Live blog: Israeli strike kills 5 in Beirut as rocket on Israel kills 1

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

0314GMT — Lebanon's health ministry said five people were killed and 31 wounded in an Israeli strike in Zuqaq al-Blat. Many people have fled to the densely populated district from southern Beirut.

The official National News Agency (NNA) said an apartment near a Shia Muslim place of worship had been targeted, "causing great damage".

An Israeli strike destroyed a four-storey building in the neighbourhood of Chiyah, wounding multiple people, NNA reported.

In Shfaram, east of the Haifa area, a rocket hit a building and killed a woman, emergency personnel said.

In the suburbs of Israel's capital Tel Aviv, five people were wounded, including one woman in serious condition, after rocket fire hit central Israel, first responders said.

Hezbollah said it had launched "attack drones" against "sensitive military points... in the city of Tel Aviv" and shot down an Israeli drone in south Lebanon.

More updates 👇

0643 GMT — Hezbollah says it hit military targets in Tel Aviv with swarm of combat drones

The Lebanese Hezbollah group said that it carried out an aerial attack on Israeli military targets in Tel Aviv, central Israel.

In a statement, Hezbollah said that the attack, which took place on Monday evening, involved a swarm of combat drones that struck Israeli military targets in capital Tel Aviv.

It, however, did not provide further details on the attack, but said it will later reveal information about the targeted military points in Israel.

On Monday night, the daily Israel Hayom reported that a rocket fired from Lebanon hit close to a shopping center in the city of Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, resulting in a fire at the site, while the broadcaster Channel 12 reported five injured in the attack.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said the work at the Ben Gurion airport was disrupted at the time of the attack.

0230 GMT — Netanyahu’s office asks Shin Bet to help him avoid testifying in his corruption trial: Report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has asked the Shin Bet security agency to help him avoid testifying in his ongoing corruption trial, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported Monday.

Netanyahu is scheduled to testify on December 2 in a case involving charge s of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office recently asked the Shin Bet security service to provide an opinion allowing Netanyahu to avoid testifying at his trial on security grounds,” the newspaper said.

The office cited security concerns, claiming that Netanyahu cannot remain in one location for an extended period of time where his arrival is known in advance.

0104 GMT — Israeli army says it intercepted 2 drones fired from Lebanon

Israel said that its air force intercepted two drones launched from Lebanon towards the Western Galilee.

A military statement said that “following sirens that sounded in the Western Galilee area regarding a hostile aircraft infiltration, two UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory were successfully intercepted.”

Earlier, air raid sirens were activated in several locations across northern Israel including Nahariya, Betzet, Shlomi, Liman and Gesher HaZiv as part of heightened security measures following the drone threat, according to the Home Front.

0021 GMT –– G20 calls for 'comprehensive' ceasefires in Gaza, Lebanon

G20 leaders called for "comprehensive" ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon in a joint statement at a summit in Brazil on Monday.

The leaders of the world's biggest economies called for a US-proposed permanent ceasefire in Palestine's Gaza in return for the release of all hostages, as well as a Lebanon ceasefire “that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.”

2300 GMT –– Nearly 100 food aid trucks violently looted in Gaza: UN

Nearly 100 trucks carrying food for Palestinians were looted on Nov. 16 after entering war-torn Gaza in one of the worst aid losses during 13 months of war in the enclave, where hunger is deepening, two UN agencies told Reuters on Monday.

The convoy transporting food provided by UNRWA and the World Food Programme was instructed by Israel to depart at short notice via an unfamiliar route from Karem Abu Salem border crossing, said Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Senior Emergency Officer.

Ninety-eight of the 109 trucks in the convoy were raided and some of the transporters were injured during the incident, she said, without detailing who carried out the ambush.

"This ... highlights the severity of access challenges of bringing aid into southern and central Gaza," she told Reuters.

2220 GMT –– Fresh Israeli strikes on Beirut kills 5

Israel staged a new bombing raid on central Beirut on Monday, killing five people according to the health ministry, as firefighters said a rocket launched from Lebanon killed one woman in Israel.

Israel has staged three strikes in two days against central Beirut, after weeks of air raids aimed at emptying the southern suburbs stronghold of Hezbollah.

2130 GMT –– Fate of millions of Palestinians hangs in the balance: UNRWA chief

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), has warned that the suspension of UN operations directly threatens the lives of Palestinian refugees.

Lazzarini was in Geneva for a meeting of UNRWA's advisory commission to discuss the way forward at the organisation's "darkest moment".

"The clock is ticking fast," he told the commission, according to a transcript.

"What hangs in the balance, is the fate of millions of Palestine refugees".