Live: Five Palestinian journalists killed, Gaza media office says

Iran has warned the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, about Israel's threats against its nuclear sites, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday at a weekly news conference.

Reporting by Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesperson said that "new ideas" for a captives deal in Gaza were considered during a high-level security cabinet meeting overnight.

"During the meeting, new ideas were brought up to examine their feasibility for a hostage release proposal," the spokesperson's statement reads.

An Israeli official had told the Times of Israel ahead of the meeting that the country was looking for a way to wrap up the war in Gaza with a deal that would secure the release of captives following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The US military has rushed its advanced anti-missile system to Israel and it is now "in place", US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said.

Austin declined to say whether the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, or Thaad was operational. But he added: "We have the ability to put it into operation very quickly and we're on pace with our expectations."

Reporting by Reuters

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• Israel gave the US its conditions for a diplomatic solution in Lebanon, two American officials and two Israeli officials told Axios. The conditions reportedly include granting the Israeli air force freedom to operate in Lebanon's airspace and for the Israeli military to be able to carry out "active enforcement" in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah
• One US official told Axios Israel's conditions "dramatically undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty" and are unlikely to be approved by either Lebanon or the international community
• US envoy Amos Hochstein is set to land in Beirut for what Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called the final chance to reach a ceasefire
• The al-Qard al-Hassan Association, which Israel accuses of financing Hezbollah, says its deposits are secure after Israeli said it carried out strikes against it last night
• Al Jazeera Arabic reports that Israeli forces destroyed all homes and infrastructure in Block 2 of the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

We will now be closing our live blog for a few hours. Here's a summary of some of the key developments from the past few hours:

• Ehsan Daqsa, commander of Israel's 401st Armoured Brigade, was killed after his tank was hit by explosive devices in Jabalia refugee camp. He is one of the most senior officers to have been killed since the war on Gaza began
   
• Israel launched a barrage of air strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, including near the city's airport. It said it was going after Hezbollah's "financial arm". Strikes were also reported in the eastern Bekaa region and in towns in the south
   
• Unifil said an Israeli army bulldozer demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence of a UN position in Marwahin in southern Lebanon 
   
• Israeli settlers held a conference titled "Preparing to resettle Gaza" near the Israeli boundary with the enclave, organised by the Nachala Settlement Movement. The conference was described as "a practical exercise and practical preparation for resettlement in Gaza"
   
• Israel's foreign ministry is set to initiate legal action against French President Emmanuel Macron after Paris banned Israeli firms from participating in an upcoming military naval trade show
   
• Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Tehran had identified all the military targets Israel would strike if it launched an attack on Iranian soil
   
• The US is investigating the leak of highly classified intelligence documents detailing Israel’s preparations for a potential attack on Iran 

At least 16 people were killed and 59 others wounded by Israeli attacks on Saturday, the Lebanese health ministry has said.

It took the total number of Lebanese killed by Israeli forces since the war began last October to 2,464. At least 11,530 others have been wounded by Israeli attacks.

Al-Qard al-Hassan, the financial organisation being hit by Israel, said on Sunday that it had taken “all of the necessary procedures since the beginning of the war to safeguard your deposits and valuables and can confirm that you should not worry they are safe”.

Several of its branches across Lebanon were targeted on Sunday night in what Israel described as an attack on Hezbollah's financial arm. 

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, demanding an end to the war in Gaza and calling for a deal with Hamas to secure the release of remaining captives. pic.twitter.com/cVo48wSeLm

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 20, 2024

At least 12 Israeli missiles have now hit Beirut's southern suburbs, Al Jazeera reported. 

One of those strikes was close to the city's international airport, it added. 

Israel's military said on Sunday evening that it was launching air strikes on branches of al-Qard al-Hassan, which Israel described as Hezbollah's financial organisation.

The organisation has 30 branches in Lebanon, including 15 in densely populated areas of Beirut. Across Lebanon, people who live near branches have been fleeing their homes. 

As of now, five Israeli air strikes have been reported in Beirut's southern suburbs, according to Lebanese media. 

Al Jazeera reported that an Israeli drone bombed a building in the town of Bednayel in the eastern Bekaa region.

Elsewhere in the Bekaa region, Israeli drones bombed buildings in Baalbek, Hermel and Ali al-Nahri, according to the report. Two more Israeli raids also hit Nabatieh and Maarakeh in southern Lebanon. 

Lebanon's National News Agency said at least three branches of al-Qard al-Hassan were struck, in southern Beirut and in Hermel.

Israeli aircraft have launched a raid on Beirut's southern suburbs, know colloquially as Dahiyeh, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.

Citing witnesses, Reuters also reported that a blast was heard and smoke was seen over Dahiyeh.

Israel will carry out attacks in the coming hours on sites it says belong to Hezbollah's financial arm in Lebanon, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Sunday.

He said Israel would issue a warning telling Lebanese residents who live close to the alleged facilities "in Beirut and other areas" to leave their homes. 

 The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (Unifil) has said that an Israeli army bulldozer demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence of a UN position in Marwahin in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken on the phone with former US President Donald Trump.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated what he has also said publicly: Israel takes into account the issues the US administration raises, but in the end, will make its decisions based on its national interests," Netanyahu's office said.

Trump, speaking to reporters in Philadelphia, said he had "a very nice call" with the Israeli premier.

Netanyahu asked Trump for his opinion about what to do with Iran, following its recent missile strikes on Israeli territory.

"He was asking what I thought. And I just said, you do what you have to do," Trump said.

The commander of Israel's 401st Armoured Brigade was killed during fighting in northern Gaza on Sunday, the Israeli military has announced. 

Colonel Ehsan Daqsa, 41, was killed after his tank and another tank were hit by explosive devices during military operations in Jabalia refugee camp. 

Another Israeli soldier was seriously wounded during the same incident.

Daqsa has been described in Israeli media as one of the most senior officers to have been killed since the war on Gaza began over a year ago. 

He became commander of the 401st brigade in June.

Read more: Senior Israeli officer killed during fighting in northern Gaza