Israeli military says killed senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon

Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon on Wednesday, killing Hussain Abd Al-Haleem Harb, Hezbollah's commander in the Khiam region, Israel's military reported. In a statement, the military said Harb "directed and executed many rocket attacks against communities in the Galilee, and against the area of Metula specifically".

Over the past 24 hours, the Israeli Air Force has conducted around 70 strikes in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, according to military figures. In Lebanon, ground forces coordinated aerial strikes that killed "a number" of Hezbollah fighters, while in Gaza, Israeli soldiers reportedly killed "dozens" of individuals the military identified as militants.

UN agencies and partners continue to deliver humanitarian aid to crisis-impacted people in Lebanon amid escalating hostilities, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, said at a daily briefing.

On Monday, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) delivered medical supplies and fuel for generators to the Burj Shimali Palestinian refugee camp in Tyre in Lebanon. A humanitarian convoy also delivered medical supplies, medicine and hygiene kits to a healthcare centre in Labweh, located in the Baalbek-El Hermel area.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) has already reached over 2 million vulnerable people in the country through its emergency assistance as well as regularly initiatives. The WFP is also providing food assistance to Lebanese and Syrian people fleeing across the border into Syria.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is partnering with local authorities to facilitate the gradual return to learning for some 387,000 Lebanese children, including those staying in shelters and communities affected by the war, Xinhua news agency reported.

The initiative is part of an emergency response plan to support the opening and operation of 326 public schools not used as shelters to ensure school-age children in Lebanon have access to education.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the humanitarian situation in the country has reached levels that exceeded the severity of the 2006 war. The healthcare sector continues to face relentless attacks, with facilities, staff and resources increasingly caught in the crossfire, and further straining Lebanon's already fragile health infrastructure.

"Our humanitarian colleagues fear that, amid escalating hostilities and the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, the demand for food, medicine, shelter and other essential supplies is growing higher," the UN spokesperson said, calling for urgent funding needed to sustain the response.

However, the humanitarian appeal launched in the beginning of October for $426 million is currently just under 19 per cent funded. That means only $80 million has been received so far, he added, urging countries not only to pledge but turn pledges to cash as early as possible.

Meanwhile, three Palestinian men were killed by Israeli army gunfire in the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin in the northern West Bank. Local sources and witnesses said Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition at a car after ramming it with a military vehicle to force it to stop.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society confirmed that its workers transported the bodies of two men from inside the vehicle to a medical complex in Qabatiya. A third victim, according to Palestinian security sources, was on the roof of his family's home when Israeli soldiers shot him. He was taken to Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, where he was later pronounced dead. The Israeli military has not yet commented on the incident, Xinhua news agency reported.

These latest deaths bring the total number of Palestinians killed in the northern West Bank to seven since Tuesday morning. Earlier, the Palestinian health ministry reported that four others were killed in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire in Jenin and Tubas. In a separate statement on Tuesday, the Israeli army said its drone had targeted an armed cell near Qabatiya.

Tensions in the West Bank have escalated significantly since 7 October 2023, with more than 760 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and shelling, according to the Palestinian health ministry.