Live blog: Israeli strike kills 34 Palestinians in Gaza's Beit Lahia

Monday, November 18, 2024

0129 GMT — 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.

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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.

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.