BEIRUT: The Israeli military resumed its attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday, targeting a building in the Ghobeiry area a day after hundreds of airstrikes across various regions in Lebanon killed over 550 people, including 50 children.
Tuesday’s operation, which was intended to eliminate Abu Jawad Haraka, the commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah’s missile unit, resulted in the deaths of two people and a further 11, including Iraqis, sustaining injuries, along with the destruction of part of a six-story residential building.
Israeli army radio announced that the airstrike was carried out by F-35 aircraft.
Images circulated from the site of the attack showed human remains on the vehicles parked in front of the targeted building, along with the significant destruction of property.
Further Israeli assaults targeted paramedics associated with the Islamic Health Organization, linked to Hezbollah in the Nabatieh area, as well as the Sajjad food supply establishment, which is also connected to Hezbollah, in Sarein in the Bekaa region.
Following a day of deadly strikes on southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said that the Israeli military would “accelerate the offensive operation today,” and added that “we should not give Hezbollah a rest.”
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firas Abiad reported that hundreds of Israeli airstrikes across various regions of the country on Monday resulted in 558 fatalities, including 50 children.
It marked the most intense airstrikes against Lebanon since Hezbollah initiated operations on the southern front about a year ago.
A UNICEF official spoke of “children missing under rubble.”
The intensity in the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel escalated last week following explosions that targeted pagers and wireless devices used by Hezbollah members and civilian employees.
Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out the attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 39 people and injuries to 2,931 others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The Israeli airstrikes impacted residential areas in the southern regions up to Mount Hermon, as well as the western Bekaa and a significant portion of the villages and towns in central and eastern Bekaa.
The attacks also affected an area adjacent to the archaeological site in Baalbek.
Displaced people who managed to reach Beirut spread out along the roads with their belongings and at the front of mosques, while the Ministry of Education opened public schools to accommodate them.
The Masnaa Border Crossing witnessed severe traffic congestion due to the significant movement of displaced people from Lebanon to Syria, including both Lebanese citizens and Syrian workers.
Heavy traffic jams meanwhile continued on roads in south Beirut.
People remained trapped in their cars without food or water due to the chaos in organizing the flow of tens of thousands of cars, especially between Ghazieh and Sidon, and Sidon and Beirut.
Displaced people expressed concerns about the “absence of state institutions in resolving this tragedy.”
They also lamented the “lack of organizational support from Hezbollah during such critical times, leaving people to face their fate alone.”
The health minister told a press conference that “the number of hospitals that received casualties on Monday reached 54,” noting that “four paramedics lost their lives.”
He mentioned “a significant number of remains that the security forces are working to identify.”
As the Israeli strikes on the neighborhoods of southern Beirut have intensified, an increasing number of people have decided to evacuate their homes, in contrast to the situation in 2006 when Hezbollah instructed residents to leave the area within hours of the onset of Israeli aggression.
Numerous neighborhoods have appeared deserted, with shops, restaurants, and gas stations closed, resulting in an almost complete lack of activity.
Meanwhile, both Arab and foreign airlines have suspended all flights to Beirut until further notice.
Minister of Education Abbas Halabi announced the death of Suzi Kojok, director of Kawthariyet El Seyad Intermediate Public School; Layali Ayach, a teacher at the Ansar Public High School, who was killed along with her husband and their two children; and Zeinab and Fatimah Hreibi, teachers at the Shoukin Public School.
Halabi said the victims had died “following the aggressive Israeli shelling that targeted their houses or killed them while they were carrying out their work at school.”
The state-owned Electricite du Liban announced the death of Farah Kojok, an engineer at the Zahrani thermal power plant who died along with her husband, children, father, mother and sister in an Israeli raid that targeted their home.
The Lebanese TV channel Al-Mayadeen announced the death of journalist Hadi Al-Sayed, who was killed in an Israeli raid that targeted his house in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military again dropped leaflets over southern Lebanon, calling on people to avoid Hezbollah members, following voice messages telling residents to evacuate their houses.
The leaflets said that “whoever stays near Hezbollah members or weapons is putting their life at risk.”
In a series of strikes targeting Israeli outposts, Hezbollah retaliated while affirming that its firepower had not been affected by Israeli attacks.
The group announced that it had “bombarded the Eliakim military camp of the Israeli Northern Command, south of Haifa, with a barrage of Fadi-2 rockets.”
Hezbollah’s operations targeted “the Megiddo Military Airport, west of Afula, with a barrage of Fadi-1 missiles in the first round, and a barrage of Fadi-2 missiles in the second and third rounds.”
It also bombed “the explosive materials factory in the Zikhron area, 60 km from the border, with a barrage of Fadi-2 rockets.”
Hezbollah also targeted “the Amos base — the main logistical support and transportation hub for the northern region — with a salvo of Fadi-1 rockets, as well as the Ramat David base and airport with a salvo of Fadi-2 missiles.”
The group also targeted “the logistical warehouses of the 146th Division at the Naftali base with a rocket salvo, in addition to the Samson base and the Rosh Pina settlement with a rocket salvo.”
According to the Israeli side, Hezbollah’s strikes also reached Safad, while Israel called on “residents in Kiryat Shmona and its surroundings to stay near fortified areas.”
On the diplomatic front, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French presidential envoy, met in Beirut several Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Najib Mikati; Nabih Berri, parliamentary speaker; Gen. Joseph Aoun, commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces; Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces Party; and Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement.
Le Drian said that “France stands by Lebanon in all circumstances,” and added he hoped that “diplomatic calls would lead to a resolution that halts the cycle of violence.”
50 children among hundreds of Lebanese killed in 2 days of Israeli strikes
https://arab.news/gjthn
50 children among hundreds of Lebanese killed in 2 days of Israeli strikes
- Human remains seen on vehicles parked in front of building targeted on Tuesday
- The sources identified the commander who was killed as Ibrahim Qubaisi
Israeli strikes batter Lebanon, killing five medics
- Israel has pushed on with its intense military campaign against Hezbollah, tempering hopes that efforts by a US envoy could lead to an imminent ceasefire
- Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israeli troops east of Khiyam at least four times on Friday
BEIRUT: Israeli strikes battered southern Lebanon and the outskirts of the capital Beirut on Friday, killing at least five medics, as ground troops clashed with Hezbollah fighters in the south.
Israel has pushed on with its intense military campaign against the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, tempering hopes that efforts by a US envoy could lead to an imminent ceasefire.
US mediator Amos Hochstein said earlier this week in Beirut that a truce was “within our grasp.” He traveled on to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz before returning to Washington, according to the news outlet Axios.
His trip aimed to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah along Lebanon’s southern border, which escalated dramatically when Israel ramped up its strikes in late September and sent ground troops into Lebanon on Oct. 1.
Israeli troops have fought Hezbollah in a strip of towns all along the border and this week pushed deeper to the edges of Khiyam, a town some six km (four miles) from the border. Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israeli troops east of Khiyam at least four times on Friday.
Lebanese security sources told Reuters that Israeli troops had also advanced in a string of villages to the west as well. They said Israel was most likely trying to isolate Khiyam ahead of a major attack on the town.
Israeli strikes on two other villages in southern Lebanon killed a total of five medics from a rescue force affiliated with Hezbollah, the Lebanese health ministry said.
The more than 3,500 people killed by Israeli strikes over the last year include more than 200 medics, the health ministry said.
Israel says its aim is to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people evacuated from Israel’s north due to rocket attacks by Hezbollah, which began firing across the border in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Israel also mounted more strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a once densely populated stronghold of Hezbollah.
It issued evacuation orders on the social media platform X for several buildings in the area on Friday. Reuters footage showed one of the strikes appearing to pierce the center of a multi-story building, sending the whole structure toppling in a massive cloud of smoke.
UN reports heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- “We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said
- Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said: “Yes for the moment”
BEIRUT: Israeli troops fought fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters on Friday in different areas in south Lebanon, including a coastal town that is home to the headquarters of UN peacekeepers.
A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL told The Associated Press that they are monitoring “heavy clashes” in the coastal town of Naqoura and the village of Chamaa to the northeast.
UNIFIL’s headquarters are located in Naqoura in Lebanon’s southern edge close to the border with Israel.
“We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said. Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said: “Yes for the moment.”
Several UNIFIL posts have been hit since Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon on Oct. 1, leaving a number of peacekeepers wounded.
The fighting came a day after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military leader, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over their 13-month war in Gaza and the October 2023 attack on Israel respectively.
The warrant marked the first time that a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.
Israel’s war has caused heavy destruction across Gaza, decimated parts of the territory and driven almost the entire population of 2.3 million people from their homes, leaving most dependent on aid to survive.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel has also launched airstrikes against Lebanon after the Hezbollah militant group began firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas’ attack last October. A full-blown war erupted in September after nearly a year of lower-level conflict.
Gaza ministry: hospitals to cut or stop services ‘within 48 hours’ over fuel shortages
- All hospitals in Gaza would have to stop or reduce services “within 48 hours“
GAZA: The Hamas government’s health ministry warned Friday all hospitals in Gaza would have to stop or reduce services “within 48 hours” for lack of fuel, blaming Israel for blocking its entry.
“We raise an urgent warning as all hospitals in Gaza Strip will stop working or reduce their services within 48 hours due to the occupation’s (Israel’s) obstruction of fuel entry,” Marwan Al-Hams, director of Gaza’s field hospitals, said during a press conference.
Israel says to end ‘administrative detention’ for West Bank settlers
- Practice allows for detainees to be held for long periods without being charged or appear in court
- The Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said in August that 3,432 Palestinians were held in administrative detention
JERUSALEM: Israeli authorities will stop holding Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank under administrative detention, or incarceration without trial, the defense ministry announced Friday.
The practice allows for detainees to be held for long periods without being charged or appear in court, and is often used against Palestinians who Israel deems security threats.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said it was “inappropriate” for Israel to employ administrative detention against settlers who “face severe Palestinian terror threats and unjustified international sanctions.”
But, according to settlement watchdog Peace Now, it is one of only few effective tools that Israeli authorities to prevent settler attacks against Palestinians, which have surged in the West Bank over the past year.
Katz said in a statement issued by his office that prosecution or “other preventive measures” would be used to deal with criminal acts in the West Bank.
B’Tselem, an Israeli rights group, said authorities use administrative detention “extensively and routinely” to hold thousands of Palestinians for lengthy periods of time.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said in August that 3,432 Palestinians were held in administrative detention.
Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Friday that eight settlers were held under the same practice in November.
Yonatan Mizrahi, director of settlement watch for Peace Now, said that although administrative detention was mostly used in the West Bank to detain Palestinians, it was one of the few effective tools for temporarily removing the threat of settler violence through detention.
“The cancelation of administrative detention orders for settlers alone is a cynical... move that whitewashes and normalizes escalating Jewish terrorism under the cover of war,” the group said in a statement, referring to a spike in settler attacks throughout the Israel-Hamas conflict over the past 13 months.
Western governments, including Israel’s ally and military backer the United States, have recently imposed sanctions on Israeli settlers and settler organizations over ties to violence against Palestinians.
On Monday, US authorities announced sanctions against Amana, a movement that backs settlement development, and others who have “ties to violent actors in the West Bank.”
“Amana is a key part of the Israeli extremist settlement movement and maintains ties to various persons previously sanctioned by the US government and its partners for perpetrating violence in the West Bank,” the US Treasury said.
Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, the West Bank — which Israel has occupied since 1967 — is home to three million Palestinians as well as about 490,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.
UK would arrest Netanyahu over ICC warrant: Senior politician
- Emily Thornberry: Britain has ‘obligation under Rome Convention’ to arrest Israeli PM if he enters country
- Court: ‘Reasonable grounds to believe’ Netanyahu responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity in Gaza
LONDON: The UK will arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters the country, a senior British politician has said.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on Thursday for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, alongside his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, pertaining to the Gaza war.
Emily Thornberry — Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee, and former shadow foreign secretary and shadow attorney general — told Sky News: “If Netanyahu comes to Britain, our obligation under the Rome Convention would be to arrest him under the warrant from the ICC.
“(It is) not really a question of should — we are required to, because we are members of the ICC.”
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has refused to be drawn on whether Netanyahu would be arrested if he set foot on British soil, saying it “wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment.”
She told Sky: “We’ve always respected the importance of international law, but in the majority of the cases that they pursue, they don’t become part of the British legal process.
“What I can say is that obviously, the UK government’s position remains that we believe the focus should be on getting a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Netanyahu’s arrest warrant is the first to be issued against the premier of a major Western ally by an international court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
His office denounced the warrant as “anti-Semitic,” adding that Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions.” Israel is not an ICC member and rejects the court’s jurisdiction.
US President Joe Biden called the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant “outrageous,” adding: “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he plans to invite Netanyahu to visit Budapest, adding that the arrest warrant will “not be observed” by his government.
The Italian and French governments, however, have indicated that Netanyahu will be arrested if he visits either country.
The ICC said on Thursday it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
The court also issued a warrant for Hamas commander Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel says Al-Masri, believed to have been the mastermind behind the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, was killed in Gaza earlier this year.
The ICC said it issued the warrant for his arrest because of insufficient evidence to prove his death.