Israeli forces announced the capture of the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, with Defence Minister Israel Katz declaring that the mission to clear Hezbollah fighters from tunnels under the strategic position had been completed [7][11]. Katz said the tunnels served as Hezbollah's command center for attacks on Israeli forces and the Galilee region, and that Israel would work to prevent the enemy from re-establishing itself in the area [2][10]. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the heights no longer pose a threat to Israel [25][34]. The operation is set against the backdrop of Israel's stalled withdrawal plan tied to Hezbollah's disarmament and Israel's October elections [10].
Hezbollah denied the Israeli claim. An official statement from the group said the hill remains free of Israeli forces and under the control of resistance fighters in full readiness to repel any incursion [29]. The Israeli claim could not be independently verified [26][33]. Hezbollah spokesman Youssef al-Zein refused to confirm the loss, downplayed the ridge's military significance, and said Hezbollah would defend the position as much as it could [7]. Hezbollah MP Ihab Hamada described the capture as neither a military catastrophe nor the end of the matter [26]. Iran warned the United States through Oman that any Israeli occupation of the ridge would cross a red line and trigger a strong response [35][37][33].
The United Nations said the Israeli consolidation north of the Blue Line violates Security Council Resolution 1701 and Lebanese sovereignty. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reported extensive Israeli military presence and infrastructure works north of the line, repeating the UN's call for Israeli withdrawal [15]. Lebanese authorities reported that Israeli strikes on five locations in Tyre, Nabatieh and Bekaa killed at least three people and wounded 23, including a strike on a house in Rmadiyeh sheltering displaced families [2]. An Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle in Kfar Rumman killed at least two civilians, according to Lebanon's National News Agency [23]. The IDF said the strike was a response to a Hezbollah drone launched at its forces [23].
In East Jerusalem, Israeli police shot and killed a 33-year-old Palestinian near Damascus Gate, saying he attempted to stab a border guard [21][24][38]. Israeli forces imposed restrictions around the Old City following the incident [24]. In southern Gaza, Israeli troops opened fire north of Khan Younis, killing one Palestinian and wounding three others [24]. The army also arrested Palestinians in Qabatiya and Nablus, saying they were planning attacks, and blocked peace activists from delivering supplies to three families besieged by settlers in Qusra for 28 days by treating the area as a closed military zone [21]. US ambassador Mike Huckabee warned that settler violence is damaging Israel's image [21].
The displacement plan announced by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir proposes moving 1.86 million Palestinians out of Gaza over seven years through what he calls voluntary emigration, with targets of 250,000 departures in the first year [5][27]. Ben-Gvir told Palestinians to pack instead of digging tunnels and said he would seek a Migration Ministry if his Jewish Power party remains in government after next month's election [13][4]. The plan carries an estimated cost of about $20 billion [31]. Defence Minister Katz said there is no real Gaza solution without migration and that Israel is prepared to move Palestinians out by sea, air and every possible way, awaiting US approval [4][17]. Netanyahu said Israel is not withdrawing from Gaza and controls 60% of the strip, while deputy chief of staff Tamir Yadai put the figure at 65% [8].
Egyptian Foreign Minister Bedr Abdulati rejected the displacement plan as a one-way ticket designed to liquidate the Palestinian cause, saying Egypt will not accept or allow it [17]. Gaza Government Media Office director Ismail Al-Thawabta said Palestinians are deeply rooted in their land and will not be intimidated [4]. Gaza resident Mohammed Abu Al-Qumbuz said Palestinians will die on the land of Gaza rather than leave [4]. RFI noted that the forced displacement of civilian populations is a war crime under international law [13][32]. An independent UN inquiry found that Israel continued to commit genocide in Gaza [8]. Israeli journalist Gideon Levy, cited in Turkish media, framed settler attacks as a systematic ethnic-cleansing campaign promoted by Finance Minister Smotrich, the military and Netanyahu, and called Israel's legal system an apartheid system [9].
An unnamed senior Israeli official told the Hebrew-language outlet Ynet that no country has agreed to accept a significant number of Gazans, making the emigration plan unrealistic [28]. The analysis piece argued the plan will complicate Israel's international standing [28]. No destination country named in the plan — Turkey, Ethiopia or the Democratic Republic of the Congo — has publicly confirmed willingness to receive Gazans [30].
UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza said families returning to villages in Nabatieh face widespread destruction, lack of basic services, ongoing insecurity and uncertainty [2]. Residents returning to southern Lebanon found homes destroyed and struggled to find affordable shelter and water as winter approaches [1]. In northern Gaza, Kamal Adwan Hospital suspended operations after Israeli forces advanced toward the facility, months after it resumed services in March [14]. Medical Aid for Palestinians Gaza director Fikr Shaltoot condemned the renewed evacuation of patients and health workers while the hospital's former director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya remains in Israeli detention without charge [14]. WHO reported that more than 13,000 patients, including over 6,000 children, have been medically evacuated from Gaza since October 2023, with thousands more still needing specialized treatment [15].
The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed it facilitated the transfer to Lebanon of five people released from Israeli detention [18]. Netanyahu said the five, captured in southern Lebanon, were found during interrogation to be civilians not involved in terrorism [3][20]. The US State Department commended both governments for demonstrating good faith and said the releases could serve as the basis for expanded discussions on other civilian issues [3]. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam pledged to keep working until all prisoners are released, the fate of the missing is revealed, and a complete Israeli withdrawal is achieved [3]. Released detainee Hussein Ayyash described being blindfolded, transferred into Israel, held in solitary confinement and subjected to psychological pressure [11]. The ICRC said it has not had access to anyone held in Israeli detention since October 2023 [11][18].
In Spain, an investigation by El País documented a Spanish-language pro-Israel channel network called Estrategias Militares that mixed support for Israel with false claims that Morocco had launched a military invasion of Ceuta and Melilla with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's complicity [6]. Disinformation researchers described the network as part of an informal proxy ecosystem suited to amplifying Israeli narratives during a security crisis [6]. Sánchez said social-media networks associated with Israel and Russia had spread falsehoods against Spain during the Ceuta crisis [6].
Peace talks between Israel and Lebanon remain stalled [3]. Katz said Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed [36]. Hezbollah insists it will not give up its weapons in any area north of the Litani river [3].