February 11, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has moved here.

More than 60 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gazan city of Rafah, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said early Monday.

CNN cannot independently verify the numbers. 

The city, where more than half of Gaza’s population is seeking refuge, experienced “intense targeting” by warplanes and airstrikes, the PRCS said.

Helicopters also fired machine guns along its border regions, according to the PRCS. Rafah lies near Gaza’s border with Egypt. 

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Monday that they conducted “a series of strikes” on targets in the area of Shaboura, a district of Rafah, saying in a statement that “the strikes have concluded.”

A mosque in Shaboura was among the targets of the Israeli strikes, according to the Rafah municipality. 

Hamas-run television channel Al-Aqsa reported two mosques were targeted as well as 14 homes in various areas of Rafah on Monday.

The director of Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital said medical facilities in Rafah “cannot handle the large number of injuries due to the Israeli occupation’s bombardment.”

According to the PRCS, people are trapped under the rubble and there is still a heavy presence of warplanes in the skies over Rafah. 

Some context: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off mounting criticisms over plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, where more than 1.3 million people have taken refuge, many of whom were already displaced from other parts of the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.

This post has been updated with the IDF’s confirmation of strikes on Rafah.

This picture shows an Israeli Air Force helicopter carrying two released hostages, at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, on February 12.

Two Israeli hostages were rescued overnight from the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a special operation between the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency Shin Bet, and the Israeli police.

The two hostages have been identified as Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, who were taken by Hamas during the militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel, according to the joint statement on Monday.

Their rescue comes 128 days after they were taken captive.

The two men are in good medical condition and have been transferred to Sheba Medical Center in Israel, the IDF said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed it as an “impressive release operation” by the IDF.

“All appreciation to IDF forces, security forces and special police forces for the important operation and quality performance. We will keep our commitment to return the hostages in any way,” he wrote on X.

This post has been updated with the defense minister’s comments.

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a deal to secure the release of hostages in Gaza at length on Sunday, according to a senior administration official, who cautioned that while a framework is in place, gaps remain.

The call between Biden and Netanyahu lasted about 45 minutes and two thirds of the conversation was focused on the release of hostages, according to the senior administration official. US officials have been working on hammering out a framework that includes the release of hostages as well as a humanitarian pause. 

 “There are certainly gaps that need to be closed. Some of them are significant, but there has been real progress over the last few weeks, and we are now seeking to do all we possibly can to capitalize on it,” the senior administration official said. 

During the call, Biden also expressed concerns about a ground offensive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, where more than 1.3 million people are believed to be living. The majority have been displaced from other parts of Gaza and say they have nowhere to go.

According to a White House readout, Biden “reaffirmed” his stance to Netanyahu that the Israeli military should not proceed with the military operation in the city “without a credible and executable plan” to ensure the safety of civilians.

“We have made very clear that an operation under current conditions is not something that we could envision,” the senior administration official said about the call between the two leaders.  

Francesca Albanese talks to the media during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 11, 2023.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks that the October 7 Hamas attack was the “largest anti-Semitic massacre of the 21st century.” 

“The ‘largest anti-Semitic massacre of our century’? No, Mr. Macron. The victims of October 7 were not killed because of their Judaism, but in response to Israel’s oppression. France and the international community did nothing to prevent it. My respects to the victims,” Albanese said in a social media post. 

Albanese was responding to comments made by Macron as he paid tribute to the October 7 victims at a ceremony in Paris on February 7. During the ceremony, Macron said “the unspeakable resurfaced from the depths of history” that day. 

Albanese said she condemned the attack and was “disappointed” that some had interpreted her comments as justifying Hamas’ actions. 

“Disappointed that some read my tweet as ‘justifying’ the Hamas crimes of October 7, which I have strongly condemned several times. I reject all racism, including anti-Semitism, a global threat. But explaining these crimes as anti-Semitism obscures their true cause,” she said.  

In response to Albanese, the French Foreign Ministry reiterated Macron’s comments that the October 7 massacre was the “largest anti-Semitic massacre of the 21st century.”

A photo taken from southern Israel, along the border with Gaza, shows an Israeli tank positioned behind a sand wall and damaged buildings in Gaza on January 18.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he thinks enough hostages are alive in Gaza to “warrant the kind of efforts” Israel is making to secure their release.

“I’m committed to getting them out, make every effort. And it requires pressure, pressure has worked, and pressure will work again,” Netanyahu told ABC News in an interview aired Sunday. 

Netanyahu was asked about the Hostage and Missing Families Forum’s open letter that questioned Israel’s approach to ongoing negotiations with Hamas, and its commitment to securing the release of hostages.

“I’m not sure anybody can put themselves in the position of the families, but neither can the families put themselves of the decisions makers,” Netanyahu said. “These are two separate things. They reach our heart, they reach my heart, but I’m also responsible for the safety and the security of the people of Israel,” he added.

What we know about the hostages: There are currently 136 hostages held in Gaza, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office. Of those, 132 are from the October 7 attack. It is believed 103 of those hostages are alive, with 29 reported dead. 

Hamas holds a majority of the hostages, but some are believed to be held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and possibly smaller groups or individuals in Gaza.

Call with Biden: During a call with US President Joe Biden on Sunday, Netanyahu discussed hostage negotiations at length, according to a senior US administration official. The official cautioned that, while a framework for a deal is in place, gaps remain.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and MJ Lee contributed reporting to this post.

People inspect the damage to their homes following Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza, on February 10.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday morning and “reaffirmed” his stance the Israel Defense Forces should not proceed with the military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah “without a credible and executable plan” to ensure the safety of civilians.

Biden also stressed the need capitalize on the progress in the negotiations to secure the release of the remaining hostages.

Some context: Netanyahu has directed the country’s military to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from Rafah, his office said in a statement on Friday, ahead of an anticipated ground assault on the southern Gaza city.

Many of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in tent camps in Rafah have already been displaced from elsewhere in the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.

The plan has sparked concern from many countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry warned of “very serious repercussions of storming and targeting” the city while the United Arab Emirates warned Israel’s plan “threatens to cause the loss of more innocent life and exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.”

The key facilitator of negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Qatar has also condemned the plans, and the Egyptian foreign ministry said Sunday that it strongly rejects Israel’s plan, warning of “dire consequences.”

Hamas has warned that if the offensive into Rafah takes place, it would spell the end of hostage negotiations.

Responding to an inquiry from CNN on the killing of Palestine TV journalist Nafez Abdul Jawad, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it “takes all operationally feasible measures to mitigate harm civilians including journalists. The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists.”

Eyewitness and journalist Mohammad Al-Sawalhi told CNN on Thursday that Abdul Jawad was killed after an Israeli missile struck the Deir El-Balah house he was staying in. At least 14 people were killed, including 5 children, when the residential buildings were targeted, eyewitness, and journalist Tareq Al Hilou, who received information from health officials in Rafah, told CNN.

The IDF said it is not aware of any strikes at these coordinates.

It said it will continue to counter threats and “remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks”, given the ongoing exchanges of fire.

Some context: As of January 8, at least 79 journalists have been killed in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Monday. The deaths include 72 Palestinians, four Israelis, and three Lebanese, according to CPJ’s data.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on December 10.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed President Joe Biden’s comments on Israel’s response in Gaza as being “over the top.” 

“I appreciate Biden’s support for Israel since the beginning of the war, I don’t know exactly what he meant by that,” Netanyahu said in an interview with ABC News aired Sunday.

Netanyahu went on to say Israel has “responded in a way that goes after the terrorist and tries to minimize the civilian population.”

ABC’s Jonathan Karl then reminded Netanyahu of the death toll reported by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza that now tops 28,000. 

“I’d be cautious with the Hamas statistics, and I can tell you that according to warfare experts (…) we brought down the civilian to terrorist casualty ratio down below 1 to 1 which is considerably less than in any other theatre of similar warfare,” Netanyahu said.

On Thursday, President Biden offered one of his sharpest rebukes to date on Israel’s military conduct in Gaza, saying the operation to go after Hamas had been “over the top.”

Echoing some of his other comments to ABC, in a separate interview with Fox News on Sunday, Netanyahu said those who say the military can’t go into the southern Gaza city of Rafah essentially want Israel to lose. The Israeli prime minister claimed there is “plenty of room” for Gaza’s civilians to evacuate to ahead of a ground assault on Rafah.

CNN’s Lauren Izso contributed to this report.

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will talk on Sunday, according to a spokesman for the National Security Council.

A source familiar with the expected call says the focus will be on the hostages still held in Gaza. 

Over the last several months, United States has attempted to put more pressure on the Israeli government to support a “humanitarian pause.” But those efforts have so far yielded little success.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu called Hamas’ recent proposals for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza “delusional.”

“There is not a commitment – there has to be a negotiation, it’s a process, and at the moment, from what I see from Hamas, it’s not happening,” he said.

The phone call comes a few days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials earlier this week that the civilian toll in Gaza “remains too high” as violence continues to escalate in the region.

“Nearly 2 million people have been displaced from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are experiencing acute hunger. Most have lost someone that they love. And day after day, more people are killed,” Blinken said at a news conference held earlier this week after meeting with top Israeli officials.

Displaced Palestinians shelter in Rafah, Gaza, on February 10.

Ahead of a looming ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off mounting criticism of plans to enter the city, saying telling Israel not to enter the southern Gazan city was like telling the country to lose the war.

Netanyahu directed his military to prepare to evacuate an estimated 1.3 million people in the city — many of whom were already displaced from other parts of the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.

On Saturday, an Israeli official told CNN that Netanyahu wants the Rafah operation completed by the start of Ramadan on March 10.

But Netanyahu’s plans have come under heavy criticism: such a ground offensive would mean the end of hostage negotiations, Hamas-run television channel Al-Aqsa quoted a source as saying Sunday.

Here’s what to know today:

Volunteers load food and supplies onto trucks in an aid convoy for Gaza on October 16, in North Sinai, Egypt.

Lengthy inspections, rejected humanitarian aid and Israeli bombs raining down. Those are some of the hurdles to relief reaching the 2.2 million Palestinians in war-torn Gaza.

The United Nations’ Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, Martin Griffiths, has described the process as “in all practical terms, impossible.”

Gaza was placed under a complete Israeli siege on October 9, when Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he would halt the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel to the enclave after Hamas attacked his country, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Israel has since begun allowing some aid to enter.

Getting any form of relief into Gaza is a long and arduous process, aid workers and the UN say.

An average of 95 aid trucks per day entered Gaza between October 10 and February 1, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, down from 500 commercial and aid trucks a day before the war, when Palestinians weren’t facing mass displacement and starvation. Some 2 million Gazans are dependent on UN aid now.

Relief operations are expected to be further hampered after the United States and other top donors suspend funding for UNRWA, the main agency responsible for aid distribution in Gaza. The donors pulled their funding over allegations by Israel that some of its staff were involved in the Hamas attacks.

Read more on why aid is slow to get into Gaza.

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza, on February 9.

An Israeli ground offensive in the city of Rafah would mean the end of hostage negotiations, Hamas-run television channel Al-Aqsa reported Sunday, quoting a leadership source in Hamas. 

According to Al-Aqsa TV, a Hamas leadership source said that an assault on Rafah would mean the “destruction” of negotiations that have been ongoing for weeks.

“Netanyahu is trying to evade the obligations of the exchange deal by committing a genocide and a new humanitarian catastrophe in Rafah,” Al-Aqsa quoted the Hamas source as saying.

In a statement on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had directed the military to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from Rafah in anticipation of a ground assault on the southern Gaza city.

In an interview with ABC releasing Sunday, Netanyahu called Rafah the “last bastion” of Hamas and said Israel was “working out a detailed plan” to secure “safe passage” for civilians but offered few details. 

More than one million people live in Rafah, which is the last major area of Gaza the Israeli military is yet to enter.

Palestinians carry belongings at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah, Gaza, on February 9.

Qatar on Sunday condemned “in the strongest terms” Israel’s plans for a ground offensive in the city of Rafah, urging the UN’s Security Council to “prevent” Israel from committing what it described as “genocide.” 

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned of “a humanitarian catastrophe in the city that has become a last refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced people inside the besieged Strip,” in a statement on its website. 

The Gulf nation called on the Security Council “to take urgent action to prevent the Israeli occupation forces from invading Rafah and committing genocide, and to provide full protection to civilians under international law and international humanitarian law,” the statement read. 

The ministry said it “affirms Qatar’s categorical rejection of attempts to forcibly displace the Palestinian people from Gaza Strip.”

Qatar has been a key player in talks between Israel and Hamas, mediating a potential truce agreement between the two sides involving the release of hostages. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the country’s military to plan for the evacuation of the more than 1 million people living in Rafah, his office said in a statement on Friday, ahead of an anticipated ground assault on the southern Gaza city.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a press conference on October 28.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that the Israeli military would soon launch an operation into Rafah and pledged to provide safe passage to civilians, but offered few details.

“Victory is within reach. We’re going to do it. We’re going to get the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah, which is the last bastion, but we’re going to do it,” Netanyahu told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl in an interview releasing Sunday.

“We’re going to do it while providing safe passage for the civilian population so they can leave,” he said.

When asked where Palestinians are expected to go, Netanyahu said “we’re working out a detailed plan.”

“Those who say that under no circumstances should we enter Rafah are basically saying: ‘lose the war, keep Hamas there’,” Netanyahu added.

The prime minister has directed his military to prepare to evacuate an estimated 1.3 million people in the city. Many have already been displaced from other parts of the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.

The US has warned carrying out such an operation without thorough planning “would be a disaster” while the United Nations, other aid organizations, and several other countries have expressed concern over the impact on civilians. 

An elderly woman sits at the entrance of a damaged house and Palestinians look at the damaged area after Israeli attacks in Rafah, Gaza on February 9.

Ahead of a looming ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed his military to prepare to evacuate an estimated 1.3 million people in the city — many of whom were already displaced from other parts of the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.

On Saturday, an Israeli official told CNN that Netanyahu wants the Rafah operation completed by the start of Ramadan on March 10.

The United Nations said it was “extremely worried” about Israel’s plan, while Human Rights Watch said a mass evacuation would have “catastrophic consequences.”

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry warned Saturday of “very serious repercussions of storming and targeting” Rafah, and the United Arab Emirates also issued a stern warning about Israel’s plan, which it said “threatens to cause the loss of more innocent life and exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.”

Here are other headlines you should know:

Men walk along a street ravaged by Israeli bombing in Rafah, Gaza, on February 9.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Saturday he is “deeply concerned” by the prospect of an Israeli military offensive in Rafah, while EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned it would amount to a “humanitarian catastrophe.”

“Deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah – over half of Gaza’s population are sheltering in the area,” Cameron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“The priority must be an immediate pause in the fighting to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire,” he wrote.

In a separate statement on X, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that an Israeli offensive in Rafah would lead to an “unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe.”

“I echo the warning by several EU member states that an Israeli offensive on Rafah would lead to an unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe and grave tensions with Egypt. Resuming negotiations to free hostages and suspend hostilities is the only way to avert a bloodshed,” Borrell wrote.

Ahead of a looming ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed his military to prepare to evacuate an estimated 1.3 million people in the city, many of whom have already been displaced from other parts of the enclave.

A woman and children sit outside tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah, Gaza, on February 8.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry warned Saturday of “very serious repercussions of storming and targeting” the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

“The Kingdom affirms its categorical rejection and strong condemnation of their forcible deportation, and renews its demand for an immediate ceasefire,” the ministry said in a statement.

Remember: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed Israel’s military to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from Rafah, meaning an estimated 1.3 million people, many of whom were already displaced from other parts of the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.

Call for UN meeting: The Saudi ministry said targeting Rafah amounts to a violation of international law and “confirms the need for an urgent convening of the UN Security Council to prevent Israel from causing an imminent humanitarian disaster.”

Palestinian police say at least five officers were killed Saturday in separate Israeli airstrikes that struck Rafah, the southern Gaza city where an Israeli ground offensive is looming.

The reports come as Israel claims to have killed three Hamas militants, including two senior military operatives, in the city Saturday.

Hospital reports civilian casualties: Another Israeli airstrike in Rafah hit a house and killed at least 12 civilians, according to information provided to CNN by the Abu Yousuf Al-Najjar hospital in Gaza. More people are believed to still be caught under the rubble.

It is unknown if Israel’s reports on the Hamas operatives’ deaths are linked to those coming from Palestinian police and hospital officials.

More on the situation in Rafah: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed his military to evacuate more than a million people living in Rafah — many of them already displaced by Israel’s offensive elsewhere in the enclave.

Netanyahu told Israel’s war cabinet that he wants a ground offensive in Rafah completed by the start of Ramadan on March 10, an Israeli official told CNN on Saturday.

Palestinians in the crowded city have warned they have nowhere else to go.

Israel claimed Saturday it uncovered a major Hamas tunnel hiding weapons underneath a United Nations aid agency headquarters in northern Gaza. 

The alleged finding took place as part of an Israeli military operation in the areas of Shati and Tel al-Hawa in northern Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces. 

The IDF claimed in a statement its troops reached a tunnel shaft located near a school operated by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). It did not say, however, when the discovery was made.

CNN has not independently verified Israel’s claims.

UNRWA head issued a quick response: The organization’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, said the agency did not know what is under its headquarters in Gaza and that “Israeli authorities have not informed UNRWA officially about the alleged tunnel,” so they are unable to address the claim further.

The UN agency carries out inspections inside its premises every quarter, and the last one that took place in its Gaza premises was completed in September, according to Lazzarini.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for Lazzarini to resign after the latest claims of a tunnel beneath UNRWA headquarters Saturday. Lazzarini did not immediately respond.

Some background: Israel has longstanding issues with UNRWA, and the agency fired several employees after Israel alleged that some of its staff were involved in Hamas’ October 7 attacks of last year.

The United States and at least 13 of its allies have pulled funding for the agency while investigators probe the claims. UN officials have raised alarm that defunding the organization imperils its ability to provide lifesaving aid in the enclave.

Gaza is home to a sprawling underground network of tunnels used by Hamas. The group has claimed there are more than 300 miles worth of the subterranean passages.

CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim contributed reporting to this post.

Palestinians examine damaged buildings on their way back to their homes in the wake of the Israeli army withdrew from North of Gaza City.

Israeli operations in northern Gaza left “total destruction,” according to residents in the Tal El Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City, with some saying they have had to drink from toilets due to a lack of water.

Abdul Kareem Al-Qaseer has been displaced for two months from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza to the “industrial area” southeast of Gaza City, where some industrial factories are located, he told a local journalist working for CNN on Saturday.

Al-Qaseer said the Israel Defense Forces “hit the whole area, (resulting in) a large number of martyrs and wounded people” where he was sheltering. 

“We were besieged. We tried to go back to the north, but we were besieged here,” he said. “Every day there were martyrs. Every day there was shelling. Every day there was hunger.”

Olfat Hamdan said she had witnessed bodies lying in the streets of Gaza City, noting that “nobody was able to drag them or move them.”

“What have I seen? Total destruction — look at of the scale of the destruction,” she said in a video commissioned by CNN, as she pointed to damaged buildings and rubble around her. 

Another Gaza City resident, Main Naim, also said he had seen dead bodies on the streets, describing some as having been there for 10 days.

“Nobody is able to move them,” he said. “They destroyed these areas, as you can see yourself,” he added, pointing to rubble in the video. 

Fighting has continued sporadically in northern Gaza. Earlier this month, the IDF reported further operations in the northern Gaza Strip, where it said “IDF troops are continuing to enter Hamas military compounds and eliminate terrorists.” 

Israeli military aircraft killed three Hamas members in Rafah on Saturday, including two senior military operatives, the Israel Defense Forces claimed in a statement.

The military said the operatives killed included Ahmed Eliakubi, who the Israeli military claims was “responsible for the security provisions for senior Hamas leaders and served as a senior commander in the Rafah district.”

The statement said the attack also killed a senior military member identified by the IDF as Iman Rantisi, and a third militant who was not identified.

CNN cannot independently verify the claims, due to the difficulty of reporting from the war zone.

Remember: Rafah is a southern Gaza city packed with Palestinians who have been displaced from other parts of the enclave, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now directed his military to plan for the evacuation of civilians before a coming ground offensive.

Rafah is the last major population center in Gaza not occupied by Israeli forces, and Palestinians living there have warned they have no place to go.

Iraeli fighter jets struck three Hezbollah military command centers in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces said Saturday. 

Aside from the the command centers, located in the area of Ayta ash Shab and the coastal town of Naqoura, the aircraft struck additional Hezbollah locations in the areas of Khiam, Marwahin and Boustane, the IDF said in a statement. 

Israeli artillery, meanwhile, struck three launching sites in southern Lebanon after they were identified as locations targeting the town of Shlomi in northern Israel, according to the IDF.

Remember: Hezbollah is a powerful paramilitary group backed by Iran, which has engaged in increased cross-border skirmishes with Israel since the start of the latest war in Gaza.

More news from this region: The news of fresh Israeli strikes Saturday came as Lebanese state-run media reported a drone strike on a car about 40 miles from the border. Reuters reports that the drone targeted a Palestinian figure linked to Hamas, but that they survived the attack, according to security sources.

It also came as Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah met in Lebanon with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who called for a political solution to the war in Gaza.

Ianian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday called for a political solution to end the war in Gaza and said that Tehran is in diplomatic talks with Riyadh to work on the issue.

“The region is moving toward stability, security and political solutions,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a news conference during a visit to Beirut, Lebanon. “We announced from the beginning that war will not be the solution.”

“The end of the war means the end of Netanyahu and his extreme cabinet,” the Iranian foreign minister added, also warning Israel against further escalation in Lebanon, saying it cannot fight effectively on two fronts.

Amir-Abdollahian earlier met with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah during his visit to Lebanon.

Remember: Conflict involving Western powers and Iranian proxies, like the powerful paramilitary group Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, is central to concerns the Israel-Hamas war could spread into a wider Mideast conflict.