An Israeli strike on the central Gaza Strip has killed a family of eight in the Nuseirat refugee camp, Palestinian medical officials said.
It killed the parents and their six children, who ranged in age from eight to 23, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, where the bodies were taken.
It comes as 40 nations, including the UK, “strongly” condemning attacks on United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon.
On Saturday, at least 19 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the Jabalia city and refugee camp in northern Gaza, the Hamas-run civil defence agency told the AFP news agency.
A spokesperson said that a strike occurred before 9:40pm local time and had left “12 dead, including women and children”, adding that 14 people were still missing and likely trapped under the rubble
In southern Lebanon, children are among eight people killed in villages as Israel intensifies airstrikes in its fight against militant groupHezbollah.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, a strike on Baysarieh, a village in Sidon province, killed three people, including a 2-year-old and a 16-year-old, while another strike in the Bekaa Valley killed five more people.
Israeli forces target Jabaliya refugee camp
In northern Gaza, Israeli air and ground forces have been attacking Jabaliya, where the military says militants have regrouped. Over the past year, Israeli forces have repeatedly returned to the built-up refugee camp.
Israel has ordered the full evacuation of northern Gaza, including Gaza City. An estimated 400,000 people remain in the north after a mass evacuation ordered in the opening weeks of the war.
The Palestinians fear Israel intends to permanently depopulate the north to establish military bases or Jewish settlements.
The military confirmed on Saturday that hospitals were included in the evacuation orders but said it had not set a specific timetable.
Holly Evans13 October 2024 09:57
Families forced to leave homes in Gaza City
Israeli forces widened their raid into northern Gaza, and tanks reached the north edge of Gaza City, pounding some districts of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, residents said, forcing many families to leave their homes.
Residents said Israeli forces have effectively isolated Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya in the far north of the enclave from Gaza City, blocking access between the two areas except upon their permission for families willing to leave the three towns, heeding evacuation orders.
Gaza’s health ministry said the eight-day-old Israeli incursions in the north have so far killed dozens of Palestinians, with dozens of others feared dead on roads and under rubble of their houses, beyond the reach of medical teams.
Many Jabalia residents posted on social media platforms: “We will not leave, we die, and we don’t leave.”
Holly Evans13 October 2024 09:28
Israeli strike kills family of eight in Gaza
An Israeli strike on the central Gaza Strip has killed a family of eight, Palestinian medical officials said.
The strike came as Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants and pushed for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from the north of the territory.
Israel is also waging an air and ground campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month, though it has not said how or when.
The strike in Gaza late Saturday hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing parents and their six children, who ranged in age from eight to 23, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, where the bodies were taken.
It said another seven people were wounded, including two women and a child in critical condition. An Associated Press reporter counted the bodies and filmed funeral prayers held at the hospital.
Holly Evans13 October 2024 08:36
UK among 40 nations ‘strongly’ condemning attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon
The UK is among 40 nations “strongly” condemning attacks on United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon.
Earlier this week, Israeli troops fired on UN headquarters in southern Lebanon, injuring two peacekeepers for the second time in as many days.
On Saturday, it was reported by the United Nations that another peacekeeper was injured by gunfire in the country’s south.
A joint statement, co-signed by the UK and posted to the X account of the Polish UN mission on Saturday, said attacks on peacekeepers “must stop immediately”.
The statement said: “As the countries contributors to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) we reaffirm our full support for Unifil’s mission and activities, whose principal aim is to bring stabilisation and lasting peace in South Lebanon as well as in the Middle East, in line with relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.
“We consider Unifil’s role as particularly crucial in light of the escalating situation in the region.
“We therefore strongly condemn recent attacks on the Unifil peacekeepers. Such actions must stop immediately and should be adequately investigated.”
The statement continued: “We urge the parties of the conflict to respect Unifil’s presence, which entails the obligation to guarantee the safety and security of its personnel at all times so that they can continue to implement its mandate and continue their work of mediation and support for peace and stability in Lebanon and the entire region.
“We reiterate our commitment to multilateral cooperation with the UN at its core. We call for respect for the international law, in particular the Charter of the United Nations as well as the relevant resolutions of the Security Council.”
Holly Evans13 October 2024 08:07
Israeli forces and Hezbollah clash in southern Lebanon
Hezbollah said on Sunday it was fighting Israeli forces trying to infiltrate Ramya village in southern Lebanon, as a third UN peacekeeper was wounded in Israel’s escalating conflict with the Iran-backed Lebanese group.
Israeli strikes have shook the peacekeepers’ main base in southern Lebanon, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Western countries to condemn the attacks. The UNIFIL force called it a “serious development” and said the security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed.
France summoned Israel’s ambassador and issued a statement with Italy and Spain calling such attacks “unjustifiable”. US President Joe Biden said he was asking Israel not to hit the UNIFIL forces. Russia said it was “outraged” and demanded Israel refrain from “hostile actions” against peacekeepers.
Holly Evans13 October 2024 07:28
As Hezbollah and Israel battle on the border, Lebanon’s army watches from the sidelines
Since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have clashed along the border while the Lebanese army has largely stood on the sidelines.
It’s not the first time the national army has found itself watching war at home from the discomfiting position of bystander.
Lebanon’s widely beloved army is one of the few institutions that bridge the country’s sectarian and political divides. Several army commanders have become president, and the current commander, Gen. Joseph Aoun, is widely regarded as one of the front-runners to step in when the deadlocked parliament fills a two-year vacuum and names a president.
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Holly Evans13 October 2024 07:00
The Trump Organization wants to open a luxury hotel in the heart of Israel
Donald Trump’s family business tried to open a luxury hotel in Jerusalem, Israel, according to a report.
The former president’s company also looked into transforming a developing skyscraper — near the Israel Defense Forces headquarters — in Tel Aviv into another hotel. Once completed, that building will house the most hotel rooms in the country, the outlet noted.
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Holly Evans13 October 2024 06:00
The UN says that aid entering Gaza is at its lowest level in months
UN humanitarian officials say aid entering Gaza is at its lowest level in months and warn that critical lifelines in the territory’s north, where Israel has renewed its military offensive, have been cut off.
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq delivered the grim news Friday, saying the main crossings into northern Gaza have been closed and no food or other essential supplies have entered since Oct. 1. More than 400,000 people who remain in the north are under increasing pressure to move south, he said.
“The situation is terrible” across northern Gaza, Haq said, adding that the entire territory faces insecurity.
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Holly Evans13 October 2024 05:00
Israeli soldier urges UK to be Churchill not Chamberlain in standing against ‘evil’ Iran
Barak Deri, an Israeli Defence Force reservist, has been hailed as a hero in his country and is visiting London this week as part of a mission to win support for Israel’s struggle in the ongoing war on multiple fronts in the Middle East.
The 32-year-old, who was wounded and is likely to be disabled for the rest of his life, arrived in the UK with a simple warning that “Israel’s war is the West’s war” and the demand: “We cannot be quiet, we must send a clear message that another Holocaust is not an option.”
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Holly Evans13 October 2024 04:00
Activists risk their lives to rescue animals in areas of Lebanon hit by Israeli airstrikes
Hours after an Israeli strike destroyed a three-story building in Beirut, killing at least 10 people, Maggie Sharawi received a telephone call from a person living nearby saying that the attack had killed a cat that had several kittens.
While civil defense members were combing through the rubble for human victims or survivors, Sharawi and other members of Animals Lebanon, an animal protection organization, also rushed to the scene in Beirut’s central Burj Abi Haidar neighborhood Friday.
They began climbing through rubble, twisted metal and collapsed walls to reach the kittens. The animals, just a few days old, were pulled out, put in a plastic carrier and taken away as the rescuers continued searching for other cats whose cries could be heard emerging from under the debris.
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Holly Evans13 October 2024 03:00