Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a leading voice in a regional military alliance established by Iran to counter the United States and Israel, known as the 'Axis of Resistance', is set to make his first public comments since the conflict between Hamas and Israel. This comes as tensions escalate along Israel's border with Lebanon. Hezbollah, backed by Iran and an ally of Hamas, has been engaging Israeli forces along the border. On the eve of Nasrallah's speech, Hezbollah launched 19 simultaneous strikes on Israeli army positions, using explosive drones for the first time.
The Israeli army's response has been swift, targeting military infrastructure, command and control centers, weapons caches, and military compounds belonging to Hezbollah. The Lebanese armed group claims to have lost 47 fighters while Israel says that six of its soldiers have been killed. About 1,400 people were killed, according to Israeli officials.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge protections for civilians in the fighting with Hamas, as Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City. Blinken, on his third trip to Israel since the war began, reiterated U.S. support for Israel in the war, saying it has the right to defend itself. After meeting Blinken, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel 'refuses a temporary cease-fire that doesn't include a return of our hostages,' referring to some 240 people Hamas abducted during its attack.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 9,227, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians with foreign passports and dozens of injured have left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing in recent days under an apparent agreement among the U.S., Egypt, Israel and Qatar.