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OCCUPPIED JERUSALEM — Senior US officials were to meet their Israeli counterparts Thursday to discuss a possible deal to end the conflict in Lebanon and secure Israel's northern border from Hezbollah attacks.

Less than a week before the US presidential election, Washington's envoys Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk were expected in Israel and Israeli forces continued their fierce ground and air campaign against Hizbollah targets in Lebanon.

On Wednesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed optimism about a ceasefire in "the coming hours or days" and Hizbollah's new leader Naim Qassem said the group would accept a truce under certain conditions.

According to Israeli media reports citing government sources, the plan brokered by the US team would see Hizbollah forces retreat around 30 kilometres from the border, north of the Litani river.

Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and the Lebanese army would then take charge of the border, alongside UN peacekeepers. 

Lebanon would be responsible for preventing Hizbollah from rearming itself with imported weapons, and Israel would retain its rights under international law to act in self-defence.

 'Sharp conclusion' -

Diplomatic efforts are also underway to agree a short halt to fighting in Gaza, where Israel is pummelling the remnants of Hamas, more than a year after the group launched its unprecedented attack on Israel.

But on Thursday, senior Hamas official Taher Al Nunu told AFP that the group rejected the idea of a short-term pause in the fighting mooted by US and Qatari mediators.

Mediators had hoped that a short pause would create a window to bring in humanitarian aid to Gaza's desperate civilian population and to negotiate a permanent ceasefire. But Hamas rejected this.

"The idea of a temporary pause in the war, only to resume aggression later, is something we have already expressed our position on. Hamas supports a permanent end to the war, not a temporary one," Nunu said.

Any deal to stabilise Israel's front with Lebanon is likely to come first, ahead of any ceasefire for Gaza. 

Last week, Israel's chief of general staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said: "In the north, there's a possibility of reaching a sharp conclusion."

On Thursday, Israel pressed its onslaught in Lebanon, which analysts say has put it in a position of strength to strike a deal.

The Israeli military issued an evacuation call for civilians in several areas of southern Lebanon, including the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidieh. 

Previous such warnings in recent days have been swiftly followed by deadly air strikes, and several bombings were reported near the coastal city of Tyre shortly after it was issued.

Syrian state media and an independent war monitor reported that Israel had carried out a strike across Lebanon's border in the Qusayr area. 

Three people were killed, according to the Britain-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, when the attack hit "a weapons depot and a fuel storage facility for Hezbollah in the industrial city of Qusayr". 

Hizbollah meanwhile kept up its rocket fire on Israel. A rocket strike in the northern town of Metula killed a local farmer and four foreign farm workers, regional council head David Azoulai told AFP.

Hizbollah named Qassem as its new leader on Tuesday, following the assassination of his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah by Israel in a massive air strike last month.

In his first speech since taking over, Qassem said Hizbollah could continue to resist Israeli air and ground attacks in Lebanon for months.

But he also opened the door to a negotiated truce, if presented with an Israeli offer.

"If the Israelis decide that they want to stop the aggression, we say we accept, but under the conditions that we see as appropriate and suitable," he said.

Air strikes 

The war in Lebanon began late last month, nearly a year after Hizbollah began low-intensity cross-border fire into Israel in support of Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The war has killed at least 1,754 people in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures, although the real number is likely to be higher.

The United Nations children's agency UNICEF said on Thursday that the war in Lebanon has caused the death of a least one child per day and wounded an average of 10 since October 4. 

Israel's military says it has lost 37 soldiers in Lebanon since ground operations began on September 30.

AMMAN — Israel has issued an evacuation order for Baalbek and its surrounding areas in eastern Lebanon, as it prepares to conduct military operations targeting Iran-backed Hizbollah facilities in the region.

The area is home to 250,000 inhabitants and to one of the best-preserved Roman temples in the world. 

"For your safety and that of your family, you must immediately evacuate your homes and move out of the city and the villages," the Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X platform, with a map indicating the routes to take for evacuation.

This marks the first city-wide evacuation warning since Israeli strikes began on Lebanon on September 23. 

An AFP correspondent reported that panic swept through Baalbek as residents rushed to flee, their vehicles packed with mattresses and belongings. 

“The city is almost empty,” the correspondent noted, as civil defence vehicles urged immediate evacuation over loudspeakers in the city and its mosques and churches. 

The situation escalated sharply on Monday, with at least 60 fatalities reported from Israeli airstrikes across several towns in the Bekaa Valley, marking the deadliest day in over a year, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Baalbek’s Mayor Bachir Khodr condemned the violence as “the most violent day in Baalbek since the beginning of the aggression,” stating that people remain trapped under the rubble. 

Reports from Lebanese media claimed that two historical walls in the ancient city, dating back to the French Mandate and the Ottoman period, were destroyed by the bombings, marking the first time since the escalation of the conflict on October 7 that Israeli bombings have come so close to the citadel of Baalbek. 

The evacuation map includes the UNESCO-listed Roman temple complex, a major archaeological site. 

The monumental ensemble of Baalbek is considered, according to UNESCO, as one of the most impressive testimonies of Roman architecture, containing some of the largest Roman temples ever built and among the best preserved. 

Israeli strikes have increasingly approached the ancient citadel, previously hitting areas up to 700 metres away. 

The recent bombings and evacuation orders have raised concerns over the preservation of this important cultural heritage site.

AMMAN — The haunting sight of smoke columns rising behind the Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek has sparked serious concerns among heritage experts. As Lebanon faces yet another humanitarian disaster, its already neglected cultural heritage is now facing new threat: Israeli air strike.  

“Israel has attacked targets in Lebanon near to the ancient ruins,” the governor of Baalbek-Hermel, Bachir Khodr wrote on X platform. An Israeli air strike struck close to the ancient citadel of Baalbek, landing about 500 to 700 metres from the site, according to Lebanese officials. Khodr warned that even indirect impacts, such as blast pressure and black smoke, could damage the archaeological stones.

Since Israeli began its air strikes against Lebanon on September 23, more than 1 million people across Lebanon have been displaced, according to the UNHCR. “Beyond the tragic loss of life and displacement of families, communities are facing severe destabilisation,” UNHCR said in an emergency update. 

The Lebanese News Agency reported that the Israeli raids on Baalbek-Hermel governorate killed 282 people over the span of two weeks, wounded almost 800 others, and fell dangerously close to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Best preserved temple

“The site was inspected, the temples are fine and have not suffered direct damage,” Khodr told the Lebanese media. “Security has been tightened on Baalbek for fear or any theft, looting or misuse of the site. The site is under the supervision and protection of the Lebanese security authorities… so that no one thinks that it is possible to enter or hide inside.”

Baalbek, an ancient Phoenician city inhabited since 9,000 BC, located in the Bekaa Valley at the foot of the Anti-Lebanon Mountain, is home to one of the most significant religious complexes of the ancient world, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Built over two centuries, these monumental structures reflect a fusion of Roman Imperial architecture and earlier vestiges of Phoenician traditions.

The monumental ensemble of Baalbek is considered, according to UNESCO, as one of the most impressive testimonies of Roman architecture, containing some of the largest Roman temples ever built and among the best preserved. 

Baalbek’s inclusion as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984 highlights its outstanding architectural, historical, and cultural importance. Baalbek’s significance lies not only in its architectural grandeur but also in its testament to the cultural exchanges that shaped the ancient world, making it a symbol of shared human heritage.

“This is not the first aggression against Lebanon, nor is it the first violation of an archaeological site or heritage building. Currently, there are no statistics on the situation in the south, we are trying to document events by communicating with locals and analysing images on social media that illustrate the damage to historical buildings,” Nelly Aboud, a Lebanese archaeologist and museum educator and director of Museolab, an NGO that promotes cultural heritage through experiential learning, said. 

In remarks to The Jordan Times, she added, “It is difficult to determine what is happening on the ground at the moment as these areas are highly inaccessible. No significant damage has been reported so far but we cannot predict whether a bombing or explosion will occur soon and what the consequences might be. We are being bombed by those who have no respect for treaties, agreements or human rights, are indifferent to classified archaeological sites and have no regard for human life.” 

UN protection 

Lebanese Caretaker Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada was quoted in Lebanese media outlets as calling for an international action, saying, “UNESCO is responsible for looking over these sites, and we [have asked] to inform the UN and its Security Council to demand Israel to respect international laws and not harm our heritage."

He said he had sent a letter to UNESCO, explaining the danger of Israeli attacks on Lebanon, asking UNESCO to take necessary measures and file complaints with the competent authorities. 

In November 2023, Mortada ordered the removal of one of the temple’s Blue Shields, an emblem designating cultural property to be protected in times of armed conflict, which raised concern for Lebanon’s most renowned archaeological site, especially since October 7 and the daily fire exchanged between Hizbollah and the Israeli forces.

The Blue Shield is a protective emblem specified in the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, to be used to indicate protected cultural property in armed conflict. “The atrocities in Gaza have proven that such a shield protects nothing,” Mortada said. 

War on cultural heritage

Abboud highlighted that Saida and Sour, cities that are both holding precious heritage sites, are currently under bombardment and do not receive adequate media coverage. “Sour has been hit by heavy air strikes, but no inspections of the sites are being carried out and no urgent action is being taken to document the damage. There is no quick response plan and huge negligence from the state, with an overall lack of oversight regarding the preservation and protection of both classified and unclassified sites. There is a lack of contingency plans on the part of both the government and the cultural organisations. Negligence is the main problem.”

ICOMOS has issued a statement following the threats to Lebanon’s cultural heritage. The statement says that, in addition to Baalbek World Heritage site, other heritage sites have been endangered by airstrikes, bombings, and shelling, such as Anjar, Byblos, Wadi Qadisha, Rachid Karami International Fair in Tripoli and the Forest of the Cedars of God. On October 13, the Ottoman mosque in the town of “Kfar Tebnit” was reportedly destroyed according to the ICOMOS statement, as well as the historic souks of Nabatiye.

ICOMOS called on all parties to do "all in their power" to protect cultural heritage and to respect their obligations under international law, in particular the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. 

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories — A single Israeli air strike on a residential block left nearly 100 dead Tuesday, Gaza's civil defence agency said, as Israel faced criticism after its parliament voted to ban the key UN aid agency working in the Palestinian territory.

Palestinian rescuers and family members were scouring through the rubble of the demolished five-storey block in Beit Lahia in the north of Gaza, near the Jabalia area where an Israeli operation is underway to root out remaining pockets of Hamas fighters.

A charred body with long hair hung out of an upper storey window and corpses wrapped in blankets were lined up in the street below, as stunned relatives sought to identify the dead.

"The number of martyrs in the massacre of the Abu Nasr family home in Beit Lahia has risen to 93 martyrs, and about 40 are still missing under the rubble," Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

The Israeli military said it was "looking into the reports" of the strike in Beit Lahia, having earlier reported that its ground and air forces had killed 40 Hamas fighters and lost four of its own soldiers in combat.

 'Women and children'

"The explosion happened at night and I first thought it was shelling, but when I went out after sunrise I saw people pulling bodies, limbs and the wounded from under the rubble," said Rabie Al Shandagly, 30, who had taken refuge in a nearby school in Beit Lahia.

"Most of the victims are women and children, and people are trying to save the injured, but there are no hospitals or proper medical care," he told AFP.

The Israeli military has been conducted a sweeping air and ground assault in northern Gaza since October 6 -- particularly Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun -- in what it describes as an operation to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee the area, many of them not for the first time, after more than 12 months of fierce combat in the densely populated territory unleashed after Hamas militants launched a bloody cross-border assault into Israel on October 7 last year.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 43,020 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the territory's health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable, triggering warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe.

International concerns soared further on Tuesday after the Israeli parliament voted overwhelmingly to ban the main United Nations aid agency working with Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Lawmakers also passed a measure prohibiting Israeli officials from working with UNRWA and its employees.

Israel strictly controls all humanitarian aid shipments to Gaza, and UNRWA has provided essential aid, schooling and healthcare across the Palestinian territories and in the diaspora for more than seven decades.

'Devastating consequences'

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres sent a letter Tuesday to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu protesting a new law that could effectively cripple the UN agency responsible for aiding Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), his spokesman said.

Guterres outlined in his letter "the issues of international law that have been raised by this law," Stephane Dujarric said, adding that it would have a "devastating impact on the humanitarian situation of Palestinians in the occupied territory" if implemented.

Several of Israel's Western allies voiced disquiet at the ban, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying Britain was "gravely concerned" and the French foreign ministry saying Paris "very strongly regrets" the law which it said could have a catastrophic effect on civilians.

Germany, which has been a staunch defender of Israel's security, warned it would "effectively make UNRWA's work in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem impossible... jeopardising vital humanitarian aid for millions of people".

Guterres said the Israeli law could have "devastating consequences" if implemented and "would likely prevent UNRWA from continuing its essential work".

The foreign ministry of Jordan, which also hosts UNRWA offices, condemned the ban as a "continuation of Israel's frantic efforts to assassinate the UN agency politically".

Netanyahu said on social media that Israel was "ready" to continue providing aid to Gaza "in a way that does not threaten Israel's security".

The ban comes as fighting rages in Gaza and Lebanon, where a second full-scale front opened last month.

Earlier Monday, Netanyahu's office said Mossad intelligence chief David Barnea had met US and Qatari mediators in Doha, where they agreed they should talk to Hamas about a deal to free Israelis seized in the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants.

The statement came two days after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi proposed a two-day truce and limited hostage-prisoner exchange that he said could lead to a permanent ceasefire.

But Netanyahu later said he had not received the Egyptian proposal.

Asked about the possibility of a Gaza ceasefire, US President Joe Biden said: "We need a ceasefire. We should end this war. It should end, it should end, it should end."

Hizbollah names new leader

In Lebanon, Israeli tanks rolled into the outskirts of the village of Khiam, their deepest incursion yet in the ground operation they launched against Hizbollah last month, state media reported.

Hezbollah meanwhile announced it has chosen deputy head Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as leader after his death in an Israeli strike on south Beirut last month.

"Hizbollah's [governing] Shura Council agreed to elect... Sheikh Naim Qassem as secretary general of Hezbollah," the Iran-backed group said in a statement, more than a month after Nasrallah's killing.

Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah's executive council, was initially tipped to succeed Nasrallah.

But he too was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs shortly after Nasrallah's assassination.

According to an AFP tally based on official figures, at least 1,700 people have been killed in Lebanon since September 23, when the fighting escalated as Israel launched an air and ground offensive against Hezbollah, which had been carrying out rocket attacks in support of Hamas.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Israeli forces launched deadly strikes on Lebanon and Gaza on Monday, pressing their offensive against militants after Egypt's president proposed a two-day truce in the Israeli war against Gaza.

There was no comment from either Israel or Hamas on the plan unveiled Sunday by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, but Israeli media said spy chief David Barnea was in Qatar for renewed talks on a hostage release deal.

Iran, which supports Hamas but has largely avoided a direct confrontation with arch-foe Israel, warned it would "respond firmly and effectively" to Israeli strikes on military sites over the weekend.

The war has drawn in Tehran-backed allies of Hamas, including Hizbollah in Lebanon, where strikes hit the southern port of Tyre on Monday.

The Lebanese health ministry said at least seven people were killed when Israel struck the city centre. An AFP journalist saw an entire apartment block collapsed into smouldering rubble.

The ministry said at least 17 more people were wounded as rescue workers were racing to pull more survivors from the pancaked building.

Hours later, the Israeli army issued a new warning to residents, telling them to leave ahead of another attack on Hizbollah targets there. Lebanon's National News Agency subsequently reported "a series of strikes" of the city.

Hezbollah said its fighters had attacked Israeli forces along the border with rockets and artillery.

Last month, Israel escalated its air strikes on Hizbollah bastions across Lebanon and launched ground operations, following a year of low-intensity exchanges and cross-border Hezbollah attacks that the Lebanese group says were in support of Hamas.

At least 1,634 people have been killed in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally based on official figures, though the real number is likely to be higher due to gaps in the data.

 'Spent everything' just to eat 

In Gaza, where Israel's year-long military campaign has killed Hamas's senior leadership while killing tens of thousands of people and triggering a humanitarian crisis, rescuers reported fresh strikes on Monday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said three people were killed in a drone attack on Gaza City, while the civil defence agency and an AFP correspondent reported more air strikes and shelling in other areas of the territory's north and centre.

The Israeli military said it had hit north Gaza's Jabalia -- the focus of an ongoing sweeping assault since early October -- and "eliminated dozens of terrorists in ground and aerial activity".

An Israeli military official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said that the goal of the operation was to clear the Jabalia refugee camp of militants, which "will take us at least [several] weeks" to achieve.

He said there was "heavy fighting" in areas where Hamas militants were present.

The official said Israel was not forcing residents to leave, claiming that "the safer zone in the Gaza Strip is in the south, but it's up to them" to decide whether to go.

Many Palestinians have been displaced several times during the war, as the Israeli military's focus shifts from one area to another.

"I fled at the start of the war with my family of nine," said 40-year-old Waleed Abu Shawish, who was forced to flee Gaza City to Khan Yunis in the south.

"I spent everything I had just to provide food and clean drinking water."

Ahmad Abu Aita, a 25-year-old man displaced from the north of Gaza to a camp in the centre of the territory, said the approaching winter was making already dire conditions even worse.

"Two weeks ago, it rained at night, and we were soaked in rainwater," he said.

New truce bid 

As Israel pushed ahead with its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, a top Iranian general said it would face "bitter consequences" after Saturday's attack on military sites.

Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami, quoted by Tasnim news agency, said the Israeli air raid had failed, calling it a sign of "miscalculation and helplessness".

The UN Security Council will meet later on Monday at Iran's request, with Tehran urging the world to condemn Saturday's strikes which authorities said killed four soldiers and caused some damage.

Iranian media said a civilian guard was also killed in the first direct action on Iranian soil that Israel has publicly confirmed.

In a bid to stop the war, Egypt's Sisi proposed a two-day pause in Gaza and a limited hostage and prisoner exchange, aimed at eventually securing an elusive "complete ceasefire" between Hamas and Israel.

The proposal includes exchanging four Israeli hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and would be followed by more negotiations within 10 days, Sisi said.

Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. More than 100 were released during a one-week truce last November.

Families of hostages have called on the Israeli government to broker an agreement in the wake of the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar earlier this month.

At least 43,020 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in the Israeli offensive on Gaza, according to figures from the territory's health ministry, which the UN considers reliable.