Live blog: Israeli air strikes kill 16 in eastern Lebanon

Saturday, November 23, 2024

1808 GMT — Israel killed 16 people and injured 27 others in a series of air strikes on several towns in the Baalbek region of eastern Lebanon, state media and the Health Ministry said.

At least eight people, including four children, were killed, and nine others were injured when Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the town of Shmustar.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said among the dead was a mother and her four children.

Five more people lost their lives and five others got injured in the town of Bodai.

One person was killed and two others injured in the town of Flawiye, while another person was killed in the town of Brital.

More updates 👇

1726 GMT — Israel defence minister vows to 'act decisively' against Hezbollah

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz told his US counterpart that the country would "continue to act decisively" against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, after two months of full-blown war, a spokesman said.

In a phone call with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, "Katz commended US efforts to facilitate de-escalation in Lebanon, emphasised Israel's commitment to restoring security that would enable northern residents to return to their homes safely", and "underscored that Israel will continue to act decisively in response to Hezbollah's attacks on civilian populations in Israel", a spokesman for Katz said.

1702 GMT — US senator threatens to sanction allies enforcing ICC arrest warrants for Israel's Netanyahu, Gallant

Republican United States Senator Lindsey Graham threatened to sanction US allies if they enforce International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

"To any ally, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, if you try to help the ICC, we’re going to sanction you," Graham told Fox News in an interview late Friday.

"If you are going to help the ICC as a nation and force the arrest warrant against Bibi and Gallant, the former defence minister, I will put sanctions on you as a nation," he said.

"You’re gonna have to pick the rogue ICC versus America," Graham added.

1436 GMT — ICC warrants are binding, EU cannot pick and choose, EU's Borrell says

European Union governments cannot pick and choose whether to execute arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against two Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander, the EU's foreign policy chief said.

All EU member states are signatories to the ICC's founding treaty, called the Rome Statute.

Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he would face no risks if he did so.

"The states that signed the Rome convention are obliged to implement the decision of the court. It's not optional," Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said during a visit to Greek Cyprus for a workshop of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.

1331 GMT — US says committed to 'diplomatic resolution' in Lebanon

United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed that the US was dedicated to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon and urged Israel to improve 'dire' conditions in Gaza, in a call with his Israeli counterpart.

Austin "reiterated US commitment to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon" in his call with Israel Katz, while also pushing Israel "to continue to take steps to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza," according to a Pentagon spokesperson.

1316 GMT — Majority of Israelis support ceasefire in Lebanon: Poll

As much as 54 percent of Israelis favour reaching an agreement to end the conflict in Lebanon, while 24 percent oppose such a move, a new survey conducted by Israel's Channel 12 showed.

The poll also highlighted widespread dissatisfaction with the government’s performance, with 64 percent of respondents expressing distrust in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the crisis. Only 30 percent voiced confidence in his leadership.

Regarding accountability, 79 percent of the participants supported establishing a commission of inquiry into the events of Oct. 7, 2023, while 8 percent opposed the idea.

Asked about potential alternatives for prime minister, Netanyahu maintained a narrow lead over opposition leaders.

He secured 38 percent support against 28 percent for Yair Lapid and 37 percent compared to 29 percent for Benny Gantz. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, however, outperformed Netanyahu, garnering 38 percent support to Netanyahu's 34 percent.

1244 GMT — Israel’s repeated attacks on hospital defy humanity — Hamas

Hamas condemned Israel’s repeated attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, calling them "a humiliating affront to humanity and international norms."

In a statement, the Palestinian resistance group called on the international community to impose "decisive sanctions" on Israel.

Hamas accused the Israeli army of "systematic genocide" in northern Gaza, including "successive strikes on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia."

The group also decried Israel's ongoing "genocidal campaigns, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement against civilians in northern Gaza, as well as its starvation tactics targeting 2 million residents of the strip," labelling these actions as "an affront to humanity and international law."

Hamas urged the international community to "implement punitive measures against the occupation to halt its aggression and violations of humanitarian laws."

1244 GMT — 5 killed in Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon village

At least five people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a southern Lebanese village, according to the country's official news agency.

The Lebanese National News Agency reported that the Israeli army targeted the village of Roumin in the Nabatieh district, which killed five people.

1205 GMT — Entire family among 21 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza

At least 21 Palestinians, including an entire family of seven, were killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza.

According to the Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, three civilians were killed and several others wounded in Israeli artillery fire that targeted the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

In another attack, an entire family of seven, including three children, were killed when Israeli fighter jets bombed their home in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood, medical sources told Anadolu.

In central Gaza, three Palestinians, including two women, were killed, while others were injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Separately, six Palestinians, including a child, were killed and over 20 others wounded when Israeli air strikes targeted a home in the Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza.

1130 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Israel's war on Gaza reaches 44,176

At least 44,176 Palestinians have been killed and 104,473 injured since Israel's war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, the health ministry in the besieged Palestinian enclave said in a statement.

The statement said that 120 Palestinians were killed over the past 48 hours.

1123 GMT — Israeli air strike targets senior Hezbollah leader in Beirut: report

An Israeli air strike targeted a prominent Hezbollah leader, Mohammed Haider, in Beirut, reported Israel's Public Broadcasting Corporation.

The Israeli broadcast service KAN reported that the attack, which took place in the early hours of Saturday, was aimed at assassinating Haider, a senior figure in the Lebanese group.

An unnamed Israeli security source confirmed that Haider was the target of the attack, but stopped short of confirming his death. There was no official comment from Hezbollah on the reports.

1031 GMT — Israel continuing attempts to take over southern Lebanese town

The Israeli army continues its efforts to take control of the town of Khiam, located in the Marjayoun district of southern Lebanon, local media reported.

The official Lebanese news agency said Israeli attacks on the border town have continued since Friday night into Saturday, with the Israeli army employing various types of weaponry in an attempt to seize control of the area.

Additionally, Israeli forces have launched phosphorus shells on the nearby Jalahiya area.

The Lebanese news agency added that the Israeli army's operations in Khiam are not limited to ground incursions but also involve planting explosives in certain buildings and demolishing them.

1009 GMT — Israel's Netanyahu monitoring ex-defence chief to brand him 'defector': report

An Israeli news outlet reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is closely monitoring the actions of his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, preparing to declare him a "defector" from the ruling Likud Party.

According to the news website Walla, sources within the Likud Party, which Netanyahu leads, revealed that the premier and party officials were observing Gallant's actions, particularly in the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, to officially announce that he had defected from the party.

Sources claimed that this scrutiny was aimed at gathering evidence that Gallant is acting independently, facilitating the declaration of his split from Likud and preventing his candidacy in the upcoming parliamentary elections under the party banner.

0956 GMT — Another journalist killed in Israeli attack on Gaza

The Israeli army has killed another Palestinian journalist in an air strike on Gaza, bringing the number of media professionals killed since October 7 of last year to 189, according to Gaza Media Office.

The victim, Wael Ibrahim Abu Quffa, was a journalist and a lecturer at the Department of Journalism and Media at the Islamic University of Gaza, the office said in a statement Saturday.

The media office condemned the killing and urged the international community to intervene, describing the attacks on journalists as systematic.

It also urged international organisations and governments to "hold Israel accountable by taking legal action in international courts and to put pressure on Israel to halt the ongoing genocide in Gaza".

0934 GMT — Gaza civil defence says 19 killed in Israeli strikes

Gaza's civil defence agency said that 19 people, including at least six children, were killed by Israeli air strikes and tank fire.

Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that "19 people were killed and more than 40 others wounded in three massacres caused by Israeli air strikes in Gaza between midnight and this morning", as well as by tank fire in Rafah in the territory's south.

One of the strikes hit a house in the Zeitun neighbourhood of Gaza City in the north of the territory, killing seven people, three of them children, and wounding 10.

Another strike in the main southern city of Khan Younis killed six people, including three children, and wounded 26 displaced people who were living in tents near the house that was struck, said Bassal.

In Nuseirat in central Gaza, four people were killed in another strike on a house, and in Rafah, along the territory's southern border, two young men were killed by tank fire, Bassal added.

0851 GMT — Israeli air strikes kill 11, injure dozens in central Beirut

Israeli air strikes have killed at least 11 people and injured 65 others in central Beirut, as diplomats scrambled to broker a ceasefire.

Lebanon's civil defence said the death toll was provisional as emergency responders were still digging through the rubble looking for survivors.

The strikes were the fourth on the Lebanese capital in less than a week.

0840 GMT — Two fishers killed in Israeli air strike on southern Lebanon beach

Two fishermen were killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon, according to the country's official news agency.

The Lebanese National News Agency reported that the attack directly targeted a group of fishermen on the beach of Tyre district, killing at least two.

0807 GMT — Israeli army orders evacuation in Beirut's southern suburbs

The Israeli army ordered the evacuation of residents from buildings in Hadath and Choueifat Al-Amrousieh areas in Beirut's southern suburbs.

In a statement, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned residents, saying: "You must evacuate these buildings and those adjacent to them immediately and move at least 500 metres away."

Adraee claimed the targeted areas housed "facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah", signalling further Israeli strikes in the region.

0716 GMT — Indonesia welcomes ICC arrest warrants for Israel's premier, former defence chief

Indonesia has welcomed the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

In a statement on Saturday, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry expressed support for international efforts to ensure accountability for crimes committed by Israel against Palestine, including actions pursued through the ICC.

"The issuance of arrest warrants by the ICC for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant represents a significant step towards achieving justice for the crimes against humanity and war crimes in Palestine," the statement read.

0339 GMT — Five Israeli missiles strike residential building in heart of Beirut

Five Israeli missiles struck a residential building in the heart of Beirut on Saturday, Lebanese state media reported.

"Beirut, the capital, woke up to a horrific massacre, as the Israeli enemy's air force completely destroyed an eight-storey residential building with five missiles on Al-Mamoun Street in the Basta area," the National News Agency reported.

AFP journalists heard at least three large explosions in the capital.

0300 GMT — Latest Israeli strike kills four, wounds 33 in Lebanon's Beirut

Israel has fired at least four missiles in an air strike towards Lebanon's central Beirut, killing at least four people and wounding another 33, local media report, adding toll is feared to rise.

The strike targeted Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, local residents said, adding many buildings were destroyed.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Israeli war planes "completely destroyed an eight-storey residential building with five missiles".

Sirens could be heard as ambulances raced to the scene of the blast in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood. Footage broadcast by Lebanon's Al Jadeed showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it.

The strikes, which occurred around 4 am local time (0200 GMT), came after a day of heavy bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs and the southern coastal city of Tyre.

2355 GMT — 11 NGOs urge France to enforce ICC warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

Eleven nongovernmental organisations urged France to enforce an International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence chief Yoav Gallant.

The NGOs, including the Ligue de Droit de l'homme (LDH) and the French Palestinian Solidarity Association (AFPS), issued a statement that appealed to France to act on the warrants. The statement emphasised the need for France to ensure the arrest of the officials should they enter French territory.

It also pressed France to continue supporting the ICC despite external pressures, asserting: "The issuance of these warrants further underscores the need to impose sanctions on Israeli authorities."

2200 GMT — Israeli strike kills Lebanon hospital chief, wounds medics in Gaza

Israel has targeted Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of besieged Gaza, wounding nine medical staff and damaging its generator and oxygen systems, its director said.

Hossam Abu Safiya said strikes hit the entrance of the emergency unit as well as in the hospital courtyard. He said six staff were wounded, including two critically. Later, he said an armed drone hit the entrance again, wounding three staffers.

In Lebanon, Israel killed the director of a university hospital and six others at his home in northeastern area, state media said.

The strike targeted Dr. Ali Allam's house near Dar Al-Amal Hospital, the largest health centre in Baalbek-Hermel province, which has provided vital health services amid Israel's air strikes, the Health Ministry said. State-run media reported that the strike came without warning.

The ministry described his death as a "great loss", and provincial governor Bachir Khodr said in a post on X that "Mr. Allam was one of the best citizens of Baalbek."

2100 GMT — Palestine slams Israel's move to end detention for extremist Zionists

Palestine has condemned Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz's decision to suspend administrative detention orders against illegal Zionist settlers, fearing that it will encourage "supremacists" to commit more crimes against Palestinians.

In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Katz's decision will "encourage supremacist settlers to commit acts of terrorism against Palestinians and their properties, escalate crimes against them, and further foster their impunity".

The statement noted that only a few illegal Israeli settlers were detained as "token arrests" as part of a revolving door policy. The ministry demanded "an international effective action to rein in settler militias, end their impunity," and protect Palestinians from Israeli occupation violations.

Peace Now, which monitors and opposes Israeli illegal activities in the occupied territories, said in a statement that "the cancellation of administrative detention orders for settlers alone is a cynical and reckless move that whitewashes and normalizes the rise of Jewish terrorism under the cover of war".

1900 GMT — Israeli troops killing themselves: report

At least six Israeli soldiers have taken their own lives in recent months, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth revealed, citing severe psychological distress caused by prolonged genocide and wars in Gaza and southern Lebanon as the primary cause.

The investigation suggests the actual number of suicides may be higher, as the Israeli military has yet to release official figures, despite a promise to disclose them by the end of the year.

The report highlights a broader mental health crisis within the Israeli army. Thousands of soldiers have sought help from military mental health clinics or field psychologists, with approximately a third of those affected showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to the investigation, the number of soldiers suffering psychological trauma may exceed those with physical injuries from the war.

The daily cites experts as saying the full extent of this mental health crisis will become clear once military operations are completed and troops return to normal life.

For our live updates from Friday, November 22, 2024, click here.