Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

Hezbollah urged Pope Leo XIV to reject Israeli "injustice and aggression" against Lebanon, in a message to the pontiff who arrives in Beirut this weekend.

"We in Hezbollah take advantage of the occasion of your auspicious visit to our country Lebanon to reaffirm from our side our commitment to coexistence," read Hezbollah’s message to the pope, published on the group’s social media channels on Saturday.

Two Palestinian children were killed on Saturday in an Israeli drone strike on the town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, according to medics, Anadolu reported.

Medical sources at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis told Anadolu that the bodies of the two brothers arrived at the facility after an Israeli attack near al-Farabi School in Bani Suhaila.

The area hit by the strike lies within zones that the Israeli army continues to hold under the ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10. 

However, Palestinians in the area struggle to identify these zones because the army has not placed the yellow concrete blocks that typically mark the separation lines between areas it still controls and those from which it has withdrawn, according to Anadolu’s correspondent.

Some residents try to reach these zones in search of firewood or food, or to return to their destroyed homes to salvage bedding and basic belongings as winter temperatures drop.

At least 130 Palestinians have been injured during an ongoing Israeli military offensive in the Tubas governorate in the northern occupied West Bank since the operation began last Wednesday, Anadolu reported.

Nedal Odeh, director of ambulance and emergency services in Tubas, told Anadolu that all 130 injuries resulted from Palestinians being beaten by Israeli forces during the raids.

The Israeli army has been operating in Tubas and several surrounding towns, storming a large number of homes, turning some into military posts and causing extensive property damage, according to local accounts cited by Anadolu.

The Palestinian Prisoner Society said Israeli forces arrested 162 Palestinians from the governorate during the offensive, most of whom were later released after field interrogations and what it described as mistreatment. Dozens of homes were vandalised, their contents destroyed, and some were converted into military outposts after residents were forced to leave.

Pakistan joined the international community on Tuesday in observing the Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, with the country’s top leadership reiterating unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.

President Asif Ali Zardari, in his message, affirmed that Pakistan would continue its political, diplomatic, humanitarian, and moral support for the people of Palestine. He noted that Pakistan had played a “positive and constructive role” in the Gaza peace agreement, expressing hope that the initiative would help alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian population.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also issued a statement, emphasising that a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian territory was essential for lasting peace. He stressed that Israel must be held accountable for war crimes, in accordance with international law.

The prime minister praised the Palestinians for their “exemplary, unwavering courage and determination,” reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to supporting their struggle for freedom, peace, and prosperity.

The head of Lebanese group Hezbollah said on Friday it retained the right to respond to Israel's killing days ago of its top military commander and left open the possibility of a new conflict with Israel.

Naim Qassem spoke in a televised address as fears grew in Lebanon that Israel could escalate its bombardment of the country to compel Hezbollah to relinquish its arsenal across the country, which the group has repeatedly rejected.

Israel's killing of Hezbollah's top military commander, Haytham Ali Tabtabai, in a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on November 23 sharpened those worries.

Qassem said the group would "set the timing" for any retaliation, and said threats of a broader air campaign had no impact on the group - but that renewed war was possible.

"Do you expect a war later? It's possible sometime. Yes, this possibility is there, and the possibility of no war is also there," Qassem said.

Qassem did not explicitly say what the group's position would be in a new war but said Lebanon should prepare a plan to confront Israel that relies on "its army and its people."

Qassem also said he hoped Pope Leo's upcoming visit to Lebanon "will play a role in bringing about peace and ending the (Israeli) aggression."

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry on Saturday slammed the blatant aggression carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside of the Syrian Arab Republic. 

The Kingdom affirms its complete rejection of all Israeli violations of Syrian territory and attempts to undermine the security and stability of Syria and its brotherly people.

The Israeli army said it had found the bodies of nine Palestinian fighters recently killed in what it call attempts to dismantle the tunnel network in the southern Gaza Strip.

During operations in eastern Rafah, soldiers "located nine additional [fighters] who had been eliminated in the underground infrastructure", the army said in a statement.

"Thus far, over 30 [fighters] who attempted to flee the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah have been eliminated."

Multiple sources told AFP that negotiations were underway regarding the fate of dozens of Hamas fighters holed up in southern Gaza's tunnels, beneath areas under Israeli military control.

On Wednesday, Hamas called on mediating countries to pressure Israel to allow safe passage.

The United Nations said that the killing of two Palestinians, shot dead in the West Bank while seemingly surrendering to Israeli forces, was an "apparent summary execution".

"We are appalled at the brazen killing by Israeli border police yesterday of two Palestinian men in Jenin," UN rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence told reporters in Geneva, calling the incident "yet another apparent summary execution".

He said UN rights chief Volker Turk was calling for "independent, prompt and effective investigations into the killings of Palestinians", and for those responsible for killings and other violations in the West Bank to "be held fully to account".

In a joint statement, the Israeli military and police — which oversees the border guard unit — said they attempted to apprehend "wanted individuals who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces".

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir backed the forces who opened fire, saying: "Terrorists must die!"

The UN rights office spokesman said the incident came as "killings of Palestinians by Israeli security forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank have been surging, without accountability, even in the rare cases when investigations are announced".

Israeli forces killed 13 people on Friday in an operation in southern Syria, the deadliest since Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power nearly a year ago, which they said was targeting an Islamist group.

The Israeli army said an exchange of fire in the operation to detain group members in the Syrian village of Beit Jin left six Israeli soldiers wounded, with three of them in a serious condition.

The Syrian foreign ministry condemned the operation as a "war crime" and accused Israel of wanting to "ignite the region".

The death toll rose to 13 later on Friday morning, according to the director of health for Damascus province Toufic Hassaba, cited by state news agency SANA, after state television said earlier that 10 were killed.

"Following the clashes, the Israeli occupation forces shelled the area with artillery and drones," village official Abdul Rahman al-Hamrawi said.

DAMASCUS: Israeli forces have killed 10 people in an operation in southern Syria, the deadliest since Bashar al-Assad's fall from power nearly a year ago.

The Israeli army said an exchange of fire in an operation to detain reported "militants" from neighbouring Lebanon in the Syrian village of Beit Jin left six Israeli soldiers wounded, three of them in serious condition.

Since a coalition overthrew longtime ruler Assad in December last year, Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes and incursions into Syria.

Syrian state television reported women and children among those killed.

"The number of martyrs from the Israeli aggression... has risen to 10, including women and children, while others remain trapped under the rubble," it said.