Updates: Hezbollah fights Israeli troops in Lebanon as 5 killed in Beirut

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee announces “urgent” evacuation order to the residents of 25 villages, telling them to head north of the Awali River.

“Save your lives,” he told the people in Kharayeb, Arzi, Zrariyeh, Adloun, Ansariyeh, Mazraat Deir Takla, Mazraat Al-Wasta, Mazraat Jamjam, Qasibeh, Jebchit, Nabatieh, Mazraat Sinai, Douair Al-Sharqiya, Kfar Rumman, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Manzala, Haboush, al-Homsiyeh, Baysariyeh, al-Saksakiyeh, Lubyeh, Kfar Tibnit, Arnoun, Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh, and Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh.

“We will inform you when it is safe to return to your homes,” he added.

Awali River is located about 60km (37 miles) from the border and much further than the northern edge of a UN-mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The area of operations for UN peacekeepers is marked by the Litani River in the north and the Blue Line in the south.

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For more on Israel and Iran’s military capabilities and abilities to attack each other, read our explainer here.

If you are interested in what could await Israeli forces as they invade southern Lebanon to fight Hezbollah, read here.

And you can always find all our latest coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon here.

We will be closing this live page shortly and moving to a new one, but before we do, here’s a recap of the day’s main events:

• Israeli air strikes target central Beirut with Lebanon’s Health Ministry saying at least five people were killed.
• Earlier, it said at least 45 were killed and 85 wounded in Israeli attacks across the country in the last 24 hours.
• Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets at Israel, most of which landed in open areas in the western Galilee region.
• On the border, at least eight Israeli soldiers were killed.
• Israel has barred the UN chief from entering the country.
• Jordan’s Foreign Minister warned Israel and Iran that the country will “defend itself with all its capabilities against any threat” after Iranian missiles fired at Israel breached the kingdom’s airspace.
• Israeli forces imposed a curfew on Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, and detained and abused several young men.
• Qatar’s emir says that Doha has been working to contain Israel’s war on Gaza and reach a ceasefire and will continue to mediate to reach it.
• Iran’s president says Tehran “is not looking for war but looking forward to peace and calm”, adding that “Israel is forcing us to react”.
• At least three civilians have been killed and three wounded in an Israeli strike on Syria’s capital Damascus.
• President Biden said he does not support strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in response to its missile attack against Israel.

Un chief Antonio Guterres has told the UN Security Council that “the raging fires in the Middle East are fast becoming an inferno”.

Guterres said that UNIFIL peacekeepers remain in position despite a request by Israel for the multi-national peacekeeping force to relocate. He also stressed that the safety and security of all UN personnel must be ensured.

He added that it is absolutely essential to avoid an all-out war in Lebanon, which would have profound and devastating consequences.

The head of Hezbollah’s media office, Mohammad Afif, says the group has enough fighters, weapons and ammunition to push back against Israel.

“We assure you, the enemy, that this is only the first round,” Afif told reporters in southern Lebanon, adding that the group was ready to “sacrifice our blood and soul for our homeland by the grace of God”.

“What happened in … Maroun al-Ras and other areas, including Odaisseh, was nothing but the tip of the iceberg.”

Moreover, Afif said Israel’s air superiority will “turn into losses on the ground”.

Hezbollah chief Nasrallah agreed to a ceasefire with Israel shortly before he was assassinated in an Israeli air strike in Beirut, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said today, according to the Anadolu news agency.

“He agreed. Yes, the Lebanese side agreed,” said Bou Habib. “We consulted with Hezbollah, [Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih] Berri consulted with Hezbollah, and we informed US and French representatives.”

A joint statement released on September 24 by 12 countries and organisations, including the US and France, called for a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah to facilitate diplomatic efforts.

Nasrallah was assassinated when Israeli air strikes targeted a southern suburb of Beirut on September 27, killing hundreds of people.

Elijah Magnier, a military and political analyst, says Israel will face a more prepared and better-equipped enemy in southern Lebanon compared with Hamas in Gaza.

“I think the Israelis understand that Hezbollah is a formidable force, unlike Hamas and the Palestinian resistance in Gaza,” Magnier told Al Jazeera.

Palestinian fighters in Gaza have been manufacturing their own weapons which in turn are more “primitive” compared with supplies that the Lebanese armed group receives from Iran and Syria, Magnier said.

As of now, Israeli forces are still testing the ground by doing “forced reconnaissance to see if Hezbollah is really ready to start confronting the Israelis on a full-scale war on different fronts”.

As Hezbollah has shown high readiness, the Israeli army will likely use more air force, but that could be tricky as “the Israelis can’t use the air force when the troops are advancing and the tanks are in close vicinity of the Hezbollah special forces”, he added.

Netanyahu says Iran “will pay” for its missile attack, while Tehran threatens a crushing response if Israel hits back.

With bombs, bullets and missiles in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel, is the Middle East inching closer to a full-blown war?

Listen to our discussion below:

While Iran’s missile attack on Israel yesterday was far larger than an earlier one in April, the relatively low number of casualties – one person killed, a Palestinian worker in Jericho – gives Israel an offramp to respond with restraint, Lawrence Korb, a former US Defense Department official and security analyst, told Al Jazeera.

“It means that Netanyahu does not have to respond overwhelmingly,” said Korb. “So in a way that ‘we want them to do something but not do it in such a way that provokes another attack’.

“Israel has to do something to show that they’re not going to sit passively if Iran gets in this struggle that they’re having with Hezbollah and Hamas. But since it was a minimal amount of damage … they can have a more measured response.

“The only way out of this horrible situation, which has gone on for almost a year now, is to have a negotiated settlement.”

President Joe Biden, who is not running for re-election, is now a “lame duck”, Korb said.

“We’re not sure how much influence he has. And we know Netanyahu just ignores President Biden.”

The Gulf Cooperation Council has issued a statement after a meeting in Qatar.

Here are the main talking points:

• The group condemned the escalation in the Lebanese and Palestinian territories and “warned of the serious repercussions of this escalation”.
• It called on all parties to exercise self-restraint.
• It stressed the need to implement the UNSC Resolution 1701 to restore stability along southern Lebanon’s border.
• The Council reaffirmed its support for a 21-day ceasefire plan between Israel and Hezbollah put forward by the US and a number of other countries last week.
• It called for an “immediate and permanent” ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all captives and detainees, while it stressed the importance of opening crossings to allow humanitarian aid into the Strip.

Footage shared on X, and verified by Al Jazeera, shows the aftermath of the Israeli attacks on Beirut’s suburbs that we have been reporting on.

بالفيديو: الغارات العنيفة التي استهدفت #الضاحية pic.twitter.com/sk2QgMN1Qd

— هنا لبنان (@thisislebnews) October 2, 2024

Translation: The violent raids that have targeted Dahiyeh.

A reminder that earlier today, Israel barred the UN chief from entering the country.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he was not allowing Antonio Guterres to enter the country for his failure to “unequivocally condemn” Iran’s huge missile attack on Israel.

Shortly after Iran’s attack, Guterres condemned the escalation of violence in the region, but made no mention of Iran.

“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil,” said Katz in a statement. “This is an anti-Israel Secretary-General who lends support to terrorists, rapists, and murderers.”

Israel’s Channel 12 is reporting fires breaking out in some areas of northern Israeli following a rocket attack from Lebanon.

The military said in a statement earlier that more than 240 rockets have been launched from Lebanon at northern Israel today.