https://sputnikglobe.com/20231205/live-updates-israel-conducts-airstrikes-on-hezbollah-infrastructure-in-lebanon-1115384866.html

LIVE UPDATES: Israel Conducts Airstrikes on Hezbollah Infrastructure in Lebanon

Sputnik International

The Israel-Hamas truce - which began on November 24 and was prolonged twice - expired last week. The truce implied temporal ceasefire, prisoner swap and admission of humanitarian convoys into Gaza Strip.

2023-12-05T04:55+0000

2023-12-08T20:32+0000

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This picture taken on November 12, 2023 from a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel shows a smoke plume erupting during Israeli bombardment on the Palestinian enclave amid ongoing battles. - Sputnik International

LIVE UPDATES: Israel Conducts Airstrikes on Hezbollah Infrastructure in Lebanon

04:55 GMT 05.12.2023 (Updated: 20:32 GMT 08.12.2023)

Hostilities resumed on December 1 with both sides conducting strikes on each other’s territory.

According to the latest figures, the conflict took the lives of over 16,000 people in the Gaza Strip, of which over third are children. Reportedly, over 60% of Gaza homes have been destroyed since October 7, leaving over 50,000 families’ homeless.

Tensions mounted on October 7 when Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, firing a barrage of missiles and catching IDF (Israeli army) off guard. In response, Tel Aviv started a ground offensive operation and introduced complete humanitarian blockade of the Gaza Strip – a move that lead to the escalation with other Islamic militant organizations, most notably Shiite Hezbollah, located in Lebanon.

Follow Sputnik’s live feed to find out more.

Table of contents

New firstOld first

23:57 GMT 05.12.2023

The U.S. Capitol is seen through a window in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, March 15, 2023. - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.12.2023

Americas

US Senate Democrats Release Draft Bill Outlining $111 Billion Ukraine, Israel Aid

5 December 2023, 23:59 GMT

20:17 GMT 05.12.2023

US to Designate Additional Individuals for Attacks on Civilians in West Bank - State Dept.

The United States will designate additional extremists for attacks against civilians in the West Bank under a new visa restriction policy, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.

"Today, we will designate additional individuals pursuant to this policy in the coming days. We unequivocally condemn attacks by violent Israeli extremists against Palestinians and those by violent Palestinian extreme extremists against Israelis," Miller said during a press briefing.

20:04 GMT 05.12.2023

Israeli Defense Minister Says Hamas Losing Control Over Gaza Strip

The Palestinian movement Hamas is losing control over the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday.

"Hamas is losing control. Our results are very impressive, but unfortunately, in the war we have to pay a high price in the form of the best of us who have fallen and many of whom I know personally. There is only one way to justify the sacrifices — to win. And the victory will be achieved with great success," Gallant said in a televised address to the nation.

20:03 GMT 05.12.2023

Netanyahu: No International Forces Capable of Ensuring Demilitarization of Gaza Strip

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that no international forces are capable of ensuring the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, which can be guaranteed only by the Israeli military.

"I want to talk about the day that will come after Hamas. Gaza must be demilitarized. There is only one force that is able to take care of the demilitarization [of the enclave]. This force is the Israel Defense Forces. No international force can be responsible for this," Netanyahu said in a televised address to the nation.

19:53 GMT 05.12.2023

A farmer carries a bundle of wheat crop harvested from his family farm along the Gaza strip border with Israel, in the village of Khuza'a, east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 20, 2022. - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.12.2023

Analysis

Environmentalists: Gaza’s Water, Farmland ‘Will Be Unusable’ if IDF Floods Tunnels With Seawater

5 December 2023, 19:55 GMT

17:54 GMT 05.12.2023

US Announces New Visa Policy Covering Violence Against Palestinians in West Bank - Blinken

The United States is implementing a new US visa restriction policy to holding accountable individuals using violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.

"Today, the State Department is implementing a new visa restriction policy targeting individuals believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security or stability in the West Bank, including through committing acts of violence or taking other actions that unduly restrict civilians’ access to essential services and basic necessities," Blinken said in a statement.

Blinken added that the immediate family members of the targeted individuals may also be subject to visa restrictions.

17:53 GMT 05.12.2023

UN Spokesperson Says There Are No Safe Places in Gaza, Including Shelters Flying UN Flags

The United Nations says there are no safe zones in Gaza including shelters flying the UN flag, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.

“There are no UN designated safe zones in Gaza. I think that all my senior colleagues have been very clear, including the Secretary-General saying there are no safe places in Gaza,” Dujarric told a briefing. “There are shelters that fly the UN flag… But we have seen since the beginning of the conflict that those places that fly the UN flag are not safe either.”

Dujarric was answering a question regarding the US State Department Spokesperson’s Matthew Miller comment during a briefing that people in Gaza should go to UN-designated stores that are listed on Israeli lists as “deconfliction zones that should not be the target of military campaigns.”

17:38 GMT 05.12.2023

Hamas Says No Safe Zones Exist in Gaza Strip Despite Statements of US, Israel

There are no safe zones in the Gaza Strip despite the statements of the United States and Israel on the matter, Hamas spokesman in Lebanon Osama Hamdan said on Tuesday.

"There are no safe zones in the entire Gaza Strip, despite the statements of the United States and the propaganda of the occupier [Israel], because the occupier has turned the entire territory into a zone of total war by its barbaric machine aimed at children and women," Hamdan told a press conference.

17:36 GMT 05.12.2023

Gaza Death Toll From Israeli Strikes Up to 16,248, Another 43,616 Injured - Government

The death toll from the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip has increased to 16,248 people since October 7, and another 43,616 people have been injured, the enclave government's information center said on Tuesday.

"The number of bodies admitted to hospitals has increased to 16,248... The number of missing persons who may be under the rubble has reached 7,600, the number of injured has reached 43,616," the statement said.

16:30 GMT 05.12.2023

Death Toll From Israeli Strike on Residential House in Gaza Center Reaches 45 - Reports

The death toll from the Israeli strike on a residential building in the city of Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip reaches 45, Palestinian TV channel Al-Aqsa reported on Tuesday, citing the head of a local hospital.

Earlier in the day, a source in the Palestinian enclave told Sputnik that a strike on a residential building in the center of the Gaza Strip killed more than 30 people and injured dozens more.

16:07 GMT 05.12.2023

Israeli Forces Surround Khan Yunis in Southern Gaza Strip, Third Phase of Ground Op Begins - Head of General Staff

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has moved to the third phase of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip and is surrounding Khan Yunis, the largest city in the south of the enclave, Head of the Israeli General Staff Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday.

"60 days after the war began, our forces are now encircling the Khan Yunis area in the southern Gaza Strip. Simultaneously, we continue to secure our accomplishments in the northern Gaza Strip... Many Hamas operatives, including senior commanders, have been eliminated in recent days. We have moved to the third phase of the ground operations," Halevi said in a statement, published by IDF on Telegram.

16:04 GMT 05.12.2023

Report Says 67% of Explosive Weapon Casualties Worldwide in October Occurred in Palestine

About 67% of all reported civilian casualties from the use of explosive weapons worldwide in October occurred in Palestine, according to a monthly report by the Explosive Weapons Monitor initiative released on Tuesday.

"At least one death or injury from the use of explosive weapons was recorded in 31 countries and territories in October 2023. Worldwide, there were at least 986 reported incidents of explosive weapon use resulting in 7,788 casualties, of which 6,489 (83%) were civilians. About 67% of all reported civilian casualties occurred in the Occupied Palestinian Territories," the report read.

In addition, 186 incidents of explosive weapons use affecting the population's access to aid, education and health care services were reported in eight countries and territories globally, with 147 of them occurring in the "Occupied Palestinian Territories," according to the report.

"In these 147 incidents, at least 54 health workers were killed and health facilities, including clinics, pharmacies and hospitals, were damaged by airstrikes, missiles and shelling by Israeli armed forces," the report further read.

The Explosive Weapons Monitor is a civil society initiative that researches and analyzes harm caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas worldwide for the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW).

15:27 GMT 05.12.2023

US Expected to Impose Travel Ban on Israeli Settlers as Soon as Tuesday - Reports

The US State Department is expected to impose a travel ban on Israeli settlers involved in violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank as soon as Tuesday, Axios reported.

The ban would prevent the settlers from traveling to the United States, although those with US citizenship would not be affected, the report said, citing two US officials.

The ban would be the first round of sanctions imposed on extremist Israeli settlers since the Clinton administration.

The State Department is also expected to impose a travel ban on Palestinians involved in attacks against Israelis, the report said.

According to the United Nations, 2023 is on track to be the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank, with 248 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers before October 7.

Since then, the violence has only skyrocketed, with the same number of Palestinians killed.

15:03 GMT 05.12.2023

IDF Says Troops Reached Center of Khan Yunis, Largest City in Southern Gaza Strip

Israeli troops have reached the center of Khan Yunis, the largest city in the southern Gaza Strip, Commander of the southern group of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Yaron Finkelman, said on Tuesday.

"We are in the heart of Jabaliya, in the heart of Shejaiya and from this evening, also in the heart of Khan Younis," Finkelman said in a statement, published by The Times of Israel newspaper.

The fighting that took place on Tuesday in the Gaza Strip was the most intense since the start of the ground operation in the enclave, the official said.

"This is the most intense day [of battles] since the start of the [ground] maneuver, in terms of terrorists killed, the number of engagements and the use of fire from the ground and the air... We plan to continue attacking to deepen achievements," Finkelman said.

14:45 GMT 05.12.2023

Lebanese Soldiers Killed After Israeli Shelling - Armed Forces

Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed one Lebanese soldier and injured three more, the armed forces of Lebanon said.

"On December 5, 2023, an army military post in the area of Nabi Oweida - Adaisa was shelled by Israeli opponents, as a result of this, one soldier was killed, three more were injured and taken to hospitals for treatment," the military said in a statement.

14:44 GMT 05.12.2023

Preliminary Data Shows Over 30 People Killed After Gaza Residential Building Hit - Source

A strike at a residential building in the center of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday killed more than 30 people and injured dozens more, a source in the Palestinian enclave told Sputnik.

“More than 30 people were killed and dozens were injured, according to preliminary data, as a result of a strike today on a residential building that belongs to the Abu Mesbah family in the city of Deir al Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip,” the source said.

13:40 GMT 05.12.2023

US President Joe Biden speaks - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.12.2023

World

Biden Administration Plans for Palestinian Authority to Head Post-War Gaza – Reports

5 December 2023, 13:40 GMT

13:29 GMT 05.12.2023

Hamas Military Wing Says it Shelling Tel Aviv in Response to Death of Civilians in Gaza Strip

13:26 GMT 05.12.2023

Amnesty International Says Israel Killed 43 Civilians With US Munitions in 2 Gaza Strikes

The Israeli military used US-made munitions to kill 43 Palestinian civilians in two airstrikes in Gaza in October, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

"US-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) were used by the Israeli military in two deadly, unlawful air strikes on homes full of civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip, Amnesty International has found based on a new investigation into those strikes," the release stated.

It added that it had "found distinctive fragments of the munition in the rubble of destroyed homes in central Gaza following two strikes that killed a total of 43 civilians – 19 children, 14 women and 10 men."

The incidents refer to the October 10 strike on the al-Najjar family home that killed 24 people and the October 22 strike on the Abu Mu’eileq family home that killed 19, both in the city of Deir al-Balah. The homes were located within the area where the Israeli military had ordered northern Gazan residents to relocate to, and survivors in both cases told Amnesty that they had received no warning of an imminent strike.

Amnesty called for a war crimes investigation and for the "US and other governments" to "immediately stop transferring arms to Israel that more likely than not will be used to commit or heighten risks of violations of international law."

13:02 GMT 05.12.2023

Hamas Military Wing Says It Shells IDF Command Post in North of Gaza Strip

he military wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas, Al Qassam Brigades said on Tuesday that it has shelled the command post of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the north of the Gaza Strip.

"Al-Qassam Brigades target enemy command rooms in the southern axis of Gaza City with a 114 mm short-range 'Rajum' missile system," the military wing said on Telegram.