Israel has announced that additional troops are to join its ground invasion into southern Lebanon.
In a message posted to its official Telegram channel, the IDF said:
The 36th Division, including soldiers of the Golani Brigade, 188th Armored Brigade, 6th Infantry Brigade, and additional forces are joining the limited, localised, targeted raids on Hezbollah terror targets and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon that began on Monday.
It says, in addition, that “The soldiers are being accompanied by the IAF and the 282nd Artillery Brigade.”
Key events
Israeli media reports that 10 houses have been damaged by rockets or artillery fire in Metula, an Israeli community which is right up against the UN-drawn blue line that separates Israel and Lebanon.
The information minister in Lebanon’s caretaker government, Johnny Corm, has promised that the country is working hard to “avoid communication paralysis” while it is under attack from Israel.
Posting a video of telecomms equipment in south Beirut that had been destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, he said:
This is one of the cellular transmission stations that was destroyed by the Israeli aggression on the southern suburb of Beirut. We strongly condemn this attack and are working hard to ensure that services are provided to citizens and to avoid communication paralysis.
هي احدى محطات الارسال الخليوي التي تدمّرت بفعل العدوان الاسرائيلي على ضاحية بيروت الجنوبية.
نستنكر هذا الاعتداء أشدّ الاستنكار ونعمل جاهدين لضمان توفير الخدمة للمواطنين وتفادي الشلل بالتواصل. pic.twitter.com/yj0PXl38jJ— Johnny Corm جوني القرم (@JohnnyCorm) October 2, 2024
This image sent to us over the news wires shows smoke rising again over Beirut after another Israeli airstrike on Lebanon’s capital earlier today.
At least 60 people killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight – reports
Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 60 Palestinians overnight, including in a school sheltering displaced families, medics in the territory said.
Reuters reports that local media said Israeli tanks carried out a raid on several areas in eastern and central Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, before partially retreating, leaving at least 40 people killed and dozens wounded.
At least 22 Palestinians were killed in Gaza City, including a strike on a school sheltering displaced families that killed 17.
Israel’s military has repeatedly claimed to be targeting Hamas rather than civilians in its operation inside Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 350 Israeli troops over its course. Palestinian sources put the number of dead in Gaza at well over 40,000. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz has threatened Israeli retaliation for Iran’s “brutal” missile attack yesterday in a post to social media thanking world leaders for their support.
Katz said:
The support and solidarity from leaders and nations around the world will never be forgotten. We know who our friends are. The Ayatollah regime has crossed the red line – and the state of Israel will not remain silent in the face of Iran’s brutal attack on our citizens. The entire free world must stand with Israel to stop the Iranian axis of evil – before it’s too late.
He was responding to US senator Tom Cotton saying “Pray for Israel and then back Israel to the hilt to destroy our common enemies.”
To date it is known that two Israelis were lightly wounded in the attack yesterday by Iran, and one person was killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank by the attack.
Israeli media reports that about 100 rockets have been launched into Israel from the direction of Lebanon so far today. There are no reports of any casualties.
AFP reports that Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that Tehran has warned the US against intervening after Iran launched missiles into Israel yesterday.
“We have … warned the US forces to withdraw from this matter and not to intervene,” Araghchi told state television, adding that the message was relayed through the Swiss embassy in Tehran.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday called on Iran and Hezbollah to immediately end their attacks on Israel and warned that Iran risks inflaming the entire region.
Reuters reports Scholz said “Iran is risking setting the entire region on fire – this must be prevented at all costs. Hezbollah and Iran must immediately cease their attacks on Israel.”
He added that Germany would continue to work with its partners towards a ceasefire.
Israel has vowed to retaliate after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at targets across Israel. The Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed by an Israeli strike on Beirut on Friday.
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, which the IDF says are targeting Hezbollah, have killed about 1,000 people and wounded 6,000 more in the past couple of weeks, with one million people said to be displaced from their homes. Israel has ordered residents of more than 20 villages in the south of Lebanon to flee their homes in order to save their lives.
Authorities in Gaza report that over 40,000 people have been killed there by the Israeli military campaign against Hamas over the last year.
Yemen’s Houthis in a statement have said they will not hesitate in broadening their operations against Israel. Reuters reports they also threatened US and UK shipping interests on account of the nations’ “continuous” support of Israel. The Houthis claim to have targeted a military post deep inside Israel with rocket fire.
Security and defence editor at Sky News, Deborah Haynes, has reported “There seems to be a lot more firing – Israeli outgoing rounds, Hezbollah incoming rockets” in the north of Israel where she is positioned, and she just posted a video of her and her team having to run for cover.
There seems to be a lot more firing – Israeli outgoing rounds, Hezbollah incoming rockets – that can be heard from our position near the Lebanon border in northern Israel. We just had to run for cover after seeing as well as hearing a Hezbollah rocket. pic.twitter.com/X7w9tR4Hm1
— Deborah Haynes (@haynesdeborah) October 2, 2024
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that 40 civilians have been killed in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, where Israel continues its military campaign against Hamas.
It reports:
Medical teams recovered the bodies of 40 fatalities, most of them children and women, and dozens of causalities after a ground incursion and airstrikes launched by the occupation army on the southeastern areas of Khan Younis. The family of journalist Ahmed al-Zard said that a number of family members were killed, including his brother, uncle and cousins, while Ahmed was seriously injured along with his mother and brother.
The claims have not been independently verified. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Police in Denmark have said they are investigating two blasts in Copenhagen overnight that were near the Israeli embassy. “It is too early to say if there is a link” the police said, adding “nobody was wounded.”
AFP notes the Israeli embassy is among several foreign missions, including Iran, Thailand, Turkey and Romania, that are clustered together in the north of the Danish capital.
Israel has announced that additional troops are to join its ground invasion into southern Lebanon.
In a message posted to its official Telegram channel, the IDF said:
The 36th Division, including soldiers of the Golani Brigade, 188th Armored Brigade, 6th Infantry Brigade, and additional forces are joining the limited, localised, targeted raids on Hezbollah terror targets and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon that began on Monday.
It says, in addition, that “The soldiers are being accompanied by the IAF and the 282nd Artillery Brigade.”
Following our update on airline cancellations: Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has said it is re-routing a number of its flights on Wednesday in response to airspace restrictions in parts of the Middle East.
Etitad said it is continuously monitoring security and airspace updates as the situation develops.
Meanwhile, all flights in Iran will remain cancelled until 5am Thursday local time, the country’s civil aviation organisation announced.
Israel issues another order telling Lebanese residents to flee villages to save their lives
Israel’s military has issued another message that residents in over 20 Lebanese villages should flee their homes to avoid being attacked.
Avichay Adraee’s message states that “The IDF does not intend to harm you” but claims that “Hezbollah’s activities force the IDF to act against it forcefully” and tells people in the villages listed to “save your lives” by moving, and insists they do not travel south.
It continues:
Anyone who is near Hezbollah elements, installations, and combat equipment is putting their life at risk. Any house used by Hezbollah for its military needs is expected to be targeted. Evacuate your homes immediately. Be careful, you must not go south. Any southward movement may put you in danger.
It ends by telling citizens of a neighbouring sovereign country “We [i.e. the IDF] will let you know when it is safe to return home.”
#عاجل ‼️ انذار إلى سكان القرى في جنوب لبنان: البياضة, بيوت السياد, الراشيدية, معشوق, البص, شبريحا, طير دبا, البرغلية, مخيم القاسمية, نبي قاسم, برج رحال, العباسية, معركة, عين بعال, محرونة, بافلية, ديركيفا, صريفا, ارزون, دردغيا, ضهر برية جابر, جبل العدس, شحور, برج الشمالي
⭕️نشاطات… pic.twitter.com/XRbVdgTBQZ
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 2, 2024
As we just reported, the scale of the damage on Israel after Iran’s ballistic missile attack remains unclear.
No injuries have been reported in Israel, but one person was killed in the occupied West Bank, authorities there said.
There are however multiple images of craters in central and southern Israel. PBS foreign affairs and defense correspondent, Nick Schifrin posted this report from close to the Mossad headquarters on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, showing a large crater.
How much damage did Iran’s missile attack on Israel cause?
There continues to be very little information about how much damage Iran’s missile attack on Israel caused.
In its attack on Tuesday, Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles, Israel’s government said. Some of the missile fired by Iran were hypersonic Fattah missiles, with a maximum speed estimated at 10,000mph.
According to the Revolutionary Guards, 90% of its missiles successfully hit their targets. Israel however says most missiles were intercepted by its air defence and that statement appears to be backed up by comments from the UK and US who played a role in Israel’s defence.
Images from central Israel show officials inspecting an impact crater.
No injuries were reported in Israel, but one man was killed in the occupied West Bank, authorities there said. Images show missiles fallen in Ramallah, in the West Bank.
The IDF’s Daniel Hagari said there were “a small number” of hits. The Israeli military published video of a school in the central city of Gadera that was heavily damaged by an Iranian missile.
In the United States, vice-presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance have faced off in the first VP debate of this election. The first question was about the current issues in the Middle East; both candidates were asked whether they would support or oppose a pre-emptive strike by Israel on Iran.
Walz said Israel’s ability to defend itself is “absolutely fundamental” and said “steady leadership” is fundamental. Walz noted that Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, said the president was “the most flawed human being he’d ever met” and that Trump’s secretaries of defence and his national security advisers “said he should be nowhere near the White House”.
For his part, Vance said Donald Trump “consistently made the world more secure” and that Trump, as president, recognised that “you needed peace through strength”.
Vance said that it is up to Israel to do what they need to do to keep their country safe, adding “we should support our allies wherever they are when they’re fighting the bad guys.”
You can follow the ongoing reaction to the debate here.
Reports of fresh clashes in southern Lebanon
Air raid alerts have been issued for several locations in northern Israel, with sirens sounding in a number of towns in the Upper Galilee.
The IDF has issued new warnings for residents in southern Lebanon, saying heavy fighting was taking place against Hezbollah.
Images coming into the newsroom show Israeli mobile artillery units firing from northern Israel towards Lebanon.
Earlier, Hezbollah said it had confronted Israeli forces infiltrating the Lebanese town of Adaisseh and forced them to retreat. Adaisseh sits on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel, just 200 metres from the Israeli town of Misgav Am, where air alert sirens were active in the last few hours.