Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah set to speak Sunday
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's secretary-general, will deliver a speech at 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET), addressing the latest hostilities with Israel, the group announced earlier today.
3 killed in southern Lebanon, says health ministry
Lebanon's health ministry says three people have been killed after Israeli strikes against Hezbollah hit the country's southern districts.
The ministry said one person was killed in a drone strike on a car in the town of Khiam, after Reuters reported that a fighter from the Hezbollah-allied Shi’ite group Amal was killed in the area.
In another statement, the ministry said an attack on the village of Tiri killed two people.
Israeli air strikes hit villages in Nabatieh District — Lebanon state media
Israel's Sunday morning air strikes struck villages in south Lebanon's Nabatieh District, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, calling the attack a "large-scale air aggression."
Their correspondent in Nabatieh said the attacks targeted Chqif Castle, the outskirts of the town of Ain Qana, Kfar Fila, Louaizeh, Bsalia, and Kfar Melki, as well as the Bir Kalb area and the outskirts of the towns of Sajd, Kfar Fila, and Sarba.
Another NNA correspondent in the southern Tyre district reported "violent raids" on Wadi Hamoul and the Tasheelat area.
IDF continues strikes on targets in southern Lebanon
The Israeli military says it struck Hezbollah launchers in several areas in southern Lebanon into Sunday morning, announcing the strikes at around 11 a.m. local time.
The Israel Defense Forces said it identified a "terrorist cell" operating in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon.
In a post on X, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said "The IDF is doing and will continue to do everything necessary to protect the citizens of the State of Israel.”
Israeli diplomats head to cease-fire talks, progress made on Philadelphi Corridor, says official
An Israeli official has told NBC News that Israeli diplomats will head to Cairo for further talks despite this morning’s fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The delegation will leave within the next few hours, the official said.
Despite the pessimism surrounding the continued negotiations, the official said that progress had been made regarding a new and crucial obstacle: Whether Israel would maintain a presence along the Philadelphi Corridor, a name for the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
“There is an understanding of what I would say is that Israel will stay alongside the Philadelphi but in very limited capacity alongside key strategic points,” the official said.
The official did not offer details of the “limited capacity” in which Israel would remain on the corridor as part of the deal.
“I haven’t seen the plan or the map,” the official said.
While Hezbollah proceeded to attack Israel without waiting for the negotiations to succeed or fail, the Israeli official said the thinking within Israel’s government is that Iran will likely wait for the negotiations to end before it follows through with its avowed retaliation for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month — an killing that the Israelis have neither disavowed nor claimed.
“There is a notion from what I gathered from political sources from the officials that I speak to that [the Iranians are] going to watch and see how the deal plays out,” the official said.
Israeli fighter jet intercepts a Hezbollah UAV
1 killed in Lebanon after Israeli strikes
One person was killed after an Israeli strike hit the southern Lebanon town of Khiam, two security sources told Reuters.
They said the the deceased was a fighter from the Hezbollah-allied Shi’ite group Amal.
United States reaffirms 'ironclad commitment' to Israel
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke on the phone with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant following the strikes to discuss Israel's defense against Hezbollah attacks.
During the call, Austin reaffirmed the United States' "ironclad commitment to Israel's defense a against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies."
Israel foreign minister says it is not seeking 'all-out war'
Israel "does not seek an all-out war" in the region, according to Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
In a statement on X, Israel's foreign ministry said the country had acted "after definitively identifying a large-scale planned attack," and will "act according to developments on the ground."
The statement goes on to say that Israel was "acting to protect its citizens" against "an axis of evil" led by Iran, as Katz called on his counterparts to support the country.
Hezbollah says it has completed military operation for today
Hezbollah said its military operation was accomplished and has concluded for today.
In a statement, the militant group said its "offensive marches" were successfully launched "and crossed the Lebanese-Palestinian borders towards the desired target." Hezbollah also pushed back on Israel's claim that it had launched a successful preemptive strike targeting the Iran-backed group.
"The enemy’s claims about the preemptive action it carried out and the targets it achieved and its disruption of the resistance’s attack are empty claims and contradict the facts on the ground," the group said, adding that its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, will refute Israel's claims in a speech.