian consulates after execution of dissident
Germany announced Thursday that it had decided to close the three Iranian consulates on its soil in reaction to the execution by Tehran of an Iranian dissident naturalized German, a decision in turn denounced by Iran. The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, “decided to close the three Iranian consulates general in Frankfurt am Main, Munich and Hamburg” after the “assassination” of Jamshid Sharmahd by “a dictatorial and iniquitous regime”, she said from New York , in a speech broadcast on television.
7:45 a.m.
Benjamin Netanyahu meets with American envoys to move towards a ceasefire in Lebanon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Thursday with American envoys who came to Israel to move towards a ceasefire in Lebanon, stressing that a truce with Hezbollah must guarantee the security of his country. This visit to Jerusalem by emissaries Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk aims in particular to find a way out of more than a month of war between Israel and the Lebanese Islamist movement, supported by Iran, while the United States is trying to achieve a framework agreement a few days before the presidential election. The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, affirmed in the evening that the discussions had “progressed well”. “We still have work to do,” he added, calling for “a diplomatic solution, including via a ceasefire.”
7:30 a.m.
Syria: ten dead in Israeli raids on Hezbollah arms depots
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Thursday that ten people, mainly civilians, were killed in Syria in Israeli strikes on Qousseir, near the border with Lebanon, with Israel saying it had hit “warehouses of weapons” of Hezbollah. The Observatory (OSDH), based in the United Kingdom and which has a vast network of sources in Syria, indicated that three strikes had targeted Qousseir, where the Lebanese Hezbollah has a strong presence, as well as neighboring areas, reporting later new strikes in the region.
The OSDH specified that one of the strikes had targeted “a Hezbollah weapons depot and fuel warehouse in the industrial zone of Qousseir”, killing seven civilians and three Syrian fighters engaged with the Lebanese militia.