Live blog: UN wants probe into deadly Israeli strike near Beirut hospital

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

1556 GMT — The UN rights chief said he was "appalled" by a deadly Israeli strike near a south Beirut hospital on Monday, demanding a "prompt and thorough investigation".

"I am appalled," United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement, insisting that "the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law concerning the protection of civilians must be respected".

The UN rights chief insisted that "any incidents which affect hospitals must be subjected to a prompt and thorough investigation".

"I repeat the UN's call for an immediate cessation to hostilities, and remind all parties that the protection of civilians must be the absolute top priority."

Turk stressed that "in the conduct of military operations, all feasible precautions must be taken to avoid, and in any event to minimise, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects".

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1659 GMT — Palestinian boy killed by Israeli army fire in occupied West Bank

A Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli army gunfire this evening during a raid in the city of Nablus, occupied northern West Bank.

Abdullah Jamal Hawash, 11, succumbed to critical wounds sustained from the Israeli army's gunfire, a Palestinian Health Ministry statement said.

1610 GMT — At least 700 Palestinians killed in northern Gaza

At least 700 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing offensive in northern Gaza, resistance group Hamas said.

"The Israeli occupation is committing systematic crimes in northern Gaza as part of acts of genocide, including executions, killing civilians, arbitrary detention, forced evacuation, displacement, starvation, and attacking hospitals," Osama Hamdan, top Hamas representative in Lebanon, said in a recorded speech.

He said the death toll in northern Gaza "does not include those under the rubble or those who can’t be reached by ambulances."

"The Palestinian people have the right to make their own choices, and they are the ones who will determine the details of the post-war era, not Israel and the US," he added.

1606 GMT — Netanyahu meets Blinken, urges political, security changes in Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said there was a need for a security and political change in Lebanon that "would allow displaced Israelis to return safely to their homes".

1431 GMT — Death toll from Israeli strike on Beirut hospital climbs to 18

At least 18 people were killed, including four children, and 60 were wounded in an Israeli strike on Monday near Beirut's main government hospital, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

The director of the hospital said that due to the Israeli attack, nearby debris, probably from heavy ammunition, had caused damage to the medical facility.

While there were no casualties among the staff, efforts to rescue people in front of the hospital were ongoing, the director, Jihad Saadeh, added.

1416 GMT — Palestine accuses Israel of using starvation as weapon against children

Palestinian authorities accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon against civilians, especially children by denying them food, baby milk, and nutritional supplements,” it said.

"More than a quarter of a million aid trucks were prevented by the Israeli army since the start of its genocidal war in October 2023," Gaza’s government media office said in a statement.

"The occupation army continues to reinforce the starvation policy, especially in northern Gaza," it added. "This is a crime against humanity," the media office said, denouncing international silence to "this brutal crime being committed against Palestinians in Gaza."

1413 GMT — Death toll from Israeli fire in Lebanon reaches 1,552 since September 23

At least 1,552 people have been killed in Lebanon due to Israeli attacks, as Israel has launched a massive air campaign since September 23, according to an AFP tally.

1346 GMT — Lebanese hospital denies Israeli claims of hiding Hezbollah funds

A Lebanese hospital in Beirut has denied Israeli claims of hiding funds for Hezbollah amid a massive Israeli air campaign on Lebanon.

The hospital’s director, Mazen Alameh, called the Israeli claims "shocking," saying: "We are a well-known private hospital in Lebanon. We have no party or religious affiliation."

He called for "anyone" to visit the hospital to verify the accuracy of the Israeli claims. "This hospital was built 42 years ago. It’s impossible to have a bunker or a hideout under it," he stressed.

1256 GMT — 25 Israeli soldiers injured in clashes in southern Lebanon: military

At least 25 more Israeli soldiers were injured in clashes in southern Lebanon in the last 24 hours, the military said.

Military figures released by the army showed that at least 750 soldiers have been killed and 5,043 others injured since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on October 7, 2023.

1231 GMT — Yemen's Houthis target Israeli military base in Tel Aviv

Yemen's Houthis said they had targeted an Israeli military base in Tel Aviv using ballistic missiles in solidarity with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

1240 GMT — Hezbollah rules out negotiations during fighting with Israel

Lebanon's Hezbollah movement said there would be no negotiations while fighting continued with Israel and it claimed sole responsibility for a drone attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's holiday home.

The group "takes full and sole responsibility" for targeting Netanyahu's house, Mohammad Afif, head of the Iranian-backed militant group's media office, told a press conference in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Hezbollah also for the first time acknowledged that Israel had captured some of its fighters since it launched a ground offensive in south Lebanon, and said that Israel was responsible for their wellbeing.

1231 GMT — Yemen's Houthis target Israeli military base in Tel Aviv

Yemen's Houthis said they had targeted an Israeli military base in Tel Aviv using ballistic missiles in solidarity with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

1053 GMT — One Israeli soldier killed, another injured amid Gaza, Lebanon assaults

An Israeli soldier was killed and another injured as Tel Aviv continued its onslaught on Gaza and Lebanon, the military said.

A military statement said the soldier died in an “operational vehicle accident” near the border with Gaza. A reserve soldier was also seriously injured in clashes in southern Lebanon, the statement added.

1048 GMT — WHO ‘concerned’ over ‘escalating violence, lack of access’ to civilians in Gaza

The World Health Organization (WHO) raised concerns over the growing violence and restrictions on humanitarian access to people in northern Gaza.

"We reiterate our call for sustained facilitation of humanitarian missions and ensuring safety for humanitarian staff, and for a ceasefire," the WHO Media Unit told Anadolu in a written statement.

Expressing "grave concern" over the safety of patients and health care workers amid escalating violence and evacuation orders affecting the Kamal Adwan, al-Awda, and Indonesian hospitals in northern Gaza, the UN agency urged all measures to protect civilians, health care workers, hospitals, and ambulances.

0941 GMT — Death toll in Gaza tops 42,700 as UN says staff starving

At least 115 more Palestinians have been killed in relentless Israeli attacks in Gaza, pushing up the overall death toll since last year to 42,718, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave has said.

Some 100,282 others have also been wounded in the yearlong, ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza – crossing the 100,000 mark – according to a ministry statement.

“The Israeli occupation has committed seven massacres of families in the last 48 hours, resulting in 115 deaths and 487 injuries,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the UNRWA chief Lazzarini said staff in northern Gaza 'cannot find food, water, medical care, and smell of death everywhere as bodies left lying on roads, under rubble'.

0936 GMT — War knocked human development in Gaza back to 1955, UNDP says

Israel's war in Gaza has devastated the Palestinian economy, which is now 35 percent smaller than it was at the start of Israel's invasion a year ago, while development levels in Gaza itself have collapsed to the level of the 1950s, the UN's development agency has said.

Launching a new study on the socioeconomic impacts of the war, which Palestinian officials say has claimed more than 42,500 lives, the UNDP's Chitose Noguchi said that by some measures the region's poverty level was now approaching 100 percent as a result of the disruption, with unemployment now at 80 percent.

"The state of Palestine is experiencing unprecedented levels of setbacks," she said over a crackling line from Deir Al Balah. "For Gaza, reversing development by an estimated 70 years to 1955."

0836 GMT — Hezbollah says hit Israeli tank in south Lebanon

Hezbollah has said it hit an Israeli tank in south Lebanon, also saying it faced an Israeli infiltration attempt and clashed with troops in the area a day before.

Hezbollah fighters targeted "a Merkava tank as it advanced" near the south Lebanon border village of Taybeh, "causing it to catch fire", the group said in a statement, adding that fighters had clashed with Israeli troops on the village's outskirts on Monday.

0758 GMT — At least 13 dead, 57 wounded after Israeli strike near Beirut hospital, ministry says

At least 13 people have been killed and 57 wounded in an Israeli strike near Hariri hospital, Beirut's main government hospital, the health ministry has said.

0707 GMT — US Secretary of State Blinken arrives in Israel to revive ceasefire talks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel for meetings with Israeli leaders, the first stop of a wider Middle East tour to launch another push for an elusive ceasefire.

The top US diplomat's latest trip comes as the Israeli military has intensified its campaign in the Palestinian enclave as well as in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

0654 GMT — Israeli attacks kill 20 more Palestinians in northern Gaza

At least 20 Palestinians have been killed in two separate Israeli army attacks in northern Gaza, sources told Anadolu.

According to a medical source, 12 Palestinians were killed and others injured in Israeli artillery shelling on the displaced in Beit Lahia.

Witnesses said drones are surrounding the Khalifa Bin Zayed School, with officials threatening to kill them if they do not evacuate.

Another medical source said eight more Palestinians were killed in Israeli artillery shelling on the Al Alami area in the Jabalia refugee camp.

0621 GMT — Arab League to convene in emergency meeting to review ways for ending Gaza genocide

The Arab League is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting at the level of permanent representatives to discuss ways and actions to stop Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza.

The Arab League said in a statement that an emergency meeting to convene on Tuesday in its headquarters in Cairo to discuss the moves to end the Israeli crimes and genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, especially attempts to displace Palestinians from northern Gaza.

0555 GMT — Israel forcibly displaces hundreds of Palestinians from northern Gaza

The Israeli military has forcibly displaced hundreds of Palestinians from shelters in the town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, threatening them with weapons.

According to accounts from the displaced civilians, Israeli soldiers, who have been intensively attacking and besieging northern Gaza for at least 17 days, raided a shelter near the Indonesian Hospital where Palestinians had taken refuge.

The troops detained a large number of Palestinian men staying there.

0532 GMT — Israel kills paramedic on his way to help wounded in Gaza

Israeli forces have targeted and killed a healthcare worker who was en route to assist wounded Palestinians in northern Gaza, an area under tight siege and heavy bombardment where evacuations have not been allowed.

Due to the severe blockade imposed by Israel, rescue teams in northern Gaza struggle to reach devastated areas, leaving the injured unable to be evacuated.

0517 GMT — Hezbollah says targeted 'naval base' in Israel's Haifa

Lebanon's Hezbollah group has said it launched rockets at a "naval base" near the northern Israeli city of Haifa, shortly after it said it targeted positions in Tel Aviv's suburbs.

A "salvo of rockets" targeted the "Stella Maris naval base northwest of Haifa", the Iran-backed group said in a statement, shortly after saying it launched rockets at two positions "in the suburbs of Tel Aviv".

0514 GMT — Hezbollah says it bombed the Glilot base of the military intelligence unit 8200

Hezbollah has said it bombed the Glilot base of the military intelligence unit 8200 located in the suburbs of Tel Aviv with a missile salvo.

0457 GMT — Air raid sirens sound in Tel Aviv, Reuters witness says

Air raid sirens have sounded in Israel's Tel Aviv according to a Reuters witness.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

2343 GMT — Blinken heads again for Middle East to push for Gaza truce

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left for the Middle East Monday on a new push for an elusive Gaza ceasefire two weeks before US elections.

It will be the 11th trip to the Middle East by the top US diplomat since war broke out a year ago.

US President Joe Biden, who personally laid out the ceasefire plan on May 31 that would also free hostages from Gaza, has seen 'new hope' since Israel last week killed Hamas politburo chief Yahya Sinwar.

Biden, speaking to reporters on a visit to Germany, said he called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him and tell him that Blinken would head to the region.

"I told him that we were really pleased with his actions and, further, that now is the time to move on — move on, move towards a ceasefire," Biden said.

2329 GMT — Israel proposes 'limited' ceasefire without withdrawal from Gaza: Report

Israel has presented a ceasefire proposal that does not include its army's withdrawal from occupied Gaza, local media reported.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) said the proposal includes a temporary ceasefire in exchange for a hostage swap.

KAN added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, to Cairo to discuss the proposal with Egyptian officials.

Israel's Walla news website said that Bar presented a proposal to a Cabinet meeting received from Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, the head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service (GIS), to initiate ceasefire talks.

Walla noted that the new Egyptian offer includes the general outlines of a small deal with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, under which several Israeli captives would be released for a ceasefire lasting a few days.

2125 GMT — Biden 'deeply concerned' about release of secret documents on Israel's possible attack plans

President Joe Biden is "deeply concerned" about the unauthorised release of classified documents on Israel's preparation for a potential attack on Iran, a White House spokesman said.

The Biden administration is still not certain if the classified information was leaked or hacked, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said. Officials don't have any indication at this point of "additional documents like this finding their way into the public domain," he said.

"We're deeply concerned, and the president remains deeply concerned about any leakage of classified information into the public domain. That is not supposed to happen, and it's unacceptable when it does," Kirby said.

2109 GMT — Iran accuses US of 'complicity' in Israel's anticipated attack by providing 'advanced weaponry'

Iran's mission to the UN has expressed serious concerns over the US involvement in a potential Israeli military attack on Iran, accusing Washington of "complicity."

Iran expressed concern in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council presidency about recent remarks made by US President Joe Biden, who disclosed to be aware of Israel's alleged plans to launch an attack on Iran.

"This inflammatory statement is deeply concerning, as it indicates the United States' tacit approval and explicit support for Israel's unlawful military aggression against Iran," the letter stated, emphasising that such rhetoric undermines Washington's repeated claims of supporting "de-escalation in the Middle East."

The letter cited comments made by Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Oct. 18 on X, where he issued a warning: "Anybody with knowledge or understanding of 'how and when Israel was going to attack Iran', and/or providing the means and backing for such folly, should logically be held accountable for any possible causality."

Accusing the US of involvement "through its provision of technical expertise and advanced weaponry, including sophisticated air defence systems, to Israel," the Iranian mission blamed Washington for complicity "in any Israeli aggression against Iran and its consequences."

2105 GMT — Dozens of US lawmakers urge Biden to allow foreign media access in Gaza

Over five dozen US lawmakers have called on US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to push Israel into allowing international journalists to have "unimpeded" access to Gaza.

"We write to you with deep concern regarding the ongoing restrictions on media access to Gaza, which have persisted since the outbreak of hostilities one year ago," the group of 64 lawmakers led by Representative James McGovern wrote in a letter to the president and his top diplomat.

"It is imperative that the United States urge Israel to allow independent access for US and international journalists, in the interest of transparency, accountability, and the fundamental principle of press freedom," they added.

2101 GMT — Arab League chief, Lebanese army commander discuss Israeli aggression on Lebanon

The Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit met with the Lebanese army commander General Joseph Aoun in Beirut to discuss Israeli aggression on Lebanon.

According to a statement by Aoun's office, Aboul-Gheit and Aoun reviewed the general situation in Lebanon in light of the ongoing war.

2053 GMT — Israel kills 4, including children, in southern Beirut strikes

Lebanon's Health Ministry has said four people, including a child, had been killed in Israeli strikes near the country's biggest public hospital close to the southern suburbs of Beirut.

"The Israeli enemy strike near the Hariri Hospital killed, in a preliminary toll, four people, including a child, and injured 24," the ministry said, adding it had caused "significant damage to the hospital".

For our live updates from Monday, October 21, 2024, click here.