The Times of Israel is liveblogging Saturday’s events as they happen.
Nicaragua breaks off ties with Israel
Nicaragua announces plans to break off relations with Israel over the war in Gaza, calling the Israeli government “fascist and genocidal.”
Left-wing President Daniel Ortega, who has been fiercely critical of Israel’s yearlong war with the Palestinian terror group Hamas, ordered ties to be cut over Israel’s attacks on Palestinian territories, says Vice President Rosario Murillo, who is also Ortega’s wife.
The move is an essentially symbolic one, with ties between Israel and the central American country virtually nonexistent.
Israel has no ambassador in the Nicaraguan capital Managua.
Nicaragua has twice before broken off ties with Israel — once in 2010 under Ortega as well as in 1982 under the Sandinista revolutionary government led by Ortega following the country’s 1979 revolution.
Rocket alerts sound in western Galilee towns
Rocket alerts blare in the western Galilee towns of Hila and Mi’ilya.
There are no immediate reports of impacts.
Blinken says US wants a solution in Lebanon, not ‘broader conflict’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voices hope for a diplomatic solution in Lebanon and preventing a broader conflict, as he backs efforts by the fragile state to assert itself against Hezbollah.
Blinken again says that Israel, which has been carrying out extensive and deadly strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, “has a right to defend itself” against the terror group, but says he is alarmed by the worsening humanitarian situation.
“We continue to engage intensely to prevent broader conflict in the region,” Blinken tells reporters after an East Asia Summit in Laos.
“We all have a strong interest in trying to help create an environment in which people can go back to their homes, their safety and security, kids can go back to school,” he says.
“So Israel has a clear and very legitimate interest in doing that. The people of Lebanon want the same thing. We believe that the best way to get there is through a diplomatic understanding, one that we’ve been working on for some time, and one that we focus on right now.”
Blinken also speaks by phone with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, according to a statement from the US State Department.
Lebanon’s presidency has been vacant for two years, and Blinken stresses the “the need to empower leadership that reflects the will of the people for a stable, prosperous, and independent Lebanon.”
He says that “Lebanon cannot allow Iran or Hezbollah to stand in the way of Lebanon’s security and stability.”
The statement does not mention discussions on a possible ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed group.
Blinken says the United States will work to support the fragile Lebanese state to build itself up after Hezbollah’s long-held sway.
“It’s clear that the people of Lebanon have an interest — a strong interest — in the state asserting itself and taking responsibility for the country and its future,” he says.
Irish PM demands Israel ‘stop firing’ at UN peacekeepers in Lebanon
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris urges Israel to heed “the concerns of the international community” and not repeat recent firing on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
“Israel must stop firing on UN peacekeepers serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon,” Ireland’s leader says in a statement, his latest comments on the recent incidents that have sparked a fierce diplomatic backlash.
“Israel must listen to the voice and the concerns of the international community,” he adds.
Ireland accounts for 347 of the 10,000 soldiers serving in the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, which is charged with maintaining peace in the south of Lebanon.
Israel says its forces fired at “an immediate threat against them” near a UNIFIL position in Lebanon Friday, acknowledging that a “hit” was responsible for wounding two Blue Helmets.
The two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were hurt at UNIFIL’s main base in Naqura, southern Lebanon, according to the mission.
It follows two Indonesian soldiers suffering injuries when tank fire hit a watchtower the previous day, the mission said.
The Irish Defense Forces has said none of its staff were hurt in Thursday’s incident.
Harris, who visited US President Joe Biden earlier in the week, says in the statement he and Biden “agreed that those who serve in Blue Helmets on behalf of the UN must always be afforded full protection.”
US envoy Hochstein: Israeli ‘campaign of bombing in Beirut… needs to stop’
US special envoy to Lebanon Amos Hochstein tells local media that the United States is working “non-stop” toward a ceasefire in the country.
“We want the whole conflict to end,” he tells Lebanese television channel LBC from Washington. “We are working on this non-stop.”
Reviewing the latest developments, Hochstein says reports that Israel hit UN peacekeeping positions in south Lebanon on Friday are “unacceptable.”
He sends his condolences to the families of two soldiers who Lebanon’s army says were killed in an Israeli strike in the south of the country, also on Friday.
The US envoy also says Israeli strikes on the central Beirut districts of Basta and Nweiri late Thursday that killed 22 people were “totally unacceptable.”
Israel reportedly targeted senior Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa in one of those strikes.
“We have a continued campaign of bombing in Beirut. It needs to stop,” he says.
“We’re trying to bring this bombing to a close. We don’t like this campaign of bombings in densely populated Beirut,” Hochstein says.
Earlier on Friday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the United Nations to pass a resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Southern European leaders want Lebanon’s army to reassert itself in country’s south
The leaders of nine southern European Union countries pledge support for Lebanon’s armed forces to reassert control over the country’s southern territory in hopes of bringing peace to an area plagued by fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
In a joint declaration, the leaders of the so-called MED9 — Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia, Portugal and Croatia — say they will “continue advocating for further support to Lebanon and its people, including to the Lebanese Armed Forces which are called to play a critical stabilizing role.”
“The unfolding situation in the Middle East is gravely alarming,” the declaration says. “In light of the reverberations of the Gaza conflict on the wider region, we express our extreme concern with the escalation of the military confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah.”
French President Emmanuel Macron tells a news conference that the return of the Lebanese armed forces to South Lebanon and the restoration of Lebanese sovereignty “are essential to its peace and stability.”
Macron doesn’t specify what form that support would take, but says an October 24 conference in the French capital will aim to ramp up aid deliveries to Lebanon as humanitarian crisis looms while helping to bolster the country’s military and internal security forces.
Ahead of that conference, Macron and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni say a meeting of G7 defense ministers will also look at ways of assisting Lebanon’s army to move into the south.
Report: Herzliya building hit in drone attack is a retirement home
A building in Herzliya that was hit in a drone attack on Yom Kippur is a retirement home, the Ynet news site reports.
The strike sparked a small fire that was put out by the fire department. There are no reports of physical injuries.
The Herzliya municipality tells residents that they can leave their safe rooms, but urges them to closely follow instructions from the Home Front Command.
IDF says building in Herzliya hit amid drone attack from Lebanon, no injuries
The Israel Defense Forces says a building was hit in the central city of Herzliya after two drones were fired from Lebanon. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The military says the drones were tracked from the moment they crossed the border and fighter jets managed to down one of them.
It was not immediately clear why the second drone was not intercepted.
The IDF did not say if the building was hit by the drone or by shrapnel from interceptors but says the incident is under investigation.
Footage posted to social media shows a drone flying over buildings in the city.
Channel 12 reports that the impact sparked a fire and that parts of the city are without electricity.
The Israel Police says it has received multiple reports of shrapnel landing in the Herzliya area.
“Police officers and police bomb disposal experts from the district are currently on-site, managing the debris from the interception and conducting thorough searches to mitigate any further risks to the public. At this time, no injuries have been reported, although there is some damage to a building,” police say.
זה וידאו פסיכי. פגיעה ישירה במבנה בהרצליה, הפסקות חשמל באזור. לא ידוע על נפגעים pic.twitter.com/1BIAbq1WyV
— איתי בלומנטל ???????? Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) October 11, 2024
IDF says incident in Herzliya is over; reports say building was hit
The Israel Defense Forces says an incident in which a drone infiltration alert sounded, followed by several explosions, is over.
Hebrew media reports say a building in Herzliya was hit, but it’s not immediately clear if the damage was caused by a drone or by debris from an interceptor missile.
IDF says it attempted to intercept drone over central Israel, warns more explosions likely
The Israel Defense Forces say they “attempted several interceptions” after a hostile aircraft warning sirens sounded in central Israel.
Residents reported hearing several explosions.
The IDF says the incident is under investigation and warns residents they may hear further explosions “caused by interruptions or impacts.”
The IDF urges residents to follow Home Front Command instructions.
The incident comes as Israelis mark Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews.