Updates: Israel ‘hammers’ Gaza as Lebanese army claims ceasefire ‘violated’

Al Jazeera’s verification agency Sanad has revealed that some 20 villages in southern Lebanon, not previously invaded by Israeli ground troops, are among a list of locations Israel’s military has warned residents not to return to after the ceasefire came into effect.

An Israeli army spokesperson warned residents against entering 62 villages in southern Lebanon, covering an area of about 500 square kilometres (193sq miles).

According to Sanad, only 42 of those villages had been previously invaded by Israeli ground troops, or at least witnessed clashes.

For a feature on how Lebanese people who endured months of war are now hopeful that a ceasefire will hold, read this.

For an explainer on whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is immune from the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant, read this.

For more about Israel’s relentless attacks in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, read our story here.

We’ll be closing this live page soon. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• Israel and Lebanon have blamed each other for violating a fragile US-brokered ceasefire agreement that came into effect a day earlier.
• Israeli forces have renewed a curfew for southern Lebanon residents as many returned to their damaged homes in the area.
• Israeli forces have intensified bombardment of the Gaza Strip, targeting displacement shelters in the south and residential homes in the besieged north, where a famine is looming.
• Netanyahu said he is ready for a ceasefire in Gaza to release captives but stressed in televised remarks that he intends to continue the war with Hamas.
• An Iranian general with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been killed in Syria’s Aleppo amid an ongoing major assault by armed groups opposed to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Video shows the moment an ambulance crew was directly shot at by Israeli soldiers in Nuseirat, Gaza.

Hours earlier, a group of journalists were reportedly targeted by an Israeli quadcopter in the same area.

In a statement, the European Union says it is now “crucial” that the ceasefire holds to guarantee the safety of civilians and to allow those internally displaced people “on both sides of the border to return to their homes”.

It said the EU and its member states are committed to “mobilising a wide range of EU instruments” to support the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers on the ground.

In the statement, the EU urged Lebanon to elect a president to start rebuilding a “strong and sovereign Lebanese State”.

Israeli forces targeted a five-storey residential building in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding several others, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

It said Israeli drones launched bullets towards medical teams to prevent them from reaching the site of the attack.

Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv’s game against Besiktas in the Europa League was played without incident before empty stands in Hungary, with the stadium closed to fans over security concerns following attacks on Israeli supporters in Amsterdam this month.

Maccabi won the game 3-1 on a cold and rainy evening in Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city. Groups of police patrolled outside the stadium, but security levels did not appear overwhelming in the city of about 200,000 residents.

After the match, Maccabi coach Zarko Lazetic said playing in front of an empty stadium without fans is always a struggle for the team.

“We play football because of the fans, to give them some pleasure, some excite[ment] and to be together,” he said.

Israel’s football teams play domestic games at home despite Israel’s war on Gaza. However, the European football body UEFA has ruled that the war in Gaza means Israel cannot host international games.

On November 7, Israeli football fans clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters before and after a Europa League football match between their team Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax in Amsterdam.

Israeli forces raided the town of al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, and stationed troops in three different areas, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

Soldiers launched sound bombs and tear gas canisters towards residents and their homes, it added, without reporting any injuries.

Israeli forces often raid Palestinian towns and villages across the West Bank and carry out large-scale arrest campaigns. They also often wound and kill Palestinian residents during these incursions, which have intensified in frequency since October 2023.

The families of Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip have written to Benjamin Netanyahu to say he should act immediately to strike a deal if, as he earlier today claimed, conditions have gotten better.

“The time is ripe for a deal” if killed Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh were the reason previous attempts failed, they said in a statement.

“Winter has arrived, and with it more dangers to the lives and health of the abductees. They will not be able to survive another winter without food, without water, without medicines in the frost and dampness underground. If not now, when?”

This US-based Palestinian chef and writer is trying to recreate a family recipe from her aunt in the Gaza Strip, who was killed in an Israeli air strike last year.

Laila el-Haddad told Al Jazeera that many Palestinians who never had a chance to visit their ancestral villages and homes before being ethnically cleansed in the 1948 Nakba are using food to preserve and transfer to the next generations their history and culture.

The UN refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) says families are leaving its emergency shelters as the ceasefire in Lebanon takes hold.

“The humanitarian needs among the community remain very high and the Agency is committed to keep providing essential services” to Palestinian refugees in areas where it is operating, UNRWA said in a post on X.

New York City police say they arrested 21 people after protesters jumped barricades and sat down on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade route with Palestinian flags and a “Don’t Celebrate Genocide” banner.

They chanted “Free, free Palestine!” as a giant Ronald McDonald balloon bore down on them on Manhattan’s Sixth Avenue.

People protesting Israel’s war in Gaza also interrupted last year’s parade.

Thousands of displaced Lebanese have started returning to their homes after a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel took effect.

Many have been met by scenes of destruction of the homes, towns and villages that they fled.

The Israeli strike targeted a tent housing displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

A child was among those killed, it said, adding that several more people were wounded in the attack.

Israeli forces had earlier carried out another strike on southern Gaza, killing several people in Khan Younis and Rafah.

People in Lebanon are picking up the pieces after nearly 14 months of war. The pause in hostilities has renewed a push to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Could the Lebanon ceasefire be a step towards broader regional peace?

Find out in the latest episode of Inside Story:

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati have had separate phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron, the National News Agency (NNA) reports.

They discussed “the ongoing situation in Lebanon” after the announcement of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah as well as issues relating to the “broader political and security landscape”, NNA said.

Mikati thanked Macron for his commitment to Lebanon and key role in securing the ceasefire, NNA said. He also confirmed that the army was bolstering its presence south of the Litani River near the border with Israel.

For his part, Berri discussed “Israeli provocations that continue to complicate the security situation”, NNA added.

The Israeli prime minister made a distinction between a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and a permanent end to the war during the interview with Channel14, his first since the Lebanon ceasefire agreement.

Netanyahu said that Israel intends to continue its war with Hamas and added that he is optimistic about efforts to release the captives held by Hamas.

“The answer is clear: I am ready for a ceasefire in the south, one that we think can achieve the release of the abductees.”

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Israel has “thwarted a great threat to the settlements and the state of Israel this evening in a smart and quiet way”.

He wrote in a post on X that Israel has ensured a resolution recognising Palestinian statehood in the UN Security Council would not be passed during the period leading up to Donald Trump taking over the White House again in January.

“We will continue to develop the settlements, fortify Israel’s security and prevent the establishment of a terrorist state that will endanger our existence and the future of our children,” Smotrich said.

The minister has called for the military occupation of Gaza and is a staunch supporter of rapidly expanding Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, which are illegal under international law.