Live blog: Death toll from Israeli strikes in Lebanon tops 3,000

Monday, November 4, 2024

1817 GMT — Israeli air strikes killed at least 16 people more and wounded 90 others in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

A ministry statement reported that the new fatalities raised the total number of people killed in Israeli attacks in the country since October 2023 to 3,002, with 13,492 others wounded.

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1902 GMT — UNRWA ban in Gaza 'will not make Israel safer': WHO

The chief of the World Health Organization denounced Israel's decision to cut ties with the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, saying it would not make the country safer while increasing civilian suffering in occupied Gaza.

"Let me be clear: There is simply no alternative to UNRWA," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a video posted on X.

"This ban will not make Israel safer. It will only deepen the suffering of the people of Gaza and increase the risk of disease outbreaks," Tedros added.

1844 GMT — Hamas holds Gaza war discussions with Fatah in Cairo: video statement

Hamas said it held talks with Palestinian faction Fatah in Cairo to discuss Israel's war on Gaza and move towards a national consensus.

"A meeting was held with the brothers in the Fatah movement at a generous Egyptian invitation. They discussed various national issues, especially the war on Gaza and pathways for national action," senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said in a video message.

1826 GMT — Hezbollah denies Israeli claims of assassination of senior commander

Hezbollah rejected Israeli claims evening that its senior commander, Abu Ali Rida, was assassinated in the southern Lebanese town of Baraachit.

“The Zionist allegations of the martyrdom of our brother, the fighter Hajj Abu Ali Rida, are unfounded,” according to a Hezbollah statement.

Abu Ali Rida leads Unit Badr, one of Hezbollah's prominent militant formations.

Earlier Monday, the Israeli military claimed in a statement that its air force “struck and eliminated Abu Ali Rida, the Hezbollah commander of the Baraachit area in southern Lebanon.”

This marks the second time Hezbollah has denied reports of Rida's death. In September, Israeli media, including Army Radio, reported his alleged assassination in Beirut's southern suburbs.

1823 GMT — US concerned by increasing settler violence in Israeli-occupied West Bank

The United States is "deeply concerned" by reports of increasing violence by extremist Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said after illegal settlers set fire to cars on the outskirts of Ramallah.

Miller said the US had made these concerns clear to the Israeli government and it was incumbent on authorities to do everything possible to de-escalate and hold all perpetrators accountable.

1658 GMT — EU foreign policy chief condemns Israeli 'extremist settler violence'

The EU foreign policy chief condemned Israeli "extremist settler violence" in the occupied West Bank.

Josep Borrell warned on X that "the situation in Gaza and in the occupied territories is deteriorating by the hour," and deplored that ''no one seems to be able or willing to stop this."

He criticised the violent settlers for spreading "destruction," and said: "Extremist settlers torched vehicles & damaged apartments in Al-Bireh, occupied West Bank. The EU strongly condemns extremist settler violence, as well as the expansion of illegal settlements."

1658 GMT — Israeli strike hits civilian sites near Damascus: Syria

An Israeli strike from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights targeted civilian sites south of the Syrian capital Damascus, causing some damage, Syrian regime defence ministry said.

Earlier, Syrian regime media SANA said that initial reports indicated the strike hit the Sayeda Zeinab area. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Israeli military did not comment on the strike.

1644 GMT — Israel rejected all Lebanon ceasefire proposals — PM Mikati

Israel has rejected all proposals for a ceasefire in Lebanon, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said.

"At a time when nations advocating for humanity and human rights should be exerting maximum pressure on Israel to cease its aggression, their inaction is deeply concerning," Mikati said in a statement.

He said Israel has turned down all ceasefire proposals although the Lebanese government has reiterated its commitment to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

"We renew our call to pressure Israel to stop its aggression in preparation for examining the means to implement Resolution 1701 literally and as it was approved, without any additions or interpretations," he added.

Resolution 1701, which was adopted Aug. 11, 2006, demands a complete cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel and the establishment of a demilitarised zone between the Blue Line – the de facto boundary between Lebanon and Israel – and the Litani River, allowing only the Lebanese army and UNIFIL to possess weapons and military equipment in the area.

1634 GMT — Iran rejects report of recruiting Iranian-born citizens in Palestine

Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations dismissed a report claiming that Iran is recruiting Iranian-born citizens within the occupied Palestinian territories for intelligence-gathering and potential attacks on Israeli officials.

"The report is unfounded and, from a logical standpoint, unlikely to be accurate," the mission said in a statement. "That’s because the natural course of suspicion in the view of the Zionist regime would first fall upon individuals of Iranian origin, followed by Muslims".

"Therefore, reason dictates that Iranian intelligence services would pursue non-Iranian and non-Muslim individuals," it added.

The mission said that Israeli officials recently alleged Iran was working with Iranian-born citizens in Palestine to collect sensitive information for a possible missile attack or assassination targeting Israeli authorities.

1621 GMT — Israel bombarding last hospital in north: ministry

The Health Ministry in Gaza said that Israeli forces are bombarding the last partially functioning hospital in north Gaza, an area of intense military operations for the past month.

"At this moment, occupation forces are continuing to violently bombard and destroy Kamal Adwan Hospital, targeting all parts of the hospital," the ministry said of the facility in the northern city of Beit Lahia.

Hospital director Hossam Abu Safieh said in a statement that the situation was "catastrophic", and that "the army did not contact the hospital before directly targeting it".

"Several of our staff have been injured, and we are unable to leave the hospital," he said. "We do not understand the purpose behind this bombing that is targeting the hospital."

1531 GMT — Lebanon to question UN mission regarding kidnap of sea captain in Israeli raid

Lebanon will question the UN peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL) regarding the kidnap of a Lebanese sea captain in an Israeli raid north of Beirut, the country’s interior minister said.

A Lebanese citizen was kidnapped on Friday by armed men in Batroun, about 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) north of Beirut.

Lebanese authorities said that they were investigating whether Israel was behind the kidnap, saying that the abductee was a sea captain and identified him as Imad Emhez.

"Investigations are underway into what happened in Batroun," Bassam Mawlawi told a press conference in Beirut.

He called the abduction of the Lebanese citizen "a breach and an act of war." "The Lebanese state will issue direct questions to the command of the UNIFIL" regarding the kidnapping, he added.

1420 GMT — Death toll from Israeli strikes in Beit Lahia rises to 15

Witnesses report that the death toll from the recent Israeli strikes on houses in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, has risen to 15, with several people still trapped under the rubble.

1351 GMT — Eight more Israeli soldiers injured as clashes intensify in Gaza, Lebanon

At least eight more Israeli soldiers were injured in clashes in occupied Gaza and southern Lebanon in the last 24 hours, the military said.

According to Israeli military figures, four of the soldiers were injured in fighting in Gaza, without specifying where the others were wounded.

Previous army statements, however, showed that a number of soldiers were injured in southern Lebanon.

1340 GMT — Burn unit to open in Turkish Hospital in Lebanon’s Sidon

Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said that a burn unit in the Turkish Hospital in the southern city of Sidon will open on Tuesday to help treat injured people amid Israel’s ongoing assault on the country.

"A (burn) unit in the Sidon Turkish Trauma and Rehabilitation Hospital will open tomorrow,” Abiad told a press conference in Beirut.

“This hospital will be Lebanon’s reference for burn treatment," he added. The Lebanese minister thanked Türkiye for the hospital project through the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

Abiad said the burn unit will include an emergency and injured section, two operation rooms, four intensive care units, four beds for burn treatment, and clinics for burn treatment and physical therapy.

1238 GMT — Germany deplores high death toll in Palestine's Gaza

Germany lamented the high death toll in Gaza amid intensified Israeli military attacks.


“We see that the number of female civilians and male civilians being killed has been very high, especially in the last few weeks. The humanitarian situation in northern Gaza is desperate. It is unbearable in the entire Gaza Strip," Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told media in Berlin.

Berlin calls on Israel “to comply with its obligations under international law and also to follow the decisions of the ICJ (International Court of Justice) and allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he added.


Fischer expressed his country’s “utmost concern” over the dramatic drop in humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza.


1127 GMT — Gaza death toll soars to 43,374 amid ongoing Israeli strikes

At least 33 more Palestinians have been killed in relentless Israeli attacks in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll since last year to 43,374, the Health Ministry in the occupied enclave said.

A ministry statement added that 102,261 others were wounded in the ongoing assault.

"The Israeli occupation has committed three massacres of families in the last 24 hours, resulting in 33 deaths and 156 injuries," the ministry said.

1139 GMT — Malaysia backs expelling Israel from UN

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his country has prepared a draft resolution for the UN General Assembly which, among others, proposes that Israel be removed as a member of the world body "should there be a violation of laws, rules and decisions in issues involving Palestine."

Anwar told lawmakers that the draft resolution is in the negotiation process and is expected to be presented at the UNGA for approval "soon." ''Strong measures, including Israel's removal from the United Nations following Israel's human rights violations and genocidal crimes, must be enforced as soon as possible," said Anwar.

"Malaysia will ensure that the agenda is heard and given attention so that the atrocities of the Israeli regime can be stopped, besides allowing critical aid to reach the Palestinian people at a time when the massacre continues to worsen," he said, according to a brief part of his speech shared on X.

1051 GMT — Over 1,800 Palestinians killed in Israel’s ongoing assault in northern Gaza

More than 1,800 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched a deadly onslaught in northern Gaza last month, local authorities said.

"Over 1,800 people were killed and 4,000 injured while hundreds are still missing in this ongoing aggression," Gaza’s government media office said in a statement.

"All hospitals in northern Gaza were destroyed and put out of service, and civil defence crews targeted, with some of them arrested," it added.

1011 GMT — Iran slams US deployment of B-52 bombers as 'destabilising'

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei criticised what he called the United States' "destabilising presence" after the deployment of B-52 bombers in the region.

"We have always believed that the presence of America in the region is a destabilising presence," Baghaei told a news conference in response to a question about the deployment, adding that it "will not deter (Iran's) resolve to defend itself".

The US military announced on Saturday the deployment of B-52 bombers to the Middle East as a warning to Iran which has vowed to respond to Israeli strikes on its military sites on October 26.

0817 GMT — Israel claims killing top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon strike

The Israeli military claimed it had killed a top Hezbollah commander it accused of overseeing rocket and anti-tank missile attacks against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

Abu Ali Rida, the Hezbollah commander of the Baraachit area in southern Lebanon, was "eliminated" in an air strike, the military claimed, without specifying when he was killed.

Rida "was responsible for planning and executing rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on IDF (military) troops" and oversaw the activities of Hezbollah fighters in the area, the military said in a statement.

0901 GMT — 2 children among 7 Palestinians killed in fresh Israeli strikes in Gaza

Seven Palestinians, including at least two children, were killed in fresh Israeli air strikes in Gaza, a medical source has said.

A woman and her two children lost their lives when Israeli warplanes conducted air strikes in the northern city of Beit Lahia, the source said on Monday.

Three people of the same family were also killed when fighter jets hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, the source added.

Another Palestinian was killed and several people were injured in a drone strike on a home in the same camp.

A husband, his wife, and two children were also injured in another drone strike on their home in the southern city of Khan Younis, witnesses said.

According to witnesses, Israeli army forces continued to blow up more Palestinian homes in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza amid its ongoing offensive in the area.

0828 GMT — Israeli army claims it intercepted 4 drones launched from Lebanon

The Israeli army has claimed that its fighter jets intercepted four combat drones fired from Lebanon.

In a statement, the army said that following the activation of the air-raid sirens in the Golan Heights' southern area, the Israeli fighter jets intercepted two "suspicious" aerial objects that crossed into Israeli airspace from the east.

The Israeli army also said it intercepted "a suspicious target" over the Upper Galilee area in northern Israel, flying from Lebanon.

The army said the fourth "aerial target" was downed before entering Israeli airspace, without specifying from where it was fired.

The Lebanese Hezbollah group, earlier, said it attacked with rockets an air surveillance unit at the Israeli army's Miron base and four settlements in northern Israel.

0811 GMT — Hezbollah says launched 'big rocket salvo' at Israel's Safed

Lebanon's Hezbollah group said it fired rockets at the northern Israeli city of Safed, the latest attack in more than a month of war.

Hezbollah fighters launched a "big rocket salvo" at the city on Monday, the group said in a statement.

0752 GMT — 4 killed, 3 injured in Israeli air strike on eastern Lebanon

Four people were killed and three more injured in a fresh Israeli air strike on a town in eastern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry has confirmed.

The ministry said in a statement that Israeli warplanes struck the town of Mashghara in the Bekaa Governorate, killing four people and injuring three on Monday morning.

In another air strike, Israeli fighter jets targeted a home on the outskirts of Borj Rahal village in southern Lebanon.

However, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported only material damage in the Israeli air strike on the village.

0652 GMT — Illegal Israeli settlers attack industrial area in central West Bank, burn vehicles

A group of illegal Israeli settlers burned several Palestinian vehicles after attacking an industrial area in the central occupied West Bank.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that at least 20 vehicles were burned by armed settlers in the industrial area near Al-Bireh city.

The settlers opened fire at the civil defence teams and ambulances, and prevented them from reaching the burned vehicles, the witnesses added.

According to Palestinian figures, illegal Israeli settlers have carried out some 16,663 attacks on Palestinians, lands and properties across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October last year.

0418 GMT — Israel makes UNRWA ban official despite international protest

Israel has notified the United Nations it is cancelling its agreement regulating UNRWA operations, according to media reports.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry Director-General, Jacob Blitshtein, sent a notification letter to United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Philemon Yang of Cameroon, informing him of Israel’s decision, reports say.

On October 28, 92 members of Israel's 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, voted to ban activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the occupied Palestinian territories, a decision that has sparked widespread condemnation, including from Israel’s Western allies, the UK and France. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced urgent concern over the “devastating consequences” of the ban, while Türkiye condemned the decision as a violation of international law.

The decision has heightened fears of further escalating an already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza and exacerbating hardships for Palestinian communities that depend on UNRWA for critical services, including education, healthcare, and food assistance.

0333 GMT — Harris pledges to ‘do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza’ if elected US president

US Democratic nominee Kamala Harris pledged to do everything in her power to end Israel’s war on besieged Gaza if she is elected president in remarks delivered just two days ahead of Election Day.

“This year has been difficult given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon. It is devastating, and as president, I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza, bring home the hostages, end the suffering in Gaza, ensure Israel is secure, and ensure the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, security and self-determination,” she said to raucous applause during a campaign rally in the pivotal battleground state of Michigan.

Michigan, with a vibrant Arab and Muslim community and 15 Electoral College votes at stake, is crucial to her election prospects.

0301 GMT — Egypt’s foreign minister, Blinken discuss ceasefire efforts in Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan crisis

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed ceasefire efforts in Gaza and Lebanon as well as the crisis in Sudan in a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The top diplomats discussed efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to address the sharp deterioration in humanitarian conditions in the enclave, according to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Abdelatty reiterated Egypt's condemnation of Israel’s actions that impede humanitarian aid and block the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) from carrying out its mission.

He emphasised the importance of empowering the Palestinian Authority and treating the West Bank and Gaza as a unified Palestinian territory, intending to end the occupation and establish a Palestinian state.

0116 GMT — Palestine calls on European Parliament to confront Israel's decision to ban UNRWA

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa urged the European Parliament to confront Israel's decision to ban the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories.

According to a statement from his office, Mustafa met with a delegation from the parliament at his office in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.

He urged the delegation to "confront Israel's decision to ban UNRWA's work, which politically aims to erase the right of Palestinian refugees to return and contributes to the deterioration of humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territories."

0053 GMT — Israeli strikes hit Gaza hospitals, many Palestinians killed

Heavy Israeli bombardment on early Monday in Gaza has led to numerous Palestinian casualties and widespread destruction.

The Wafa news agency has reported that Israeli artillery attacks have resulted in deaths, injuries, and people trapped under rubble.

Rescue workers are searching for survivors and no number has been revealed yet.

An Israeli air strike in the Tuffah neighbourhood caused multiple casualties, while explosions have also shaken the Nuseirat refugee camp and Rafah, leading to further wounds. Israeli forces targeted Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, damaging the nursery and injuring a child.

A drone strike at the Indonesian Hospital caused panic among patients and staff, Wafa reported.

0044 GMT — Israeli forces kill 2 paramedics in raid on health facility in southern Lebanon

Israeli forces targeted a health centre in the town of Bazouriye in southern Lebanon, killing two paramedics, the Lebanese Health Ministry has said.

"The Israeli enemy targeted a positioning point for the Islamic Health Association in Bazouriye,” it said in a statement.

This brought the death toll in the health sector in Lebanon to 180, while the number of injured has reached 294 since the beginning of the Israeli aggression, according to the ministry.

2301 GMT — Multiple children injured in Israeli shelling of hospital in northern Gaza

Several Palestinian children were injured Sunday in Israeli artillery shelling targeting Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

The hospital’s director, Hussam Abu Safiya, said Israeli artillery targeted the hospital’s facilities, including the pediatric ward and nursery, leaving multiple children injured, including one in critical condition.

"Israeli artillery shells are falling on us from all directions, and drone aircraft are firing on anyone who moves,” Abu Safiya said.

"We are experiencing a genocide inside the hospital."

He noted that the hospital is treating 120 injured people, including 19 children and four newborns, and the intensive care unit is full of cases.

For our live updates from Sunday, November 3, 2024, click here.