Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a militant group based in Lebanon, resumed Monday after a brief pause. Israeli airstrikes targeted the Lebanese village of Tair Harfa and a coastal area near Sidon.
A car was hit in the Sidon strike, and a man affiliated with a Palestinian organization survived. Israel’s strikes often target Hezbollah and sometimes Palestinian militants in Lebanon. Later, Hezbollah used a drone to target Israeli military surveillance equipment.
The escalation follows Israel’s preemptive strikes on southern Lebanon on Sunday, which Israel claimed prevented a major Hezbollah attack. This attack was reportedly in response to Israel’s earlier killing of a top Hezbollah commander, Fouad Shukur, in Beirut.
In retaliation, Hezbollah launched hundreds of drones and rockets towards Israel, claiming some hit near Tel Aviv, though Israel denied any military targets were hit. Both sides paused their strikes overnight.
Meanwhile, U.S. military leaders, including Gen. CQ Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with Israeli defense officials in Tel Aviv. They discussed the ongoing conflict and emphasized the need to de-escalate tensions and increase humanitarian aid to Gaza. The U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to Israel’s security and continued to coordinate with Israel and other regional partners.
In a related development, an Israeli airstrike in the West Bank killed five Palestinians. The strike targeted a militant “operations room” in the Nur Shams refugee camp. This adds to the already high Palestinian death toll since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, with most deaths resulting from Israeli military actions in Palestinian territories.
In Gaza, the U.N. reported that Israeli evacuation orders have reduced the humanitarian zone to about 11% of the territory, creating dire conditions for the displaced population.
The shrinking zone and lack of access to essential services have led to the reemergence of polio, prompting a vaccination campaign set to begin soon. However, the U.N. warned that its ability to operate in Gaza is increasingly difficult due to the ongoing conflict and logistical challenges.
Despite the intense fighting, negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire in Cairo have continued. The White House stated that the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah did not disrupt these talks. The focus of the negotiations is on a potential prisoner exchange and the presence of Israeli forces in strategic areas of Gaza. Although progress has been made, significant differences remain.
The U.S. Pentagon confirmed that it provided intelligence support to Israel to track Hezbollah strikes but did not directly participate in Israel’s preemptive attack. The U.S. has forces ready to respond if necessary but emphasized that Israel did not request additional help.
Israel extended housing subsidies for evacuees and hostage families as the conflict continued, affecting thousands of displaced Israelis. The government allocated nearly $900 million for these grants and hinted at further extensions if needed.
The U.N. reported that food aid deliveries to Gaza have been severely hampered due to ongoing fighting, with only about half of the needed supplies reaching the area. Damaged infrastructure and Israeli restrictions have made it increasingly difficult to deliver essential aid, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
Lastly, Iran vowed retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, with Iran’s foreign minister emphasizing that the response would be measured but definite. This tension adds to the already volatile situation in the region. Israel also announced that polio vaccines had been delivered to Gaza amid the conflict, aiming to address the growing health crisis in the territory.
