What we know
- The U.S. has approved the deployment of military personnel and a THAAD anti-missile battery to Israel as the region remains on high alert for possible retaliatory strikes against Iran.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the U.N. to remove its peacekeepers from southern Lebanon today. Israeli forces have injured at least five U.N. peacekeepers in recent days, drawing international outrage.
- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Lebanon, according to a readout of a conversation with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, even as Israel spoke with U.S. officials about its plans to strike Iran.
- The Israeli military bombarded southern Lebanon overnight and into this morning, destroying a market in the town of Nabatiyeh and a mosque on the border. The Israel Defense Forces say they attacked “dozens” of Hezbollah targets, including launchers and ammunition depots.
- More than 200 people have been killed as the Israeli military’s offensive in northern Gaza enters its ninth day, Gaza’s civil defense said. Humanitarian workers are reporting spiking hunger as aid convoys struggle to enter the north. The Jabaliya refugee camp and Kamal Adwan hospital remain under siege.
4 IDF soldiers killed in Hezbollah drone attack on northern Israel
The IDF said four of its soldiers were killed and seven were severely injured in the Hezbollah drone attack on northern Israel today.
Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency services, said dozens of others were injured, with three in critical condition. The IDF said all of the injured people have been taken to hospitals.
The IDF said the families of all those killed and injured have been notified.
Hezbollah launched a drone that hit an army base next to Binyamina, according to Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesperson.
"The results are severe, and there are casualties," Hagari said. "At this point, we have full operational control of the situation."
He added that all soldiers on the base were told to call their families to tell them they are safe.
"We are managing the event, and we will investigate how a UAV struck the base without warning," Hagari said, adding that the threat of a UAV strike is "something we have been facing since the beginning of the war."
"We need to provide better protection, and we will learn from this event, improve and move forward," Hagari said. "Our duty is to better protect our soldiers and the citizens of Israel."
UNICEF director: 'The deaths and suffering of children are shameful'
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned of the effects the escalation of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Israel have on children's lives.
"Children do not start wars and they have no power to end them, yet their lives are devastated by conflict," Russell said in a statement. "Tens of thousands of children have died. Thousands more are in captivity, displaced, orphaned, out of school, and suffer trauma from violence and war."
Russell said that all parties are obligated to protect civilians, aid workers and civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, but that those obligations are "flagrantly disregarded."
"The deaths and suffering of children are shameful," she said. "The daily bloodshed and horror for children are an affront to the most fundamental values of humanity."
IDF says it intercepted launches from Lebanon toward northern Israel
The IDF said it intercepted about five projectiles launches tonight from Lebanon toward the Haifa Bay area in northern Israel.
Sirens sounded in Haifa and surrounding communities as the Israeli air force intercepted the launches, the IDF said.
It's not clear whether there were any injuries.
At least 22 killed in Israeli attack on Gaza school, Gaza Government Media Office says
At least 22 people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Al-Mufti School in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, according to the Gaza's government media office.
The victims included 15 children and women, the media office said. Around 80 people were injured.
The media office said the Israeli army knew the Al-Mufti School sheltered "thousands of displaced children and women."
"This new crime comes in conjunction with the difficult health situation in the central governorate, which is currently inhabited by more than one million people," it said.
UNIFIL peacekeepers to remain in Lebanon, U.N. secretary-general says
UNIFIL peacekeepers will "remain in all positions" despite attacks by Israel that have injured at least five of them in recent days, according to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres.
Dujarric issued the statement after Netanyahu urged the U.N.’s peacekeeping forces to leave southern Lebanon, saying they are providing a “human shield” to Hezbollah.
Dujarric said that the U.N. flag will continue to fly in southern Lebanon and that the safety of U.N. personnel must be guaranteed and respected at all times.
"The Secretary-General reiterates that UNIFIL personnel and its premises must never be targeted," Dujarric said. "Attacks against peacekeepers are in breach of international law, including international humanitarian law. They may constitute a war crime."
Dujarric also mentioned a "deeply worrying" incident earlier today when IDF tanks “deliberately breached” the doors of a U.N. position. UNIFIL has asked the IDF for an explanation of the violation, which injured peacekeepers, and the IDF disputed the account, saying no danger was posed to the peacekeepers.
"The mission is taking all possible measures to ensure the protection of its peacekeepers," Dujarric said. "UNIFIL’s role and its presence in southern Lebanon is mandated by the UN Security Council. In this context, UNIFIL is committed to preserving its capacity to support a diplomatic solution based on resolution 1701, which is the only possible way forward."
Reporting from Tel Aviv, Israel
Secret Hamas documents provide a detailed record of planning for the Oct. 7 attacks, as well as efforts to recruit Hezbollah and Iran to join the assault.
Video shows immense destruction of Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon
Reporting from Camille Behnke
The Israeli military bombarded southern Lebanon, reducing buildings to rubble and destroying a market in the town of Nabatiyeh, video shows.
Nestled in Nabatiyeh's downtown commercial district, the old souk, or market, dates to the Ottoman Empire and was an important economic hub for civilians in the region. The marketplace, which once drew in farmers and vendors who sold a variety of goods, from spices to clothes, now lies in ruins.
Hezbollah claims credit for attack on northern Israel
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack on Binyamina in northern Israel tonight that Israeli rescue services said injured 60 people, some critically.
Hezbollah said it launched "a squadron of attack drones on a training camp for the 'Golani Brigade'" in the town south of Haifa in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
"The Islamic Resistance will remain present and ready to defend our country and our proud and oppressed people will not hesitate to carry out its duty in deterring the enemy," the group said in a statement.
U.S. authorizes deployment of military personnel to Israel
In addition to sending an anti-missile system, the U.S. has also authorized the deployment of military personnel to Israel to help bolster the country's defense after attacks from Iran, according to the Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.
The U.S. actions underscore its "ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran," Ryder said.
President Joe Biden directed the military to deploy a THAAD battery to the Middle East last year after the Oct. 7 attacks to protect American troops and interests in the region. The U.S. had also deployed a THAAD battery to Israel in 2019 for training and an integrated air defense exercise.
Lebanese prime minister condemns Israel's attacks on U.N. peacekeepers
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned Israel's attacks on UNIFIL, which have injured at least four peacekeepers.
Mikati also called out Netanyahu for telling the U.N. to remove UNIFIL peacekeepers from Lebanon, saying it "represents a new chapter in the enemy’s approach of not complying with international legitimacy and its relevant resolutions."
"Lebanon, which condemns Netanyahu’s position and the Israeli aggression against UNIFIL, renews its commitment to international legitimacy, Resolution 1701, the role of the United Nations forces in the south and their positive cooperation with the army, and demands that the international community take a firm position to stop the Israeli aggression against Lebanon and international legitimacy as well," Mikati said in a statement.
Israeli strikes injured Red Cross volunteers in Lebanon
The Lebanese Red Cross says volunteers were injured this morning as ambulance teams were dispatched to Sirbine in southern Lebanon after an Israeli airstrike hit a house.
In a post on X, it said the team was searching for casualties to rescue when a second strike hit the house, "resulting in concussions to the volunteers and damage to two ambulances."
It said the injured were transferred to a hospital and are in good condition.
IDF 'forcibly entered' U.N. position with tanks, UNIFIL says
UNIFIL is seeking an explanation from the IDF after multiple "shocking violations," including the forced entry to a U.N. position in southern Lebanon this morning.
"At around 4:30 a.m., while peacekeepers were in shelters, two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the position’s main gate and forcibly entered the position," UNIFIL said in a statement. "They requested multiple times that the base turn out its lights. The tanks left about 45 minutes later after UNIFIL protested through our liaison mechanism, saying that IDF presence was putting peacekeepers in danger."
Around two hours later, UNIFIL reported that several rounds were fired 100 meters north, emitting smoke that affected 15 peacekeepers, who sustained skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions.
"In addition, yesterday, IDF soldiers stopped a critical UNIFIL logistical movement near Meiss ej Jebel, denying it passage," UNIFIL said. "The critical movement could not be completed."
UNIFIL reminded the IDF of its obligation "to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times."
The IDF disputed the account, saying that "no danger was posed to UNIFIL forces by the IDF activity" during the "entirety of the incident."
In a statement, the IDF said its troops were confronted by a barrage of anti-tank missiles in southern Lebanon, severely injuring two of them.
"An initial review showed that an IDF tank that was trying to evacuate injured soldiers while still under fire backed several meters into a UNIFIL post," the IDF said. "Once the enemy fire stopped, and following the evacuation of the injured soldiers, the tank left the post."
The IDF said that the troops used a smoke screen to provide cover for the evacuation of the soldiers and that they maintained coordination with UNIFIL.
U.S. approved deploying THAAD anti-missile battery to Israel
The U.S. has approved deploying THAAD anti-missile battery to Israel, a defense official told NBC News.
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, commonly called THAAD, is notable because it can defend against long-, medium- and short-range ballistic missiles.
It is not the first time the U.S. has stationed such a system inside Israel. Biden directed the military to deploy a THAAD battery to the Middle East last year after the Oct. 7 attacks to defend U.S. troops and interests in the region. The U.S. previously deployed a THAAD battery to Israel in 2019 for training and an integrated air defense exercise.
Israeli officials are on high alert for possible retaliatory strikes in Iran.
A Pentagon spokesperson told NBC News the system will bolster Israel's air defenses after Iran's attacks in Israel in April and October.
Israeli settlers cut down olive trees in the West Bank as harvest begins
Israeli settlers cut down dozens of olive trees in the village of Qusra in the occupied West Bank this morning after similar attacks last week, according to WAFA, the Palestinian government-run news agency.
The olive harvest season began last week, and many Palestinians rely on selling olives for their livelihood, especially because of the worsening economic situation in the West Bank. But Israeli settlers have frequently sought to disrupt the harvest by attacking farmers and cutting down trees.
Israeli authorities Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called the settler attacks "organized state terrorism" and a "violation" of the West Bank.
According to WAFA's report, settlers assaulted local farmers and olive pickers today, forcibly driving them from the land under threat of violence. It said the Israeli military was present during the confrontations.
Israel says soldiers who witness settler violence must detain suspects and report the incidents, but farmers have reported that soldiers often side with the settlers.
Last year, the harvest was nearly shut down as the Israeli military and settlers prevented many Palestinians from accessing their land. According to Food Security Cluster, which is part of the U.N.’s World Food Program, halting the harvest caused $10 million in losses in the West Bank.
Sirens sound in Israel as border clashes continue
The IDF said Hezbollah fired 320 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on Saturday, and a further 115 today as cross-border clashes continued.
Sirens could be heard in several areas of Israel this morning, including in the northern city of Haifa, which was struck by Hezbollah missiles last week for the first time in decades. The IDF said it intercepted five rockets fired from Lebanon toward the coastal city.
Hezbollah also says it carried out an attack today on the Zabadin barracks in Shebaa Farms, an Israeli-occupied strip of land on its border with Syria.
Meanwhile, the IDF issued evacuation orders for more than 20 villages as it continued its invasion in southern Lebanon.
'There should be no firing,' UNIFIL spokesperson says as peacekeepers injured by Israeli forces
Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon
Andrea Tenenti, the spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) told NBC News that he hoped Israel’s attacks on its installations were not in retaliation for their refusal to leave some of the force's positions last week, but the sequence of events cast some doubt.
“We can just look at the situation on the ground and what happened at the events,” Tenenti said. “We were asked to leave from all these positions … and immediately after, a few days later, our peacekeepers and our positions were targeted.”
Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took his case to the U.N.’s secretary-general, urging him to remove U.N. peacekeeprs from “Hezbollah strongholds” lest they become “hostages of Hezbollah.”
At least four UNIFIL troops have been injured by Israeli forces in the past week, and Tenenti stressed that Israel did not issue specific warnings to UNIFIL for its attacks.
One other peacekeeper was injured by gunfire on Friday, in an attack UNIFIL has not blamed on Israel. That incident is under investigation.
“Definitely, there should be more notice. There should be maybe more coordination,” Tenenti said. “But there should be no firing. You know, that’s what we are asking … to go back to a political and diplomatic negotiation. So there is no military solution to this conflict.”
The conflict within a conflict started last week when Israel demanded that U.N. peacekeepers leave areas near the border in southern Lebanon. The troops held their ground.
Starting on Thursday, UNIFIL faced near daily attacks, at least three of them the peacekeeping group described as “deliberate” attacks by the IDF.
Forty nations that contribute to the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon said they “strongly condemn recent attacks,” and President Joe Biden has said he is “absolutely, positively” urging Israel to stop firing at U.N. peacekeepers.
Israeli strikes kill 29 in northern Gaza as hospitals evacuated
Israeli airstrikes on northern Gaza killed at least 29 people on Saturday and overnight, according to local health officials, as forces push deeper into the area.
The IDF began a major offensive Jabaliya nine days ago, and international relief agencies say thousands of people are trapped in the area.
Health officials, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, were forced to evacuate the Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda hospitals in northern Gaza after the two facilities suffered frequent attacks.
The IDF said Hamas had restored its infrastructure in the area, and that it had killed "dozens of terrorists" in Gaza in the past day, while locating explosives, weapons and grenades in Jabaliya.
Netanyahu urges U.N. peacekeepers to evacuate
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.N.'s peacekeeping forces to evacuate southern Lebanon in a statement today, saying that they currently provided a "human shield" to Hezbollah.
A least five U.N. peacekeepers have been injured by fighting this week, drawing widespread condemnation from the international community. Israel said it regretted the injury to the soldiers, and has previously asked UNIFIL to evacuate the region, a request that UNIFIL has rejected.
In a message directed to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Netanyahu said UNIFIL's refusal to evacuate from "Hezbollah strongholds" made peacekeepers the "hostages of Hezbollah."
Netanyahu added that Israel was doing "everything in our power" to prevent injury to UNIFIL soldiers, but "the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone."
UNIFIL has refused Israel's previous requests to leave its positions in southern Lebanon. UNIFIL's mandate is to keep the area free of weapons and armed personnel other than the Lebanese army, protect civilians and support the safe delivery of humanitarian aid.
'Unspeakable cruelty and sadism' in Gaza, U.N. expert says
Israeli forces are committing "another massacre" in northern Gaza, says Francesca Albanese, the U.N.'s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories.
The IDF began a major offensive in the northern Gaza two weeks ago, where the Jabaliya refugee camp has been under siege for nine days.
"People in Jabalyia are killed — both in groups, and one by one — amid unspeakable cruelty and sadism," Albanese said in a post on X, adding that Israelis had become "willing executioners of a genocidal plan."
"It blows my mind to think that WE KNOW what Israel is doing and alltogether, we cannot stop it," she said.
Expanding war in Lebanon making a cease-fire deal harder to reach, U.N. official says
“It’s time for leaders to show courage & put an end to the spiraling human tragedy across the region,” Philippe Lazzarini, secretary general for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, said today on X.
The expansion of the war into Lebanon was "taking us away from reaching a cease-fire," as hundreds of thousands of people, the vast majority of them women and children, have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety, he said.
Israel bombards southern Lebanon overnight as market and mosque destroyed
Southern Lebanon was under intense bombardment by the Israeli military overnight and into dawn, with rescue crews searching for survivors and battling fires as strikes hit a major commercial market in Nabatiyeh city.
Israeli attacks also "completely destroyed" a mosque in the town of Kfar Tebnit, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
The IDF says it attacked "dozens" of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight, including launchers and ammunition depots, adding that military forces had attacked "about 200 terrorist targets" in the past day.
Hezbollah said in a Telegram post this morning that it was fighting Israeli forces trying to move into Ramiya village in southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese Red Cross said four volunteers were "slightly injured" by an airstrike as ambulance teams were sent to Sirbine in southern Lebanon.
Secret Hamas documents reveal Oct. 7 planning, report says
Secret Hamas documents provide a detailed record of planning for the Oct. 7 attacks as well as efforts to recruit Hezbollah and Iran to join the assault, The New York Times reports.
The documents, released by the Israeli military and obtained and verified by The New York Times, consist of minutes of secret meetings of the militant group and attended by its leader, Yahya Sinwar.
The Times reports that Hamas referred to the attacks as “The Big Project,” and hinted at the operation as early as January 2022. Hamas avoided minor clashes or escalations with Israeli forces to “hide our intentions,” according to the Hamas documents, in order to maximize the surprise of the Oct. 7 attack.
The report says that Hamas dispatched a top official to Lebanon in July 2023, where he met with a senior Iranian commander Mohammed Said Izadi and requested help for the assault.
According to the report, both Hezbollah and Iran were supportive in principle but needed time to “prepare the environment,” conveying a message that Hamas took to mean that it would need to carry out the attack alone.
NBC News has not independently reviewed the documents.
Austin expresses 'deep concerns' over U.N. attacks with Israeli counterpart
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed his “deep concern” over Israeli fire on U.N. peacekeeping positions, in a call with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant last night.
Five U.N. peacekeepers have been wounded in southern Lebanon in the past three days, four of them due to Israeli fire.
According to a readout of their conversation, Austin “strongly emphasized” the importance of ensuring the safety of U.N. and Lebanese forces, and reiterated the need to find a diplomatic solution. Two Lebanese soldiers were killed in an Israeli airstrike last week.
Austin also said that steps must be taken to address the “dire humanitarian situation in Gaza,” while reaffirming the United States’ “ironclad” commitment to Israel’s security.
Patients evacuated from hospital in northern Gaza in 12-hour mission
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it evacuated patients from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza in a “complex mission” that lasted 12 hours.
The hospital has been under siege by Israel for days. Israeli forces ordered staff and patients to evacuate the hospital, threatening them with arrest if they do not comply, according to the enclave’s health ministry.
IDF declares closed military zone in northern Israel
The IDF declared a closed military zone in northern Israel a short while ago.
“Following a situational assessment, the areas of Zar’it, Shomera, Shtula, Netu’a, and Even Menachem in northern Israel will be declared a closed military zone as of 20:00 today (Saturday),” the IDF said in a statement. “Entry to this area is prohibited.”
The IDF did not elaborate on the reasons for today’s action near the country’s border with Lebanon, where tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have been escalating.
Almost half of health care centers in Lebanon closed due to ‘escalation of violence,’ WHO says
Around 100 out of 207 health care centers in Lebanon are now closed due to the “escalation of violence,” according to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“The attacks on health workers and facilities, which have caused almost 100 deaths, must stop,” Tedros wrote on X. “The number of people injured is increasing. The health system is struggling to cope due to limited human and resource capacity.”
Five hospitals have shut down due to structural damage following airstrikes, he said.
“We call for the urgent protection of patients and health workers. We call for peace,” Tedros wrote.