Live blog: Gaza death toll tops 41,820 as Israel continues its bombardment

Saturday, October 5, 2024

0756 GMT –– The Israeli army killed 23 more Palestinians in attacks on Gaza, bringing the total death toll to 41,825 since October 7 of last year, the Health Ministry in the enclave has said.

According to a ministry statement, 96,910 people have also been injured as a result of Israeli attacks that have continued unabated for the last year.

“Israeli forces killed 23 people and injured 66 others in three massacres’ during the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

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0855 GMT –– Israeli army issues evacuation warning to residents of Bureij, Nuseirat refugee camps in Gaza

The Israeli army issued a warning to residents of the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza and demanded that they leave right away due to a military offensive in the areas.

In a statement on X, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee identified specific residential blocks in Gaza that are “at risk,” including blocks 660- 2322.

Under the same pretext as in the past, the army issued fresh orders for evacuation, claiming that armed Palestinian factions were attacking Israeli forces from these locations.

0835 GMT –– UN peacekeeping force says it maintains positions in Lebanon amid Israeli ground offensive

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has confirmed that its peacekeeping forces are still stationed in different locations throughout Lebanon, with emergency plans ready to be activated if needed.

Andrea Tenenti, a peacekeeping spokesperson, confirmed in a statement on Saturday that the Israeli army notified UNIFIL on September 30 of its intention to launch a limited ground offensive into Lebanese territory and requested the relocation of some forces' positions.

The spokesperson added that the peacekeeping forces are continually adjusting their positions and activities in light of the current situation.

Tenenti stated, "We have emergency plans ready to be activated if the need arises," but did not provide any additional information.

The spokesperson also emphasised that UNIFIL continues to urge Israel to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which is regarded as “the only effective solution to restore stability in the region.”

The resolution, unanimously adopted on August 11, 2006, calls for a complete cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel and establishes a demilitarised zone between the Blue Line, the boundary between Lebanon and Israel, and the Litani River in southern Lebanon.

This zone is meant to be free of combatants, military equipment, and weapons, except for those belonging to the Lebanese army and UNIFIL.

0806 GMT –– Six killed in Israeli bombardments of eastern, southern Lebanon

At least six people were killed during a series of Israeli bombardments of Beirut's southern suburbs and the Beqaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, and a southern Lebanese town.

According to Lebanon's official news agency, the Israeli army carried out 12 air strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, targeting key areas.

The news agency confirmed that one person was killed in an Israeli attack on a house in the Saad Nayel neighbourhood.

In addition, the director of Al-Abrar School was killed in an air strike that targeted his residence in the Rashaya Valley town of Al-Rafid.

Separately, the Lebanese Civil Defense reported that four bodies and one injured person were pulled out of rubble following an Israeli air strike on a house in Joya town of Tyre district in southern Lebanon.

The air strike occurred in the early hours of Saturday, targeting a residential area, causing a building to collapse and trap civilians inside.

Meanwhile, an Anadolu correspondent reported that Israeli forces conducted another round of intense air strikes on Saturday morning, targeting areas near the Burj al-Barajneh in Beirut's southern suburbs.

0757 GMT –– Child among 12 killed, several injured in Israeli air strikes on central, northern Gaza

At least 12 Palestinians, including a child, were killed, and several others injured in three Israeli air strikes targeting a home, a tent sheltering displaced people in central Gaza, and a group of civilians in northern Gaza.

Medical sources at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza said five Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an air strike on the town of Beit Hanoun.

According to Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, six bodies and multiple injured people were transported to the hospital following an Israeli air strike on a house in the Al-Da'wa neighbourhood in the northeastern part of the camp.

In a separate incident, medical sources at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah confirmed that an Israeli strike targeted a tent sheltering displaced families inside the Ahmed al-Kurd School in the city, killing a child and injuring several others.

0718 GMT — Israel army says struck Hezbollah fighters inside south Lebanon mosque

The Israeli military has said its forces struck Hezbollah fighters inside a south Lebanon mosque overnight, the first such strike since clashes erupted between Israel and the Iran-backed group last year.

"Overnight, with the direction of IDF (army) intelligence, the IAF (air force) struck Hezbollah terrorists who were operating within a command centre that was located inside a mosque adjacent to the Salah Ghandour Hospital in southern Lebanon," the military said in a statement.

0543 GMT –– Israel kills high-ranking Al Qassam commander in Lebanon: Hamas

Hamas has confirmed the death of a senior commander from its military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in an Israeli air strike on his residence in the Beddawi refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

The air strike targeted the home of Saeed Atallah Ali, a high-ranking commander in the Qassam Brigades, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

The bombing resulted in the deaths of Ali, his wife Shaimaa Khalil Azzam, and their two daughters, Zeinab and Fatima.

In a statement, Hamas said that “the Israeli air strike targeted the residence of Saeed Ali, leading to his martyrdom along with his family.”

“Israel's leadership will pay for their criminal decisions against our people,” it added.

Ali's assassination follows that of Fatah Sharif, another Hamas leader in Lebanon, who was killed earlier this week in a similar Israeli air strike on his home in the Burj al Shemali camp in southern Lebanon.

0106 GMT –– Hezbollah says clashes underway with Israeli troops on Lebanon border

Hezbollah has said it was engaged in ongoing clashes with Israeli troops in the Lebanon border area after earlier saying it forced Israeli soldiers to retreat there.

"Israeli enemy soldiers renewed an attempt to advance towards the vicinity of the municipality in the village of Adaysseh", and Hezbollah fighters confronted the attempt "and clashes are continuing", the group said in a statement.

It said earlier that its fighters had forced Israeli troops to "retreat" in the same area.

The group also said it targeted troops in south Lebanon's Yarun area with a "rocket salvo", as well as soldiers in two points across the border with rockets.

2245 GMT — Hezbollah says more than 20 Israeli soldiers killed, injured

Hezbollah has announced killing or injuring more than 20 Israeli elite soldiers in clashes in a border village in southern Lebanon.

The group said it recorded additional casualties for Israeli forces following heavy rocket fire that targeted a tank and military gatherings in areas near the border.

Hezbollah militants destroyed an Israeli Merkava tank near the Malikiya post with a guided missile, resulting in the deaths and injuries of the crew, it said. Additionally, the group launched rocket attacks on the outskirts of Haifa and artillery positions near Kiryat Shmona.

Hezbollah also targeted several Israeli positions, including Rweissat al-Alam in the occupied Kafr Shuba hills, as well as military forces in Karmiel and Sa’sa with heavy missiles and rockets.

The group reported bombarding the Nafah base and soldier gatherings near the al-Baghdadi post in northern Israel. Rocket fire struck Israeli military positions east of Doviv, the Maroun al-Ras plain and near the settlements of Avivim and Yiron, it said.

Advancing Israeli forces were struck with artillery and rockets west of Yiron, leading to additional casualties.

Hezbollah claimed to have targeted Israeli soldiers attempting to infiltrate the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras, causing additional losses through explosives and close-range clashes.

2330 GMT: Trump says Israel should 'hit' Iran's nuclear facilities

Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump has said he believes Israel should strike Iran's nuclear facilities in response to Tehran recent missile barrage.

The former president, speaking at a campaign event in North Carolina, referred to a question posed to Democratic President Joe Biden this week about the possibility of Israel targeting Iran's nuclear programme.

"When they asked him that question, the answer should have been, hit the nuclear first, and worry about the rest later," Trump said.

2230 GMT — Israel attacks Beirut residents in new wave of bombardment

Israel has bombed Beirut's southern suburbs in the early hours of Saturday, shortly after the Israeli military issued a new ultimatum for residents to flee.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military wounded nine staff, most of them critically, in its attack on Salah Ghandour Hospital in southern Lebanon, officials said.

2201 GMT — 185 Israeli violations against Palestinian journalists in Gaza, West Bank in September

A total of 185 Israeli violations against Palestinian journalists in besieged Gaza and occupied West Bank were documented in September, a media group said.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said the Israeli army killed two journalists in September in Gaza, and Israeli live bullets in Gaza and the West Bank wounded nine.

Five were detained from the West Bank, in addition to 10 cases reported of the army storming into media offices and the homes of journalists, it said in a statement.

It added that 23 journalists suffered asphyxiation from tear gas while covering Israeli assaults, while 67 were obstructed from conducting media coverage across the West Bank.

For our live updates from Friday, October 4, 2024, click here.