Spotlight
A fireball lit up the sky and smoke billowed over Beirut on Sunday as Israel unleashed intense strikes targeting the capital's southern suburbs, almost a year since the Hamas attack that sparked war in Gaza.
In Gaza, Israel's military said it encircled the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza after indications Hamas was rebuilding despite nearly a year of devastating air strikes and fighting.

U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein has denied that Washington has given a “green light” to Israel regarding its ongoing attack on Lebanon.

The head of the United Nations refugee agency arrived in Lebanon on Saturday on a "solidarity" visit for those affected by Israeli bombardment, decrying a "terrible crisis" that requires international support.
UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said on social network X that "Lebanon faces a terrible crisis" as "hundreds of thousands of people are left destitute or displaced by Israeli air strikes," adding: "I have come here in solidarity with those affected, to support the humanitarian effort and to ask for more international help."

Nearly 375,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria, fleeing Israeli bombardment, in less than two weeks, Lebanese officials said.
The government's crisis management unit, citing figures from Lebanese General Security, said 374,621 people — Lebanese citizens and Syrians living in Lebanon — have crossed into Syria since Sept. 23, when Israel intensified its air bombardment campaign in Lebanon.

At least four hospitals in Lebanon announced the suspension of work amid ongoing Israeli bombardment, while Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers said 11 personnel were killed in Israeli raids in south Lebanon.

After Israeli bombardment forced them to flee their homes in haste, displaced Lebanese have been asking volunteers to enter their bombed out neighborhoods to retrieve their pets.
Maggie Shaarawi, vice president of the Animals Lebanon charity, is one of the rescuers.

An Israeli strike on a refugee camp in north Lebanon has killed a Hamas official and his family, the Palestinian group said Saturday.
Hamas said in a statement that the early Saturday strike on the al-Beddawi refugee camp struck the home of Saeed Atallah Ali, an official with Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades. Ali’s wife, Shaymaa Azzam, and their two daughters, Zeinab and Fatima — whom the statement described as children — were also killed in the attack.

The United States will provide nearly $157 million in new U.S. humanitarian assistance to support populations affected by conflict in Lebanon and the region, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
"This funding will address new and existing needs of internally displaced persons and refugee populations inside Lebanon and the communities that host them. The assistance will also support those fleeing to neighboring Syria," Blinken said.

Hezbollah said Saturday its fighters were confronting Israeli troops in Lebanon's southern border region, where the Israeli military said it struck militants from the group at a mosque.

The Israeli military on Friday said its forces had killed 250 Hezbollah fighters during the past four days after launching ground operations in southern Lebanon.
In a statement, the military said "250 Hezbollah terrorists were eliminated, of which 21 were commanders during four days of precise operation in southern Lebanon."
