IDF: More than 160 Hezbollah targets struck in 24 hours
Israel’s military says it has “eliminated dozens of terrorists” and struck more than 160 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the past 24 hours.
The Israel Defence Forces said fighter jets attacked targets including launchers, military buildings and military infrastructure throughout Lebanon – and eliminated “approximately 20 terrorists”.
It also claimed one of its divisions had located “ammunition depots that contained hundreds of antitank missiles and mortar bombs”, without specifying where.
At the same time, in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza where Israel has increased its activity in recent weeks, Israeli troops killed “dozens of terrorists”.
In central Gaza, the IDF says its artillery struck and dismantled “a number of terrorist infrastructure sites”.
Israel claims six Al Jazeera reporters are Gaza militants
The Israeli military has named six Palestinian Al Jazeera reporters in Gaza that it says are also members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad militant groups.
The Israel Defence Forces published documents that it said it had found in Gaza that proved the men had a military affiliation to the groups.
It said the papers included Hamas and Islamic Jihad lists of personnel details, salaries and militant training courses, phone directories and injury reports.
Al Jazeera rejected Israel’s claims as an attempt to silence its journalists.
“Al Jazeera condemns Israeli accusations against its journalists in Gaza and warns against [this] being a justification for targeting them,” the network said.
Israel has long accused Al Jazeera of being a Hamas mouthpiece and over the past year its authorities have ordered it to shut down its operations for security reasons, raided its offices and confiscated equipment.
The network says it has no affiliation with militant groups and has accused Israeli forces of deliberately killing several of its journalists in the Gaza war.
Israeli strikes in Syria kill one, defence ministry says
Israel launched strikes on the Syrian capital of Damascus and a military site near the western city of Homs this morning, the country’s defence ministry has said.
The Israeli strikes targeted the central Damascus neighbourhood of Kafr Sousa and a military site in the Homs countryside, killing one soldier and injuring seven other people.
The strikes caused “material damage”, the ministry said.
Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iranian-linked targets in Syria for years, but the number has risen since last year’s 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel.
Beirut hit by intense Israeli bombing overnight
Lebanese media have reported at least 17 Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in one of the most intense nights of bombing the capital has seen in recent weeks.
An Israeli military spokesman issued evacuation warnings “to all residents in the southern suburb area” before the strikes.
One airstrike hit the office of pro-Iran broadcaster Al-Mayadeen, the station said. It said the office had been empty since the conflict began.
Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed and five others, including a child, were wounded.
Lebanon’s national news agency described the strikes as the “most violent” in the area since the conflict began.
Good morning
Welcome back as we resume our live coverage of the conflicts in the Middle East.
Israel is keeping up its military actions in both Lebanon, where it is fighting the Hezbollah militant group, and in Gaza, where it is fighting Hamas.
The world is still waiting for Israel to launch an attack on Iran, which it vowed to carry out after Iran sent a missile barrage at the country on 1 October, which was mostly intercepted.
Elsewhere, US secretary of state Antony Blinken is wrapping up his 11th visit to the Middle East since the 7 October Hamas attacks last year.
Yesterday he met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, where the two discussed ways to end the war in Gaza and achieve a diplomatic solution in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s health ministry says at least 2,574 people in the country have been killed during a year of conflict, while the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says 42,792 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive.
Watch: Child rescued from rubble in Gaza
Israel has stepped up its military actions in northern Gaza in recent weeks as it attempts to root out Hamas from the enclave.
It was hoped that the recent killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza could lead to ceasefire negations and a relaxation of hostilities, but fighting has continued.
The video below shows the distressing scenes of a child trapped under the rubble of a building in Gaza being rescued by emergency workers.
According to the Palestine News Agency, Israel’s military bombed the Al-Nasr neighbourhood, killing at least two people with the strike.
Iran condemns Israeli killing of medic in Lebanon as war crime
Tehran has strongly condemned the killing of an Iranian medic in Lebanon, calling it a war crime.
Dr Ali Heydari had been based in Beirut “for some time” in order to provide medical assistance to victims of Israeli attacks, Iran’s foreign ministry said.
“The act of the Zionist regime in targeting Dr Heydari, who was acting as a medic to treat the wounded and help patients, is a clear violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions that forbid attacks on hospitals and medical centres and doctors and medical professionals, and is considered a war crime,” it said.
The ministry also called on relevant organisations to document instances of “gross violations of international humanitarian law” by the Israeli military in Lebanon.
‘We will not abandon Lebanon’, says German foreign minister
Germany’s foreign minister has visited Lebanon today.
Annalena Baerbock met with the speaker of Lebanon’s parliament, Nabih Berri, in Beirut.
She said Germany would “not look away” or leave Lebanon on its own as it tries to cope with ongoing fighting between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel across the country.
She also said the conflict will not be solved only militarily, calling for the election of a Lebanese president to help a political solution to end the fighting.
Ms Baerbock also reiterated calls for all parties to protect UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, saying they play a crucial role on the day after a ceasefire is eventually put in place.
There is ‘death in all colours’ in northern Gaza, says surgeon
A surgeon working at the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza has described the situation on the ground there as “disastrous”.
Israel has intensified its military actions in the north of the enclave in recent weeks, ordering thousands of civilians to evacuate their homes.
But Dr Mohammed Obeid, from charity Doctors Without Borders, says dead bodies are lining the streets in northern Gaza and none can be removed due to constant Israeli artillery attacks.
“There are sounds of artillery, bombing and snipers,” he says.
“There is death in all colours and forms in the Kamal Adwan hospital and in the north of Gaza.
“The artillery doesn’t stop. The planes don’t stop. The drones don’t stop. They’ve prevented people from moving from one area to the other seeking safety.”
Dr Obeid says Israel targeted the five-storey house he’s been living in with his family five days ago, forcing him to relocate and shelter inside the Kamal Adwan hospital.
He says the hospital itself has also been targeted by Israeli drones, with medical staff exhausted and wounded.
“The hospital is full of patient cases and full of displaced people,” he adds.
“We don’t have the means to treat the injured. We don’t have the medical staff or surgical equipment.”
“We appeal to all the countries of the world and the World Health Organisation to consider the northern part of Gaza and to lift the blockade that has led to the death of many people,” he added.
US hasn’t seen evidence of Hezbollah bunker under Beirut hospital
The US has “not seen evidence” that there is a Hezbollah bunker underneath the Al Sahel Hospital in Beirut, as Israel has alleged, the defence secretary has said.
Israel has claimed Hezbollah is storing gold and cash in an underground bunker, an allegation the hospital denies.
Asked about the Israeli claims, Lloyd Austin said: “We’ve not seen evidence of that at this point, but you know, we’ll continue to collaborate with our Israeli counterparts to gain better fidelity on exactly what they’re looking at.”
Yesterday, the hospital invited journalists to tour its underground rooms in a bid to prove they did not contain Hezbollah’s cash.
Our international correspondent Alex Rossi visited the basement of the hospital and spoke to emergency doctor Omar Mneimne, who called the allegations “wholly un-based” (see 10.50 post).