On Fri night a surface-to-surface missile launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah struck a residential building in the Arab city of Tira in central Israel, causing at least seven injuries. Among the injured, two people sustained moderate injuries, five others had minor injuries, and an additional two were treated for anxiety.

The IAF struck and killed Jaafar Khader Faour, the Hezbollah commander responsible for the Nasser Unit’s missile and rocket systems, in Jouaiyya, southern Lebanon, the IDF announced. Also killed was the unit’s drone operations leader. Faour had overseen numerous rocket attacks, including strikes on Israeli communities in the Golan Heights, and orchestrated the first rocket launches into Israel on October 8. Notably, Faour was behind a recent attack on Metula, which killed five civilians, as well as other deadly strikes on Israeli areas.

Dashcam footage captures the moment a rocket or missile from Lebanon strikes a home in the central Israeli city of Tira.

The IDF announced updates to the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines for select areas, effective today at 18:00. Following a situational assessment, the threat level in the Lower Galilee and parts of the southern Golan, including specific communities within the Emek HaYarden municipalities, will be upgraded from “partial” to “full.” Gatherings of up to 2,000 people will now be allowed in these areas. Guidelines for the rest of the country remain unchanged. The latest directives are available through the Home Front Command’s official channels, National Emergency Portal, and app.

The IDF announced that the 205th Reserve Brigade, under the 146th Division, has conducted localized ground raids in a village in southern Lebanon, targeting underground terrorist infrastructure. The operation, based on precise intelligence, led troops to uncover weapons caches hidden in homes and a vehicle in civilian areas, including a ready-to-launch rocket launcher. During the raids, IDF forces dismantled multiple terrorist sites, observation posts, and weapon storage facilities. Close-quarters engagements and airstrikes resulted in the elimination of dozens of terrorists. Among the findings was a vehicle carrying AK-47 rifles, ammunition, and military vests, all of which were confiscated.

The IDF has confirmed a series of airstrikes on weapons storage facilities and command centers used by Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces and Munitions Unit in Al-Qusayr, Syria. According to IDF intelligence, the Israeli Air Force carried out these strikes to disrupt Hezbollah’s operations in the area. In recent months, the IDF has intensified strikes to curb weapon transfers from Iran through Syria into Hezbollah-controlled areas in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s Munitions Unit, typically storing arms in Lebanon, has expanded its logistics base to Al-Qusayr near the Syrian-Lebanese border, allowing for weapon smuggling across the border. The operation is part of a broader IDF campaign against Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which manages the smuggling routes from Iran through Syria and into Lebanon.

The IDF intensified their operations in both southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, carrying out airstrikes against Hezbollah and Hamas targets over the past week. In a recent operation, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) targeted and eliminated Muhammad Khalil Alian, commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank missile division in the Hajir arena of the ‘Nasser’ Unit, located in Qalaouiyeh, southern Lebanon. Over the past 24 hours, approximately 150 Hezbollah and Hamas positions across Lebanon and Gaza were struck. The strikes targeted a range of sites, including command centers, weapons storage locations, observation posts, and rocket launchers that threatened Israeli security.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Thursday, 31 October 2024), at the start of the Government meeting to approve the 2025 state budget [translated from Hebrew]: “We are in the midst of a war. Our security depends on the security services, the IDF and other elements, which are properly equipped, both spiritually and materially. Our security also depends on the economy. We cannot have a strong military if we have no way of financing it. Therefore, security depends on the economy, but the economy also depends on security. If it is possible to strike the heart of our cities, our industry and our citizens, then it is clear that our economic capability will be harmed. Therefore, security and the economy are interdependent.

The IDF confirmed that earlier today, under IDF intelligence guidance, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched airstrikes against Hezbollah command and control centers and other terrorist infrastructure located in Baalbek, in northern Lebanon, and Nabatieh, in the south. According to the IDF, Hezbollah has routinely used civilian areas throughout Lebanon to orchestrate and carry out terrorist operations, posing a risk to Lebanese civilians by embedding its infrastructure in populated regions. To minimize civilian risk, the IDF reported taking numerous precautionary measures before the strikes, including issuing advance warnings across multiple communication channels to alert residents in the targeted areas.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced efforts to secure a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict, expressing hopes for progress within days. Speaking in an interview on Lebanese channel Al-Jadeed, Mikati stated, “We are doing our best… to have a ceasefire within the coming hours or days,” and shared that he remains “cautiously optimistic” about the outcome.