Live blog: Lebanon closes Beirut schools for two days amid Israeli attacks

Sunday, November 17, 2024

1939 GMT –– Lebanon's Education Minister Abbas Halabi has announced that schools and higher educational institutions in Beirut and surrounding areas would close for two days after Israeli strikes hit the city centre.

In a statement, Halabi announced "the closure of official and private educational institutions and private higher education institutions" in Beirut and several nearby areas on Monday and Tuesday in favour of remote learning, and urged principals and directors to "exercise caution".

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1941 GMT –– Lebanon says new Israeli strike on central Beirut kills two

Lebanon has said an Israeli strike on central Beirut's Mar Elias district killed two people, the second such raid targeting the capital after an earlier strike killed a Hezbollah official.

"Israeli warplanes launched a strike on the Mar Elias area," the official National News Agency said of a densely packed residential and shopping district that also houses people displaced by the conflict.

The health ministry said the strike killed two people and wounded 13, raising an earlier toll of one dead and nine wounded.

1841 GMT –– Two more Israeli troops killed in northern Gaza clashes, army says

An Israeli officer and soldier were killed in clashes in northern Gaza, the army has said.

A military statement said that the two troops were from the Kfir Brigade's 90th Battalion.

The new fatalities brought the Israeli military deaths to 798, while 5,365 others were injured since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict last year, according to military figures released by the army.

1724 GMT –– Death toll in Lebanon from Israel's brutal war rises to 3,481

Israeli attacks have killed 29 people and wounded 122 on Saturday, bringing the tolls since October last year to 3,481 fatalities and 14,786 injuries, the Lebanese health ministry has reported.

1715 GMT –– Türkiye denies Israeli President Herzog's airspace request

Türkiye has denied Israeli President Isaac Herzog's request to use its airspace for his flight to attend the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital.

Officials confirmed that Israeli authorities submitted the request for Herzog’s plane to traverse Turkish airspace en route to the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference. However, Turkish authorities declined his request.

On Saturday, Herzog cancelled his participation in the conference, citing “security concerns,” according to a statement from his office.

1703 GMT –– Spain says destruction, death 'must stop' in Middle East

Spain’s foreign minister has urged an end to the destruction and death in the Middle East, demanding compliance with international law as Israel stepped up bombings in both Lebanon and Gaza.

"The intensification of bombings in Beirut and Gaza, which we condemn, is leaving dozens of victims. The destruction and death must stop in the Middle East," Jose Manuel Albares said on X.

"We demand a ceasefire and compliance with international law," Albares said, reiterating Madrid's stance on the protection of civilians.

1621 GMT –– South Africa strongly condemns Israeli attack on Syria

South Africa has said over the weekend that it condemns in the strongest possible terms Israel’s continued acts of aggression on Syria.

“The recent attack of 14 November 2024 in the Damascus suburb of Mazzeh, in proximity to the South African Embassy, other diplomatic missions and United Nations offices, is a blatant disregard of international law and the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

1602 GMT –– Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli attack on UN-run school in Gaza City

Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned an Israeli air strike that killed at least 10 people at a UN-run school in Gaza City.

At least 20 other people were wounded in Saturday’s attack that targeted the Abu Assi School, where hundreds of civilians have sheltered in the Shati refugee camp, according to the Civil Defence Service.

In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry denounced “in the strongest terms Israel’s systematic targeting of UNRWA, its facilities, and its workers.”

1541 GMT –– Two Lebanese soldiers killed by Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon

Two Lebanese soldiers have been killed by an Israeli air strike that directly targeted a military post in the town of Mari in southern Lebanon, the army said.

A military statement said Israeli forces directly hit a military centre in Mari in the Hasbaya area, killing one soldier and injuring three others, including one initially in critical condition.

A statement shortly afterwards said that another soldier had died of his injuries.

1240 GMT –– Israeli strike on Beirut reportedly kills Hezbollah media chief

An Israeli strike on a building in a densely populated district of Beirut has killed Hezbollah's media relations chief Mohammad Afif, two Lebanese security sources said, though there was no immediate confirmation from Hezbollah.

The strike hit the Ras al-Nabaa neighbourhood where many people displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs by the Israeli bombardment had been seeking refuge.

The security sources said it struck a building where the offices of the Ba'ath Party are located, and the head of the party in Lebanon, Ali Hijazi, told Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed that Afif was in the building.

1206 GMT –– Lebanon says at least one dead, three wounded in Israeli strike on Beirut

Lebanon's health ministry has said at least one person has been killed and three others wounded in an Israeli strike on a central Beirut district.

The "Israeli enemy strike on Ras al-Nabaa led to a preliminary toll of one dead and three others wounded", a ministry statement said, adding that work was ongoing to remove rubble from the site of the strike.

1141 GMT –– Pope calls for Gaza 'genocide' investigation

Pope Francis for the first time tackled claims of Israel's ongoing "genocide" of Palestinians in Gaza in a forthcoming book, urging further investigation into whether Israel's actions meet the definition.

Titled "Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World", the book includes his latest and most forthright intervention into the more than year-long war.

"According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide," the pontiff wrote in extracts published on Sunday in Italy's La Stampa daily.

1048 GMT –– Israel reports rocket, drone attacks from Lebanon, Iraq

Israel reported the launch of rockets from Lebanon and a drone from Iraq as regional tension continues to escalate over Tel Aviv’s ongoing war on Gaza.

Israeli Channel 7 said that 15 rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Acre and Haifa Bay in northern Israel.

The Israeli army said its forces intercepted a drone fired from the east, a term used by the military to describe attacks from Iraq.

1027 GMT –– Death toll from Israel's onslaught in Gaza rises to 43,846

At least 43,846 Palestinians were killed and 103,740 injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since it began on October 7, 2023, Gaza's health ministry said.

1026 GMT –– Gaza civil defence says 34 dead, many missing after Israeli air strike

Gaza's civil defence agency has said 34 people were killed, including children, and dozens were missing after an Israeli air strike hit a building in the Palestinian territory's north.

After the strike, 34 bodies were pulled from the rubble of the five-storey residential building in Beit Lahia, "including children and women", civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said, updating a previous figure of 26.

1013 GMT –– Three Israelis arrested over flash bomb attack on Netanyahu’s home in northern Israel

Israeli police arrested three people over the launch of flash bombs on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in northern Israel.

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said one of the arrested suspects is a senior reserve officer, a brigadier general, who has been active in protests against Netanyahu's government over the past two years.

0912 GMT –– Death toll from Israeli strike on Gaza's Beit Lahia rises to 72

At least 72 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes Sunday morning on residential buildings in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, the government media office says.

0717 GMT –– Israeli warplanes target vicinity of two churches, hospital in southern Beirut

Israeli warplanes targeted civilian and religious sites in Lebanon, official media reported.

An Israeli air strike targeted the vicinity of Our Lady of Salvation Church near Saint George Hospital in the Hadath area of Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Lebanese News Agency reported.

Another Israeli air strike targeted a 12-story residential building near the Mar Michael Church in the Chiyah neighbourhood of southern Beirut.

There are no immediate reports of casualties, but the air strikes caused extensive damage to nearby structures.

0655 GMT –– Israel bombs south Beirut after Hezbollah targets Haifa area

An Israeli strike hit south Beirut where occupation forces said it targeted Hezbollah, hours after the Iran-backed group said it fired on Israeli bases around the city of Haifa.

The bombardment came after Israel's military reported a "heavy rocket barrage" on Haifa late Saturday and said a synagogue was hit, wounding two civilians.

0631 GMT –– Israel bombs Beit Lahia, north Gaza, killing 50 Palestinians

Israeli forces have bombed a 5-storey house in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. At least 50 Palestinians were killed, while several others were missing under rubble, medical sources told Anadolu.

0606 GMT –– 16 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes on southern Gaza

At least 16 Palestinians were killed and several others injured in Israeli air strikes targeting homes in different parts of Gaza in the morning.

Medical sources told Anadolu that 11 Palestinians were killed when two homes in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza were struck by Israeli warplanes.

Separately, five Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on an area east of Rafah in southern Gaza, they added.

Meanwhile, witnesses in northern Gaza reported that the Israeli army has demolished dozens of homes in the Al-Fakhoura neighborhood west of the Jabalia refugee camp.

0548 GMT –– Another Israeli soldier killed in northern Gaza

The Israeli army announced that one of its soldiers was killed during clashes in northern Gaza.

In a statement, the army identified the soldier as Staff Sergeant (Res.) Idan Keinan, 21, was killed by sniper fire in Jabalia on Saturday.

The latest death brings the total number of Israeli soldiers killed to 796 since the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza following a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, according to casualty figures released by the army.

2229 GMT –– Thousands protest in Israel to demand hostage swap deal with Palestinians

Thousands of protesters demonstrated Saturday across Israel to demand a hostage swap deal with Palestinian factions in Gaza, according to media reports.

Israelis, including families of hostages held in Gaza, demonstrated in several areas of Tel Aviv and surrounding regions, demanding an immediate deal to release the hostages, said Israeli broadcasting authority, KAN.​​​​​​​

“A government that sends its children to die in Hamas tunnels does not deserve to remain in power," a relative of one of the captives in Gaza said at a news conference during the protest near the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper

"How can we reach a ceasefire in the north while our children are dying in the tunnels? They are trying to forget the hostages and are working around the clock to cover up their failure," he said.

Other areas, including the Karkur Junction and the city of Haifa in the north, also saw protests, with hundreds demanding the deal, according to the newspaper.

2213 GMT — Israeli air strike kills family of six in Lebanon's Baalbek

An Israeli air strike on a home has killed an entire family of six in the Baalbek district of eastern Lebanon.

Israeli warplanes targeted the house of Ali Qasim in the town of Khraibeh, Lebanon's National News Agency reported, adding that the strike destroyed the house, killing Qasim, his wife, and their four children.

The agency also reported that the air strike caused significant damage to neighbouring buildings, and rescue operations to remove the rubble were still underway at the site.

2209 GMT — Protesters in Sweden denounce Western arms support to Israel

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Stockholm to protest Israeli assaults in Gaza and Lebanon, condemning Western governments for supplying weapons to Israel despite civilian casualties.

The rally, held in the Odenplan area, was organised by several civil society groups and drew 2,000 participants.

Protesters expressed solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon, criticising Western nations for complicity in Israeli actions.

2200 GMT — Israeli air strikes targeting houses in Tyre, southern Lebanon kill four

At least four people were killed and several others injured in an Israeli air strike targeting homes in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's National News Agency reported that Israel intensified air strikes on cities and towns in the Tyre district, starting earlier and continuing into the evening.

The air strikes on Borj Rahhal destroyed several homes, killing two people and injuring several others, said the agency.

2137 GMT — Israel orders illegal evacuations in Beirut’s southern suburb ahead of airstrikes

The Israeli army ordered residents of three neighbourhoods in southern Beirut to leave the areas ahead of air strikes.

A statement ordered residents to stay 500 metres (1,640 feet) away from several buildings in the neighbourhoods of Hadath Beirut, Haret Hreik and Borj al-Barajneh.​​​​​​​

It attached a map of the targeted buildings, saying it would act against what it called Hezbollah assets and interests in the area.

2134 GMT — Israeli air strikes pummel Beirut's southern suburb for 3rd time in single day

Israeli warplanes launched a new wave of air strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut.

It is the third wave of air strikes on the area since Saturday morning, and the seventh since early Thursday.

Fighter jets carried out intense air strikes on the Haret Hreik, Borj al-Barajneh and near the Lycee Pilote school in the Hadath area, according to the Lebanese state media.

The strikes came shortly after an illegal order by the Israeli army to the residents in buildings in those areas to immediately evacuate in preparation for the bombing campaign.

2133 GMT — Israel attacks kill seven more in Lebanon, taking death toll to 3,452

The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least seven people were killed in Israeli attacks across Lebanon the previous day, bringing the death toll since last year to 3,452.

It added that 65 others were wounded during the past day, bringing the number of injuries to 14,664 since October 2023.

2129 GMT — Israeli soldier from Golani Brigade killed in southern Lebanon: Israeli army

One Israeli army soldier died during ongoing battles in southern Lebanon, the army said.

The Israeli army identified the slain soldier as Ori Nisanovich, 21, who was killed in a battle in southern Lebanon.

The death brings the number of Israeli personnel died since the launch of Israeli onslaught on Gaza last October, which later extended to Lebanon, to 795, according to military figures.

2121 GMT — Injuries reported after rockets launched from Lebanon hit northern Israel

At least five people were injured after rockets were launched from southern Lebanon toward Haifa in northern Israel, the Israeli national ambulance service MDA reported.

"MDA teams are applying medical treatment and evacuating 5 victims who were mildly injured on their way to shelter," it said on X.

The Israeli military announced in a statement that several buildings in Haifa were hit by rockets fired from Lebanon.

"The Air Force detected about 10 rockets launched from Lebanese territory towards Haifa, hitting several buildings directly," it said, and indicated that the strikes caused considerable property damage.

2121 GMT — Italy sends 15 tonnes of humanitarian aid bound for Gaza

Italy announced that a special flight departed from the city of Pisa, Tuscany, carrying over 15 tonnes of humanitarian aid bound for Palestinians in Gaza.

"Italy is doing and will continue to do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza," said Defence Minister Guido Crosetto.

2108 GMT — US envoy Hochstein expected to be in Israel after Lebanon visit for ceasefire efforts

US envoy Amos Hochstein is expected to arrive in Tel Aviv next Wednesday after a visit to Lebanon as part of efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, the Israeli broadcasting authority KAN reported.

Biden's adviser will arrive Wednesday after completing a visit to Lebanon, as part of US efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, it said.

KAN quoted unnamed political sources who said, "Tel Aviv expects significant progress in ceasefire talks with Lebanon during the next week, coinciding with Hochstein's visit."

2049 GMT — Several detained at pro-Palestinian protest in Berlin

German police detained several demonstrators during a pro-Palestinian protest in Berlin.

More than 1,000 people gathered in the German capital to express solidarity with Palestinians and protest Israel's continuing assaults on Gaza.

Carrying Palestinian flags, the crowd marched with banners reading: "This is an anti-colonial struggle for freedom", "Hands off Gaza and Lebanon", "Today no one can say 'I didn't know'", and "Stop the genocide in Gaza".

2030 GMT — Israeli army is in the deepest point in Lebanon since its invasion started: Lebanese media

Israeli army reached their deepest point in Lebanon since they invaded six weeks ago before pulling back Saturday after battles with Hezbollah, Lebanese state media reported.

The clashes and further Israeli bombardment came as Lebanese and Hezbollah officials study a draft proposal presented by the US on ending Tel Aviv's war.

"Israeli troops captured a strategic hill in the southern village of Chamaa, about 5 kilometres (3 miles) from the border," the Israeli state-run National News Agency reported.

It said Israeli troops blew up the Shrine of Shimon the Prophet in Chamaa as well as several homes, but that could not be verified.

Israel's military did not respond to requests for comment but said in a statement its troops continue "limited, localized" operations in southern Lebanon.

2023 GMT — Grenades fired at Netanyahu's home

A flare and two grenades were fired toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Caesarea, northern Israel, prompting a police investigation, Anadolu reported quoting Israeli Army Radio.

The Israeli police and Shin Bet security agency reported that the grenades landed in the courtyard of the house around 07:30 p.m. local time (1730 GMT).

Netanyahu and his family were not present during the incident.

2022 GMT — Israeli strikes kill at least 38 more Palestinians across Gaza

At least 38 Palestinians were killed and several others injured in Israeli air strikes across northern and southern Gaza on Saturday.

Medical sources confirmed that an air strike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, caused multiple casualties. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals, including Al-Ahli Baptist and Kamal Adwan, for urgent treatment.

Eyewitnesses reported heavy artillery shelling by Israeli forces in Beit Lahia and Jabalia, with dozens of homes destroyed in western Jabalia.

The area was rocked by loud explosions, and thick plumes of smoke billowed into the sky, signalling the intensity of Israel's ongoing military offensives.

2021 GMT — Hezbollah targeted Israeli military bases in and near Haifa

Hezbollah said it targeted five military bases in and near north Israel's Haifa, after the Israeli army said two people were injured after a rocket attack hit a synagogue in the city.

Hezbollah members targeted a "technical base", the "Haifa naval base", the Stella Maris naval base and two other bases near Haifa, one of them home to "an Israeli enemy army gas station", with simultaneous "salvos of missiles", the Lebanese group said in a statement.

1813 GMT — Israeli president cancels trip to Azerbaijan citing security concerns

Israeli President Isaac Herzog decided to cancel his participation in the COP29 climate conference in the Azerbaijani capital Baku due to "security concerns", his office said.

"In light of the security situation assessment and for security concerns, President Herzog has decided to cancel his trip to Azerbaijan to attend the climate summit," a statement report Israeli Channel 12 said.

The statement did not provide details on the "security concerns."

For our live updates from Saturday, November 16, 2024, click here.