The Gaza Crisis: Israel’s Army in the Fighting, the Foreign Minister in Damascus, and the Syrian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
Israel’s military warned Palestinians to evacuate along the strategic Netzarim corridor in central Gaza that was at the heart of obstacles to a cease-fire deal. The military told people in parts of the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps to evacuate to Muwasi, a coastal area it has designated a humanitarian zone.
The Hamas-run civil defense group said two kids were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Over 42,000 Palestinians have died in the war in Gaza, which does not differentiate between militant and civilians, according to the Health Ministry. Gaza is experiencing widespread destruction and a majority of the residents are displaced.
Last week, Israel launched what it called a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon after a series of attacks killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others. The fighting is the worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a brief war in 2006. Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in the ground clashes that Israel says have killed 440 Hezbollah fighters.
Other displaced families now shelter alongside Beirut’s famous seaside Corniche, their wind-flapped tents just steps from luxury homes. Om Ali Mcheik said that they don’t want to die at Netanyahu’s hands, but they do care if we die.
There are many Syrians who are returning to their homes in Lebanon after two days on the road. The roads were very crowded and difficult to navigate. We almost died getting here.” Some children cried.
Hundreds of people crossed the Masnaa Border crossing on foot on Thursday, despite huge craters in the road leading to it. Much of Hezbollah’s weaponry is believed to come from Iran through Syria.
The Lebanon state-run National News Agency reported that at least six people were killed in Israel’s bombardments over the course of a day.
On Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and respond to these attacks, and it will do so.” He said that they were not done on Lebanon.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters in Damascus that “we are trying to reach a cease-fire in Gaza and in Lebanon.” The minister said the countries putting forward initiatives are not from the Middle East.
Palestinian residents reported heavy Israeli strikes across northern Gaza. The Civil Defense, the first responders under the auspices of the Hamas government, said that several homes and buildings had been hit and that they were not able to reach them.
On Saturday, Israel’s attack on the northern Beddawi camp killed an official with Hamas’ military wing along with his wife and two young daughters, the Palestinian militant group said. Hamas later said another military wing member was killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. The aftermath showed smashed buildings, scattered bricks and stairways to nowhere.
The buildings targeted were near the road leading to the international airport in Lebanon and the Al-Manar television station. Social media reports claimed that one of the strikes hit an oxygen tank storage facility, but this was later denied by the owner of the company Khaled Kaddouha.
The strong explosions began near midnight and continued into Sunday after Israel’s military urged residents to evacuate areas in Dahiyeh, the predominantly Shiite collection of suburbs on Beirut’s southern edge. The southern suburbs have Hezbollah presence and the blasts illuminate them. They followed the flurry of strikes and the buzz of drones.
Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.
A strike on a mosque kills 19 as Israel bombards northern Gaza and southern Beirut: A source close to the Beersheba bus station
A stabbing and shooting attack at the central bus station in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba left one person dead and 10 others wounded, according to first responders. Police did not identify the assailant but said they were treating it as a terror attack.
The attack came as Israel is on high alert ahead of memorial events marking the Oct. 7 attack, which set in motion a year of violent escalation across the region.
An Israeli strike in Gaza hit a mosque where displaced people were sheltering near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. Another four people were killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter near the town. The Israeli military did not provide proof that the strikes targeted militants.
An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead from the strike on the mosque were all men.
Israeli forces encircled Jabaliya as warplanes struck militant sites inside, the military said. Over the course of the war, Israel has carried out several large operations there, only to see militants regroup.
Residents mourned their relatives on social media. Imad Alarabid stated on Facebook that an airstrike on his home killed a dozen people including his parents. A medic in the Health Ministry, Saeed Abu Elaish, was wounded and bleeding.
A journalist whose footage had aired on the Al Jazeera network was killed in shelling at his home. Anas was an Al Jazeera reporter who lived in northern Gaza.
Israel’s attack on a civilian population in the southern Gazan civilian zone: The largest air campaign since Sept. 23, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency
The military says it has expanded the so-called humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, urging people to head there. Hundreds of thousands of people have already taken refuge in tent camps with little in the way of food or water. Israel has carried out strikes in the humanitarian zone against what it says are militants hiding among civilians.
The attack took place on October 7 and killed over a thousand people. They are still holding around 100 captives, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the area was hit by more than 30 strikes overnight, the heaviest bombardment since Sept. 23 when Israel escalated its air campaign.
Hezbollah said it successfully targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in northern Israel “with a large rocket salvo, hitting them accurately.” It was not possible to confirm the claim.
The United States has provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Israel. Iran-allied militant groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have already joined in with long-distance strikes on Israel.
