Israeli forces launched more strikes on two towns in Lebanon’s historic Baalbek region, killing at least 19 people, including eight women.

    Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati says he hopes a ceasefire deal with Israel will be announced in the coming hours or days as United States’ envoy Amos Hochstein travels to Tel Aviv for talks.

    Officials in northern Gaza declare Beit Lahiya a “disaster zone” as relentless Israeli bombardment continues to cause mass civilian casualties. At least 10 Palestinians were killed in the latest attack.

    In Gaza, at least 43,163 people have been killed and 101,510 wounded in Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks and more than 200 were taken captive.

    In Lebanon, at least 2,822 people have been killed and 12,937 wounded in Israeli attacks since the war on Gaza began.

    Israel’s military intercepts projectiles from Lebanon

    The military said it shot down an unmanned aircraft that crossed from Lebanon into the Western Galilee region at around 1:30am local time.

    The statement came as Lebanese media reported that a drone had exploded in Nahariya, the northernmost city in Israel.

    The Israeli military also said several projectiles were detected in the Upper Galilee at around the same time, but that they fell in open areas.

    Earlier, the military said an unmanned aircraft had crossed “from the east” into the occupied Golan Heights.

    The drone fell, but there were no reports of damage or casualties, it said.

    The Islamic Resistance in Iraq had earlier claimed three drone attacks on Israel, including on the occupied Golan Heights, while Hezbollah claimed four attacks on Israeli positions on Wednesday evening.

    Child killed in Israeli drone attack in Nur Shams

    More on the Israeli attack on the refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

    The Wafa news agency said a child had been killed, but did not specify the victim’s age.

    Israeli forces have stormed the city and laid siege to the camp in recent hours, resulting in heavy clashes with Palestinian fighters in the area.

    We will bring you more information when we have it.

    French court overturns ban on Israeli companies at defence fair

    A commercial court in Paris has ruled against a decision by the French government to ban Israeli companies that supply the wars in Gaza and Lebanon from exhibiting their hardware at the Euronaval defence fair.

    The court said organisers of the fair cannot keep Israeli companies from exhibiting at the event based on their nationality and ordered the suspension of “the execution of the measures adopted against” the firms, according to the AFP news agency and the Times of Israel newspaper.

    Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz hailed the ruling as a “significant victory” against the French government’s “unjust and undemocratic decision”.

    French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had said earlier that the measure did not amount to a boycott of Israeli firms, but that it would be “incoherent” for France to allow the promotion of weapons used in the wars while it also pushes for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon. He had said companies that whose equipment is not used in offensive actions in Gaza and Lebanon will be able to have stands at the exhibition.

    Iraqi armed group claims three drone attacks on Israel

    The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it launched drone attacks on a “vital” targets in the occupied Golan Heights and in northern Israel, as well as a military site in the south of the country.

    The Iran-backed group, comprising of several Iraqi militias, has stepped up attacks targeting Israel as the Israeli military intensifies its assault on Gaza and Lebanon. The group, which says it is acting in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon, has also launched rockets and drone attacks at US forces in Iraq and Syria.