Israel Says it Struck Hezbollah Sites in Lebanon after Drone Attack on Mount Hermon

An Israeli fighter jet ejects flares while flying over an area near the Lebanon-Israel border, as seen from an undisclosed location in northern Israel, 07 July 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
An Israeli fighter jet ejects flares while flying over an area near the Lebanon-Israel border, as seen from an undisclosed location in northern Israel, 07 July 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
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Israel Says it Struck Hezbollah Sites in Lebanon after Drone Attack on Mount Hermon

An Israeli fighter jet ejects flares while flying over an area near the Lebanon-Israel border, as seen from an undisclosed location in northern Israel, 07 July 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
An Israeli fighter jet ejects flares while flying over an area near the Lebanon-Israel border, as seen from an undisclosed location in northern Israel, 07 July 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI

Israel's military said in a statement early on Monday it launched multiple air and artillery strikes overnight on what it said were Hezbollah military targets in Lebanon.

The strikes came after the Iranian-backed militant group said on Sunday it had launched a drone attack on Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

Israel has key surveillance, espionage and air defense installations on Mount Hermon where it overlooks the Syrian capital.

Hezbollah said this was its first such bombing since it began trading fire with Israel on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, sparking the Gaza war. Hezbollah says it would halt operations only when the war ends.

Although it had hit other areas in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights repeatedly, Hezbollah said it was the first time to hit the military target that is at the highest elevation in the Israeli-controlled territory.



Egypt Hosts Hamas in New Gaza Ceasefire Push, Looting Halts Aid

Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
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Egypt Hosts Hamas in New Gaza Ceasefire Push, Looting Halts Aid

Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

Hamas leaders held talks with Egyptian security officials on Sunday in a fresh push for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, two Hamas sources said, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene his security cabinet on the matter, two Israeli officials said.

The Hamas visit to Cairo was the first since the United States announced on Wednesday it would revive efforts in collaboration with Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, that would include a hostage deal.

White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said he thought the chances of a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza were now more likely.

"(Hamas) are isolated. Hezbollah is no longer fighting with them, and their backers in Iran and elsewhere are preoccupied with other conflicts," he told CNN on Sunday, Reuters reported.

"So I think we may have a chance to make progress, but I'm not going to predict exactly when it will happen ... we've come so close so many times and not gotten across the finish line."

Palestinians say Israel's operations on the northern edge of the enclave are part of a plan to clear people out through forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. The Israeli military strongly denies this and says it is fighting against Hamas.

The military says it has killed hundreds of Hamas militants in that part of Gaza as it fights to stop the faction regrouping. It has also lost around 30 soldiers there in combat with Hamas fighters over the past two months, a relatively high death toll.