Israel's military has confirmed the killing of Hashem Safieddine, the man expected to succeed Hezbollah's slain leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Earlier this month, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Safieddine had probably been "eliminated" after fighter jets bombed Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters, located underground in the heart of a civilian population in the Da'aheh area of ??Beirut.
On Wednesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Safieddine has been killed in the attack three weeks ago which also killed 25 other Hezbollah leaders.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said: "We have reached Nasrallah, his successor and most of Hezbollah's top brass. We will know how to reach anyone who threatens the security of the citizens of the State of Israel"
Israel to address concerns over Gaza aid
Israel promised to address US concerns over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza as Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visited the region and told officials their efforts so far were insufficient, according to a US State Department official.
But the assurances the US official cited were absent in an Israeli statement on the meeting, which made no mention of humanitarian issues at all.
On Wednesday, the IDF posted a video on X, saying over 230 trucks of humanitarian aid had been delivered to Gaza since last week. It comes after the US government warned if humanitarian aid in Gaza was not improved in the next 30 days, American military funding to the country may be cut.
Mr Blinken, in his 11th trip to the region since the war broke out, was also seeking ways to defuse an escalating spillover conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"The Secretary underscored the need to capitalise on Israel's successful action to bring Yahya Sinwar to justice by securing the release of all hostages and ending the conflict in Gaza in a way that provides lasting security for Israelis and Palestinians alike," the US State Department said in a statement on the Jerusalem meetings.
In a statement issued by his office, Benjamin Netanyahu said Sinwar's elimination "may have a positive effect on the return of the hostages, the achievement of all the goals of the war, and the day after the war".
There was no mention of a possible ceasefire after a year of war in which Hamas's military capabilities have been greatly degraded and Gaza largely reduced to rubble, with most of its 2.3 million Palestinians displaced.
Hezbollah attack Netanyahu's holiday home
Hezbollah said on Tuesday that there will be no negotiations while fighting continues, and that it held Israel responsible for the wellbeing of the group's fighters who had been captured.
"Hezbollah takes the full and sole responsibility for targeting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's house," Mohammad Afif, the head of the militant group's media office, told a press conference in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Israel said a drone was launched at Netanyahu's holiday home on Saturday. Mr Netanyahu was not there at the time. But he described it as an assassination attempt by "Iran's proxy Hezbollah" and called it a "grave mistake".
More heavy air strikes on Beirut
UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk said he was "appalled" by the Israeli strike near the Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut overnight, where at least 18 people were killed, including four children, and 60 injured.
The hospital had suffered damage, probably by flying missile debris, according to its director Jihad Saadeh. While there were no casualties among the staff, efforts to rescue people in front of the hospital were ongoing, he added.
The Israeli military said the hospital was not among the targets during a night of heavy air strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs and south Lebanon.
Israeli strikes continued across Lebanon on Tuesday, including one which caused the collapse of a multi-storey building near central Beirut, sending more panicked residents fleeing.
Among the casualties in the fighting was the deputy commander of an Israeli battalion, who was killed in southern Lebanon, Israeli media said.
Israel's offensive has driven at least 1.2 million Lebanese from their homes and killed 2,530 people, including at least 63 over the past 24 hours, the Lebanese government said on Tuesday.
Nasser Yassin, Lebanon's minister in charge of coordinating the response to the crisis, told Reuters on Tuesday that at least $250 million was needed monthly to support the displaced.
Wholesale conflict has spread from Gaza to Lebanon over the past month with Israel launching a ground campaign and intensified air assaults on Hezbollah, which had been firing across the frontier for a year in solidarity with Hamas.
ABC/Reuters
