Israeli strikes in eastern Lebanon targeted Hezbollah training camp — Lebanese sources

Two Lebanese security sources tell Reuters that an Israeli attack in eastern Lebanon targeted a training camp belonging to Hezbollah in the Janta village, near the border with Syria.

One of the strikes was aimed at the town of Safri, near the eastern city of Baalbek, the sources add.

UK sends Royal Navy ship to supply aid to Gaza as part of new maritime corridor

LONDON — A British Royal Navy ship will supply aid to Gaza as part of an international effort to help set up a new humanitarian maritime corridor in early May, the foreign office and ministry of defense say.

The multinational effort, involving the United States, Cyprus and other partners, will develop a new temporary pier off the coast of Gaza, British Foreign Minister David Cameron says.

“The situation in Gaza is dire and the prospect of famine is real. We remain committed to getting aid to those who so desperately need it,” Cameron says in a statement.

Cameron has also pledged 9.7 million pounds ($12.26 million) for aid equipment and logistical expertise to help set up the maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza, his office says.

The initiative will see aid pre-screened in Cyprus and delivered directly to Gaza, through the new US temporary pier being constructed off the coast or via Ashdod Port after Israel agreed to open it, the foreign ministry says.

British Defense Minister Grant Shapps says the new temporary pier on the coast of Gaza will host cargo ships to deliver aid by sea.

The government says British military teams had been embedded with planning teams in the US operational headquarters in Tampa, Florida, as well as in Cyprus for several weeks to develop the safest and most effective maritime route.

Israel said to launch airstrikes in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley

Israel launched airstrikes on Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley early Sunday, two Lebanese security sources tell Reuters, a few hours after the downing of an Israeli drone over Lebanon.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group claimed responsibility for downing the drone in a statement.

Herzog and Gantz denounce Tel Aviv ramming, warn against ‘return to October 6’

President Isaac Herzog and other political leaders denounce the suspected ramming of protesters by a driver in Tel Aviv, wounding five people.

In a statement calling the incident “most grave,” Herzog warns “violence is a red line that must never be crossed” and calls for those acting violently to be brought to justice.

“We cannot return to October 6,” he says, referring to the political and societal tensions roiling Israel before the Hamas terror onslaught that started the ongoing war in Gaza. “We must do everything to maintain the unity of Israel. Only together will we defeat our enemies.”

War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz denounces the “horrific” incident and says “we all must speak out with a clear voice against all violence.” He also slams “comparisons of the protesters to our enemies and accusing them of wanting to murder the prime minister.”

“All public leaders should act sensitively toward all parts of society, particularly in these difficult days,” adds Gantz, while similarly warning against a return “to the days before October 7.”

MK Chili Troper of Gantz’s National Unity party calls for the incident to be widely denounced, specifically saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “and the entire leadership” should do so, adding that “whoever is quiet in the face of incitement cannot say their hands are clean.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid suggests Netanyahu is response, charging the ramming was “the direct result of the rising incitement from the government.”

“They will not be deter us and or stop us from protesting until the hostages return and this terrible government falls,” Lapid says.