Middle East crisis live: Israel launches fresh strikes on Beirut; Netanyahu and Trump discuss ‘Iranian threat’ | Israel

Lebanese media is reporting that an Israeli drone strike has targeted a vehicle in southern Lebanon.

More details soon …

Here are some of the latest images from the southern suburbs of densely populated Beirut, showing damage from Israeli airstrikes.

Overnight Israel’s military released the name of a soldier it said was killed on the northern front in IDF operations targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The army also said that one soldier was “severely injured during combat” in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

The IDF says that 368 troops have been killed since it launched its ground operation inside Gaza on 27 October 2023, and that 262 IDF personnel are currently hospitalised with injuries.

It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.

The Israeli defence ministry said on Thursday it had signed an agreement to acquire 25 next generation F-15 fighter jets from Boeing, Reuters reports.

It said the $5.2bn agreement was part of a broader package of US aid approved by the outgoing Biden/Harris administration and US congress earlier this year, and included an option for 25 additional aircraft.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that during the night at least ten locations were the subject of Israeli airstrikes, while heavy artillery fire continued on locations in the south of the country near the UN-drawn blue line that separates Lebanon and Israel.

There are also unconfirmed Lebanese reports of Israeli soldiers being injured when their vehicle overturned near the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Rasma.

The National News Agency reports:

Reconnaissance, drone and military aircraft continued to fly intensively over the villages in the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts, and flares were fired over the villages of the western and central sectors, reaching the outskirts of Tyre.

The claims have not been independently verified.

In an operational update issued via its official Telegram channel, Israel’s military has claimed that its air operations on Baalbek and north of the Litani River in Lebanon had “eliminated” what it claimed were “approximately 60 Hezbollah terrorists” in attacks on what it said were 20 targets.

The claims have not been independently verified. The Lebanese health ministry yesterday put the death toll in strikes on Baalbek at 40 people.

Israel’s parliament passed a law early Thursday that would allow it to deport family members of Palestinian attackers to the Gaza Strip or other locations.

The law, which was championed by members of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his far-right allies, passed with a 61-41 vote, but is likely to be challenged in court.

It would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed east Jerusalem who authorities claim knew about their family members’ attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.”

Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing live coverage of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the wider Middle East crisis. Here are the latest headlines.

Israel launched new strikes on southern Beirut early on Thursday. Hours earlier, Benjamin Netanyahu said he spoke to US president-elect Donald Trump and they “agreed to work together for Israel’s security”.

The Israeli prime minister was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump, calling the re-election “history’s greatest comeback”.

Over the phone on Wednesday, the pair “agreed to work together for Israel’s security” and “discussed the Iranian threat”, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

Not long after, the Israeli military launched its latest strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah’s main bastion of south Beirut, with AFP reporting its footage showing orange flashes and plumes of smoke over the densely populated suburb.

The Israeli army had issued evacuation orders ahead of the strikes, calling on people to leave four neighbourhoods, including one near the international airport.

In eastern Lebanon, Israeli strikes killed 40 people and injured 53 in the city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley on Wednesday, with rescuers combing the rubble for survivors, the country’s health ministry said.

Hezbollah had said the US election result would have no bearing on the war with Israel. In a speech aired after Trump’s victory, new Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said that only developments on the battlefield – not political moves – would bring an end to Hezbollah-Israeli hostilities, appearing to rule out any ceasefire negotiations unless Israel first stopped its attacks.

In other news:

• The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory, expressing confidence that he would support Palestinians’ “legitimate aspirations” for statehood. Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, spoke to Trump to congratulate him, while Egypt – the first Arab state to sign a peace deal with Israel – also congratulated him

• Four Israeli opposition leaders made a joint statement condemning Benjamin Netanyahu for firing defence minister Yoav Gallant. There were protests for a second night in a row in Jerusalem on Wednesday over the sacking. Many protesters are calling for Netanyahu to resign and demanding the new defence minister prioritise a hostage deal

• The United Nations responded to Israel’s decision to cut ties with the UN’s aid agency for Palestinians (Unrwa) by saying it had no responsibility to replace the agency’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank, signalling it was Israel’s problem as the occupying power, according to a letter excerpt seen by Reuters. Separately, Unrwa’s head said the agency was facing its “darkest hour”. “Without intervention by member states, Unrwa will collapse, plunging millions of Palestinians into chaos,” Philippe Lazzarini said

• Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had fired missiles at an Israeli military base near Ben Gurion airport. Israeli media reported a rocket had landed near the airport.
  Later, the Israeli military said dozens of projectiles had crossed into Israel from Lebanon, some of which were intercepted

• UN agencies said they had completed the administration of a second dose of polio vaccine to the overwhelming majority of children in Gaza. In all, 556,774 children under the age of 10 received the second dose, amounting to 94% of the total population of that age group

• Israel and the World Health Organization said about 230 people in Gaza – both patients and their carers – were evacuated to the United Arab Emirates or Romania on Wednesday for medical treatment. “This is the largest number of patients and caregivers who have left through the Kerem Shalom crossing in recent months,” the Israeli defence ministry body Cogat said. The operation was carried out in cooperation with the UAE, the EU and the WHO, it added

• Lebanon said it had filed a complaint with the UN’s labour agency over the deadly attacks on communication devices across the country in September, which it blames on Israel. Lebanese labour minister Mustafa Bayram called the attack – which Israel has not admitted – an “egregious war against humanity, against technology, against work”