Iran's Khamenei Addresses Rare Friday Gathering Amid Escalating War With Israel | LIVE

Israel said it had targeted the intelligence headquarters of Hezbollah in Lebanon overnight and was assessing the damage on Friday after a series of strikes on senior figures in the group that Iran's Supreme Leader dismissed as counterproductive.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared in public on Friday for the first time since Iran's missile attack on Israel, describing it as legitimate punishment for what he called Israeli crimes and calling for more anti-Israel struggle.

Israel eliminates Hezbollah's 'Senior Terrorist' Yusef Anisi as crackdown on Lebanon based-terro group continues. 

Israeli military has warned people to evacuate communities in southern Lebanon that are outside a UN-declared buffer zone, signalling that it may widen a ground operation launched earlier this week against the Hezbollah militant group.

During his first sermon in five years, Khamenei said that Hamas' October 7 attack last year was "legal" and "legitimate."

Nearly 100 Hezbollah operatives have been killed during Israeli operations in southern Lebanon in the past day, The Times of Israel reported quoting IDF's assessment. 
 

Addressing thousands of Iranians at the Tehran Grand Mosque on Friday, Iran's Supreme Leader asserted that all countries have the right to defend themselves.

"Every nation, every country has the right to defend its home and its interests."

He further emphasised that all enemies will be defeated if Muslims unite, as divine support will follow.

Thousands of Iranians gathered in Tehran for Khamenei's sermon prayer on Friday. 
 

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrived at his Friday Prayer sermon in Tehran, along with his bodyguards.

Sirens were sounded in Upper Galilee, Yir'on, Misgav Am and Margaliot, and Dovev, the IDF said.

The Israeli military on Thursday warned people to evacuate a city and other communities in southern Lebanon that are north of a UN-declared buffer zone, signalling that it may widen a ground operation launched earlier this week against the Hezbollah militant group.

Israel has told people to leave Nabatieh, a provincial capital, and other communities north of the Litani River, which formed the northern edge of the border zone established by the UN Security Council after the two sides fought a war in 2006. Each side accuses the other of violating the resolution.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi lands in Beruit despite threats from Israel.

The US State Department said that the US Embassy in Beirut is prepared to provide emergency loans to Americans who wish to leave Lebanon.

According to media reports, at least 1,100 people have been estimated to be killed in Lebanon strikes from Sept 16 to 29, as per Lebanese health ministry figures.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in its latest report revealed that around 160,000 people have fled from Lebanon to Syria following the escalation of Israeli bombings.

As mans as 250 US citizens were brought backs from Lebanon this week in the country's arranged flights, amid the ongoing conflict in the middle east.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei will lead a rare Friday sermon in Tehran today, the first after five years.

After the public prayer, there will also be a "commemoration ceremony" dedicated to the Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was eliminated but the IDF, at 10:30 am.

Earlier, for the killing of Nasrallah, Khamenei declared public mourning in Iran on Wednesday and stated that the Hezbollah chief's death was "not a small matter."

The funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is going to take place on Friday (October 4), as per media reports.

The Palestinian health officials stated that at least 18 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a cafe in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

It added that as many as 700 people have been killed in the West Bank since the October 7 attack.
 

Days after eliminating the then-Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah, Israel has now targeted Hashem Safieddine. According to Reuters, the Israeli strikes that targeted Hashem Safieddine were even bigger than strike that targeted Hassan Nasrallah, the former Hezbollah Chief who was eliminated.

Israeli officials tell Axios that Hashem Safieddine was in the deepest of Hezbollah's underground bunkers; however, there is no confirmation about Hashem Safieddine - whether he is alive or has been eliminated. 

On Thursday, President Joe Biden said, "Look, I don't believe there is going to be an all-out war. I think we can avoid it. But there is a lot to do yet."

He added, "We have already helped Israel. We are going to protect Israel."

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Friday in a post on X announced that they had killed Mahmoud Yusef Anisi, a senior terrorist involved in Hezbollah's missile manufacturing chain in Lebanon.

The IDF said, "Mahmoud Yusef Anisi, a senior terrorist involved in Hezbollah's precision-guided missile manufacturing chain in Lebanon, joined Hezbollah over 15 years ago and was one of the leaders of the Hezbollah PGM campaign in Lebanon. He was a key source of knowledge and possessed significant technological abilities in weapons manufacturing. The IDF will continue to act against the threat posed by Hezbollah."

As per media reports loud explosions were heard near Beirut's International Airport

It comes as the Lebanese health ministry released figures saying 37 people were killed and 151 wounded in Israeli strikes in Lebanon in the past 24 hours, in a statement early on Thursday, October 3.