Israel-Lebanon latest: Another Hezbollah chief killed in strikes as Nasrallah’s ‘body recovered in Beirut’

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said said that his country has “no option but the diplomatic option” in response to Israel’s attacks.

Mr Mikati gave the response during a televised speech, when asked about diplomatic efforts to end Israel’s escalation against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Israel’s killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan in Lebanon “will not go unanswered”, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi has warned.

In Beirut, some displaced families spent the night on the benches at Zaitunay Bay, a string of restaurants and cafes on Beirut’s waterfront. On Sunday morning, families with nothing more than a duffle bag of clothes had rolled out mats to sleep on and made tea for themselves.

“You won’t be able to destroy us, whatever you do, however much you bomb, however much you displace people – we will stay here. We won’t leave. This is our country and we’re staying,” said Francoise Azori, a Beirut resident jogging through the area.

Israeli strikes have killed at least four people in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials.

Two people were killed in separate strikes early on Sunday in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the nearby Awda Hospital, which received the bodies. It said another six people were wounded.

In northern Gaza, first responders recovered two bodies after a strike on a house early on Sunday, according to Gaza’s civil defence authority, which operates under the Hamas-run government.

Lebanon’s information minister said during a cabinet session on Sunday that diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire with Israel were still “under way”.

The Israeli military has said that it killed senior Hezbollah figure Nabil Kaouk amid an ongoing exchange of strikes between the two sides.

Hezbollah has not yet commented on Kaouk’s fate, but supporters have been posting mourning messages for him since Saturday.

A former commander who led Hezbollah’s forces in southern Lebanon during Israel’s 18-year occupation, Kaouk then held positions on Hezbollah’s executive council.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said that militant groups will keep confronting Israel with Tehran’s help following the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, state media reported.

“We will not hesitate to go to any level in order to help the resistance,” said Mr Qalibaf, referring to the alliance known as the Axis of Resistance, built over decades with Iranian support, which includes Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

He also issued a warning to the United States, saying: “The US is complicit in all of these crimes and ... has to accept the repercussions,” he said.

Also commenting on Nasrallah’s killing, Iranian Foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said Israel “will not rest” and the action would not go unanswered, state media reported on Sunday. He said the region was in a dangerous situation.

Iran Revolutionary Guards’ deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan was also killed in the Israeli strikes on Beirut on Friday, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

A British woman returning to the UK from Lebanon said Israeli air strikes have killed five members of her family, including a cousin 10 days away from her wedding day.

Sana Chamseddin clutched her son in her arms at Heathrow Airport on Saturday and spoke of her guilt at escaping besieged Lebanon and leaving behind loved ones in “unsafe places”.

Her uncle, his wife, and his three daughters who were all in their twenties, were killed when their home in the Lebanese city of Tyre was bombed by the Israel Defence Forces, she told the PA news agency.

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Israeli military continued its airstrikes today despite killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday.

The military said it struck dozens of Hezbollah “terror” targets in Lebanon in the past dozen hours, including launchers aimed toward Israel.

At least six people have been killed in the south of the country and nine others in the Hezbollah stronghold of Bekaa Valley, Lebanese media reported.