Israel strikes Beirut amid continued Gaza displacement

The live blog has now ended and will be back tomorrow at 9am BST. You can read more of The New Arab's coverage of Israel's war on Gaza here.

Israeli settlers are attacking the occupied West Bank village of Duma near Nablus, with Palestinian news agency Wafa reporting that three people have been shot in the attack and two farms were burned. 

The agency added that 300 settlers took part in the attack, while Israeli publication Haaretz is reporting that five Israelis have been arrested.

The UK's Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said called for accountability over the killing of British aid workers John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby who were killed in an Israeli airstrike alongside four other colleagues working for the aid agency World Central Kitchen.

Australian FM Penny Wong also called for accountability for the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom who was also killed.

A year since an Israeli strike killed British aid workers John Chapman, James Henderson, & James Kirby, Gaza remains the deadliest place for humanitarians - with over 400 killed. Recent aid worker deaths are a stark reminder. Those responsible must be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/yvgnQa3CuJ

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) April 1, 2025

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and discussed topics including military progress against Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis and possible solutions in Gaza.

Trump said the call went very well. 

(Reuters)

The United States issued fresh Iran-related sanctions on Tuesday targeting six entities and two individuals based in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates, the Treasury Department said on its website

(Reuters)

Israeli settlers have injured four Palestinians in an attack in the town of al-Auja, near Jericho, in the occupied West Bank, according to Wafa.

The UN's special coordinator for Lebanon has warned against escalation in Lebanon following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Tuesday.

"Another strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs this morning. With the Lebanese Government taking positive steps & gradual returns to northern Israel, further escalation is the last thing anyone needs. #UNSCR1701 is the only viable route forward," Jeanine Hennis said.

Another strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs this morning. With the Lebanese Government taking positive steps & gradual returns to northern Israel, further escalation is the last thing anyone needs. #UNSCR1701 is the only viable route forward.

— Jeanine Hennis (@JeanineHennis) April 1, 2025

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that Israel would not allow the Palestinian Authority (PA) to control the occupied West Bank during a tour of the territory with far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said Israel was "here to stay".

"Just as we are crushing Palestinian terror in the terror camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur al-Shams, we will prevent any attempt by the PA to take control of Judea and Samaria and harm Jewish settlements," Katz said in a video statement alongside Smotrich.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Tuesday that 2024 was a "record" year for demolitions of Palestinian construction in the occupied West Bank that Israel deems illegal.

"In the past year, the record for demolishing illegal Arab construction in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) has been broken," he said. "In order to win this battle, we must use additional strategic tools," he added in reference to building new Israeli settlements.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted on Tuesday as warning that strikes against Iran's nuclear infrastructure would have "catastrophic" consequences for the broader region.

US President Donald Trump threatened on Sunday to bomb Iran and impose secondary tariffs on the country if it fails to come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.

Ryabkov, in a magazine interview quoted by Russian state media, condemned what he called Trump's "ultimatums" to Iran.

"We consider such methods inappropriate, we condemn them", he said.

(Reuters)

The health ministry in Gaza said on Tuesday that 1,042 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel resumed large-scale strikes on 18 March.

According to the ministry's statement, the figure includes 41 people killed in the past 24 hours. It also reported that the overall death toll had reached 50,399 since the war began.

Israel's far-right former finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who resigned from his post yesterday, is set to be reappointed tomorrow by the Knesset, according to the Times of Israel.

Smotrich resigned in a bid to push out a rival Otzma Yehudit MK from the Knesset in a dispute between the party and his Religious Zionist Party.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had "eliminated" Hassan Ali Badir, a Hezbollah and Iran Quds Forces operative, in an overnight strike on Beirut's southern suburbs.

(Reuters)

The Israeli military's Arabic language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, has issued new displacement orders for north Gaza's Beit Hanoon, Beit Lahiya, and the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Zayed, al-Manshiya and Tal al-Zaatar, calling the order a "final warning" before the resumption of Israeli raids.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned an Israeli strike Tuesday on Beirut's southern suburbs, calling on international allies to support the country's right to full territorial sovereignty.

"Israel's persistence in its aggression requires more effort from us in addressing Lebanon's friends around the world and rallying them in support of our right to full sovereignty over our land," Aoun said in a statement released by the presidency, calling the strike "a dangerous warning" of intentions against Lebanon.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it intercepted one projectile that was launched from northern Gaza.

(Reuters)

A source close to Hezbollah said an Israeli strike Tuesday on Beirut's southern suburbs targeted an official overseeing Palestinian affairs in the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group.

The strike "targeted Hassan Bdair, Hezbollah's deputy head for the Palestinian file" who was "at home with his family" at the time, the source told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Tuesday he had reversed a decision to appoint former navy commander Vice Admiral Eli Sharvit as security agency chief following criticism, including from a key US senator.

"The prime minister thanked Vice Admiral Sharvit for his willingness to be called to duty but informed him that, after further consideration, he intends to examine other candidates," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Musawi called on the Lebanese state to act after a deadly Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs early Tuesday, the second in days despite a Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire.

Musawi told journalists near the strike site that Lebanese authorities must "act with the highest level of effectiveness, make the international community bear its responsibility, and take the highest level of measures to guarantee the safety of the Lebanese", adding that "what happened is a very big attack".