Live blog: Israel kills at least 43,922 in Gaza as its brutality continues

Monday, November 18, 2024

1230 GMT –– At least 76 more Palestinians have been killed in relentless Israeli attacks in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll since last year to 43,922, the Health Ministry in the enclave has said.

A ministry statement added that some 103,898 others have been wounded in the ongoing assault.

“The Israeli occupation has committed four massacres of families in the last 24 hours, resulting in 76 deaths and 158 injuries,” the ministry said.

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

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1125 GMT –– EU top diplomat has 'no more words' on Mideast suffering

The European Union's outgoing top diplomat Josep Borrell has said that he had "no more words" to describe the situation in the Middle East, before chairing his last planned meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers.

"I exhausted the words to explain what's happening in the Middle East," Borrell told reporters, barely concealing his frustration at the EU's failure to weigh on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during his five-year mandate.

"There is no more words," he said. "It's about 44,000 people killed in Gaza, the whole area is being destroyed, and 70 percent of the people being killed are women or children."

"The most frequent ages of casualties are children below nine years old," said the 77-year-old foreign policy chief.

1044 GMT –– Israelis protest outside Netanyahu’s home to demand swap deal with Palestinians

Families of Israeli hostages have demonstrated outside the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem to demand a prisoner swap deal with Palestinian groups in Gaza.

“End war. Hostage deal immediately,” and “Hostages won’t survive another winter" were among the banners waved by protesters.

In a statement, organisers of the protest warned that the hostages “won't survive the freezing cold in the tunnels of Gaza."

1014 GMT –– Israeli army demolishes two Palestinian buildings near occupied East Jerusalem

Israeli army forces demolished two Palestinian facilities northwest of occupied East Jerusalem, a local official said.

“Israeli forces razed two facilities that contained a pool and gymnasium in the town of Rafat for lack of a building permit,” municipal chief Sadeq Jaber told Anadolu.

He said the two structures had been built a couple of years ago.

“Israeli authorities refused to grant them the needed permits on the ground that they were built in Area C,” Jaber said, adding that some 25 structures face demolition orders in the village.

“Israeli authorities refused to grant them the needed permits on the ground that they were built in Area C,” Jaber said, adding that some 25 structures face demolition orders in the village.

"Almost 80 percent of the village's lands are classified in Area C, where the occupation bans construction, forcing residents to build in the remaining area,” he said. of the village's lands are classified in Area C, where the occupation bans construction, forcing residents to build in the remaining area,” he said.

1007 GMT –– Israeli strikes kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza, some in attacks on tents, say medics

Israeli military strikes across Gaza killed 14 Palestinians, including six people who were killed in attacks on tents housing displaced families, medics said.

Four people, two of them children, were killed in an Israeli air strike on a tent encampment in the coastal area of Al Mawasi, designated as a humanitarian zone, while two others were killed in temporary shelters in the southern city of Rafah and another in drone fire, health officials said.

In Beit Lahia town in northern Gaza, medics said an Israeli missile struck a house, killing at least two people and wounding several others.

0927 GMT –– Schools closed in Beirut after deadly Israeli strike

Schools in Beirut were closed after Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital killed six people including Hezbollah's spokesperson.

Sunday's strikes hit densely populated districts of central Beirut that had so far been spared the violence engulfing other areas of Lebanon.

Six people were killed in the strikes, according to Lebanese health ministry figures, including Hezbollah media relations chief Mohammed Afif, the group and Israel's military said.

The strikes prompted the education ministry to shut schools and higher education institutions in the Beirut area for two days.

0912 GMT –– EU must put pressure on Israel over Gaza war, Borrell says

The European Union's top diplomat confirmed he would suggest to members of the bloc that the EU pauses its political dialogue with Israel, citing the country's conduct of the war in Gaza.

"Many people tried to stop the war in Gaza... this has not happened yet. And I don't see a hope for this to happen. That's why we have to put pressure on the Israeli government, and also, obviously on the Hamas side," Josep Borrell told journalists ahead of an EU meeting.

The European Un ion's foreign policy chief last week proposed that the bloc suspend its political dialogue with Israel, citing possible human rights violations in the war in Gaza, according to four diplomats and a letter seen by Reuters.

In a sign his proposal won't be welcomed by all EU members, Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said the EU needed to uphold its dialogue with Israel.

0858 GMT –– There is no excuse for humanitarian aid not reaching Gaza: German FM

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that there is no excuse for humanitarian aid not reaching Gaza, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium.

0842 GMT –– Fresh Israeli strikes kill 26 people in southern Lebanon

At least 26 people were killed and dozens wounded as Israel launched fresh air strikes in southern Lebanon, local media said.

Israeli fighter jets conducted 10 airstrikes in the city of Nabatieh, leaving eight people dead and injuring several others, the state news agency NNA reported.

Six medics were also killed in an air strike on a centre of the Islamic Health Authority in the town of Arab Salim.

One more person was killed in another attack in the Bent Jbeil district, the NNA said.

Israeli warplanes also launched air strikes in several areas near Tyre, killing 11 people and wounding 48 others, the news agency said.

0828 GMT –– US envoy expected in Beirut on Tuesday for ceasefire talks

The US official overseeing contacts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon is due to visit Beirut on Tuesday, sources in Lebanon said, with Beirut expected give its response to a US truce proposal.

The new US truce proposal was delivered last week to Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has been endorsed by Hezbollah to negotiate.

White House envoy Amos Hochstein was expected in Beirut on Tuesday for talks on the ceasefire, a Lebanese political source told Reuters. Lebanese media outlet Voice of Lebanon also reported the visit, citing Lebanese lawmaker Kassem Hashem, who is part of Berri's parliamentary bloc.

0822 GMT –– Hezbollah shells Israeli troops in northern Israel

The Lebanese group Hezbollah claimed a rocket attack on an Israeli troop deployment in northern Israel.

In a brief statement, the group said it fired a barrage of rockets at Israeli soldiers in the Kiryat Shmona settlement in northern Israel.

The attack came a day after the group carried out 17 rocket attacks against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and northern Israel on Sunday.

It also came after the assassination of Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif in an Israeli air strike on the Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood in the head of the capital Beirut.

UN chief urges G20 nations to lead global efforts for peace, climate action

0705 GMT –– UN chief urges G20 nations to lead global efforts for peace, climate action

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the G20 group of developed economies to lead global efforts to promote peace, advance climate action, and ensure equitable access to emerging technologies among other challenges.

“I have come to Rio with a simple message: G20 leaders must lead. G20 countries – by definition – have tremendous economic clout.


"They wield massive diplomatic leverage. They must use it to tackle key global problems," Guterres said Sunday in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit, according to UN News.

Stressing the urgency for nations to accelerate efforts in addressing critical shared challenges, he called for intensified efforts to achieve peace in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, and Sudan.

“Everywhere, peace requires actions grounded in the values of the UN Charter, the rule of law, and the principles of sovereignty, political independence and the territorial integrity of States,” Guterres said.

0633 GMT –– 'Flying object' falls in southern Jordan without causing casualties: Jordanian army

The Jordanian army said a "flying object" fell in a border area of the Aqaba Governorate, near southern Israel.

A statement quoted a military source that said no casualties or material damage were reported.

It added that the relevant security forces, including sappers, arrived at the scene.

The statement, however, did not specify from where the object was fired, or if it was downed by an interceptor. The city of Aqaba is adjacent to Israel's southern city of Eilat.

0549 GMT –– Israel's dawn strikes at Gaza's Mawasi kill four from same family

Palestine's WAFA news agency reports a number of citizens, including children, were killed at dawn, as a result of the occupying forces bombing a tent in south Gaza.

Medical sources noted four people from the same family –– that is a citizen, his wife and two children were killed. A daughter survived, with serious injuries, from the Israeli bombing a tent sheltering displaced people in the Al Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis.

The attack underscores the continued violence in Gaza despite Israel's declaration of Al Mawasi as a "humanitarian safe zone." Local residents have reported that the area has endured numerous deadly air strikes amid the ongoing Israeli military onslaught.

0536 GMT –– Israel presses upcoming G20 summit on deadly Gaza war

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called a draft declaration of the Group of 20 meeting of top economies on its deadly war on Gaza “unbalanced and biased.”

In a statement on his X account, Saar said the final statement of the G20 summit must recognize what he called "Israel’s right to defend itself" and condemn Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Saar said he talked with his counterparts from the G20 countries to include in the final statement what he called “recognition of Israel’s right to defend itself,” demand the release of Israeli captives in Gaza, and condemn both Hamas and Hezbollah.

0346 GMT — At least 111 people killed across Gaza since Sunday morning: WAFA

More than 111 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in relentless air strikes since dawn on Sunday, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Medical sources reported that the attacks targeted various areas, with the northern parts of the enclave bearing the brunt of the violence.

In Gaza City's Al Shati refugee camp and Beit Lahia, 72 people were killed in 10 devastating air strikes. The raids deployed tonnes of explosives, levelling residential buildings, schools and shelters where displaced families had sought refuge.

In Rafah, located in southern Gaza, the Israeli forces destroyed several residential buildings in the city's western neighbourhoods, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

0129 GMT — Israeli strike kills 34 Palestinians in Gaza's Beit Lahia

An Israeli strike on a five-storey residential building has killed at least 34 people in northern Gaza's Beit Lahia, the civil defence agency in the enclave said.

"The chances of rescuing more wounded are decreasing because of the continuous shooting and artillery shelling," civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

Hosam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia, said dozens were wounded in the Israeli strike and other people likely were under the rubble.

Fleeing residents told AP that houses were hit. An Israeli military statement earlier said it conducted several strike in Beit Lahia, and that efforts to evacuate civilians continued.

Israeli forces have again been on the offensive in northern Gaza.

"Tonight we did not sleep at all," said one fleeing Beit Lahiya resident, Dalal al Bakri. "They destroyed all the houses around us... There are many martyrs."

A woman, Umm Hamza, said the bombing escalated overnight. "It's cold and we don't know where to go," she said.

2328 GMT — Hezbollah, Hamas mourn media relations chief killed in Israeli air strike

Hezbollah and Hamas issued statements mourning the death of the Lebanese group's media relations chief, Mohammed Afif, who was killed Sunday in an Israeli air strike on the Ras al-Nabaa area in the heart of Lebanon's capital Beirut.

"We mourn Mohammad Afif al-Nabulsi, the media relations officer of Hezbollah, who departed this world alongside the best of his fellow fighters in a criminal, aggressive Zionist (Israeli) air strike, after an honorable journey in the fields of jihad and resistant media work," Hezbollah said in a statement.

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas, meanwhile, said: "The assassination of a political media figure will not silence the voice of resistance but will instead expose the deep moral chasm in which the occupation lies."

2227 GMT — 2 killed, 22 injured in Israeli air strike on Beirut electronics store

At least two people were killed and 22 injured in an Israeli air strike targeting an electronics store in the Mar Elias area of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Two of the injured are in critical condition, said the Lebanese Health Ministry. Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that the air strike targeted a shop selling electronics and computers on Mar Elias Street, a densely populated area in the heart of Beirut.

Firefighting teams were attempting to contain the fires, while the sounds of exploding batteries and electronic devices could be heard, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

2210 GMT — Israel army confirms strike killed Hezbollah spokesperson

Israel's army confirmed a strike Sunday had killed Hezbollah spokesperson Mohammed Afif in the Beirut area.

The army "conducted a precise, intelligence-based strike in the area of Beirut" and killed Mohammed Afif, it said.

Earlier, Hezbollah had also announced the death of Afif, who according to one security source was among four people killed in an Israeli strike on central Beirut.

2208 GMT — Lebanon suspends classes in capital, surrounding regions after Israeli air strikes

Lebanon has suspended in-person classes at schools in Beirut and surrounding areas after Israeli air strikes hit the centre of the capital, Minister of Education Abbas Halabi announced.

Schools and higher educational institutions will be closed Monday and Tuesday in Beirut and Chouf, northern Metn, Baabda and Aley and online learning adopted.

The decision came following two Israeli air strikes targeting buildings in the capital — one in the Ras al Nabaa area and the other in the Mar Elias area.

2029 GMT — Israel reports rocket, drone attacks from Lebanon and Iraq

Israel reported the launch of rockets from Lebanon and a drone from Iraq as regional tensions continue to escalate over Tel Aviv's ongoing war in Gaza.

A military statement said 15 rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Israeli settlements in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel. The army said some of the rockets were intercepted, while the rest hit open areas.

Israeli Army Radio said one person was slightly injured from the rocket fire in Upper Galilee. The Israeli army said its forces also intercepted a drone fired from the east, a term used by the military to describe attacks from Iraq. Israeli media earlier reported that the drone had fallen in the city of Yavne, south of Tel Aviv.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

For our live updates from Sunday, November 17, 2024, click here.