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Israeli Strikes Hit Southern Lebanon as Cross-Border Fire Escalates

This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Odaisseh during Israeli bombardment on April 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. (AFP)
This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Odaisseh during Israeli bombardment on April 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. (AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Hit Southern Lebanon as Cross-Border Fire Escalates

This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Odaisseh during Israeli bombardment on April 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. (AFP)
This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Odaisseh during Israeli bombardment on April 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. (AFP)

The Israeli military said artillery and fighter jet strikes had hit around 40 targets in southern Lebanon on Wednesday as the intense fighting of recent days continued to escalate, with Hezbollah firing dozens of rockets at an Israeli border village.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have been waging their worst hostilities in nearly two decades since war erupted in Gaza last October, stirring concern about the risk of a wider and more destructive conflict between the heavily armed foes.

The Israeli military said the strikes in the area of Ayta al-Shaab, about 3 km (1.6 miles) inside the Lebanese border, had hit infrastructure including storage facilities and weapons in an area it said was used extensively by Hezbollah forces.

"There is continuous offensive action by IDF forces in all of southern Lebanon as well as in other parts of Lebanon. The operational results are very impressive," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement following an operational meeting at the military's Northern Command.

He said half of Hezbollah's commanders in southern Lebanon had been killed by Israeli forces.

A Hezbollah official dismissed the assertion as "completely worthless" and aimed only to boost Israeli morale. He said the group regularly published pictures and biographical details of fighters killed in the fighting.

On Wednesday, the movement held a funeral for a senior commander, Hussein Azkoul, killed earlier this week by Israel.

Speaking at the funeral, senior Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah indicated that Azkoul had played a role in developing Hezbollah's drone and missile capabilities, taking the battle with Israel into "a new phase".

The Israeli strikes came a day after Hezbollah launched a drone attack on Israeli military bases north of the Israeli coastal city of Acre, its deepest strike yet in the hostilities that have flared in parallel to the Gaza war.

The attack appeared to be one of the most complicated announced by Hezbollah during the last six months, using drones designed to keep Israeli air defenses busy while others laden with explosives were flown at the Israeli targets.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah fired Katyusha rockets on the community of Shomera in response to Israeli strikes on Lebanese villages including one the day before on Hanin, which killed at least two people including an 11-year-old girl.

Though the latest hostilities have been the worst in years, the violence has largely been confined to areas at or near the Israeli-Lebanese border, with Israel occasionally striking deeper into the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon's east.

Israeli strikes have killed some 250 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon since Oct. 7, in addition to a further 30 killed in Israeli strikes in neighboring Syria. Overall, this exceeds Hezbollah's losses in the 2006 war with Israel.

More than 70 civilians have been killed in Lebanon.

In Israel, 18 people - including soldiers and civilians - have been killed.

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Arab World

Türkiye Calls Israel’s Recognition of Somaliland ‘Illegitimate’

This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish presidential press service on December 30, 2025, shows Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (L) shaking hands before their meeting in Istanbul. (Photo by Handout / Turkish Presidential Press Service / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish presidential press service on December 30, 2025, shows Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (L) shaking hands before their meeting in Istanbul. (Photo by Handout / Turkish Presidential Press Service / AFP)
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Türkiye Calls Israel’s Recognition of Somaliland ‘Illegitimate’

This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish presidential press service on December 30, 2025, shows Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (L) shaking hands before their meeting in Istanbul. (Photo by Handout / Turkish Presidential Press Service / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish presidential press service on December 30, 2025, shows Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (L) shaking hands before their meeting in Istanbul. (Photo by Handout / Turkish Presidential Press Service / AFP)

Türkiye’s president on Tuesday called Israel's recognition of Somaliland "illegitimate and unacceptable" as he hosted a visit by his Somali counterpart.

"Preserving the unity and integrity of Somalia in all circumstances holds special importance in our view. Israel's decision to recognize Somaliland is illegitimate and unacceptable," Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a press conference alongside Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

Israel sparked criticism last Friday when it said it was officially recognizing Somaliland -- a breakaway territory in Somalia's north.

The declaration was a first for the territory, which in 1991 had unilaterally declared secession from Somalia.

Israel's move has drawn widespread criticism from the African Union, Egypt and the European Union, which insist on war-torn Somalia's sovereignty.

Türkiye has frequently clashed with Israel over a range of issues, especially over the conflict in Gaza and Israeli obstruction of aid to the Palestinian territory.

Mohamud said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "aggressive position, which also includes Somalia, is unacceptable".

He called Netanyahu's Somaliland declaration "a violation of international law" and "the start of insecurity and instability, especially for Somalia and the African region".

Arab World

10 Countries Warn of ‘Catastrophic’ Gaza Situation

Palestinians stand next to a tent set up on the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians stand next to a tent set up on the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP)
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10 Countries Warn of ‘Catastrophic’ Gaza Situation

Palestinians stand next to a tent set up on the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians stand next to a tent set up on the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP)

The foreign ministers of 10 nations on Tuesday expressed "serious concerns" about a "renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation" in Gaza, saying the situation was "catastrophic". 

"As winter draws in, civilians in Gaza are facing appalling conditions with heavy rainfall and temperatures dropping," the ministers of Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland said in a joint statement released by the UK's Foreign Office. 

"1.3 million people still require urgent shelter support. More than half of health facilities are only partially functional and face shortages of essential medical equipment and supplies. The total collapse of sanitation infrastructure has left 740,000 people vulnerable to toxic flooding," the statement added. 

The ministers said they welcomed the progress that had been made to end the bloodshed in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages. 

"However, we will not lose focus on the plight of civilians in Gaza," they said, calling on the government of Israel to take a string of "urgent and essential" steps. 

These included ensuring that international NGOs could operate in Gaza in a "sustained and predictable" way. 

"As 31 December approaches, many established international NGO partners are at risk of being de-registered because of the government of Israel's restrictive new requirements," the statement said. 

It also called for the UN and its partners to be able to continue their work in Gaza and for the lifting of "unreasonable restricts on imports considered to have a dual use". 

This included medical and shelter equipment. 

The foreign ministers also called for the opening of crossings to boost the flows of humanitarian aid into Gaza. 

While welcoming the partial opening of the Allenby crossing, they said other corridors for moving goods remained closed or severely restricted for humanitarian aid, including Rafah. 

"Bureaucratic customs processes and extensive screenings are causing delays, while commercial cargo is being allowed in more freely," the statement said. 

"The target of 4,200 trucks per week, including an allocation of 250 UN trucks per day, should be a floor not a ceiling. These targets should be lifted so we can be sure the vital supplies are getting in at the vast scale needed," it added. 

Arab World

UN Condemns Israel's Moves against Agency for Palestinian Refugees

UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)
UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)
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UN Condemns Israel's Moves against Agency for Palestinian Refugees

UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)
UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)

The United Nations warned Tuesday that recent actions by Israel against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees risked depriving millions of people of basic services such as education and healthcare.

Israel's parliament passed new legislation on Monday formally stripping the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) of diplomatic immunity, and barring Israeli companies from providing water or electricity to the agency's institutions, AFP reported.

According to UNRWA, the legislation also grants the Israeli government the authority to expropriate the agency's properties in East Jerusalem, including its headquarters and main vocational training center.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini condemned the legislation as "outrageous", decrying it on social media as "part of an ongoing, systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct the core role that the agency plays providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine refugees".

Filippo Grandi, the outgoing head of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and a former UNRWA chief, also criticised the move as "very unfortunate".

In an interview with AFP, he highlighted that UNRWA, unlike other UN agencies, provides basic public services such as education and healthcare to the millions of registered Palestinian refugees it serves across Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

"If you deprive those people of those services... then you had better find a substitute," he said, warning: "I think it would be very difficult."

"At the moment, there is a great risk that millions of people will be deprived of basic services if UNRWA is further deprived of space to work, and resources to work."

Israel has been ratcheting up pressure on UNRWA over the past two years.

It has accused the agency of providing cover for Hamas militants, claiming that some UNRWA employees took part in the militant group's October 7, 2023 assault on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

A series of UN-linked internal and external investigations found some "neutrality-related issues" at UNRWA, but stressed Israel had not provided conclusive evidence for its headline allegation.

Grandi criticised the torrent of accusations that have swirled around the agency.

"UNRWA is a very indispensable organization in the Middle East," he said.

"Contrary to much of the frankly baseless rhetoric that we have heard in the past couple of years, UNRWA is a force for peace and stability," he added.

"In a region in which you need every bit of stability and efforts towards peace, it would be really irresponsible to let such an important organization decline further."