Israeli strikes cuts off major road for thousands fleeing Lebanon, official says
An Israeli strike this morning in eastern Lebanon, near its border with Syria, cut off a road that was used by thousands of people fleeing the country, Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamieh told Reuters.
The strike created a 12 feet-wide crater, Hamieh was quoted as saying. The Israeli military had previously accused Hezbollah of using the border crossing to bring military equipment into Lebanon.
Iran’s supreme leader to lead prayers in Tehran today
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayotallah Ali Khamenei, is set to deliver a rare sermon this morning in Tehran, where the assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will also be honored in a ceremony.
The sermon comes as the world watches for an Israeli response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack.
Massive Israeli strikes hit outside Beirut airport, loud explosions heard
A massive barrage of Israeli strikes struck an area near Beirut’s main airport in Lebanon, Reuters video showed, with huge explosions lighting up the sky and sending shockwaves in the Lebanese capital early this morning.
Israel has been regularly targeting the city’s nearby southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, and had earlier issued evacuation warnings for that area.
The target of the strikes, compared by some observers to the attack that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, was not immediately clear.
Oil prices little changed given ample global supply
Oil prices were little changed early today but remained on track for strong weekly gains, as investors weighed the prospect of a wider Middle East conflict disrupting crude flows against an amply supplied global market.
Brent crude futures ticked down 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $77.54 a barrel as of 12:15 am ET. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 6 cents, or 0.08%, to $73.65 a barrel.
Both benchmarks were headed for weekly gains of about 8%.
President Joe Biden said yesterday that the US was discussing strikes on Iran’s oil facilities as retaliation for Tehran’s missile attack on Israel. The comments contributed to a 5% rally in oil prices.
Rockets fired toward northern Israel as IDF intercepts aircraft
The Israel Defense Forces said the majority of 20 rockets launched toward Haifa from Lebanon early this morning were intercepted, while the rest fell in open areas. Sirens had sounded around 7 am local time (12 am ET).
Sirens sounded about 20 minutes later in the Upper Galilee area, where the IDF said some of the rockets fired from Lebanon were intercepted and the rest fell in open areas.
The IDF said it had also intercepted a “hostile aircraft” that entered Israeli territory from the east.
