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Israel's war on Gaza has killed 10,000 women, among them 6,000 mothers who left 19,000 orphaned children behind, according to a new report published by UN Women.
A Hezbollah commander, an executive officer, a fighter, and a civilian were killed in southern Lebanon today in two separate Israeli air strikes that targeted cars in the villages of Ain Baal, southeast of Sour, and Shehabieh, in Sour district. Both villages sit outside the 10-kilometer strip along the southern border within which the majority of Israeli strikes occur.
Several attacks were launched by Hezbollah into Israeli territory as well. This afternoon, the party launched two drones into Israeli territory which were not intercepted by the Israeli air defense system and did not trigger rocket alarms. The drones exploded, wounding three.
Hezbollah has announced the following attacks on northern Israel:
• At 7:25 p.m. Hezbollah fighters targeted an Israeli army division in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona with Katyusha rockets, in response to deadly Israeli strikes on Shehabieh and Ain Baal.
• The party also claimed responsibility for an attack at 8:10 p.m. on "the headquarters of the 146th division of the Israeli army in Jaatoun" using Katyusha rockets.
• Sometime in the afternoon, Hezbollah targeted the Israeli site of "Baghdadi," which faces the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab, in Bint Jbeil district, with artillery shells, according to a party statement.
In the last hour, Haaretz has reported a total of 14 rockets fired from southern Lebanon falling in northern Israel.
First, about 45 minutes ago, it said 10 rockets launched at Mount Meron fell in open fields, without causing any casualties, citing the army. Then, about 10 minutes ago, Haaretz reported that four rockets fell in the city of Kirat Shmona, causing light property and infrastructure damage, citing the municipality.
The Iron Dome defense system’s radar is designed to evaluate whether incoming rockets are likely to hit civilian areas and only launch interceptor missiles if it determines this to be the case. If a rocket is likely to land in open areas, the defense system does not fire.
Hezbollah announced the death of another of its fighters, Mohammad Hussein Moustapha Shehouri, from the village of Shehabieh, in Sour district.
According to our correspondent in southern Lebanon, the victim was killed in the Israeli air strike that targeted a car in the village of Shehabieh this afternoon. The attack also killed a Hezbollah executive officer.
Shehouri's death brings the total number of Hezbollah members killed since Oct. 8 to 278 — 248 of them in Lebanon. According to L'Orient Today's count, a total of 363 people, including over 50 civilians, have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli attacks.
The Washington Post published the results of an extensive investigation into the highly publicized death of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old girl who, stuck in the back seat of a car in Gaza and surrounded by the bodies of her family, pleaded with dispatchers to be rescued as Israeli tanks closed in. Two Red Crescent paramedics were on their way — then nothing.
Twelve days later, Hind's body was found in the car, along with those of her four cousins, her uncle, and her aunt. The Hamada family's car was riddled with bullets. The ambulance was a charred shell, roughly 50 meters away.
The Washington Post investigation, which includes a detailed timeline, extensive satellite imagery analysis, and interviews with eyewitnesses, confirmed that the ambulance’s destruction was “consistent with the use of a round fired by Israeli tanks," citing six munition experts.
Smoke billows as a woman and child look on amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip on April 16, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
More details on the Israeli strike on Ain Baal:
One of the wounded, Hussein Kerchat, a civilian who was near the targeted vehicle at the time of the strike, has succumbed to his injuries, according to medical and security sources who spoke with our correspondent in the South.
Hezbollah announced the death of another one of its members, Mahmoud Ibrahim Fadlallah, from the village of Ainata, in Bint Jbeil district.
According to our correspondent in the South, the victim, a Hezbollah executive officer, was killed in Israeli air strikes on Shehabieh, which targeted two cars, causing large fires and preventing paramedics from rescuing victims.
Israeli army radio claimed the military had eliminated a "Hezbollah commander."
This brings the total number of Hezbollah members killed since Oct. 8 to 277. According to L'Orient Today's count, 247 of those deaths occurred in Lebanon, while the other 30 were killed in Syria.
The latest updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border:
• Israeli warplanes raided the village of Alma al-Shaab, in Sour district, for the second time today, residents told our correspondent in the South. Ambulances and civil defense teams were dispatched to the scene.
• Missiles were fired from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel according to a security source cited by our correspondent in the South. The attacks have yet to be claimed.
• Rocket alarms were activated in the town of Ya'ara in northern Israel, Haaretz reported.
⚡ The Israeli army radio station recently reported that the military had "eliminated another field commander in Hezbollah."
Earlier this evening, L'Orient Today reported that two people were killed in Israeli airstrikes that targeted two cars in the village of Shehabieh.
Latest updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border, apart from the Israeli airstrike that targeted two cars in Shehabieh:
• Israeli warplanes raided an area between Yaroun and Maroun al-Rass, in Bint Jbeil district, according to a security source cited by our correspondent.
• The eastern neighborhood of the village of Khiam, in Marjayoun district, and the outskirts of Kfar Kila, also Marjayoun district, were subjected to Israeli artillery shelling, according to residents' testimonies shared with L'Orient Today.
• The Israeli army said it identified three rockets launched at Beit Hillel in Upper Galilee (northern Israel) and two rockets launched at the village of Hanita in Western Galilee, according to Haaretz. The Upper Galilee Regional Council reported that the "rockets landed in Beit Hillel, in open fields, and that the fire department is extinguishing the fires that subsequently broke out." No casualties were reported.
More information concerning the Israeli air raids on Shehabieh:
🔴 At least two people were killed in the strike, according to a medical source who spoke with our correspondent in the South. There may be further casualties, as first responders are as of yet unable to complete a full rescue operation.
A security source told L'Orient Today that the airstrikes targeted two cars simultaneously.
In Shehabieh, where an Israeli airstrike targeted a car, ambulances are still unable to reach the site of the strike, which has caused an undetermined number of casualties, according to our correspondent in the region, citing a security source.
Ambulances are unable to retrieve the victim or victims, as the car is still on fire and Israeli drones are reportedly still flying overhead, raising fears of a second strike.
Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters, Ismail Baz, from the village of Shehabieh, Sour district.
According to a security source cited by our correspondent in the region, Baz was the head of a Hezbollah field commander, responsible for all of the party's military activity within a particular zone — it's still unknown which specifically.
He was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a car in the village of Ain Baal, in Sour district, earlier today.
276 Hezbollah members have been killed in Lebanon and Syria since the beginning of cross-border fighting in October.
Israeli drones carried out two raids on the village of Shehabieh, in Sour district, residents told our correspondent in the South. One of the airstrikes targeted a car. Ambulances were dispatched to the site of the strike.
Shehabieh is located more than 10 kilometers from the Lebanese-Israeli border, falling outside the area in which the majority of Israeli strikes occur.
In retaliation to the Israeli airstrike that killed a Hezbollah commander in the village of Ain Baal earlier today, the party announced that it targeted the Israeli military base in Beit Hillel, in northern Israel, with Katyusha missiles at 4:45 p.m.
This is the second time that Hezbollah has attacked Beit Hillel today.
Here are the latest updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border:
• Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the village of Alma al-Shaab, in Sour district, residents told our correspondent in the South, Muntasser Abdallah.
• Hezbollah announced that it fired rockets at the Israeli “Zebdine” barracks, located in the disputed Shebaa Farms, at 3:40 p.m.
• The party also said that it targeted, at 4:15 p.m., the Israeli site of “al-Samaqa,” located in the hills of Kfar Shuba, using artillery shells.
• Rocket alarms were activated twice in northern Israel in the last hour, according to Haaretz.
• Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Rashaya Fawqar, Kfar Shuba, Halta, and the Shebaa valley, all in Hasbaya district, residents told our correspondent in the region.
We received more info on the Israeli airstrike that targeted a car in the village of Ain Baal:
• The person who was killed was the head of a Hezbollah military zone, responsible for all of the party's military activity within that certain area, according to a security source cited by our correspondent in the South. The Israeli army radio also claimed that the target of the Ain Baal strike was "a senior field commander in Hezbollah."
• The two wounded in the airstrike are civilians, the same security source told L'Orient Today.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told Vladimir Putin by telephone that Tehran's strikes on Israel were limited and that the Islamic Republic was not interested in escalating, the Kremlin says, cited by Reuters.
President Putin expressed hope that all sides would show reasonable restraint and prevent sliding toward a confrontation that could have "catastrophic consequences for the entire region," the Kremlin said.
The Amal-affiliated Risala Scout Association announced that its medics "participated in rescue operations after the Israeli raid on the village of Ain Baal" and that the casualties were transferred to hospitals in the area.
Hezbollah announced that it launched, at 2:25 p.m., a drone attack that targeted a "missile defense system" in the village of Beit Hillel in northern Israel, hitting Iron Dome platforms and — according to the party statement — causing casualties, dead and wounded.
Earlier this afternoon, Haaretz reported that two drones exploded in northern Israel, without sounding any alarms, and wounded three people.
🔴 One person has been killed and two others moderately wounded in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a car in the village of Ain Baal, in Sour district, according to a security source relayed by our correspondent in the South.
The deceased — who has not yet been identified — was in the targeted car while the two who were wounded were near the car at the time of the strike.
Here is what has been happening on the Lebanese-Israeli border in the last 40 minutes:
- An Israeli drone targeted a car in the village of Ain Baal (Sour), killing at least one person and injuring another, a security source and residents told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South. Ain Baal is located more than 10 kilometers away from the southern border.
- Rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Israeli sites, according to a security source relayed by our correspondent in the South. Meanwhile, Haaretz reported that two drones exploded in northern Israel, wounding three people.
• Residents told L'Orient Today that Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Khiam (Marjayoun).
A child carrying salvaged items walks past the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli bombardment of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip on April 16, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
"There has been no significant change in the volume of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, nor has there been any improvement in access to the north" of Gaza, stressed the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in a statement.
Some 553 trucks of humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip "over the past two days" after "thorough security checks," announced the Israeli army, a number deemed insufficient by the UN.
The Israeli army, "in liaison" with the Israeli body in charge of Palestinian civil affairs (COGAT), "continues its efforts to allow hundreds of trucks of food and humanitarian aid to pass through to the inhabitants of Gaza every day," the army added in a statement, indicating that 126 trucks had reached northern Gaza by Monday evening. 56 truckloads of food aid had also been parachuted into the Palestinian enclave, the army said.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to escalate tensions with Iran in an attempt to divert attention away from the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Reuters reports.
"We are against escalating. Netanyahu wants to draw attention away from Gaza and focus on his confrontation with Iran," Safadi stated.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said that it found unexploded 1,000-pound bombs in Gaza schools during an assessment mission following the Israeli troop withdrawal from Khan Younis, AFP reports.
The agency said it experienced "significant challenges in operating safely due to the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXOs), including 1,000-pound bombs inside schools and on roads."
The head of the UN's Mine Action Service, Charles Birch, said that it will cost around $45 million to begin clearing the unexploded ordanances in Gaza after the war is over.
Hezbollah announced that it fired rockets, yesterday evening, at a group of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Birkat Risha site, facing the Lebanese border village of Houla (Marjayoun).
So far, Hezbollah has not claimed any from today and there have been no reports of strikes on any Lebanese villages.
A commission looking into Hamas's Oct. 7 attack and the subsequent aftermath told the UN that Israel is obstructing their efforts by preventing them from speaking with Israeli survivors and witnesses, AFP reports.
"I deplore the fact that people inside Israel who wish to speak to us are being denied that opportunity because we cannot get access into Israel," former UN rights chief Navi Pillay, who is chairing a three-person probe, told a briefing of diplomats at the UN.
"So far as the government of Israel is concerned, we have faced not merely a lack of cooperation but active obstruction of our efforts to receive evidence from Israeli witnesses and victims to the events that occurred in southern Israel," said Chris Sidoti, one of the three members of the inquiry.
The commission is supposed to present its first findings to the UN Human Rights Council in June.
The health ministry in Gaza said that 33,843 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war on Oct. 7 with another 76,575 injured.
In the last 24 hours, the ministry said that 46 people were killed and 110 injured.
The UN called on Israeli forces in the West Bank to stop participating in and supporting settler attacks on Palestinian towns, AFP reports.
"Israeli authorities must instead prevent further attacks, including by bringing those responsible to account," Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN's rights office, said.
Japan's foreign minister was on the phone with their Iranian counterpart, urging the country to "exercise restraint" to avoid a further escalation of tensions, according to a record of their conversation released by Tokyo.
This was the first direct exchange between the two countries' foreign ministers since the weekend's Iranian strikes against Israel, which promised to retaliate.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raissi warned that "the slightest action" by Israel against "Iran's interests" would provoke "a severe response" from his country, according to a statement issued by the presidency. Israel promised to respond to the massive and unprecedented attack launched by Iran on Israeli territory on Saturday night.
In southern Lebanon, no incidents have been reported since this morning.
The night was marked by several strikes:
- Between 11 p.m. and midnight, an Israeli airstrike targeted the town of Hanin, in the Bint Jbeil district, targeting a three-story house that was completely destroyed. Ambulances rushed to the scene, but no injuries were reported.
- At midnight, artillery fire targeted an area between Deir Mimas and Kfar Kila (Marjayoun). Another artillery bombardment took place in the Shebaa valley (Hasbaya).
Yesterday in the United States, pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco's iconic landmark, and unfurled a banner bearing the words: "Stop the world for Gaza."
The demonstration was part of an initiative called "A15 Action," which seeks to blockade many major cities around the world, "in solidarity with Palestine."
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by telephone with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, according to the official China News Agency, adding that Tehran had expressed its "willingness to restrain" after its weekend attack. "It would appear that Iran is capable of handling the situation well and avoiding further unrest in the region, while protecting its own sovereignty and dignity," Wang said, according to China News.
In Gaza, the Iranian strikes did nothing to put the Israeli offensive on hold. The army bombarded the Palestinian enclave relentlessly throughout the night.
Since Sunday, calls have been growing louder to prevent a massive retaliation that could further inflame the region, already "on the brink of a precipice," according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. After standing up with its allies against the Iranian attack, the United States said it did not want "an extended war with Iran," and warned that it would not take part in a retaliatory operation. "Together, with our partners, we have defeated this attack" by Iran, said US President Joe Biden, calling on Israel to avoid escalation and instead try to work towards a "cease-fire" in the Gaza Strip.
Last night, the Israeli army announced that it would "retaliate against the launch of so many cruise missiles and drones on the territory of the State of Israel," according to statements by its Chief of Staff, General Herzi Halevi, who was visiting the Nevatim base hit by a strike.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier called on the international community to "remain united" in the face of "Iranian aggression, which threatens world peace," after this attack was thwarted with the support of several of its allies, including Washington.
Following last weekend's Iranian strikes against Israel, and with Tel Aviv vowing to retaliate, Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that "in parallel to the military response to the missile and drone strikes, I am conducting a diplomatic offensive against Iran."
"This morning I sent letters to 32 countries and met with dozens of foreign ministers and personalities from around the world to demand that sanctions be imposed on the Iranian missile project and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be declared a terrorist organization, in order to curb and weaken Iran." "Iran must be stopped now before it's too late."
Be sure to read the Morning Brief so that you are caught up with what has been happening.
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