Children gesture from a vehicle as displaced people make their way to return to their homes after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, near Tyre, Lebanon, April 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Civil Defence said “eight personnel from the… Baalbek regional centre were killed”. (Representational)

Sidon, Lebanon:

Rescuers did not expect to find two-year-old Ali Khalifeh alive after an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed his entire family and left him trapped under the rubble for 14 hours.

Amputated, bandaged and hooked to a respirator in a hospital bed that was way too big for him, “Ali is the sole survivor of his family,” said Hussein Khalifeh, his father’s uncle.

The toddler’s parents, sister and two grandmothers all perished in the strike on September 29, days after Israel intensified its attacks on Hezbollah militants.

The strike on Sarafand, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of the coastal city of Sidon, flattened an apartment complex and killed 15 people, many of them relatives, according to residents.

“Rescue workers had almost lost hope of finding anyone alive under the rubble,” 45-year-old Khalifeh told AFP from the hospital in Sidon where his two-year-old relative was being treated.

But then “Ali appeared among debris in the shovel of the bulldozer, after we all thought he had died,” he said.

“He emerged from the rubble, barely breathing, after 14 hours.”

Israel has been at war with Hezbollah since late September, when it broadened its war focus from fighting Hamas militants in Gaza to securing its northern border with Lebanon.

An escalating Israeli air campaign, after nearly a year of low intensity cross-border fire, has killed more than 2,600 people across Lebanon since September 23, according to health ministry figures.

‘Psychological scars’

Signs of the violence were apparent even at the hospital in Sidon where Ali was rushed to following the strike on Sarafand.

The toddler, under a medically induced coma after doctors amputated his right hand, has since been transferred to a medical facility in the capital Beirut where he is due to undergo pre-prosthetic surgery.

“Ali was sleeping on the couch at home when the strike hit. He is still asleep today… were are waiting to complete his surgeries before waking him up,” said the relative Hussein Khalifeh.

Other family members were also fighting to stay alive after the Sarafand strike.

One of Khalifeh’s nieces, 32-year-old Zainab, was trapped under the rubble for two hours before being rescued and transferred to the nearest hospital, said the man.

It was there that she was later informed that her parents, her husband and three children, aged between three and seven, had all been killed.

The strike left her with only one, severely injured eye.

Zainab said she “did not hear the sounds of the missiles that rained down on her family’s home,” according to Khalifeh.

“She only saw darkness and heard deafening screams,” he said.

Ali Alaa El-Din, a doctor treating her, said that “the psychological scars that Zainab suffered are much greater than her physical injury”.

He has also tended Zainab’s sister Fatima, 30, who was wounded in the same strike.

Both had injuries “throughout their bodies, with fractures in the feet and damage to the lungs,” said the doctor.

Medically, he added, “Zainab and Fatima’s cases are not among the most difficult cases we have faced during the war, but they are the most severe from a psychological and human perspective.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Sidon:

The Lebanese army said an Israeli strike on a vehicle near a checkpoint in the southern city of Sidon on Thursday killed three people and wounded troops and UN peacekeepers.

“The Israeli enemy targeted a car while it was passing through the Awali checkpoint,” the main northern entrance to Sidon, the army said.

With the exception of a few limited strikes, Sidon, a Sunni Muslim-majority city, has been relatively spared the deadly air raids targeting south Lebanon in Israel’s war against the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. 

The strike killed three people, all of them passengers in the targeted vehicle, the army said.

Three Lebanese soldiers manning the checkpoint were also wounded alongside members of the Malaysian contingent of UNIFIL, according to the army. 

The UNIFIL peacekeeping force said a “convoy bringing newly-arrived peacekeepers to south Lebanon was passing Sidon when a drone strike occurred nearby.”

“Five peacekeepers were lightly injured and treated by the Lebanese Red Cross on the spot. They will continue to their posts,” it said, urging warring parties “to avoid actions putting peacekeepers or civilians in danger.”

UNIFIL has thousands of peacekeepers 

Lebanon’s official National News Agency said a UNIFIL vehicle was on the “same lane” during the strike, which left UN peacekeepers with “minor injuries”. 

An AFP correspondent in the area saw the charred, mangled remains of the targeted vehicle which was only a few metres away from an army checkpoint.

The correspondent saw UNIFIL peacekeepers gathered on the sidewalk near the checkpoint, some of them bloodied and wounded after the raid, as paramedics attended to their injuries. 

The UNIFIL convoy comprised a number of busses, the correspondent said.

Israeli raids have intensified in recent weeks on Haret Saida, a densely-populated Sidon suburb that has a significant population of Shiite Muslims. 

Israel has also increasingly launched targeted strikes on vehicles. A woman was killed Thursday in an Israeli strike targeting a car on a key road linking the capital Beirut with the Bekaa Valley and Syria, a security source told AFP.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported earlier that “an enemy drone targeted a car in Araya,” adding that the strike left the route blocked to vehicular traffic.

The highway links Beirut to the Syrian capital of Damascus, through the Lebanese mountains.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bangkok:

Four Thais were killed in northern Israel by rocket fire from Lebanon, Thailand’s foreign minister said Friday.

Maris Sangiampongsa, in a post on social media platform X, said he was “deeply saddened” by the deaths close to the town of Metula on Thursday, adding another Thai citizen was injured. 

The head of the regional council in Metula said late Thursday that five people had been killed in the rocket strike from Lebanon, one local farmer and four foreign farm workers. 

About 30,000 Thai nationals live in Israel, where salaries are much higher than in the Southeast Asian kingdom.

Thai nationals in Israel have been particularly hard hit since the start of the war with Hamas, with at least 39 killed as a result of the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

More than two dozen were believed to have been captured by militants during the attack. 

During a brief November truce, 23 Thais were released from captivity.

The Israeli army has said two Thai nationals died in captivity in Gaza in May.

After more than 11 months of cross-border clashes that displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border, the Israeli army intensified air strikes against Hezbollah in mid-September and later launched limited ground operations in southern Lebanon.

Foreign Minister Maris added: “Thailand continues to strongly urge all parties to return to the path of peace, in the name of the innocent civilians gravely impacted by this prolonged and deepening conflict.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Majdal Zoun village, in this view from the southern city of Tyre, south Lebanon on Thursday (October 24, 2024).
| Photo Credit: AP

“An Israeli airstrike on a compound housing journalists in southeast Lebanon has killed three media staffers,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said on Friday (October 25, 2024).

Local news station Al Jadeed aired footage from the scene – a collection of chalets 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.

The Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said two of its staffers – camera operator Ghassan Najar and broadcast technician Mohammed Rida – were among the journalists killed early Friday (October 25, 2024). Al-Manar TV of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said its camera operator Wissam Qassim was also killed in the airstrike on the Hasbaya region.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.

Ali Shoeib, Al-Manar’s well-known correspondent in south Lebanon, was seen in a video filming himself with a cellphone saying that the camera operator who had been working with him for months was killed. Mr. Shoeib said the Israeli military knew that the area that was struck housed journalists of different media organisations.

“We were reporting the news and showing the suffering of the victims and now we are the news and the victims of Israel’s crimes,” Mr. Shoeib added in the video aired on Al-Manar TV.

The Hasbaya region has been spared much of the violence along the border, and many of the journalists now staying there have moved from the nearby town of Marjayoun, which has been subjected to sporadic strikes in recent weeks. Earlier in the week, a strike hit an office belonging to Al-Mayadeen on the outskirts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Several journalists have been killed since exchange of fire began along the Lebanon-Israel border in early October last year.

In November 2023, two journalists for Al-Mayadeen TV were killed in a drone strike. A month earlier, Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and wounded other journalists from France’s international news agency, Agence France-Presse, and Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV.

Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants but says women and children make up more than half the fatalities. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The Israeli campaign has since expanded to Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion Oct. 1, after trading fire with the Hezbollah militant group for much of the past year.

Lebanese health officials reported another day of intense airstrikes and shelling Thursday (October 24, 2024), which they said killed 19 people over 24 hours and raised the overall Lebanese death toll to 2,593 since October 2023.

Tel Aviv:

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday expressed “deep concern” after two UN peacekeepers were injured by an Israeli strike in Lebanon, and said the peacekeepers were injured by Israeli fire as it was engaging Hezbollah, as reported by The Times of Israel.

“Earlier today (Friday), IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon identified an immediate threat against them. The soldiers responded with fire toward the threat. An initial examination indicates that during the incident, a hit was identified on a@UNIFIL_post, located approximately 50 meters from the source of the threat, resulting in the injury of two UNIFIL personnel,” the IDF said in a post on X.

Earlier today (Friday), IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon identified an immediate threat against them. The soldiers responded with fire toward the threat.

An initial examination indicates that during the incident, a hit was identified on a @UNIFIL_ post, located…

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 11, 2024

“Hours before the incident, the IDF instructed UNIFIL personnel to enter into protected spaces and remain there. This instruction was in place at the time of the incident,” it added.

Earlier in a post on X, the IDF said, “The IDF has been notified that two@UNpeacekeepers were inadvertently hurt during IDF combat against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.”

“The IDF expresses deep concern over incidents of this kind and is currently conducting a thorough review at the highest levels of command to determine the details,” the IDF international spokesperson wrote.

“It is crucial to note that the IDF is operating in southern Lebanon as part of an ongoing conflict with Hezbollah whose terrorists and infrastructure are in close proximity to@UNIFIL_positions posing a significant risk to the safety of peacekeepers,” the IDF said.

The IDF has been notified that two @UN peacekeepers were inadvertently hurt during IDF combat against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The IDF expresses deep concern over incidents of this kind and is currently conducting a thorough review at the highest levels of command to…

— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) October 11, 2024

“The IDF takes every precaution to minimize harm to civilians and peacekeepers alike. Given the complex and challenging operational environment in which Hezbollah uses civilian and UNIFIL facilities as shields, the IDF will continue making efforts to mitigate the risk of such unfortunate incidents happening again,” it added.

“It is unfortunate that since 2006, UN Security Council Resolution 1701 has not been fully enforced and that Hezbollah violated it by establishing an extensive militarized presence in southern Lebanon requiring the IDF to operate against Hezbollah’s weapons, assets and personnel in the area,” the IDF said.

“The IDF remains committed to protecting Israeli communities along the border and will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the safety of civilians and peacekeepers in this volatile region. We are committed to a careful examination of these incidents and to engaging in ongoing dialogue with UNIFIL and the nation states that participate in the peacekeeping mission,” it added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday issued a stark warning to Lebanon, claiming the country could face a similar fate to Gaza if it continues to allow Hezbollah to operate within its borders. His statement came as the Israeli military intensified its offensive against Hezbollah along Lebanon’s southern coastline, deploying additional troops and advising civilians to evacuate the region.

In a direct video address to the Lebanese people, Netanyahu urged them to free their country from Hezbollah’s grip to avoid further destruction. “You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza,” he said. The warning was clear: unless Hezbollah is dealt with, Lebanon risks enduring the same fate as Gaza, which has seen widespread devastation due to ongoing conflict.

“I say to you, the people of Lebanon: Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end,” Netanyahu said. 

لديكم فرصة لإنقاذ لبنان قبل أن يقع في هاوية حرب طويلة من شأنها أن تؤدي إلى الدمار والمعاناة كما نراه في غزة. pic.twitter.com/sLcxXvSh7X

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 8, 2024

Hezbollah Fires Back

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated after the group claimed responsibility for firing rockets at the Israeli port city of Haifa. This attack came after the Israeli military reported that 85 projectiles had crossed the border from Lebanon into Israel. Hezbollah, which has shown no signs of letting up, threatened to continue firing on Israeli cities and towns if Israeli strikes on Lebanese population centres persisted.

The conflict has been simmering since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a devastating attack on Israel, killing over a thousand civilians. Since then, Hezbollah, a key ally of Hamas, has engaged in sporadic exchanges of fire with Israeli forces. Israel, meanwhile, has vowed to secure its northern border and protect its citizens from Hezbollah’s rocket attacks.

Hezbollah’s Leadership in Crisis

Hezbollah’s leadership has faced major setbacks in recent weeks. In late September, Israel killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Beirut. Nasrallah had led Hezbollah since 1992 and was widely considered one of the most powerful figures in Lebanon. His death marked a blow to the group, but Israeli strikes did not stop there. In October, Israel launched another bombing campaign in Beirut, targeting Hashem Safieddine, a senior Hezbollah figure widely believed to be Nasrallah’s successor.

While Hezbollah has not confirmed Safieddine’s death, Netanyahu seemed to suggest in his video address that both Nasrallah and Safieddine had been killed. 

Netanyahu in his address said Israel has “degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities; we took out thousands of terrorists, including [longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah himself, and Nasrallah’s replacement, and his replacement’s replacement.”

“We struck Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut… this is the headquarters of the head of the intelligence division, Abu Abdullah Mortada,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said. “With him, we know that Hashem Safieddine was there. The results of this strike are still being looked into, Hezbollah is trying to hide the details. When we know, we will update the public.”

Israel’s Strategy

Having already targeted strongholds in southern and eastern Lebanon, Israel’s latest moves signal a shift towards the coastal areas, with civilians being urged to evacuate. On its Telegram channel, the Israeli military confirmed that the 146th Division had begun “localised, targeted operational activities” in southwestern Lebanon, directly aimed at Hezbollah infrastructure.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have not spared Beirut, with strikes targeting Hezbollah’s stronghold in the southern suburbs of the city. This area is a key base of operations for Hezbollah. Israel has since dismantled Hezbollah tunnels leading into Israeli territory.

Hezbollah Remains Defiant

Despite these losses, Hezbollah remains defiant. Its deputy leader Naim Qassem declared that the group’s military capabilities were intact and that they were prepared for a protracted conflict. Qassem’s statement came even as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant described Hezbollah as a “broken organisation,” whose leadership had been decimated following the elimination of Nasrallah.

Gallant said the impact of Israel’s strikes, claiming that Hezbollah’s command structure was in disarray and that the group lacked leadership following the death of Nasrallah and other key figures. He also described Hezbollah’s firepower capabilities as significantly diminished, thanks to Israel’s focused military campaign. However, Hezbollah continues to maintain its presence along the Lebanese border.

The Shadow of Iran

This conflict is not limited to Israel and Hezbollah. The group is widely believed to be backed by Iran, which supplies it with weapons, funding, and political support. Israeli forces have clashed with Iran-backed militias across the region, including in Syria and Yemen. Just this week, an Israeli airstrike in Damascus targeted a building used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah, killing seven civilians, according to Syrian government reports.

Israel has also accused Hezbollah of using civilian areas as shields for their military operations, a tactic that has drawn widespread condemnation. Hezbollah, in turn, has pointed to the heavy civilian toll in Gaza as evidence of Israel’s indiscriminate use of force. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is dire, with nearly all of its 2.4 million residents displaced at least once due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment.

Tehran has long been a key backer of Hezbollah. In recent weeks, however, there have been reports that Iran may be seeking a ceasefire in Lebanon, possibly as a result of Hezbollah’s mounting losses.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi visited Beirut on Friday, voicing support for a ceasefire, but insisted that any agreement would have to be backed by Hezbollah. 

Jerusalem:

Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system has intercepted thousands of rockets since it went into operation in 2011, providing the country with crucial cover during times of conflict.

It has been heavily relied upon to protect military and civilian sites from frequent barrages of rockets fired from Gaza and Lebanon in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Israel’s air defences were in operation on Tuesday night when Iran fired missiles at Israel in what it said was a response to Israel’s killing of Tehran-backed militant leaders.

Israel’s military chief Herzi Halevi said Tuesday that the Iranian barrage had been blunted partly by “a very strong aerial defence array”.

The system had also intercepted more than 200 drones and missiles launched by Iran on April 13.

Israel initially developed the Iron Dome alone after the 2006 Lebanon War and was later joined by the United States, which has provided its defence know-how and billions of dollars in financial support for the program.

The system has an interception rate of around 90 per cent, according to Israeli defence firm Rafael, which helped design it. 

Here’s how it works:

Three-part system

The Iron Dome is one part of Israel’s multi-tiered missile defence systems and is designed to intercept short-range rockets at a distance of up to 70 kilometres (43 miles). 

Each Iron Dome battery is made up of three main sections: a radar detection system, a computer to calculate the incoming rocket’s trajectory, and a launcher that fires interceptors if the rocket is deemed likely to hit a built-up or strategic area.

It sits alongside other missile defence systems like the Arrow, which counters ballistic missiles, and David’s Sling, for medium-range rocket or missile attacks.

How much does it cost?

Each Iron Dome interceptor costs $40,000 to $50,000 to produce, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

The think tank estimated that a complete system, including the radar, computer and three to four launchers — each containing up to 20 interceptors — costs around $100 million to produce. 

Israel has 10 such systems in operation, according to Raytheon, which helps manufacture the Iron Dome. Other estimates have put the figure slightly higher. 

Bipartisan US support

The Iron Dome is one of the strategic pillars of the US-Israeli alliance that has been followed by successive Democratic and Republican administrations.

In August 2019 the US Army signed a contract to purchase two Iron Dome batteries to enhance its own short-range missile defence capabilities.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)