Live blog: Israeli strikes kill five, including children in south Lebanon

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

1739 GMT –– Lebanese official media has said separate Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed five people including three Syrian children, with Hezbollah announcing rocket fire at Israel in retaliation for one of the raids.

"Three Syrian children" were killed "in an enemy raid that targeted farmland in the village of Umm Toot", the National News Agency said.

It also said an "enemy" drone strike had targeted a motorcycle on the Kfar Tebnit road elsewhere in south Lebanon, killing two Syrians, prompting Hezbollah to launch "dozens of Katyusha rockets" at northern Israel in retaliation.

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1843 GMT –– Lebanon files complaint against Israel over GPS jamming

Lebanon has filed a complaint with the United Nations and the International Telecommunication Union against Israel, citing Tel Aviv's deliberate disruption of its global positioning system (GPS).

A statement by the Ministry of Communications said Israel’s interference primarily affects GPS systems within Lebanon.

Lebanon accuses Israel of disrupting GPS at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport and several other locations since the outbreak of cross-border clashes with Hezbollah last Oct. 8. There was no comment from Israel on the Lebanese accusation.

1732 GMT –– Israel has 'limited window of opportunity' to bring back hostages: minister

Israel has a "limited window of opportunity" to reach an agreement for the return of captives held in Gaza, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said.

"Israel has a limited and fleeting window of opportunity to reach a deal to return the captives," Gallant said in a speech at an official event commemorating the anniversary of the 2014 Gaza war.

"A limited window of opportunity will open before us to fulfil our moral and ethical duty to return the hostages," he added.

1704 GMT –– Israel 'still not allowing' fuel for Gaza humanitarian aid: UN

A UN official has voiced concern about the lack of fuel in Gaza and said Israel is preventing fuel to key humanitarian responders.

"The lack of electricity and fuel continues to impact basic service providers, including hospitals, ambulances, bakeries, and aid trucks," Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

In the last two weeks, the UN has been able to collect 80,000 litres of fuel per day, on average, up from about 45,000 litres daily in the last two weeks of June, he said.

"While this represents an improvement, the requirement for the most basic humanitarian operations stands at 400,000 litres per day, and the Israeli authorities are still not allowing the allocation of fuel to key local humanitarian responders, preventing them from transferring supplies within Gaza," stressed Dujarric.

1701 GMT –– Hamas still capable of bombing Tel Aviv, Jerusalem: Israeli army

Hamas is still capable of bombing Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the Israeli army has said, claiming to have killed and arrested around 14,000 of its members since last Oct. 7.

"Hamas maintains the capability to attack troops in Gaza and launch rockets on Israel, including a long-range fire on Tel Aviv or Jerusalem," the army said in a statement published on its website.

1540 GMT –– Israeli military to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox seminary students

The Israeli military will next week begin issuing military draft summons to ultra-Orthodox seminary students who were previously exempt from military service, the military has said.

The issue is especially sensitive amid the war on Gaza and related fighting on other fronts that have caused the worst Israeli casualties - mostly among secular draftees and reservists - in decades.

In June, Israel's Supreme Court mandated the government to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students into the military, creating new political strains for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

An Israeli military statement said that starting next Sunday "the process of issuing initial summons orders for the first call-up" ahead of the upcoming July recruitment cycle would commence.

Netanyahu's coalition includes two ultra-Orthodox parties that regard the exemptions as key to keeping their constituents in religious seminaries and away from a melting-pot military that might test their conservative values.

1512 GMT –– Israel kills another Palestinian journalist in Gaza as death toll rises to 160

Another Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza, pushing up the death toll to 160 since last Oct. 7, local authorities have said.

Gaza's government media office identified the latest victim as Mohammed Meshmesh, a program director at Al Aqsa Voice radio.

It did not provide details about the circumstances or date of his death.

1501 GMT –– Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian in occupied West Bank

Israeli police have said security forces shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank after he stabbed an officer, while a relative said the man had been pursued by soldiers.

Ahmad Al-Bitawi, director of the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, said Ahmad Ramzi Sultan, 20, died " after being shot in the chest and abdomen during confrontations" on a road in Al Bireh.

Bassam Sultan said his nephew had been to dawn prayers when he encountered soldiers.

1454 GMT –– Israel kills dozens of Palestinians in three strikes across Gaza

The civil defence agency in Gaza has said three Israeli air strikes killed more than 40 people within an hour across the war-stricken Palestinian territory.

Israel said it carried out two of the strikes that civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said killed at least 44 people and left dozens more wounded.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 17 people were killed and 26 were wounded close to a petrol station near the southern city of Khan Younis.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said five died at the UN-run Al-Razi School in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

The third strike was on "a gathering" of people near a roundabout in northern Gaza, according to the civil defence agency, which did not give a precise toll breakdown.

1421 GMT –– France expresses 'outrage' over Israeli strikes

France has expressed "outrage" following Israeli strikes on displaced persons in Gaza in the last two days.

The Foreign Ministry noted that Israeli forces targeted a UN-run school and al Maghazi refugee camp hosting displaced persons.

"Those recent strikes that killed nearly a hundred people, aggravate the disastrous human toll among the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza," it said in a statement.

It noted Israel's obligation to respect international humanitarian law and reiterated its demand for an "immediate ceasefire and the liberation of all hostages without delay."

1414 GMT –– Two injured as Israeli drone hits motorcycle in southern Lebanon

At least two people were injured when an Israeli drone struck a motorcycle in the town of Arnoun in southern Lebanon, according to local media.

A missile hit the motorcycle on the Kharadilah-Nabatieh road in southern Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Another missile targeted the site when civilians tried to approach to rescue the victims, the broadcaster said, citing witnesses.

Israeli artillery shelling and air strikes were also reported in the border towns of Ramyeh, Ayta ash-Shaab, Naqoura, and Alma ash-Shaab.

No information was yet available about injuries or damage.

1210 GMT –– Eight Palestinians killed in Israeli air strike on Gaza school: health officials

At least eight Palestinians have been killed and several wounded in an Israeli air strike on a school in central Gaza, the Health Ministry in Gaza has said.

The strike hit Al Awda school in Al Nuseirat camp, the ministry said.

1144 GMT –– Multiple deaths as Israel bombs Gaza's Al Mawasi 'safe zone'

At least13 Palestinians have been killed and 26 wounded in an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Health Ministry in Gaza has said.

The air strike hit near an area of tents housing displaced families in Attar Street, the ministry said.

1027 GMT –– Israel holds 1,500 Palestinian bodies in detention centre

The Israeli army has been holding the bodies of 1,500 Palestinians claiming to be belonging to Hamas fighters in a desert detention centre since October 7, Israeli media reported.

The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted an Israeli soldier who served in the Sde Teiman detention centre as saying the bodies are held in refrigerators, and classified in numbers, not based on names.

The soldier added that the bodies were in bad condition as some of them had signs of decomposition, others had limbs amputated, and some had recognizable faces, while others did not.

Haaretz estimates that the majority of these unidentified bodies are of the elite forces of the Palestinian resistance group that crossed into the Israeli areas around Gaza on October 7.

The daily quoted the Israeli army as saying that any decision regarding the return of the bodies is up to the Israeli government.

1023 GMT –– Gaza death toll passes 38,700 as Israel kills 49 more Palestinians

At least 49 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, pushing up the overall death toll to 38,713 since October 7, the Health Ministry in the besieged territory has said.

A ministry statement added that some 89,166 other people have been wounded in the onslaught.

“Israeli forces killed 49 people and injured 69 others in two ‘massacres’ against families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

1014 GMT –– Five UN schools hit in last 10 days: UN agency

So far, a total of five schools affiliated with the UN and its agencies have been hit by Israeli bombs in Gaza, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said.

“Yesterday in Gaza City, an @UNRWA school sheltering families was hit,” the agency wrote on X.

“The day before, one of our schools was hit in Nuseirat,” it added.

“Five @UN schools have been hit in the last 10 days ,” the UNRWA lamented.

It said: “9 months in, the relentless, endless killings, destruction & despair continue,” adding that no one is safe in Gaza.

0848 GMT –– Israeli protesters block highway in Tel Aviv demanding prisoner swap with Palestinians

Israeli protesters blocked a main highway in Tel Aviv demanding a prisoner swap and a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported the protesters, including relatives of Israeli captives in Gaza, blocked the Ayalon Highway and raised photos of the Israeli captives in Gaza.

The Israeli Haaretz daily reported the protest was led by the families of the captives, adding police later intervened and reopened the highway.

0826 GMT –– Hamas, Fatah meeting in China on July 20: Palestinian officials

The Palestinian Hamas and Fatah groups are scheduled to meet in the Chinese capital Beijing on July 20 to discuss intra-Palestinian reconciliation.

"China hosts a meeting that includes all Palestinian groups as part of the exerted efforts to end the internal division, and will be preceded by a meeting between Hamas and Fatah groups," Abdel Fattah Dawla, a senior Fatah leader, told Anadolu news agency.

He added that the meetings will start on July 20, and will extend over three days.

"We in the Fatah Movement are open to solve and dismantle all obstacles in the way of reconciliation under the difficult conditions the Palestinian cause is going through along with the genocidal war on Gaza," Dawla added.

For his part, Azzam al Ahmad, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, stressed that his movement will participate in the Beijing meeting with openness aimed at ending the state of division.

Hamas has yet to comment on the upcoming meeting.

0627 GMT –– At least 10 Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli attacks across Gaza

At least 10 Palestinians were killed in overnight Israeli attacks across Gaza, as the deadly onslaught on the blockaded enclave entered its 284th day on Tuesday, Wafa news agency reported.

Medical teams in the eastern area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, removed four bodies and three others injured from under the rubble of a home struck by the Israeli army.

In the city of Rafah, bodies of four Palestinians killed arrived at a hospital.

Separately, a Palestinian was killed and several others injured in an air raid on a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza.

Another Palestinian was killed and two others injured in Gaza City as the Israeli army struck a home on Al Nafaq street.

0553 GMT — Israeli army kills Palestinian in occupied West Bank

A young Palestinian was killed by Israeli forces in the city of Al Bireh, occupied West Bank, Palestine's official Wafa news agency has reported.

Security sources told the agency that Ahmed Ramzi Sultan, 20, was killed by Israeli live ammunition during clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli forces in northern Al Bireh.

The Israeli army withheld the body for hours before handing it to an ambulance crew, which transferred it to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah.

0432 GMT — US tells top Israeli officials Gaza civilian toll 'unacceptably high'

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told two top Israeli officials of the "unacceptably high" civilian casualties in Israel's bombardment of besieged Gaza, his spokesperson has said.

Blinken received two influential Israeli officials — Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi — "to express our serious concern about the recent civilian casualties in Gaza."

Casualties "still remain unacceptably high. We continue to see far too many civilians killed in this conflict," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.

0328 GMT — 'Everywhere is a potential killing zone' in Gaza: UN chief

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over the ongoing situation in Gaza, saying "nowhere is safe" in the besieged enclave.

"The extreme level of fighting and devastation in Gaza is incomprehensible and inexcusable... Everywhere is a potential killing zone," Guterres said on X.

It is high time for the parties to the conflict to show the political courage and political will to finally reach a deal, he added.

0201 GMT — US confirms Houthi attacks on vessels in Red Sea

The US military has confirmed that Yemen’s Houthi group launched "multiple attacks" in the Red Sea against a vessel carrying vegetable oil from Russia to China.

The Houthis used one uncrewed surface vessel (USV) and two small boats in the attack against the MT Bentley I, a Panama-flagged, Israel-owned, Monaco-operated tanker vessel, US Central Command said on X, reporting no damage or injuries.

"Later, Iranian-backed Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen over the Red Sea toward MT Bentley I," it said.

Separately, the army said the Houthi group attacked the MT Chios Lion, a Liberian-flagged, Marshall Islands-owned, Greek-operated crude oil tanker, with a USV in the Red Sea.

"The USV caused damage, but MT Chios Lion has not requested assistance. No injuries have been reported at this time," it added.

2305 GMT — Gaza sees over 320 casualties in past 2 days due to Israel's use of banned weapons: Officials

Local authorities in Gaza said that over the past two days, more than 320 Palestinians were admitted for hospital care across the enclave with severe burns due to internationally prohibited weapons used by the Israeli army.

In a statement, Gaza's Government Media Office said doctor assessments suggested that third-degree burns on the bodies of patients, many of who died, were caused by the weapons used by the Israeli army.

The arms were mainly US-made, known as chemical or thermal weapons, and "are internationally prohibited from being used against humans," the statement added.

It held the US government fully responsible legally for providing Israel with such weaponry.

2233 GMT — Netanyahu reiterates Israeli army to stay in Gaza-Egypt border area

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed that the army will remain in the Gaza-Egypt border area known as the Philadelphi Corridor while stressing that Israel's Cabinet will decide on the matter in a vote.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is known to oppose Netanyahu's position on keeping Israeli soldiers in the area.

Speaking to Israel's Channel 14, Netanyahu said that Israel will remain in the Philadelphi Corridor, stressing that staying there has "political and security privileges."

2151 GMT — Türkiye denounces Israel's attack on Gaza hospital

Türkiye's Foreign Ministry has slammed attacks by the Israeli army targeting the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in besieged Gaza.

"The photo in the Palestinian press showing a group of Israeli soldiers in front of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza is further evidence of Israel's violation of international law and international humanitarian law," the ministry said in a statement.

The hospital is "the only centre for cancer patients in Gaza," it added.

"The damage caused to the hospital by Israeli forces and its use as a military base is part of Israel's systematic policy aimed at the annihilation of the Palestinian people," the ministry stressed.

Türkiye will continue to work to ensure that those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice in international courts, it said.

2108 GMT — Yemen Houthis say attacked two ships in the Red Sea

Yemen's Houthis have said they targeted two tankers in the Red Sea with missiles and drones after a British security agency reported several attacks in the troubled waterway.

In a statement on social media platform X, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree identified the two ships as BENTLEY I, a Panama-flagged oil tanker, and the CHIOS LION, a Liberia-flagged crude oil tanker.

The BENTLEY I was attacked with "drone boats, unmanned aerial vehicles, and ballistic missiles", while the CHIOS LION was targeted with uncrewed surface vessels, Saree said.

They were targeted because their owners had used Israeli ports, according to the spokesman.

For our live updates from Monday, July 15, 2024, click here.