Middle East latest: Large airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs as Israel expands northern Gaza operations
A number of large airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early Thursday, together with one on a website adjoining to Lebanon’s solely worldwide airport. The Israeli navy had issued an evacuation discover for the location, saying there have been Hezbollah amenities there, with out giving extra particulars.
Additionally Thursday, the Israeli navy introduced it expanded its month-old ground operation in northern Gaza to incorporate a part of Beit Lahiya, a city that has been closely bombed because the earliest days of the warfare, the place Israel says Hamas militants have regrouped.
Hezbollah chief Naim Kassem mentioned in a speech aired Wednesday that the Lebanese militant group is open for cease-fire negotiations solely as soon as “the enemy stops its aggression.” His speech marked the 40-day mourning interval since former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in Beirut.
Hezbollah started firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with the Hamas militant group within the Gaza Strip. Because the battle erupted, more than 3,000 people have been killed and a few 13,600 wounded in Lebanon, the Well being Ministry reported.
The Israel-Hamas war started after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 individuals — largely civilians — and abducting 250 others. Israel’s navy response in Gaza has killed greater than 43,000 individuals, Palestinian well being officers say. They don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, however say greater than half of these killed have been ladies and kids.
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JERUSALEM — The Israeli navy says it’s going to permit 300 truckloads of humanitarian assist provided by the United Arab Emirates to enter the Gaza Strip.
That’s lower than the 350 trucks per day that the USA has mentioned it desires to see enter the war-ravaged territory.
COGAT, the navy physique accountable for civilian affairs in Gaza, mentioned the help was introduced in by sea and unloaded on the Israeli port of Ashdod, simply north of Gaza. It mentioned the cargo, which incorporates meals, water, medical gear, shelter and hygiene provides, could be inspected earlier than being trucked into Gaza.
The quantity of assist coming into Gaza dropped off dramatically in October as Israel launched one other offensive within the territory’s north. By the top of October, a mean of simply 71 vehicles a day have been coming into Gaza, in accordance with the newest U.N. figures.
The US has warned Israel to ramp up the entry of assist by mid-November, saying failure to take action may result in a discount in navy assist.
Israel says it permits loads of assist to enter Gaza and blames U.N. companies and different assist teams for not distributing it. Humanitarian teams say their efforts are hobbled by Israeli restrictions, ongoing preventing and the breakdown of regulation and order.
TYRE, Lebanon — Dozens of Lebanese have been laid to relaxation Thursday following an Israeli airstrike that hit an condo constructing within the city of Barja, simply north of the port metropolis of Sidon.
The Lebanese Civil Protection mentioned they pulled at the very least 30 our bodies and stays following late Tuesday’s strike.
Among the many killed have been many members of the Basma household, who had fled depper into southern Lebanon for security. Relations who survived discovered shelter elsewhere or weren’t within the constructing on the time.
“My sister was killed last week, and now my brother, my nephew, and my other nephew with members of his family,” mentioned Hassan Basma.
Close by, Khadija Daramsis, who washes the our bodies of the lifeless earlier than burial in accordance with Islamic custom, discovered herself having to do the identical for her nieces. She had simply seen them final week.
“They told me they were scared of the strikes and then they were struck,” Daramsis mentioned as she wept. “What did they have to do with anything? Are they resistance? Are they Hezbollah?”
Israel says its strikes goal Hezbollah militants or the group’s property. The strike in Barja got here with out warning.
Khalil Basma says the continued warfare and Israel’s navy escalation is the worst he’s seen in Lebanon.
“Knowing the wars we have gone through, this is regretfully the first time we see such crimes,” he mentioned. “May God protect everyone and end this crisis.”
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state information company says an Israeli drone strike has hit a automobile at a military checkpoint within the southern port metropolis of Sidon, killing three individuals and wounding a number of others together with U.N. peacekeepers.
The Nationwide Information Company mentioned one of many wounded was taken to the hospital whereas the peacekeepers have been handled for minor accidents on the scene of the assault on the northern entrance of Sidon, Lebanon’s third-largest metropolis. There was no rapid info on the identities of those that died.
The convoy of peacekeepers occurred to be driving close by when the airstrike occurred, in accordance with the report. A spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping power identified as UNIFIL didn’t reply to messages despatched by The Related Press.
A drone strike earlier Thursday hit a automobile on a foremost freeway simply exterior Beirut, killing one girl, in accordance with native media.
PARIS — France’s prime diplomat has urged motion within the coming weeks towards a political answer to the wars within the Mideast.
Visiting Israel, French International Minister Jean-Noel Barrot mentioned Thursday that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has ″by no means hid his want to finish the interminable wars within the Middle East.”
“So the conditions seem right to me to move in the coming weeks toward a diplomatic solution to the current conflict. Because force alone cannot suffice to guarantee Israel’s security,” he said.
Barrot called for a halt to Israel’s bombings of northern Gaza, calling them contrary to Israel’s long-term interests.
″The Palestinian question will not disappear, regardless of what American administration is in office,″ Barrot told reporters.
He also warned Iran against further escalation, and called for a diplomatic solution for Lebanon. He met his Israeli counterpart and heads next to the Palestinian territories for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says its alliance of militant groups opposed to Israel remains strong despite the killing of many of their senior leaders.
“God willing, the world will see a day when the Zionist regime will be defeated by them,” Iranian state TV reported the leader as saying Thursday.
The report quoted Khamenei as saying that Hamas and other “leaders of the resistance” are “still fighting” even though some of their leaders have been killed by intensified Israel airstrikes.
Israeli strikes and military operations in recent months have killed the top leaders of both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as many of their senior commanders.
Both groups are part of the so-called Axis of Resistance, which includes other Iran-backed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Iran and its allies have repeatedly traded fire with Israel and the United States over the past year following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, raising fears of a regional war.
JERUSALEM — Israel says it has reached an agreement to purchase 25 advanced F-15 fighter jets from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing for $5.2 billion.
The Defense Ministry said the agreement, concluded Wednesday, was part of a broader aid package approved by the U.S. government earlier this year. Deliveries will begin in 2031, and there’s an option for the purchase of an additional 25 aircraft.
The United States has provided crucial military support to Israel as it has battled Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and traded fire with Iran.
The Biden administration recently warned Israel that if it did not facilitate the delivery of more aid to Gaza, U.S. laws may force the administration to curb some of its military support.
The State Division mentioned this week that Israel had yet to sufficiently improve aid deliveries forward of a mid-November deadline.
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to finish the wars within the Middle East without saying how he plans to do it. He was a staunch supporter of Israel throughout his earlier time period but additionally cultivated shut ties with Arab Gulf leaders.
RAMALLAH, West Financial institution — The Al Jazeera information community says the Israeli navy has prolonged the order shutting down its bureau within the occupied West Financial institution.
Walid al-Omari, the network’s bureau chief, said Israeli troops raided the office in Ramallah again early Thursday and posted a notice extending the closure for an additional 45 days.
Israel had previously raided the office and shut it down on Sept. 22. Earlier this year, authorities took the rare step of barring the Qatar-based network from operating in Israel.
Israel accuses Al Jazeera of serving as a mouthpiece for Hamas, an allegation denied by the community. Final month, Israel accused six Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza of being Palestinian militants, which the community additionally denied.
Al-Jazeera has provided near 24-hour coverage from inside Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, with a heavy focus on the war’s toll among Palestinian civilians. Several of its correspondents have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces.
It also routinely airs unedited Hamas videos showing attacks on Israeli forces and hostages speaking under duress.
Israel’s parliament passed a law early Thursday that would allow it to deport family members of Palestinian attackers, including the country’s own citizens, to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip or other locations.
The law, which was championed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his far-right allies, passed with a 61-41 vote but is likely to be challenged in court.
It would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed east Jerusalem who knew about their family members’ attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.”
JERUSALEM — The Israeli navy has expanded its month-old ground operation in northern Gaza to a city that has been closely bombed because the earliest days of the warfare.
The military said in a statement Thursday that “troops started to operate” in the area of Beit Lahiya after intelligence indicated the presence of militants there. Hamas has repeatedly regrouped in areas where the military already conducted major operations.
The town in the northwestern corner of Gaza was among the first targets of the ground invasion launched over a year ago, after Hamas’ attack into southern Israel. The northern third of the territory has been encircled by Israeli forces since then.
Israel launched another major offensive in nearby Jabaliya, a decades-old urban refugee camp, in early October. It has sharply restricted the amount of aid entering northern Gaza and ordered a full evacuation. Tens of thousands have fled to nearby Gaza City in the newest mass displacement of the warfare.
BEIRUT — Several large airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early Thursday, including one on a site adjacent to Lebanon’s only international airport.
The Israeli military had earlier issued an evacuation notice for the site, saying that there were Hezbollah facilities there, without giving more details.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Beirut’s airport has not been directly targeted in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, and national air carrier Middle East Airlines has continued to operate commercial flights.
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