Day 62 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Dec. 7

An escalation on the Israeli-Lebanese border saw the Israeli military striking several towns in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah claimed an attack on northern Israel Thursday.

Rina Bassist, Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.

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Live updates (all times EDT):

Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023

9:46 pm: Explosions, sirens near US Embassy in Baghdad

Incoming fire alarms and suspected sounds of impact were heard near Union III and the embassy compound, a US military official confirmed to Al-Monitor. US officials are still confirming what type of attack occurred and whether any damage or casualties resulted.

2:57 pm: Pentagon notes pause in attacks on US troops in Iraq, Syria

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said there haven’t been drone or rocket attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria over the past 24 hours. The reason for the apparent pause is unclear.

Bases used by US troops in Iraq and Syria have come under rocket and drone attacks at least 78 times amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday, a US drone killed five members of an Iran-backed militia near Kirkuk in a pre-emptive strike, as the fighters were preparing to launch an attack drone, officials said.

2:30 pm: Pentagon chief speaks with Saudi defense minister about Houthi maritime attacks

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Khalid bin Salman, by phone today about “Houthi threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” the Pentagon confirmed.

The call comes just days after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired four ballistic missiles at three commercial cargo ships in the Red Sea, prompting the United States to seek the support of allies to ramp up naval patrols around the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

“Austin conveyed his desire to work with all nations who share an interest in upholding the principle of freedom of navigation and ensuring safe passage for global shipping,” the Pentagon said in a press release.

1:03 pm: Israeli farmer killed by Hezbollah missile

Eyal Ozan,a farmer from Kibbutz Gesher Haziv, in the Upper Galilee, was killed Thursday in his apple orchard near the Lebanese border when an anti-tank missile hit the vehicle he was driving. The Israeli military said IDF jets had attacked Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after rocket and missile fire toward Israel during the day. The military also said that sirens had sounded earlier in the evening in the Golan Heights region, warning of firing from Syria.

1:00 pm: Clashes between Jerusalem police, far-right activists

Clashes broke out in the evening between police and far-right Israeli activists marching outside Jerusalem’s Old City and calling for an end to the Muslim Waqf's authority over the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound and for Jewish sovereignty over it, reports Haaretz. The march was authorized, but police said that participants did not respect the conditions agreed to before the event, shouted racist slogans and advanced in an unauthorized manner toward the Damascus Gate.

11:48 am: Pentagon resumes intel drone flights over Gaza in hostage search

The Pentagon has resumed flying drones to gather intelligence to inform potential hostage rescue operations, a spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. The drone flights over Gaza ceased during the seven-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, defense officials said. The Pentagon has said it is not assisting the Israeli military with targeting in its campaign against Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza.

11:10 am: Son of Israeli war cabinet minister killed in Gaza

Gal Eisenkot, the son of war cabinet minister and former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot, was killed in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said. Another soldier, Jonathan David Deutch, was also killed in a gunfight in southern Gaza. Rina Bassist reports.

3:08 am: Dozens killed in Israeli airstrikes on Rafah

At least 20 people, including children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a house in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Intense bombardment on the city was reported overnight. Hundreds of thousands of people are crammed into Rafah, which Israel has declared a “safe zone” as it widens its offensive in the south.

2:50 am: Israeli shelling strikes towns in southern Lebanon 

The Israeli military shelled and carried out airstrikes on several towns in southern Lebanon, including Tayr Harfa, Dhaira, Alma al-Shaab, Markaba and Wadi Slouki, the National News Agency reported. Earlier, Hezbollah had claimed an attack on the Ramim barracks and al-Marj military post in northern Israel. The border between Lebanon and Israel has been the site of heavy exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah since the Gaza war erupted Oct. 7.

2:48 am: US envoy says still hope for Israeli-Saudi normalization

US energy envoy Amos Hochstein said it was still possible to achieve Israeli-Saudi normalization despite the ongoing war in Gaza and stressed the Biden administration's commitment to this goal. “I think that not every road is a straight road and sometimes it goes in different directions first. But the goal is still the same,” Hochstein told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry event in the United Arab Emirates. “And we remain as committed to that goal of regional integration, and it's not just about Saudi Arabia and Israel, it has to be much broader than that.” US-mediated talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize relations were suspended after the war in Gaza erupted.

2:00 am: Two Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza Strip as military fights in Khan Yunis, Jabalia

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that two Israeli soldiers had died the previous day following fights with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He also said that the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas had engaged in battles overnight in Khan Yunis, in the south, and in Jabalia, in the north. In both locations, IDF soldiers were said to have uncovered tunnel shafts and ammunition.

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