Hezbollah Says it Launched Drone Attack on Israeli Military Posts

A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
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Hezbollah Says it Launched Drone Attack on Israeli Military Posts

A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

Lebanon's Hezbollah launched an attack with a swarm of drones on military posts in the kibbutz of Amiad in northern Israel, the armed group said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Israeli kibbutz is located approximately 22 kilometers from the Lebanese border. 
Hezbollah said the attack was a retaliation for an Israeli strike on the Lebanese Bekaa region overnight.

Hezbollah also launched more than 50 rockets, hitting several homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

First responders in the Golan Heights said they treated a 30-year-old man who was moderately wounded with shrapnel injuries in Wednesday’s attack. One house was engulfed in flames, and firefighters said they prevented a bigger tragedy by stopping a gas leak.

Hezbollah said the attack was also in response to an Israeli strike in the Bekaa Valley on Tuesday night.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it bombed Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the Bekaa overnight.
The air attack came hours after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that "attacking munitions warehouses in Lebanon is preparation for anything that might happen."

Security sources said the strike was in a residential area near the eastern city of Baalbek in the Bekaa.

The airstrikes left at least two people dead and 19 injured, according to the sources.

Another Israeli airstrike on Wednesday hit a car on the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon, killing a member of the armed wing of the Palestinian faction Fatah, two Palestinian sources told Reuters.

Khalil al-Maqdah, the brother of Fatah Gen. Mounir al-Maqdah, was killed in the strike, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily strikes for more than 10 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.



UN Lays Groundwork for Gaza Aid Surge under Ceasefire but Still Sees Challenges

 An Israeli Black Hawk military helicopter lands inside North Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, January 14, 2025. (Reuters)
An Israeli Black Hawk military helicopter lands inside North Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, January 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Lays Groundwork for Gaza Aid Surge under Ceasefire but Still Sees Challenges

 An Israeli Black Hawk military helicopter lands inside North Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, January 14, 2025. (Reuters)
An Israeli Black Hawk military helicopter lands inside North Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, January 14, 2025. (Reuters)

The United Nations said on Tuesday it was busy preparing to expand humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip under a potential ceasefire but uncertainty around border access and security in the enclave remain obstacles.

Negotiators in Qatar are hammering out final details of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, with mediators and the warring sides all describing a deal as closer than ever. A truce would include a significant increase of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

The UN humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, met with Israeli and Palestinian ministers in recent days and spoke with the Egyptian foreign minister on Tuesday about UN engagement in a ceasefire, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

"The UN system as a whole is in intense planning and preparation for when a ceasefire comes into play, and how we can increase the aid," Dujarric said.

Among the unknowns are what border crossings would be open into Gaza under a truce and how secure the enclave would be for aid distribution since many shipments have been targeted by armed gangs and looters during the conflict.

"Obviously, things that will continue to be challenging because we don't have answers to all those questions," Dujarric said.

The UN has complained of aid obstacles in Gaza throughout the 15-month-old war. The UN says Israel and lawlessness in the enclave have impeded the entry and distribution of aid in the war zone.

'DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE'

Global food security experts warned in November there is a "strong likelihood that famine is imminent" in northern Gaza. More than 46,000 people have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials.

Israel has said the quantity of aid delivered to Gaza -- which it puts at more than a million tons over the past year -- has been adequate. But it accuses Hamas of hijacking the assistance before it reaches Palestinians in need. Hamas has denied the allegations and blamed Israel for shortages.

The fate of the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA - which the UN says is the backbone of aid operations in Gaza - is also unclear as a law banning its operation on Israeli land and contact with Israeli authorities is due to take effect later this month.

Dujarric said the UN and partner organizations are "doing everything possible" to reach Palestinians in need with extremely limited resources.

"However, ongoing hostilities and violent armed looting as well as systematic access restrictions continue to severely constrain our efforts," he said. "Road damage, unexploded ordinances, fuel shortages and a lack of adequate telecommunications equipment are also hampering our work."

"It is imperative that vital aid and commercial goods can enter Gaza through all available border crossings without delay, at a scale needed," he said.

Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel has laid much of Gaza to waste, and the territory's pre-war population of 2.3 million people has been displaced multiple times, humanitarian agencies say.