Hezbollah announced Sunday night that the organization's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, will speak on Friday, November 3, at a ceremony honoring the "martyrs who died on the path to Jerusalem," a moniker given to the terrorist group's 48 members who have been killed by Israel so far. This will be Nasrallah's first address since the start of the Iron Swords War.
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Earlier on Sunday, social media accounts affiliated with the Shiite terrorist group shared a short video showing Nasrallah passing in front of the organization's logo.
This came after IDF aircraft struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to around 20 rocket launches aimed at Israel. The army reported that the targets included both terror infrastructure and the organization's military facilities.
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Screenshot from a cryptic video of Hassan Nasrallah shared by Hezbollah
(Video: from X)
Hamas politburo member Musa Abu Marzook on Sunday night expressed disappointment with the limited support the terrorist group received from Arab nations and ideologically aligned actors.
"We had high expectations of Hezbollah and our counterparts in the West Bank, but we are dismayed by the disappointing position of our peers in the Palestinian Authority," he said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.
He further claimed, "Members of the Palestinian Authority and several Arab nations are covertly urging the West to eliminate Hamas."
The IDF reported on Sunday evening that several rockets were fired from Syria toward Israeli territory, landing in an open area. In response, Israeli forces targeted the launch sites.
Fourteen additional aid trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, according to Gaza media reports, bringing the total number of aid trucks that entered on Sunday to 47 and 131 since the outbreak of the war.
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Humanitarian aid convoy enters Gaza through Rafah crossing, Oct. 25, 2023
(Photo: Palestine Red Crescent Society/Handout via REUTERS)
U.S. President Joe Biden has urged Israel to allow increased humanitarian assistance. The IDF clarified that as the ground operation in Gaza progresses, the amount of humanitarian aid entering will also increase. The army said that supplies, including medicine, food and water, will be directed to the southern part of the Gaza Strip, south of the Besor Stream, known in Arabic as Wadi Gaza.
Jordan asked Washington to deploy Patriot air defense systems to bolster its border defense at a time of heightened regional tensions and conflict, the spokesperson for the country's army said on Sunday.
"We asked the American side to help bolster our defense system with Patriot air defense missile systems," Brigadier General Mustafa Hiyari, Jordan's army spokesperson, told state television.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Sunday evening that the army will continue to progressively expand its ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
"We are progressively expanding our ground operation. It carries risks, but we are doing everything to ensure the safety of our forces," he said in a briefing from the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, adding that the IDF eliminated dozens of terrorists in Gaza on Sunday, including tactical-level Hamas commanders. "They lead forces on the ground and direct them."
Rear Admiral Hagari also addressed Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar. "The people of Gaza are saying that Sinwar no longer cares; they are merely a human shield for him. Sinwar has brought disaster upon them. He has lost control and is responsible for Gaza's collapse. We will pursue him until we get to him."
Hagari also said that the families of 239 hostages were notified that their loved ones were being held in Gaza, some of whom were foreign workers. An additional 40 individuals are listed as missing.
Following the screening for media figures at the Israeli Consulate in New York, the Foreign Ministry, in collaboration with the Public Diplomacy team at the Prime Minister's Office, will present a video by the IDF spokesperson that showcases Hamas's atrocities from October 7 in other Israeli representations worldwide, starting with several key consulates.
"We will present the material with due sensitivity to opinion leaders in major capitals to further support Israel's legitimacy to operate on the ground," stated Emmanuel Nahshon, deputy director-general for Public Diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry.
Israel is actively negotiating for the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip, parallel to its ongoing ground operations, a state official told Ynet on Sunday evening.
IDF strikes anti-tank missile squad near Lebanon border
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
“We've decided that the military operation and the issue of the captives and missing persons can proceed simultaneously, and that the operation itself can also serve the interests of the captives and missing, potentially putting pressure on Hamas. In other words, we are negotiating over the captives and missing under fire," he said.
The IDF said Sunday evening that Israeli forces struck an anti-tank missile squad near the Yakinton military outpost at the Lebanon border. Additionally, an IDF unmanned aerial vehicle struck a terrorist who was detected operating a drone that was moving from Lebanon toward Israeli territory. Another terrorist who approached the border near the Kibbutz Hanita area was also eliminated.
Air raid alarm sirens blared throughout different regions of northern Israel on Sunday evening as multiple rocket salvos were fired from Lebanon. The IDF later said some 20 rockets were fired toward Israeli territory.
Following one of the rocket barrages, the IDF confirmed six launches from Lebanon targeting the northern city of Kiryat Shmona. One rocket struck a residential home, igniting a fire, but no casualties were reported.
Four firefighting crews responded to the blaze. Fire and Rescue Services confirmed fires in two buildings and were actively searching for potential trapped individuals while battling the flames. Another rocket caused property damage within the city. In response, the IDF targeted the launch sites.
Earlier, the army said it detected three rockets launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel, two of which were shot down by air defenses and another that crashed in an unpopulated area.
The Al-Fajr forces in Lebanon claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks on Western Galilee and the earlier strikes toward Kiryat Shmona, according to Arab media reports, citing the organization's statement that "the operations will intensify as long as Israel continues its aggression against southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip." Hamas's military wing in Lebanon claimed responsibility for rocket fire toward the city of Nahariya.
Russia's Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov was summoned Sunday evening for clarification at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem following a visit by a Hamas delegation to Moscow.
In the meeting, Deputy Director-General for Eurasia at the Foreign Ministry Simona Halperin emphasized Israel's serious concern over Moscow's failure to clearly and unequivocally condemn Hamas and its activities in international forums.
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Hamas's Bassem Naim and Mousa Abu Marzook with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Moscow
(Photo: Reuters)
"Hosting the leaders of Hamas, who are directly responsible for the deadly terrorist attack on October 7, for the kidnapping of Israeli civilians and for the blood of over 1,400 Israelis on their hands, sends a message legitimizing terror against Israelis," the Foreign Ministry said.
Meanwhile, Mahdi al-Mashat, the head of the Supreme Political Council of the Houthi rebels in Yemen, said on Sunday that the Israel-Hamas war has become “a war against Islam” and that “the West and America have aligned with Israel." Al-Mashat's statement comes in the wake of two rocket and drone attacks launched from Yemen toward Israel.
This comes following a threat issued by Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, who warned last week that “Israeli ships in the Red Sea will be targeted” if IDF strikes on the Gaza Strip continue.
Earlier, Israeli forces thwarted an infiltration attempt at the Erez border crossing when terrorists emerged from a subterranean tunnel in northern Gaza. Several terrorists were killed and others injured in the ensuing clashes with IDF troops. Meanwhile, Israeli forces eliminated several additional terrorists in other skirmishes throughout the day.
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Israeli forces near Erez border crossing in northern Gaza Strip
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told CNN on Sunday Iran does not want the Israel-Hamas war to "spread out" and dismissed claims directly connecting Iran to Hamas's deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israeli border towns, calling them "baseless."
"We always had political media and international support for Palestine. We have never denied this," he said. "This is the truth, but in relation to this operation called the Al Aqsa Storm, there was no connection to that data between Iran and this Hamas operation, not my government nor part of my country," he added, using the name given by Hamas to the murderous onslaught that killed 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians.
Hamas politburo member Mousa Abu Marzook on Sunday evening expressed gratitude to Egypt for its diplomatic efforts to mitigate Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip and voiced hope that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi would play a role in de-escalating tensions with the Israelis.
“We appreciate Egypt’s role in delaying the scenario of uprooting (the Palestinians) from the Gaza Strip,” he said as a delegation from the movement's leadership outside Gaza is expected to visit Cairo in the coming days. "The situation in Gaza is catastrophic, and President El-Sisi has the ability to bring about change."
First published: 17:54, 10.29.23