Live: Over 200 Lebanese children killed in two months of Israeli attacks

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said on X that Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan met with Phillippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa).

The meeting is part of Saudi Arabia's hosting of the International Coalition to Implement the Two-State Solution, and comes after Israel's parliament voted to ban the UN agency.

#الرياض | سمو وزير الخارجية الأمير #فيصل_بن_فرحان @FaisalbinFarhan يلتقي المفوض العام لوكالة الأمم المتحدة لغوث وتشغيل اللاجئين الفلسطينيين "الأونروا" السيد فيليب لازاريني، وذلك على هامش الاجتماع الأول للتحالف الدولي لتنفيذ حل الدولتين. pic.twitter.com/oE9Jzf1fMo

— وزارة الخارجية 🇸🇦 (@KSAMOFA) October 30, 2024

Hezbollah's Naim Qassem said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "frightened" following the Lebanese group's drone attack on his residence.

Qassem added that diplomatic sources questioned the party's decision, saying that Netanyahu is the head of a state, to which Hezbollah responded by saying Israel killed the heads of their movement.

Naim Qassem said that the group filled the gaps left by Israel's assassination of the near-entirety of its senior leadership, which he described as a "heavy hit".

According to him, "the battlefield proves that" the group was able to regroup and remain a powerful fighting force following the latest string of attacks.

Responding to claims that Hezbollah fights on Iran's behalf, Secretary General Naim Qassem said that "we do not fight on anyone's behalf, nor for anyone’s project. We fight for our project. Our project is the protection of Lebanon".

"Iran supports our project, and wants nothing out of us."

Qassem praised Iran, saying it has been paying "a heavy price for decades" for supporting Palestine.

In his first recorded televised speech since being appointed as Hezbollah secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem said that his group's solidarity with the Gaza Strip was a "duty".

Responding to claims that Hezbollah should not have initiated clashes with Israel on 8 October, 2023, Qassem says his group took part in "preemptive defence" against Israel.

He says Israel has been planning a war with Lebanon for a long time, and that the Israeli army violated Lebanon by air and sea at least 39,000 times since their last war in 2006.

"They were filming, observing our movements, gathering data for information," he said.

In his first speech since being appointed as secretary general of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem has thanked the group's leadership for choosing him to carry this "heavy weight".

A Hamas official said Wednesday that the group had not received any proposals for a Gaza ceasefire but would discuss any ideas that include an Israeli withdrawal.

"We have not officially received any comprehensive proposal. We are prepared to engage with any ideas or proposals presented to us, provided they ultimately lead to an end to the war and a withdrawal by the army from the (Gaza) Strip," the official told AFP.

The official, who preferred to remain anonymous, added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is obstructing truce efforts to push an agenda of "genocide, ethnic cleansing and displacement" made possible by the absence of US pressure.

"We have told the mediators that Hamas is ready if (Israel) agrees to a proposal for a ceasefire, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, return of displaced people to their homes in Gaza including the north, entry of sufficient aid for our people and a serious prisoner exchange deal," he said, referring to ceasefire conditions Hamas has repeatedly brought to negotiations.

He said that Egypt and Qatar continue to work as mediators in consultations between Hamas and Israel.

On Tuesday evening, Hamas confirmed in a statement that some meetings had been held regarding the mediators' request to discuss "new proposals for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange".

Reporting by AFP

Israeli forces have killed at least 35 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip so far on Wednesday, medical sources told Al Jazeera. 

At least 25 of those killed were in northern Gaza, the report added. 

Senior Hezbollah official Hassan Fadlallah said on Wednesday a remark by Israel's defence minister suggesting the Lebanese group's new chief, Naim Qassem, would not hold the post for long would not deter the group's resistance.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant posted a photo of Qassem on X on Tuesday with the caption: "Temporary appointment. Not for long."

Reporting by Reuters

Iran said Wednesday that there had been "no interruption" in its production of missiles after Israel said its strikes on Iran last week hit missile production facilities.

"There has been no interruption in the process of producing offensive systems such as missiles," Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh told reporters.

Reporting by AFP

Israeli forces have killed 1,250 Palestinians in the ongoing north Gaza assault launched on 5 October, a medical source told Al Jazeera. 

Mediators for a ceasefire in Gaza are to propose a truce of "less than a month" to Hamas, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP on Wednesday.

Meetings between Mossad head David Barnea, CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha, which concluded on Monday, discussed proposing a "short-term" truce of "less than a month", the source said on condition of anonymity because of the talks' sensitivity.

Reporting by AFP 

The Israeli military issued expulsion orders on Wednesday to residents of the city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, a military spokesperson said on X.

Such orders often precede heavy bombardment. 

Reporting by Reuters

Israeli air strikes in the southern Lebanon city of Sidon, known in Arabic as Saida, killed nine people and wounded 36, the Lebanese civil defence said on Wednesday. 

Israeli forces have been "deliberately" burning shelters for displaced people in north Gaza, which has been under a brutal offensive and blockade for 25 days preventing fuel, food and medicine from entering, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

The situation in the north is "catastrophic," said PRCS spokesperson Raed al-Nims in an interview with Al Arabi TV.

"Residents are calling for help to save the wounded," al-Nims said. "The number of martyrs is rising due to the inability to treat them."

He added that the priority was to stop the aggression in the northern Gaza Strip and allow the entry of ambulance teams.