Israel gears up for ‘imminent’ Lebanon ground incursion against Hezbollah; Biden urges ceasefire| 10 points

Israel on Monday said its ground troops could join the fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah. Defence minister Yoav Gallant said that the killing of the Lebanese group's chief Hassan Nasrallah is an “important step, but not the final one”.

"The next stage in the war against Hezbollah will begin soon," Gallant told a meeting of local council heads in northern Israel, Reuters reported.

Middle East Conflict LIVE Coverage

The Middle East conflict rages on as Israel continues to pound Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, while sounding a warning to Iran. “There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country,” Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video directed to Tehran.

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“I speak a lot about the leaders of Iran. Yet at this pivotal moment, I want to address you - the people of Iran. I want to do so directly, without filters, without middlemen. Every day, you see a regime that subjugates you, make fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza. Yet every day, that regime plunges our region deeper into darkness and deeper into war,” Netanyahu added.

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Here are the top 10 updates on the Middle East conflict:-

1. US president Joe Biden urged for a halt to the fighting as Israel gears up for a ground invasion, Bloomberg reported. “I’m more aware than you might know and I’m comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now,” the US President said.

2. According to an Associated Press report, the United States is sending an additional “few thousand” troops to the Middle East to bolster security and to be prepared to defend Israel if necessary, the Pentagon said. AP said the additional personnel includes squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16, A-10 and F-22 fighter jets and the personnel needed to support them.

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3. The Israel Defence Forces in an X post claimed to have eliminated Nidal Abdel-Aal, the head of the Lebanon Branch of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the head of the PFLP's military office in Lebanon, Imad Odeh.

4. Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have said they will “escalate military operations” against Israel in response to the attacks on the country.

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5. Hezbollah's acting leader Naim Qassem has vowed to keep fighting Israel, adding that the group was prepared for a long fight despite losing several top commanders including Nasrallah.

6. The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) chief denied knowing that its employee Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin was a Hamas commander in Lebanon and called on states to push back against Israeli attacks on the agency, Reuters reported. The head of Hamas' Lebanon branch, Amin was killed along with family members in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon. He was suspended from his job at UNRWA in March following allegations concerning his politics, Philippe Lazzarini told reporters in Geneva.

7. The Israeli strikes continued with one of them killing a soldier in south Lebanon according to a military statement, the first death among Lebanese troops in the current escalation.

8. According to Lebanon's health minister Firass Abiad, said more than 1,000 people have been killed since September 17, AFP reported. UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said "well over 200,000 people are displaced inside Lebanon", while more than 100,000 have fled to neighbouring Syria.

9. Syrians are now fearing Israel's bombardment of neighbouring Lebanon could spill into government-held areas, which have already faced hundreds of Israeli strikes over the years, AFP reported. Nasrallah was a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad and backed the Damascus government's forces during the Syrian civil war.

10. Hezbollah said in a statement it had attacked Israel using a "Nour Missile", which sources familiar with Hezbollah told Reuters is a ballistic missile.

(With agency inputs)

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