Israel-Hamas War day 296: What's happening in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon?

Sources within Hezbollah told a German news agency today, July 28, that the organization has been on high alert for several months stating, "We are constantly on alert, and the organization is now expecting a severe attack."

Ali Fayad, a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, stated that the organization is preparing for all possibilities, including the possibility of ground conflict. In a speech in the city of Markaba in southern Lebanon, Fayad stated, "The Lebanese resistance has the full right to defend itself, which allows it to use all the tools and capabilities at its disposal to protect itself, its community, its nation, and its homeland."

Additionally, Wiam Wahhab, a Druze-Lebanese politician considered close to Hezbollah, called for an end to the war and warned against embarking on an endeavor that could endanger Lebanon's future. In a statement released this morning, he added, "It is time to stop the bloodshed. The region is on a volcano, and Lebanon will pay the price." Simultaneously, the Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a warning: "We warn Israel against any new adventure against Lebanon, using the pretext of the incident in Majdal Shams. Israel bears primary responsibility for any unexpected responses to its foolish behavior."

The Lebanese government has asked the United States to urge restraint from Israel, Lebanon's foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters on Sunday, as tensions build following an attack blamed on Hezbollah that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Bou Habib said the US had asked the Lebanese government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well. Hezbollah has denied involvement in the attack. Israel has vowed swift retaliation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday he does not want to see an escalation of conflict after Israel accused Hezbollah of killing 12 children and teenagers in a rocket attack in the Golan Heights.

Israel said on Sunday it would strike hard against the Iran-backed group after the incident. Blinken said the US was in talks with Israel about the incident.

Iran warned Israel on Sunday against what it called any "new adventure" in Lebanon in retaliation for the Hezbollah attack on Majdal Shams, in a statement issued by foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.

Israeli authorities blamed Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah for a rocket attack that hit a football ground in the Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights killing 12 people on Saturday, and vowed to inflict a heavy response. Hezbollah denied any responsibility for the strike.

Kanaani said he strongly warned against "any new Zionist adventure against Lebanon under the pretext of the Majdal Shams incident in the Golan."

"The massacre on Shabbat constitutes the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah," the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

"This is not an army fighting another army. Rather, it is a terrorist organization that deliberately fires at civilians. Israel will exercise its right and duty to act in self-defense and respond to the massacre."

The attack by Hezbollah on a Druze town in the North resulted in 12 children being killed and many wounded.
 

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry stated on Sunday that the death toll in Gaza has reached 39,324 since the war started on October 7 of last year.

A further 90,830 have thus far been wounded in the conflict, the Gazan ministry added.

The number has not been independently verified, and the ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its toll.

The Hamas-run ministry has also been repeatedly criticized for distorting casualty figures.

In May, departing from Hamas’s reported figures, the UN halved the number of women and children it had previously reported had been killed thus far in the war.

Pro-Iranian militias carried out missile strikes several times on the US' Conoco gas field in Syria, Lebanese outlet Al Maydeen reported on Saturday night.

In response, US forces fired flares in the airspace surrounding the field, which is near Deir Ezzor.

On Friday, Iranian media took credit for an attack, targeting the same base, which is in Eastern Syria.

US Conoco occupation base in Syria comes under 3rd attack in 24 hours

A field source told Al Mayadeen that explosions were heard in areas near the base, which is established at the occupied Conoco gas field in the Deir Ezzor province of eastern Syria. https://t.co/1pZuGrxrgx

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 27, 2024

IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi announced that Israel's readiness for the next phase of fighting in the North is to be raised to the 'next level,' the IDF reported following Halevi's visit to Majdal Shams on Saturday, following the attack.

"We are significantly raising our readiness for the next phase of fighting in the North while simultaneously fighting in Gaza. We know how to strike very far from the State of Israel. When required, we will act strongly," Halevi stated.

Halevi arrived at the soccer field in the Druze village, where Hezbollah strikes killed 12 children and wounded many more. He met with the head of the Druze community, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the Northern Command Commander, Major General Ori Gordin, and the 210th Division Commander, Brigadier General Yair Palai.

The IAF struck multiple Hezbollah terror targets deep within Lebanese territory and southern Lebanon on Sunday, the IDF reported.

The targets taken out included weapon caches and terrorist infrastructures in the areas of Chabriha, Borj El Chmali, Beqaa, Kfarkela, Rab El Thalathine, Khiam, and Tayr Harfa.

This strike follows a Hezbollah rocket strike that killed 12 Druze children and teenagers in northern Galilee on Saturday evening.

Sergeant Yonatan Aharon Greenblatt succumbed to his wounds after he was severely wounded a week ago, the military said on Sunday.