Live blog: Five Israeli soldiers dead  in southern Lebanon combat — army

Thursday, October 17, 2024

1828 GMT — The Israeli military has said that five soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, taking to 19 the number of troop deaths announced since Israel began its invasion in Lebanon last month.

A military statement said five servicemen "fell during combat in southern Lebanon", without elaborating on the circumstances of their deaths.

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1845 GMT — US to redouble efforts to end Israeli war after Sinwar's death: Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the United States will redouble efforts in the days ahead to end the brutal Israeli war on Gaza following the death of Hamas political bureau chief Yahya Sinwar.

"On multiple occasions over the past months, Sinwar rebuffed efforts by the United States and its partners to bring this war to a close through an agreement that would return the hostages to their families and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people," Blinken said in a statement.

1732 GMT — Israel will continue in Gaza until hostages return: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that the killing of Hamas political leader Sinwar offered the ''chance'' for peace in the Middle East but warned that the war on Gaza was not over and Israel would continue until its hostages were returned.

"Today we have settled the score. Today evil has been dealt a blow but our task has still not been completed," Netanyahu said in a recorded video statement. "To the dear hostage families, I say: this is an important moment in the war. We will continue full force until all your loved ones, our loved ones, are home."

1726 GMT — Germany urges Hamas to free Israeli hostages

Germany's foreign minister has urged Hamas to release all its hostages and lay down its weapons after Israel said it had killed Sinwar.

Foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, in a statement, said Hamas should "immediately release all the hostages" it seized during its October 7 attack on Israel "and lay down its arms".

1656 GMT — Israel confirms Yahya Sinwar killed in Gaza strike

The Israeli foreign minister and the military confirmed that Hamas leader Sinwar has been killed in an operation in southern Gaza.

Read more here

1518 GMT — Biden briefed as Israel checks if Hamas politburo chief Sinwar killed: US official

US President Joe Biden was briefed aboard Air Force One while heading to Germany after Israel said it was checking whether it had killed Hamas leader Sinwar, a US official said.

Biden, on his way to Berlin for talks with European leaders on Ukraine and the Middle East, was being kept abreast of developments on board the presidential plane, the official said.

1503 GMT — Israeli strike kills nine Palestinians in central Gaza: medics

At least 10 Palestinians, including three children and their mother, were killed and several others injured in an Israeli air strike in central Gaza, a medical source said.

The fatalities occurred when an Israeli warplane fired a missile into a house in the Maghazi refugee camp, the source added.

The house was flattened in the attack, according to eyewitnesses. Search and rescue operations are under way for survivors under the rubble.

1403 GMT — Israeli security cabinet ministers told Sinwar is very likely dead: officials

Members of Israel's security cabinet have been informed that Sinwar is very likely dead, two officials with knowledge of the matter said.

Two of Israel's broadcasters, KAN and N12 News also cited Israeli officials as saying Sinwar was dead.

1303 GMT — Israel claims it may have killed Hamas leader Sinwar

The Israeli military said that it was checking the possibility that it had killed Sinwar following an offensive in Gaza that it said had targeted three Hamas members.

It said at this stage, the identity of the members could not be confirmed. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

Read more here

1235 GMT — At least 22 dead in Israeli strike on Gaza's school-turned-shelter

At least 22 civilians were killed in Israeli shelling of a school sheltering displaced people in Jabalia in northern Gaza, a medical source said.

The attack targeted the Abu Hussein School in the Jabalia refugee camp as displaced people gathered to take their lunch, Gaza's government media office said.

The death toll from the attack is expected to rise, the medical source said.

1220 GMT — Norway's embassy in Beirut evacuated over bomb threat

Norway's embassy in Lebanon's capital Beirut has been evacuated following a bomb threat, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

"We can confirm that the building where the Norwegian embassy in Beirut is located has received a bomb threat today," the Norwegian ministry said in an emailed statement.

"Only a few Norwegian diplomats are now in Beirut, and everyone at the embassy is safe and sound," it added.

1200 GMT — Surge in Gaza violence increases famine risk: monitor

The entire Gaza remains at risk of famine and is experiencing emergency levels of hunger, with intense Israeli military operations adding to concerns and hampering humanitarian access, a global monitor has said.

About 1.84 million people across the Palestinian territory are living through high levels of acute food insecurity, including nearly 133,000 people experiencing the most severe, or "catastrophic", levels, according to an analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

That is down from roughly 343,000 people experiencing catastrophic hunger at the time of the last update in June, but the number was expected to double in coming months, the IPC said.

1015 GMT — Strike hits near south Lebanon city after Israel evacuation call

A strike hit near the south Lebanon coastal city of Tyre, AFPTV images have shown, as official media reported an Israeli raid after Israel's military issued an evacuation call.

AFPTV footage captured smoke billowing after the Israeli military on X warned residents in and near a building in Al Hawsh, just south of Tyre, to evacuate, while Lebanon's official National News Agency reported that "enemy aircraft launched a strike that targeted" the Al Hawsh area.

0947 GMT — Elderly Palestinian woman killed by Israeli forces while harvesting olives in occupied West Bank

An elderly Palestinian woman was shot dead by Israeli forces while harvesting olive trees in the northern West Bank, according to health authorities.

The Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin City said the woman succumbed to her critical injuries from Israeli gunfire in Faqqua town.

Witnesses said the 59-year-old woman was shot while harvesting olives near an Israeli-built separation barrier in the town.

0936 GMT — Death toll in Gaza from Israeli brutal war rises to 42,438

More than 42,438 Palestinians have been killed and 99,246 wounded in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave has said in a statement.

0908 GMT — German warship shot down drone off Lebanon, defence ministry says

A German warship operating as part of the United Nations' UNIFIL mission brought down an unmanned flying object off the coast of Lebanon, a spokesperson for the German defence ministry has said.

0902 GMT — Israeli air strike kills 3 in southern Lebanon

Three people were killed in an Israeli air strike on the town of Tayr Debba in southern Lebanon, the Health Ministry has said.

The state news agency NNA said that Israeli warplanes conducted 15 overnight air strikes on several areas in southern and eastern Lebanon, including Tayr Debba, Ayta al Shaab, Kfarkela, and Ghandouriyeh.

0836 GMT — EU's Borrell questions US giving Israel one month to improve Gaza situation

The EU's foreign policy chief has appeared to criticise the United States for giving Israel one month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying that during that time, too many people would die.

"The US has been saying to Israel that they have to improve humanitarian support to Gaza, but they gave one month delay. One-month delay at the current pace of people being killed. It's too many people," Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels, adding that the situation was a "catastrophe."

Israel must take steps over the next month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid, US officials said on Wednesday, in the strongest such warning since Israel's war on Gaza began a year ago.

0807 GMT — Germany's Scholz: we will help Israel defend itself with weapons

Germany will continue to help Israel defend itself by supplying weapons, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, adding that Israel must abide by international law and that a two-state solution was the ultimate goal.

"For me, however, it is clear that supporting Israel also means that we are constantly ensuring Israel's defence capability, for example by supplying military goods or weapons," said Scholz on the sidelines of an EU leaders' summit.

0756 GMT — Israel issues new evacuation call for east Lebanon's Bekaa region

The Israeli military has ordered residents to leave part of the Bekaa region, a Hezbollah stronghold in east Lebanon, warning Israeli forces would again target the area.

"Urgent warning to the residents of the Bekaa region, specifically those located in the building marked on the map in the Tamnine area," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X. "You are located near facilities and interests that belong to Hezbollah, which will be targeted by the Defense Forces (army) in the near future."

Minutes later Adraee posted a second call for residents of nearby Saraain al Tahta, also in the Bekaa region, to evacuate as well.

0646 GMT — Iran Guards chief warns will hit Israel 'painfully' if attacks Iranian targets

Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami has warned of further retaliation against Israel if it attacks Iranian targets, which Israel has vowed to do after Iran's missile attack on Oct 1.

"If you make a mistake and attack our targets, whether in the region or in Iran, we will strike you again painfully," Salami said at the funeral of a Guards general killed in an Israeli strike alongside Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon last month.

0530 GMT — More civilians killed in Gaza as Israeli strike targets homes

Several civilians have been killed and others wounded early this morning after Israeli forces targeted a residential house in Gaza City, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The air strike, which occurred at dawn, struck the home of the Halou family on the Sinaa Street in the southwestern part of the city.

Medical sources have confirmed that five people were killed in the attack, with several others suffering injuries.

The wounded were transported to local hospitals, though the extent of their injuries remains unclear.

In a separate incident, Israeli forces bombed the house of the Saleh family near Abu Rashid pond in Jabalia camp, located in northern Gaza.

0527 GMT — Hezbollah targets Israeli tanks in Lebanon

Hezbollah has said it targeted two Israeli tanks with rockets in Labbouneh Heights, southern Lebanon, causing troop casualties.

0314 GMT — Syria state media says Israeli air strike hits Latakia

Syrian state media has said an Israeli air strike hit the coastal city of Latakia, targeting a weapons depot according to a war monitor.

"Anti-aircraft defence intercepted hostile targets above Latakia," SANA said without mentioning casualties or damage.

The news agency reported "fires were triggered by the Israeli aggression" at the entrance to Latakia, a stronghold of Bashar al Assad regime.

0300 GMT — US launches series of air strikes targeting Houthis across Yemen

The US military has struck several Houthi weapons storage facilities in Yemen, top US officials said.

"This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Thursday.

"The employment of US Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrate US global strike capabilities to take action against these targets when necessary, anytime, anywhere." "US Central Command forces conducted multiple air strikes on numerous Iran-backed Houthi weapons storage facilities within Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," a senior US defence official told ABC News.

2349 GMT — UN, US urge Israel to improve Gaza's 'intolerable' humanitarian situation

The top UN humanitarian official accused Israel of blocking the delivery of desperately needed aid to Gaza, and the US ambassador demanded that its government step up efforts to tackle the Palestinian territory's "intolerable and catastrophic humanitarian crisis."

Acting humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya and US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield stepped up the pressure on Israel at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the escalating humanitarian emergency, especially in northern Gaza.

At the same time, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin urged his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant to step up to improve the humanitarian situation in the blockaded enclave.

2340 GMT — Israel bombs Lebanon again, kills Nabatiyeh mayor Israel has carried out dozens of strikes in Lebanon, killing a city mayor, toppling buildings and causing widespread destruction in several southern areas.

The Israeli military said its warplanes struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said 16 people were killed and 52 wounded in strikes on two municipal buildings.

At least six people were killed in other strikes, according to officials and reports.

The Nabatiyeh mayor was among the dead, a local official told the AFP news agency, adding that the strikes "formed a kind of belt of fire".

2200 GMT — Russia calls Israeli strike of Gaza hospital 'terrifying'

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted the "terrifying" results of an Israeli attack on the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in besieged Gaza.

Zakharova, responding to Anadolu agency's question at a news conference in Moscow, expressed shock for those who were at the scene.

"This is a terrifying shooting. They can provoke nothing but shock and, of course, sympathy. We wish a speedy recovery to all those injured, and express our deepest condolences to the relatives of the victims, not only in this particular situation, but also over the past year of absolute madness that Western American curators have brought to the already difficult life of the region," she said.

For our live updates from Wednesday, October 16, 2024, click here.