• Israeli strikes in Beirut targeted Hashem Safieddine, a potential successor to late Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, an Israeli official told CNN. It’s unclear if he was killed.
• Israel issued evacuation orders for additional villages in southern Lebanon, signaling a broadening of its ground incursion. More than 1,300 people in Lebanon have been killed and about 1 million residents displaced since Israel escalated its war with Hezbollah, with shelters filling up beyond capacity.
• The US does not believe Israel has decided how it will respond to this week’s missile attack from Iran, an official said Thursday. US President Joe Biden said that the US is “in discussions” about the possibility of Israel striking Iran’s oil reserves.
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Israel is bombarding Beirut and weighing its response to Iran's attack. Catch up here
From CNN staff
Veiled Iranian women hold portraits of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during a memorial for Nasrallah and IRGC General Abbas Nilforoushan in Tehran, Iran, on October 2.
Morteza Nikoubazl/NURPHO/AP
Israeli strikes in Beirut overnight targeted Hashem Safieddine, a potential successor to late Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, an Israeli official told CNN. It’s unclear if he was killed.
Israel’s aerial campaign in Lebanon is being conducted at an intensity comparable only to the first weeks of its bombardment in Gaza last year, an air warfare expert told CNN.
Israel’s escalated offensive in Lebanon has killed over 1,300 people since it began on September 17, according to a CNN tally.
A million people have been displaced in less than three weeks of Israel’s campaign, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. One humanitarian agency said Lebanon’s shelters were overflowing.
Here are the latest developments in the region:
Strikes across Lebanon: The Israeli military said Thursday it had hit Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut. Across Lebanon, at least 37 people were killed and 151 wounded by Israeli strikes on Thursday, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Evacuations: Israel has issued evacuation orders for more villages in southern Lebanon, signaling a broadening of its ground incursion. The villages are in areas that now extend deeper into Lebanon, reaching up to 45 kilometers (28 miles) inside the country.
Fleeing to Syria: Around 160,000 people have crossed the border from Lebanon to Syria since the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon last month, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Thursday.
Bracing for retaliation: The Middle East is bracing for Israel’s response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this week. Growing escalations on multiple fronts have put the region on the precipice as the first anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel draws nearer.
West Bank strikes: Israel said one of its airstrikes killed the leader of the Hamas network in the Tulkarem area in the West Bank, Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, on Thursday. Hamas condemned the attack, but did not confirm if Oufi was killed.
Gaza death toll rises: Israeli airstrikes on the territory killed 99 people and wounded 169 on Thursday, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. The total death toll since October 7 has risen to 41,788, the ministry said.
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Israel says Hezbollah launched about 230 projectiles from Lebanon on Thursday
From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq, Eugenia Yosef and Nechirvan Mando
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system operates for interceptions as rockets are launched from Lebanon towards Israel, as seen from Haifa, Israel, on Thursday, October 3.
Ammar Awad/Reuters
Israel accused Hezbollah of launching approximately 230 projectiles from Lebanon into Israeli territory on Thursday.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, claimed to have carried out 32 varied attacks throughout the day, including rocket salvos on Israeli settlements and military bases and attacks on Israeli soldiers carrying out ground operations in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah was not the only Iran-backed group to have claimed to have attacked Israel on Thursday. In a separate incident, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of several Iran-backed militias, claimed responsibility for a drone attack in southern Israel.
The Israeli military said it intercepted a drone over southern Israel and no one was injured.
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Israel continues strikes in Lebanon as it weighs how to respond to Iran. Here's what to know
From CNN staff
Smoke rises following an explosion over Beirut's southern suburbs after a strike, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, on Thursday, October 3.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
The Middle East is bracing for Israel’s response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this week. Meantime, Israel is continuing its heavy aerial bombardment and ground incursion in Lebanon.
At least 37 people were killed and 151 were injured by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Thursday, the Lebanese health ministry said. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has pledged to continue to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut, the Bekaa valley and southern Lebanon.
Since this afternoon, local time, about 100 projectiles have been launched from Lebanon into Israel, the Israeli military said.
Here are the top headlines:
Strikes on Lebanon: The IDF said it hit about 200 Hezbollah targets overnight, including infrastructure sites, weapons storage facilities and observation posts. Three Israeli airstrikes also struck the southern suburbs of Beirut Thursday afternoon, Lebanese state media reported. The IDF said it struck Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters. Most recently, the IDF asked residents of several buildings in a southern Beirut suburb to evacuate before a CNN team heard several explosions in the city.
Scale of strikes: An air warfare expert told CNN Israel’s aerial campaign in Lebanon is being conducted at an intensity comparable only to the first weeks of its bombardment in Gaza last year. More than 1,300 people have been killed and a million others have been displaced in less than three weeks, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. One humanitarian agency said Lebanon’s shelters are overflowing.
Ground incursion: Hezbollah says it repelled an attempt by Israeli forces to advance at the Lebanese border by firing artillery at advancing soldiers. The Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for an additional 25 villages in southern Lebanon. That brings the total up to 76 villages that have been issued evacuation notices. The US State Department said it is unclear how long the ground military actions will last.
Israeli response: The US does not believe Israel has made a decision on how to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile attack, according to an official familiar with the matter. US President Joe Biden said earlier that “we’re in discussions” about the possibility of Israel striking Iran’s oil reserves. He previously said he does not support an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites. Separately, stocks fell Thursday on Wall Street as tensions rise between Israel and Iran.
Israel issues new evacuation orders for Beirut’s southern suburbs
From CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Allegra Goodwin
Israel’s military ordered residents to evacuate areas around two buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs and stay at least 500 meters away, warning that it would soon target the sites.
One of the evacuation areas includes the Sainte Therese Hospital, which is within a 500 meter radius of one of the target buildings.
CNN is attempting to call the hospital.
One evacuation order was issued at 12:48 a.m. local time. The other was published at 1:27 a.m.
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Israeli airstrike killed a Hamas leader in the Tulkarem area in the West Bank, IDF says
From Lauren Izso and Abeer Salman
An Israeli airstrike Thursday night killed the leader of the Hamas network in the Tulkarem area in the West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The IDF alleged that Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi planned and led a car bombing in Ateret, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, and took part in other attacks against Israelis in the West Bank
Other local Hamas operatives were also killed in Thursday’s strike, the IDF said.
Hamas condemned the attack, but did not confirm if Oufi was killed.
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IDF targeted possible Nasrallah successor in Beirut strike, source tells CNN
From CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv
The head of Hezbollah's Executive Council Hashem Safieddine attends a ceremony of the Iran-backed Shiite militant group in Beirut's southern suburbs on May 24.
Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images/File
The Israeli strikes in Beirut late Thursday into early Friday local time targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, an Israeli official told CNN.
Safieddine is one of the possible successors of late Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike last week.
It is unclear if the strike killed Safieddine.
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Husband of Tel Aviv attack victim describes heartbreaking scenes while Iranian missiles flew overhead
From CNN’s Jim Sciutto and Florence Davey-Attlee in Tel Aviv
The husband of one of the seven people killed in a shooting and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday has described the agonizing search for his wife and baby while Iranian missiles rained down on the city.
His wife, Inbar Segev-Vigder, a 30-year-old fitness instructor, was traveling by light rail to her home in Tel Aviv’s Jaffa neigborhood on Tuesday evening when two men began stabbing and shooting people on the train and in the street.
According Yeari Vigder, his wife was carrying their 9-month-old baby boy in a carrier when she was shot at close range.
When he arrived at the scene of the attack to search for his wife, Vigder found their family’s dog, who was shot, but his wife and son were nowhere to be seen.
As the barrage of some 200 Iranian missiles began to streak the sky over his head, Vigder frantically searched for his family on the bloodstained streets around the light rail station.
He eventually found his son, Ari, in a nearby children’s hospital where he was being looked after by doctors in an underground safety room.
“Ari has no scratch on his body,” Vigder said. “It’s amazing, it’s our little miracle in this whole story.”
He said his wife “was everything for us. We loved her so much. We still love her.”
Sixteen people were also wounded in the attack on Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa, according to Israeli Police. The incident happened just minutes before Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel, its largest-ever such attack, sending sirens blaring across the country and residents running to bomb shelters.
Israeli authorities identified the gunmen as Muhammad Mask, 19, who was killed at the scene, and Ahmed Himoni, 25, who was severely injured. Police said the pair were residents of Hebron, a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank. Hamas later claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed 37 people in the past 24 hours, Lebanese health ministry says
From Sarah El Sirgany
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike targeting an area in Beirut's southern suburb late on Thursday, October 3.)
AFP/Getty Images
At least 37 people were killed and 151 were injured by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Thursday, the Lebanese health ministry said.
This included nine deaths and 24 injuries in Beirut, where multiple strikes were carried out overnight, including one in the center of the city.
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Death toll in West Bank strike rises to 18, Palestinian health ministry says
By Abeer Salman
At least 18 people were killed in an Israeli strike on the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, updating the previous death toll that stood at 16.
The office of the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister condemned the strike, calling it a “heinous crime,” and demanded urgent action from the international community to stop Israel’s attacks.
“It is high time for the international community to put an end to these ongoing crimes, which have no parallel in contemporary history,” the office said in a statement.
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US does not believe Israel has decided how it will respond to Iran attack, official says
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
President Joe Biden speaks to the press as he prepares to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on October 3
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
The US does not believe Israel has made a decision on how to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile attack, according to an official familiar with the matter.
Israeli and American officials continue to discuss a response to Tuesday’s attack, but so far it is the United States’ understanding that Israel is still determining how to proceed, the official said.
Biden said earlier Thursday there were discussions about hitting Iranian oil reserves but stopped short of endorsing that option.
The open-ended comments about targeting Iranian oil nonetheless prompted a spike in the price of oil as markets anticipated an attack on Iranian energy.
The official cautioned against speculation on what Israel might decide to hit, including oil facilities, because its leaders hadn’t yet decided on a course of action.
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CNN team in Beirut hears explosions, video shows smoke over southern suburbs
From CNN's Michael Rios
Footage from Reuters shows a huge fireball followed by a large plume of smoke rising over the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Reuters
A CNN team heard several explosions in Beirut around midnight local time.
Footage on Reuters showed a huge fireball followed by a large plume of smoke rising over the southern suburbs of Beirut.
This comes after the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning to residents of several specified buildings in the southern Beirut suburb of Bourj el Barajneh.
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Israeli military issues evacuation warning to residents of several buildings in southern Beirut suburb
From Niamh Kennedy, Eugenia Yosef and Jomana Karadsheh
The Israeli military has issued an evacuation warning to residents of several specified buildings in the southern Beirut suburb of Bourj el Barajneh.
In a warning posted shortly before 4 p.m. ET, residents were warned they were “located near facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah,” which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will soon target.
The IDF Arabic spokesperson told civilians to evacuate their residences “immediately” and stay at least less than 500 meters away.
Bourj el Barajneh is a densely populated area that includes a Palestinian refugee camp and where many poorer migrants live.
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It's unclear how long Israel's ground incursions in Lebanon will last, State Department says
State Department Spokesperson Matt Miller speaks to the media during a briefing on Thursday, October 3.
Pool
The United States and Israel have had discussions about what comes after Israel’s incursions in Lebanon, but it’s not clear how long the military actions on the ground will last, according to the State Department.
Miller would not say if the Israelis have an end game for the conflict in the north, as they ramp up cross-border incursions and Beirut strikes against Hezbollah.
“The Israelis will have to speak to that question, not me,” he said.
Despite Miller’s vague answers when it comes to any clarity US officials have received about Israel’s military operations against Hezbollah, the spokesperson said for now, the US is fully supportive of Israel’s efforts to target Hezbollah with “targeted objectives” aimed at the militant group’s infrastructure.
“We want to see a diplomatic resolution, but we do want to see Hezbollah’s capabilities degraded,” Miller said.
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At least 16 killed in Israeli strike in the West Bank
From CNN's Abeer Salman and Eugenia Yosef
At least 16 people were killed in an Israeli strike on the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said Thursday night.
A video obtained by CNN shows bodies hanging from a damaged structure moments after the strike. Other videos show ambulances evacuating victims from the camp and residents carrying wounded people to a hospital.
Israel confirmed that its air force carried out the strike, saying details of the operation would follow.
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State Department says it is looking into whether Michigan doctor killed in Lebanon was a US citizen
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
The US State Department said it is looking to clarify whether Michigan doctor Kamel Ahmad Jawad, who was killed in Lebanon on Tuesday, was an American citizen. Spokesperson Matthew Miller called him a legal permanent resident on Wednesday, but said in a briefing Thursday that “either way, he’s an American, and his death was a horrific tragedy.”
“We offer our sincerest condolences to his family,” Miller said.
Miller said the department “could not verify that he was a US citizen,” adding, “I see now that the family has described him as a US citizen. That may very well be true. We are looking through our records now to verify whether he was an American citizen.”
Jawad was killed Tuesday “after being hit by an Israeli airstrike while trying to save innocent lives in his hometown of Nabatieh, Lebanon,” his family said in a statement.
“He served as their guardian, provided them with food, mattresses, and other comforts, and anonymously paid off their debts. I would often ask him if he was scared, and he repeatedly told me that we should not be scared because he is doing what he loves the most: helping others live in the land he loved the most,” the statement said.
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Israel will continue to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut, military chief says
From CNN’s Rob Picheta and Eugenia Yosef
The Israeli military said it is going to continue striking Hezbollah targets in Beirut, the Bekaa valley and southern Lebanon.
Herzi Halevi, the chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, said in a video message Thursday that the military is “determined to destroy” Hezbollah infrastructure near the Lebanese border and will continue to inflict damage against the militant group.
Halevi said returning residents near the border to their homes “means destroying the terrorist infrastructure that Hezbollah has built near the border so they could raid our communities and kill Israeli civilians when given the order.”
Israel has accused Hezbollah of embedding weapons facilities beneath residential buildings in Beirut, while Israeli political leaders have become increasingly defiant of international calls for restraint and outrage over growing civilian casualties in Lebanon and Gaza.
Halevi said in his video message that Israeli troops “are more prepared and trained than ever, bearing the experience from the operations in Gaza, and their advantage in the combat arena is clear.”
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Satellite imagery shows aftermath of Iranian strikes on air base in southern Israel
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy
Two hangars, used to store large planes at Nevatim Air Base in Israel, were heavily damaged by missiles from the Iranian attack on Tuesday, October 1.
Planet Labs
Iran’s missile attack on Israel on Tuesday destroyed at least three buildings at the Netavim Air Base in southern Israel and left at least a dozen craters, a CNN analysis of satellite imagery from Planet Labs shows.
Iran’s military chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri said that the base — located in the remote Negev desert in Israel — was targeted, along with another air base and the headquarters of Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency.
Iran's missile attack on Tuesday, October 1, on Israel left at least a dozen craters at the Netavim Air Base in southern Israel, like the one seen in the middle of this image.
Planet Labs
Videos geolocated by CNN show a number of explosions at the airbase during the attack. Missiles tore large holes in the roofs of two hangars used to store larger planes. Debris from the structures, splintered by the missile, are scattered on the ground around the hangars.
Right next to the hangars, two additional craters are seen in a taxiway of the base. Satellite imagery shows that a portion of the taxiway hit by the missiles is being actively being excavated and repaired.
Iran also appeared to have targeted other hangars at the base. Two missiles just missed a group of hangars, which are likely used for storing fighter jets, by about 40 feet, based on where the craters are.
A third building just north of the hangars was also hit. It’s unclear what that building was used for, but it was not used to store aircraft.
Taxiways, a runway and other roadways at the base were also hit. The southernmost runway and a nearby taxiway both have craters of almost 30 feet.
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250 Americans and family members have left Lebanon on US-organized flights, State Department says
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
About 250 Americans and their family members have now departed Lebanon on two US-organized flights this week, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Thursday.
The second flight departed Beirut on Thursday morning, carrying 134 passengers, Miller said. Both that flight and the flight on Wednesday went on to Istanbul, Miller said.
In addition, the US has worked with Middle East Airlines to increase the number of seats set aside for US citizens.
“In the past week, we have made over 1,400 seats on available on flights out of Lebanon, and many seats do remain available,” Miller said Thursday.
Miller acknowledged that the price on those commercial flights is high, which is part of why the US has organized its own flights.
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Israeli offensive in Lebanon is "destroying the country," Lebanese minister tells CNN
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy in London and staff in Abu Dhabi
Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salam participates in an interview with Reuters in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2022.
Mohamed Azakir/Reuters/File
Israel’s offensive in Lebanon is “destroying the country,” Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salam told CNN.
Salam condemned Thursday morning’s strike on central Beirut, the first in that part of the city since 2006, highlighting how Israel is striking increasingly close to civilian areas.
Salam warned that the displacement of over 1 million Lebanese and Syrian people from Lebanon will be a “long-term issue” for the government to manage, even if a ceasefire went into effect.
“We need to rebuild their towns, their villages. We need to provide peaceful conditions for them. So, we are really in a very complicated operation now to take care of all those people,” the minister added.
