Live blog: Hezbollah ops chief survives Israeli strike — security sources

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

1811 GMT — The head of Lebanese group Hezbollah's operations centre Muhsin Shukr survived an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut aimed at killing him, two senior security sources have said.

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1855 GMT — Hamas strongly condemns attack on Lebanon

Hamas said in a statement that it strongly condemns the attack on Lebanon's southern Beirut suburb, saying it considers it a "dangerous escalation."

1841 GMT — Lebanon condemns Israeli strike, plans to file complaint to UN

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has said that his government condemned the Israeli strike that hit the southern suburbs of the capital and planned to file a complaint to the United Nations.

He said he hoped any response by Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, whose heartland is in those southern suburbs, would not trigger an escalation.

1824 GMT — US to help Israel defend itself if attacked by Hezbollah: Pentagon chief

The US will defend Israel in the event of an attack by Hezbollah, defence chief Lloyd Austin has said.

"If Israel is attacked, yes, we will help Israel defend itself. We’ve been clear about that from the very beginning," Austin told reporters in the Philippines.

1818 GMT — US does not believe war between Hezbollah, Israel is inevitable: White House

The US does not believe war between Hezbollah and Israel is inevitable, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre has said after Israel's attack on Beirut.

1806 GMT — Russia calls Israeli strike on Beirut violation of international law

An Israeli strike on Lebanon's capital Beirut is "a flagrant violation of international law," Russian state-run TASS news agency has reported citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.

1653 GMT — Israeli army carries out strike on Lebanon's Beirut

A loud blast was heard and a plume of smoke could be seen rising above the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut a witness has said.

The strike was reported in the vicinity of Hezbollah Shura Council headquarters in Haret Hreik.

The Israeli military says it carried out strikes in Beirut in retaliation for the attack on occupied Golan Heights. The military claimed they targeted the commander allegedly responsible for the attack.

Information on casualties was not immediately available.

1559 GMT — At least 10 killed in fresh Israeli air strikes in central Gaza

At least 10 Palestinians have been killed in fresh Israeli attacks in central Gaza, according to medical sources.

Fighter jets targeted a house and a cart carrying bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps, witnesses said.

A medical source confirmed that the bodies of nine people were transported to al-Awda Hospital and one to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza.

1532 GMT — Destruction of Gaza water wells deepens Palestinian misery

Israel's military blew up more than 30 water wells in Gaza this month, a municipality official and residents have said, adding to the trauma of air strikes that have turned much of the Palestinian enclave into a wasteland ravaged by a humanitarian crisis.

Salama Shurab, head of the water networks at Khan Younis municipality, said the wells were destroyed by Israeli forces between July 18-27 in the southern towns of Rafah and Khan Younis.

Gaza City has lost nearly all its water production capacity, with 88 percent of its water wells and 100 percent of its desalination plants damaged or destroyed, Oxfam said in a recent report.

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1536 GMT — Health ministry in Gaza declares territory 'polio epidemic area'

The Health Ministry in Gaza has declared the Palestinian territory a "polio epidemic area," accusing Israel's military campaign of destroying health infrastructure, which it says led to the recurrence of the virus.

The CPV2 strain of the virus has been detected in sewage samples collected from the southern Khan Younis area and central governorates, the ministry said.

It did not say if any human cases had been detected, but said the presence of the virus "constitutes a health threat to the residents of Gaza and neighbouring countries and a setback to the global polio eradication program".

1436 GMT — Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire despite calls for restraint

Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged deadly fire, following a rocket attack from Lebanon despite calls for restraint.

Israeli medics said a 30-year-old man, was killed following a rocket attack on the northern kibbutz of HaGoshrim.

The Israeli army meanwhile reported its forces were "striking the sources of fire", which were in Lebanon.

It had said earlier that it struck around 10 Hezbollah targets overnight in seven different areas of south Lebanon, killing one fighter from the Iran-backed group.

1435 GMT — 'No one has a veto on recognition' of Palestinian state: UK

The UK's foreign secretary has said that Palestinians have a "just cause" to have a sovereign state, but did not specify when the government would recognise it.

During a question-and-answer session in parliament, David Lammy was pressed by MPs to outline the government's plan to recognise Palestine, he said “no one has a veto” on a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

"As I've said, we want it to be part of a process, it does not deliver a two-state solution in of itself but it is absolutely right that the Palestinians are enabled to have a sovereign state," he added.

"Because if there's no two-state solution, then there is either one state or no state at all," he noted.

1432 GMT — Gaza has become 'world's largest extermination camp': Erdogan

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Gaza has become the "world’s largest extermination camp," adding that Israel has committed an atrocity that will "outshine Hitler."

"Western leaders and organisations whose duty is to ensure international security have only watched this brutality from afar for almost 300 days," Erdogan said in a speech in the capital Ankara. "How many more children need to die to see that Israel's invasive policies endanger the entire region? Look, this is not a path that can continue," he added.

​​​​​​​He added that Israel is the only country in the region that seeks its security through "aggression, massacres and land seizure," acting like a "terrorist organisation."

1415 GMT — ActionAid criticises Netanyahu for presenting inaccurate Gaza aid figures

Ziad Issa, head of humanitarian policy at the UK office of international aid organisation ActionAid, has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of misrepresenting the amount of aid entering Gaza in his recent speech to the US Congress.

Issa spoke to Anadolu about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, highlighting the increasing need for food and water in the region and the challenges faced by aid workers.

"We heard Netanyahu in Congress saying that 40,000 trucks have made it to Gaza carrying food since Oct. 7. This is really appalling to hear the Israeli prime minister taking pride in allowing such a number of trucks to get into Gaza because this is nowhere near what we actually need and what Gaza used to have," he said.

"Our data from the UN shows that around 30,000 trucks have gotten inside Gaza, so the figure that was used in the speech is substantially higher than what actually is getting to people inside Gaza," he added.

1255 GMT — Palestinian detainee sexually abused by Israeli soldiers in 'critical condition': media

A Palestinian detainee sexually abused by Israeli soldiers at the Sde Teiman Prison in the Negev desert was transferred to an Israeli hospital in critical condition, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN has said.

The broadcaster said that the detainee was transferred to Sde Teiman from Ofer military prison near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

"The detainee’s transfer was considered exceptional in light of an order by the Supreme Court to reduce the number of detainees at Sde Teiman," KAN said.

1216 GMT — Gaza official: 300 killed in Khan Younis as Israeli army ends assault

The civil defence agency in Gaza has said that an Israeli operation in and around the territory's second city of Khan Younis killed about 300 people since it began last week.

"Since the beginning of the Israeli ground invasion of the eastern part of Khan Younis province, the civil defence and medical teams have recovered approximately 300 bodies of martyrs, many of them decomposed," agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said.

The Israeli military launched the assault on July 22 to halt rocket fire from the area, which already saw heavy fighting earlier this year.

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1214 GMT — Israeli politicians call for removing 'extremists' from government

Calls have grown inside Israel for the removal of "extremists" from the government following the storming of two military bases to protest the arrest of Israeli soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee.

"A handful of rioters breaks into IDF (army) bases and dismantles our country, the rule of law and the IDF," former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement on his X account.

"Stop the madness immediately," Bennett also said.

Benny Gantz, a former War Cabinet member, called those who stormed the two military bases an "extremist minority," adding that the majority of Israelis "oppose violence and anarchy." "The violent acts that we have seen in recent hours lead us to the abyss and endanger the security of the state and the unity of Israeli society," he said.

1152 GMT — Lebanon's Hezbollah fires at Israeli warplanes in Lebanese airspace

Lebanon's Hezbollah has said it fired at Israeli warplanes that broke the sound barrier in Lebanese airspace.

Hezbollah added that it forced the warplanes to turn back.

1150 GMT — Many bodies recovered in Khan Younis after Israeli withdrawal

Palestinian medics recovered the bodies of at least 42 people in Khan Younis in southern Gaza following Israeli army withdrawal from the area, local authorities have said.

"The bodies of 42 victims were recovered in the past few hours," Ismail Thawabta, head of Gaza's government media office, said.

"We expect the number of deaths to rise as there are still many bodies under the rubble," he added.

1135 GMT — UN agency reports hepatitis outbreak in Gaza amid Israeli war

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has reported an outbreak of hepatitis across Gaza amid relentless Israeli attacks on the enclave.

In a statement, the UNRWA said nearly 40,000 cases of hepatitis have been recorded in Gaza since the start of the Israeli war on Oct. 7, 2023.

"800 to 1,000 new hepatitis cases are reported weekly from UNRWA health centres and shelters across Gaza," it added.

"Desperate sanitary conditions facilitate the spread of diseases including Hepatitis A," UNRWA said.

1111 GMT — Palestinian prisoner group demands international inquiry into abuse allegations

The association representing Palestinian prisoners has called for an international inquiry into allegations of abuse of detainees in Israeli jails since the start of the war in Gaza, following an outcry by right-wing protesters over an Israeli investigation.

Qadura Fares, head of the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission said there had been multiple reports of abuse at Sde Teiman, the military facility in southern Israel at the centre of the investigation.

"Every day, as we witness the massacres against our people in Gaza, we hear horrific and harsh testimonies from legal teams and detainees who are released," he said in a statement.

He said the Israeli investigation and the detention of nine Israeli soldiers was a "farce" aimed at misleading world opinion.

1102 GMT — Gaza death toll surges to 39,400

The Health Ministry in Gaza said c

The toll includes 37 deaths in 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 90,996 people as having been wounded in Gaza since the beginning of the war on October 7 last year.

1029 GMT –– Oxfam projects 7,000 Gaza casualties during UK parliament recess

Nearly 7,000 people in Gaza are projected to be killed or injured if Israel's military offensive continues unabated during the UK Parliament's summer recess, according to new analysis by Oxfam.

The humanitarian organisation estimates that over 1,800 people, including more than 600 children, will be killed, and over 5,000 will be injured within the 33-day recess period.

Oxfam's calculations, based on UN cumulative impact reports from May 8 to July 22, indicate that 1,831 individuals in Gaza will be killed and 5,016 injured due to ongoing Israeli military actions.

1017 GMT –– Israeli court considers extending detention of soldiers accused of assaulting Palestinian detainee

The Israeli military court in Beit Lid will consider extending the detention of nine soldiers, accused of assaulting a Palestinian detainee from Gaza at the Sde Teiman Prison.

The Israeli military is preparing to prevent a right-wing incursion into the Beit Lid base, after they stormed it on Monday and clashed with the police, according to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN.

The authority indicated that the session is expected to be held at 2 pm (1100GMT).

0953 GMT –– Israel army says it hit around 10 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon

The Israeli army said it had struck overnight approximately 10 Hezbollah targets in seven different areas of southern Lebanon, and killed one fighter from the Lebanese armed group.

The army also "struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility, terror infrastructure sites, military structures, and a launcher in southern Lebanon", the army said.

0907 GMT –– Row erupts between top Israeli ministers over delayed response to rioters storming military bases

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant doubted National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's role in failing to take prompt action against Israeli rioters who stormed two military bases where soldiers were being held in custody for gang molestation of a Palestinian detainee.

Gallant urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to investigate whether Ben-Gvir prevented or delayed police action against Israeli rioters at the Sde Teiman and Beit Lid military bases in southern and central Israel.

The defence minister stressed the prime minister to "take a firm stand against the coalition members who participated in the riots," the Israeli daily Haaretz said.

0838 GMT –– Hezbollah member killed in Israeli strike in southern Lebanon

One more Hezbollah member was killed in an Israeli air strike on a home in southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese official news agency NNA said the Israeli air strike took place in the southern Beit Lif town.

In a statement later, the Hezbollah group identified the member as Hasan Hussein Malik (Bader) which said he was killed "on the road to Jerusalem", in reference to the Hezbollah's fight in support of the Palestinian resistance facing the Israeli devastating onslaught in Gaza.

The new fatality brought the number of Hezbollah fighters killed in clashes with Israeli forces since October 8, 2023 to 387, according to an Anadolu news agency tally.

0648 GMT –– French ex-Olympic ambassador says she is being targeted for supporting Palestine

French former basketball player Emilie Gomis, who was removed from her role as an Olympic ambassador for criticising Israel on Instagram, says she has been targeted to show what will happen to those who support the Palestinians.

Speaking to Anadolu news agency, Gomis said she shared an Instagram story on October 9 last year to explain what colonialism can do to a country and why the October 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel happened.

She never anticipated the fallout from sharing the Instagram story, Gomis said.

0613 GMT –– Lice, scabies, rashes plague Palestinian children in Gaza's tent camps

Skin diseases are running rampant in Gaza, health officials say.

The cause, they say, is the appalling conditions in overcrowded tent camps housing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes, along with the summer heat and the collapse of sanitation that has left pools of open sewage amid 10 months of Israel's bombardment and offensives in the territory.

Doctors are wrestling with more than 103,000 cases of lice and scabies and 65,000 cases of skin rashes, according to the World Health Organization.

In Gaza's population of some 2.3 million, more than 1 million cases of acute respiratory infections have been recorded since the war began, along with more than half a million of acute diarrhea and more than 100,000 cases of jaundice, according to the United Nations Development Programme.

0401 GMT –– US anti-Muslim incidents rose about 70% in first half of 2024

Discrimination and attacks against Muslims and Palestinians rose by about 70 percent in the US in the first half of 2024 amid heightened anti-Muslim hate due to Israel's war in Gaza, the Council on American-Islamic Relations advocacy group said.

Human rights advocates have reported a global rise in anti-Muslim hate, anti-Palestinian bias and anti-Semitism since the eruption in October of Israel's war on Gaza which has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.

In the first six months of 2024, CAIR said it received 4,951 complaints of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian incidents, a rise of nearly 70 percent compared with the same period in 2023.

0214 GMT –– Lebanon on high alert as diplomats race to contain escalation

Lebanon stands on high alert as diplomats race to contain escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said a flurry of diplomatic activity has sought to contain the anticipated Israeli response.

"Israel will escalate in a limited way and Hezbollah will respond in a limited way... These are the assurances we've received," Bou Habib said in an interview with local broadcaster Al-Jadeed.

0009 GMT –– Netanyahu denies adding new conditions to US-backed truce proposal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied Monday that he made changes to a US-backed truce proposal after being accused him of setting new conditions.

In a statement, Netanyahu's office claimed that Hamas is to be blamed for preventing an agreement and accused it of being the one insisting on several changes to the original proposal.

According to Israeli media, however, Netanyahu's latest conditions weren't included in the proposal announced by US President Joe Biden in May, which Biden said Israel had agreed to.

2306 GMT –– Israel's Sde Teiman prison restricts Gazan detainees' freedom

Israel's Sde Teiman prison, a military installation in the Negev desert in southern Israel, houses thousands of Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in Gaza in the course of their devastating onslaught since October 7.

Since the early days of Israel's war on the enclave, the prison, dubbed "Israel's Guantanamo Bay", was always at the forefront of the news as reports emerged on the scale of torture and violations committed against Palestinian detainees inside the facility, which is far from the oversight of rights groups.

According to Israel's Army Radio, 10 soldiers were recently detained for questioning as part of an investigation into the gang-rape of a Palestinian detainee from Gaza in the prison.

2030 GMT — Hezbollah moves missiles as Israel threatens to attack Lebanon

Lebanon's Hezbollah group has started moving precision-guided missiles as Israel threatens to launch an attack on Lebanon following the weekend strike that killed 12 children in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

An official with a Lebanese group told The Associated Press that Hezbollah’s stance has not changed and that the group does not want a full-blown war with US-backed Israel, but if war breaks out it will fight without limits.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military activities, said Hezbollah since Sunday has started moving some of its "smart precision-guided missiles" to use if needed.

2000 GMT — Israel faces backlash amid fresh evidence of war crimes

Israel is facing a fresh wave of war crimes accusations after footage emerged of its troops demolishing a reservoir of drinking water in southern Gaza, along with gruesome reports of soldiers gang-raping a Palestinian hostage at a prison in the Negev Desert.

A force in the city of Rafah from the 401st Brigade of the Armored Corps "blew up the central reservoir last week on the orders of the brigade commanders," the Israeli daily Haaretz said.

One of the soldiers posted a video of the explosion on social media with the caption "Destruction of the Tel Sultan water reservoir in honour of Shabbat," it noted.

The daily claimed that the blast, in which explosive devices were used, happened "without receiving permission from the senior level of the Southern Command."

1900 GMT — Egypt continues efforts to contain Israeli escalation against Lebanon

Egypt has established contacts with "relevant parties" in an attempt to contain Israel's current escalation against Lebanon and prevent the region from devolving into a major war.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during phone calls with Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Lebanese counterpart Abdullah Bou Habib informed them of his contacts with relevant parties to contain Israeli aggression, according to a statement released by his ministry following the conversations.

The top diplomat informed Lebanese officials on Egyptian contacts to avoid dragging the region into a wide-scale war.

Both sides have agreed to continue consultations to coordinate efforts to reduce tension and escalation, the ministry added.

For our live updates from Monday, July 29, 2024, click here.