Live blog: Casualties feared in new Israeli strikes on Lebanon's Beirut

Saturday, November 23, 2024

0300 GMT — Casualties are feared after Israel fired at least four missiles in an air strike towards Lebanon's central Beirut amid Israel's intense invasion of Lebanon.

The strike targeted Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, local residents said, adding many buildings were destroyed.

At least one violent explosion was heard rocking Beirut, Reuters witnesses said.

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2200 GMT — Israel kills Lebanon hospital chief, wounds 9 medics in Gaza

Israel has targeted Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of besieged Gaza, wounding nine medical staff and damaging its generator and oxygen systems, its director said.

Hossam Abu Safiya said strikes hit the entrance of the emergency unit as well as in the hospital courtyard. He said six staff were wounded, including two critically. Later, he said an armed drone hit the entrance again, wounding three staffers.

In Lebanon, Israel killed the director of a university hospital and six others at his home in northeastern area, state media said.

The strike targeted Dr. Ali Allam's house near Dar Al-Amal Hospital, the largest health center in Baalbek-Hermel province, which has provided vital health services amid Israel's air strikes, the Health Ministry said. State-run media reported that the strike came without warning.

The ministry described his death as a "great loss," and provincial governor Bachir Khodr said in a post on X that, "Mr. Allam was one of the best citizens of Baalbek."

2100 GMT — Palestine slams Israel's move to end detention for extremist Zionists

Palestine has condemned Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz's decision to suspend administrative detention orders against illegal Zionist settlers, fearing that it will encourage "supremacists" to commit more crimes against Palestinians.

In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Katz's decision will "encourage supremacist settlers to commit acts of terrorism against Palestinians and their properties, escalate crimes against them, and further foster their impunity."

The statement noted that only a few illegal Israeli settlers were detained as "token arrests" as part of a revolving door policy.

The ministry demanded "an international effective action to rein in settler militias, end their impunity," and protect Palestinians from Israeli occupation violations.

Peace Now, which monitors and opposes Israeli illegal activities in the occupied territories, said in a statement that "the cancellation of administrative detention orders for settlers alone is a cynical and reckless move that whitewashes and normalizes the rise of Jewish terrorism under the cover of war."

1900 GMT — Israeli troops killing themselves — report

At least six Israeli soldiers have taken their own lives in recent months, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth revealed, citing severe psychological distress caused by prolonged genocide and wars in Gaza and southern Lebanon as the primary cause.

The investigation suggests the actual number of suicides may be higher, as the Israeli military has yet to release official figures, despite a promise to disclose them by the end of the year.

The report highlights a broader mental health crisis within the Israeli army. Thousands of soldiers have sought help from military mental health clinics or field psychologists, with approximately a third of those affected showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to the investigation, the number of soldiers suffering psychological trauma may exceed those with physical injuries from the war.

The daily cites experts as saying the full extent of this mental health crisis will become clear once military operations are completed and troops return to normal life.

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