Israel-Lebanon latest: Hezbollah ready for Israeli ground invasion, vows deputy leader, as central Beirut hit

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A Palestinian militant group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), alleged that three of its leaders were killed in an Israeli airstrike on central Beirut’s Kola district.

The attack comes as Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon killed over 1,000 people in the last two weeks, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, with a fifth of the population now displaced.

The strikes, previously limited to southern Beirut, have now spread to the city’s centre for the first time since 2006.

The Israeli military has not commented on the latest incident.

The number of people displaced by the conflict from southern Lebanon now stands at more than 211,000, according to the United Nations.

The United Nations’ refugee agency says 70,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria to escape Israeli bombardment.

The total includes both Lebanese citizens and Syrians who had moved to Lebanon but are now returning.

Sarah Haj Hassan, who fled Shmustar near Lebanon’s eastern city of Baalbek, said: “I lost my house, and my parents’ house was damaged.”

She is one of 7,500 people who have registered in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb of Damascus.

US president Joe Biden has said an all-out war “has to be avoided” in the Middle East and he aims to speak to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, but he did not say when.

“I’ll tell you what I say to him when I talk to him,” he told reporters. Asked whether all-out war in the Middle East could be avoided, he replied: “It has to be. We really have to avoid it.”

A recap:

Flags have been flying at half-mast in Damascus and residents said they were still shocked after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, whose fighters helped Syria’s army reclaim large parts of the country during its brutal civil war.

Syria announced three days of national mourning for Nasrallah, after president Bashar al-Assad said Nasrallah would “remain in the memory of Syrians”.

In Damascus, residents expressed disbelief over the killing.

“He can’t die. He always dreamed of martyrdom, and while this is fitting, it’s still so hard to accept,” said Marwa Barkouka. “He remains alive, not just as a martyr but because he lives inside us. We grew up with him here.”

Syria’s conflict erupted in 2011 with protests against Assad. Nasrallah in 2012 called for reform in the country, but by the next year said that Hezbollah would fight alongside Assad to prevent Syria falling to Sunni jihadi radicals, the United States and Israel.

Many credit Hezbollah’s intervention with key victories.

“For us, this man was like an entire nation. We had dignity, and now it’s gone,” said Ibrahim Al-Ahmad, another resident of Damascus.

A top White House official says Israel has “wiped out” Hezbollah’s command structure with a barrage of airstrikes, but warned that the militant group will work to quickly rebuild.

National security spokesman John Kirby said: “They will try to recover. We’re watching to see what they do to try to fill this leadership vacuum.”

Referring to the strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Mr Kirby said: “I think people are safer without him walking around.”

But, speaking on CNN, he sidestepped questions about whether the administration agreed with how the Israelis are going about targeting Hezbollah leaders.

The White House continues to call on Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a 21-day temporary ceasefire that was floated by the US, France and other countries last week.

An Israeli attack on the city of Ain Deleb in southern Lebanon has killed 24 people and wounded 29 others, according to a preliminary toll, Lebanon‘s Health Ministry says.

The Israeli military says dozens of its aircraft have struck Houthi targets in Yemen in response to a recent attack on Israel.

The military said it targeted power plants and sea port facilities in the city of Hodeida.

The Houthis launched a ballistic missile attack on Ben Gurion airport on Saturday when prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving.