Live blog: Israeli air strike hits Damascus for second time in two days

Friday, November 15, 2024

1256 GMT — Syrian regime media has said Israel struck the upscale Mazzeh district of Damascus, the second such attack in as many days to hit the neighbourhood home to embassies, security headquarters and United Nations offices.

"Israeli aggression targets Mazzeh area in Damascus," the official SANA news agency said, after reporting a deadly Israeli strike on the district a day earlier.

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1414 GMT — Two Palestinians die in Israeli prisons

Two Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli jails, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

In a joint statement, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and the Palestinian Prisoners Society confirmed the deaths of Samih Aliwi, 61, from Nablus in the occupied West Bank and Anwar Aslim, 44, from Gaza.

Aliwi, who had been held on administrative detention since Oct. 21, 2023, died on Nov. 6, 2024, six days after being transferred from the Ramla prison clinic to the Israeli Saveroff Hospital.

Aslim, meanwhile, died on Thursday. His health declined during a transfer from the Negev prison to Soroka Hospital.

1352 GMT — Northern Gaza cut off from health care, aid amid Israeli assault: Civil Defence

The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza has reported that its operations in northern Gaza have been forcibly suspended for 24 days, leaving thousands of residents without medical or humanitarian services as Israel's assault continues.

In a statement, the Civil Defence explained that on Oct. 24, Israeli forces targeted its teams in northern Gaza, seizing their vehicles, displacing most personnel to central and southern parts of the enclave, and detaining 10 staff members.

The agency called on international humanitarian organisations to urgently address the plight of thousands of civilians trapped in northern Gaza due to the ongoing Israeli offensive.

1322 GMT — Nine Israeli soldiers injured in Gaza, Lebanon in past 24 hours

Nine Israeli soldiers were injured in Gaza and southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours, according to the latest figures released by the Israeli forces.

The army’s website reported that the total number of Israeli soldiers injured in Gaza, Lebanon, and the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the ongoing conflicts has risen to 5,360, up from 5,351 the previous day.

Of the nine soldiers wounded, two were in Gaza and seven in southern Lebanon.

1300 GMT — There is simply not enough humanitarian aid in Gaza: UNRWA official

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has reiterated the dire humanitarian crisis in besieged Gaza, saying sufficient aid has never been available throughout the 13 months of Israel's offensive.

"People are hungry. We are surrounded every day by people who beg for pieces of bread, who need access to water,” UNRWA spokesperson Louise Wateridge told CNN.

"It is just unbearable, the situation the population has been forced into. And a lot of this can be resolved with a facilitation of a humanitarian response. And we have not just seen that for 13 months," she added.

1239 GMT — Trump backs ceasefire agreement in Lebanon: reports

US president-elect Donald Trump has reportedly expressed support for a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon during discussions with Israeli officials, according to Israeli media.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported that Ron Dermer, Israel's Minister of Strategic Affairs, met with Trump and senior officials from his administration last Sunday to discuss a range of issues, including the ongoing Israeli invasion in Lebanon.

Trump reportedly gave his official approval for efforts to reach a settlement. "I want you to reach an agreement on Lebanon. I have no objections to the current plan,” Trump told Dermer.

1228 GMT — Gaza aid access 'at a low point': UN official

Aid access in Gaza is at a low point with deliveries to parts of the besieged north of the enclave all but impossible, a UN humanitarian official has said.

The remarks run counter to a US assessment earlier this week that Israel is not currently impeding humanitarian aid for Gaza, avoiding restrictions on US military aid.

"From our perspective, on all indicators you can possibly think of in a humanitarian response, all of them are going in the wrong direction," said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in response to a question at a Geneva press briefing about whether humanitarian access had improved.

"Access is at a low point. Chaos, suffering, despair, death, destruction, displacement are at a high point," he added.

1212 GMT — Israel kills at least 43,764 in Gaza as its brutal war continues

At least 28 more Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza in the last 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll since 13 months ago to 43,764, the Health Ministry in the enclave has said.

A ministry statement added that some 103,490 others were also wounded in the ongoing assault.

"Israeli forces killed 28 people and injured 120 others in three massacres of families in the last 24 hours," the ministry said.

1108 GMT — Lebanese government prioritises implementation of UNSC resolution

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, has said the Lebanese government prioritises the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 in its entirety without any amendments.

The resolution ended the last round of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 and stipulated that southern Lebanon must be free of arms that do not belong to the Lebanese state.

"Calls are ongoing to reach an understanding", Mikati said in a post on X.

1100 GMT — Iran backs Lebanon's government over ceasefire talks

Iran will support any decision taken by the Lebanese government and Lebanon's "resistance" in current talks on a ceasefire in the Israeli war, Ali Larijani, senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, has said.

1053 GMT — Palestinian Islamic Jihad releases new clip of Israeli hostage Trupanov in Gaza

The Palestinian resistance group has released a new clip of Israeli hostage Sasha Trupanov, held in Gaza since October 2023, after releasing a first video earlier this week.

Trupanov, identified by his relatives in the first video released on Wednesday, appealed to Aryeh Deri, leader of the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party Shas, a member of Israel's governing coalition, to help free him and the other hostages held in Gaza.

0850 GMT — Hezbollah claims targeting Israeli military base in Haifa

Hezbollah reportedly has claimed responsibility for a missile attack targeting the Tira al-Carmel military base in southern Haifa, Israel.

In a statement, the Lebanese armed group declared its fighters fired missiles as part of ongoing hostilities with Israel.

The Israeli military confirmed five rockets were launched from Lebanon, directed at the Haifa Bay area.

According to officials, some of the rockets were intercepted by air defence systems.

No further details were available on the extent of damage or casualties inflicted by the assault.

0846 GMT — Several people killed in fresh Israeli strikes on Beirut, Gaza

A fresh strike targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday following an evacuation order issued by the Israeli army, according to an AFP journalist, who witnessed a column of grey smoke rising from the area.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported a "heavy strike" carried out with two missiles fired by an "enemy aircraft" in the area of Bourj al-Barajneh.

A separate bombardment also hit multiple locations in the Israel-besieged Palestinian enclave Gaza.

Five civilians were killed in Israeli shelling targeting Beit Lahia, located in northern Gaza, Palestine's official agency WAFA has said.

Witnesses confirmed that two Palestinians were killed in artillery strikes near the western roundabout area in Beit Lahia. The shelling also killed three others at the General Security junction west of Gaza City.

0845 GMT — Three Israelis injured by rockets fired from Lebanon in northern Israel

Three Israelis were injured on Friday after rockets launched from Lebanon landed near the city of Haifa in northern Israel.

According to Israeli Channel 12, the injuries were caused by shrapnel from rockets that struck close to the Kiryat Bialik settlement near Haifa, with all three sustaining minor injuries.

The Israeli army reported that it detected the launch of approximately five rockets from Lebanon toward the Haifa Bay and Upper Galilee regions.

Following the activation of warning sirens in these areas, the Israeli army announced that some of the rockets had been intercepted, while others fell in open areas.

0750 GMT — Six Palestinians killed in Israeli shelling of Gaza City

Six Palestinians were killed on Friday in Israeli shelling that targeted northern Gaza City.

Medical sources told Anadolu that the Israeli attack targeted the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in northern Gaza City, killing six and injuring several civilians.

0320 GMT –– Israeli air strike on civil defence building in Lebanon kills 12

At least 12 people were killed Thursday in an Israeli air strike that destroyed the civil defence centre building in the town of Douris in Baalbek district in eastern Lebanon.

The air strike "targeted the town of Douris, causing the collapse of the Civil Defence Center and the destruction of the adjacent building,” Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

The initial death toll from the air strike was seven. The bodies of the victims were recovered and transferred to the morgue at Baalbek Governmental Hospital, the agency added.

“The Civil Defence Center in Baalbek was targeted while more than 20 civil defence personnel were inside,” Baalbek-Hermel Governor Bachir Khodr said on X.

0229 GMT –– Canada warns of 'catastrophic' humanitarian conditions in Gaza

Canada's foreign minister expressed deep concern about "catastrophic" humanitarian conditions across Gaza and warned about "the life-threatening levels of acute malnutrition."

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly cited a November 8 report by the Famine Review Committee that found a strong likelihood that famine is occurring or imminent in areas within northern Gaza. The committee has previously found that 133,000 people in Gaza were facing catastrophic food insecurity.

"This means that civilians - men, women and children - are dying because of the lack of humanitarian assistance allowed into Gaza," she said in a joint statement with International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen.

0203 GMT –– Israel’s attorney general calls on Netanyahu to reassess Ben-Gvir’s role as security minister

Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reassess National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's role due to his alleged political interference in police operations, Israel’s Haaretz daily reported.

Baharav-Miara said "the combination of the alleged improper interventions in police operations and the dependency of police officers on the minister for their promotions undermines the assurance that the police will act in loyalty to the public rather than the politicians.”

She noted in a letter sent to Netanyahu following a petition to the High Court of Justice against Ben-Gvir's position that incidents presented in the petition as well as incidents that precede it "create a rare, severe and ongoing pattern of law violations, breaches of duty and harm to fundamental governance principles, alongside the politicization of police work."

0124 GMT — Hamas official says group ready for immediate ceasefire deal

A senior member of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas stressed that it is ready for a ceasefire deal and the release of the Israeli hostages as part of a "serious" prisoner exchange.

Basem Naim, a Palestinian physician, politician and a leader in Hamas' politburo, said the last "well-defined, brokered deal" was on July 2.

"It was discussed in all details, and I think we were near to a ceasefire… which can end this war, offer a permanent ceasefire and total withdrawal and prisoner exchange," he said in an interview with Sky News.

Naim said that "unfortunately, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu preferred to go the other way" and recalled that Israel "committed at least two to three big massacres" in Khan Younis and Gaza City after that.

Referring to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in July, he noted that after that, they did not receive "any serious proposals."

0044 GMT — Amsterdam city council urges Dutch government to take clear stance against Gaza war

Amsterdam's city council adopted a motion calling on the Dutch government to take a clear position against Israel's war on Gaza, warning of a "real and imminent genocide" in the enclave, local media said.

The motion, which was submitted by several parties, including Denk, De Vonk, Lijst Kabamba and the Party for the Animals, also calls on the government to take responsibility and provide support to aid organisations in Gaza.

The council feels that the Dutch government is suppressing attention to the Palestinian cause and wants to make a counter-voice heard that many Palestinian Amsterdammers also express.

0003 GMT — Blast from drone launched from Lebanon injures two Israeli soldiers

Two Israeli soldiers were injured from an explosion of a drone launched from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel, according to the army.

The drone fell and exploded in the Eliakim base south of Haifa after being chased by Israeli air defences for nearly 40 minutes, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.

2145 GMT — Israel kills seven people in Lebanon's civil defence centre

Lebanon said at least seven people were killed in an Israeli strike targeting the main civil defence facility in the eastern Baalbek area, with the rescuers counting eight members among the dead.

"The Israeli enemy strike on a civil defence centre in Douris killed 12 people" with body parts recovered and rescue operations ongoing, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

It condemned "the second Israeli attack on a health emergency facility in less than two hours" after an earlier attack killed Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers. Civil Defence said, "Eight personnel from the... Baalbek regional centre were killed".

2026 GMT — US knows 'not enough' aid getting in Gaza: Pentagon

The US is aware that "not enough" aid is getting into besieged Gaza, a Pentagon official said.

"We know how dire the humanitarian situation is in Gaza, and that's why every single day, not just here at this department, but the interagency, continues to work with our Israeli partners to get more aid in, because we know not enough is getting in," spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters.

Singh said that "not enough has been done in Gaza," but the US would continue to urge a ceasefire and more humanitarian aid to get into the enclave.

2000 GMT — US lawmaker calls on Blinken to resign for not changing policy on arming Israel

A US congresswoman urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to resign for not changing the policy on arms supply to Israel.

"Secretary Blinken exposed his lie by announcing that there will be no change to any policy, despite admitting that the Israeli government has still failed to comply with all of their demands.

"Secretary Blinken has continued to lie to Congress and should resign," Rashida Tlaib said on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Tlaib said the Biden administration continues to ignore reports that Israel is blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza in violation of US and international law.

"US law is very clear: No nation blocking US humanitarian assistance can receive US weapons. The Biden administration cannot pick and choose when they comply with our own laws," the Palestinian-American lawmaker said.

For our live updates from Thursday, November 14, 2024, click here.