Palestinian leaders killed in Lebanon amid ceasefire calls

Hamas on Monday said an Israeli airstrike killed its leader in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, along with his wife, son and daughter in the southern city of Tyre.

Another faction, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said three of its leaders died in a strike in Beirut’s Kola district — the first such hit inside the city limits.

Hezbollah fighters were primed to confront any Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon, the group’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said on Monday.

“We will face any possibility and we are ready if the Israelis decide to enter by land and the resistance forces are ready for a ground engagement,” he said in an address. “We will choose a secretary-general for the party at the earliest opportunity...and we will fill the leadership and positions on a permanent basis,” Qassem said.

Meanwhile, the death toll from an Israeli strike on the Lebanese town of Ain Deleb had risen to 45, Lebanon's health ministry said.

12 dead in Gaza

Israeli airstrikes pounded areas across the Gaza Strip on Monday killing 12, including a journalist and her family, medics said, although the intensity of the ground offensive has subsided as Israel steps up its fight with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Russia, UK, US weigh in

Russia said Nasrallah’s death had led to a serious destabilisation in the broader region. A spokesperson for British PM Keir Starmer said Britain called for a ceasefire. US President Joe Biden also called for a ceasefire.