4:06 a.m.: New explosions in Beirut, Nasrallah’s probable successor would have been targeted
A series of explosions were heard early Saturday in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, according to AFP correspondents, after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders for certain areas. A drone strike also reportedly hit a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli, according to local sources cited by the dpa agency.
In Beirut, AFP images show smoke rising from the area near the airport. However, no assessment has yet been possible.
Earlier in the night, the Israeli army called on residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut to immediately evacuate the area. According to the spokesperson, targets of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement were in the neighborhood and the army was planning strikes against them.
During the night from Thursday to Friday, the Israeli army had already carried out particularly intense bombings on the southern suburbs of Beirut, destroying several buildings.
According to the Israeli news site Ynet, these strikes targeted Hachem Safieddine, potential successor to Hassan Nasrallah, in the HQ of Hezbollah’s intelligence services.
According to local sources cited by dpa, a drone attacked a Palestinian refugee camp near the port city of Tripoli, in northwest Lebanon, on the night of Friday to Saturday. Beddawi camp is located five kilometers northeast of Tripoli.
There are believed to be deaths and injuries, but no precise toll has been confirmed at this time. This is the first time that an attack of this type has occurred in this area since the launch of the Israeli offensive on Lebanon.
The Israeli army had no immediate comment.
Israeli air raids have increased around Beirut in recent days. The IDF says it is targeting several leaders of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement in the capital and its surrounding areas.
2:46 a.m.: Clashes reported between Hezbollah and Israeli army
The armed movement Hezbollah claimed early Saturday that it was engaged in clashes with Israeli troops on the Lebanese border, after previously claiming to have forced Israeli soldiers to “beat a retreat” in this area.
“Soldiers of the Israeli enemy have again attempted to advance towards the surroundings of the village of Adaysseh municipality” and “the clashes continue,” the group said in a statement.
Since Monday evening, when the Israeli army announced “limited and targeted” ground operations in southern Lebanon, clashes have intensified between Hezbollah and Israeli soldiers.
2:09 a.m.: Iranian Supreme Leader threatens Israel
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned on Friday that his allies, mainly Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas, would continue the fight against Israel, which carried out new strikes targeting them in Lebanon and Gaza, amid fears redoubled by a conflagration in the Middle East.
Iran’s allies “will not back down”, said Ayatollah Khamenei in a large mosque in Tehran, in a rare speech during weekly prayers, after the missile attack launched by Iran on Tuesday against Israel.
He was speaking in the midst of a war between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel, which has turned its forces to the northern front after weakening Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip in a devastating offensive that is still ongoing.
This was launched in response to the unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023 against Israel.
This attack was “logical and legitimate”, argued the number one of the Islamic Republic of Iran which does not recognize the existence of the State of Israel.
Israel, which “has maintained itself only thanks to American support (…) does not have much longer,” he said.
“The resistance in the region will not retreat despite the martyrs,” he added in reference to the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah killed on September 27 in an Israeli raid near Beirut, and that of ‘Ismaïl Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, died on July 31 in an explosion in Tehran blamed on Israel.
He judged that the attack on Tehran which fired some 200 missiles towards Israel on Tuesday was “the least” of the responses to the assassination of the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah.
1:46 a.m.: Donald Trump says Israel should strike Iran’s nuclear facilities
Donald Trump said Friday in the middle of the campaign for the American presidential election that Israel should “strike” Iranian nuclear facilities.
Speaking in North Carolina, the Republican White House nominee addressed a question posed to President Joe Biden midweek about the possibility of Israel targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
“They asked him that question, the answer should have been ‘hit nuclear first and worry about the rest later,’” Donald Trump said.
“But we will see what their plans are,” added the former Republican president.
On Wednesday, Joe Biden declared himself opposed to Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, in response to the firing of nearly 200 Iranian missiles towards Israel.
“The answer is no,” Joe Biden told reporters, when asked about his possible support for such action by Israel.
“All seven of us agree that the Israelis have the right to retaliate, but they must respond proportionately,” he added, referring to other G7 leaders.
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