Middle Eastern crisis

The Israeli ambassador to Washington on Monday said that a ceasefire deal to end fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah could be reached "within days."

Israel is reportedly moving closer to a potential ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to reports by Reuters and Axios, which cited a senior Israeli official. However, Israel's public broadcaster Kan, quoting another Israeli official, reported that no final agreement had been reached, with some issues still unresolved.

Lebanese state media reported two Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday, about an hour after the Israeli military posted evacuation calls online for parts of the Hezbollah bastion.

"Israeli warplanes launched two violent strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs in the Kafaat area," the official National News Agency said.

The number of displaced people in Lebanon due to Israel-Hezbollah conflict has surged to nearly 1.9 million since last October, shows a report by the Lebanon's Council of Ministers.

Since Sept. 23, when Israel escalated its attacks, a total of 624,898 individuals—over 390,000 of Syrian origin—have crossed from Lebanon into Syrian territory in search of refuge, the report said.

At least 11 people lost their lives, and dozens more were injured in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut early today, as diplomatic efforts to secure a truce intensified, according to the Associated Press. Rescuers are still searching through the rubble, and Lebanon's civil defense warned that the death toll could rise.

Almost 230 health workers have been killed in Lebanon since the outbreak of war in Gaza, most since the escalation of hostilities between the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah in September this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today.

Türkiye has denounced a missile attack targeting a cargo ship in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels, saying measures were being taken to prevent any such further incidents.

Hezbollah's leader delivered a defiant speech on Wednesday, saying Israel cannot impose conditions for a truce in Lebanon, as visiting U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein headed to Israel to try to negotiate an end to the war.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, in a near-simultaneous statement, said any ceasefire deal must ensure Israel still has the "freedom to act" against Hezbollah.

A rocket attack by Hezbollah from Lebanon targeted central Israel on Monday night (November 18), resulting in the death of a woman and injuries to several others. Sirens were heard across Tel Aviv and other central Israeli cities as the assault unfolded.

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon's Tyr region have resulted in at least 11 deaths and 48 injuries, according to reports from Lebanon's Ministry of Health. This attack follows previous Israeli military operations in the area, including strikes in late October that caused significant damage to heritage sites and left 16 people injured, as reported by Al Jazeera.