Middle East latest: At least 55 killed in Israeli strike in Gaza – reports

We mentioned in our good morning post reports from Lebanon’s health ministry that at least 60 people were killed yesterday in Israeli attacks on several areas in the eastern Bekaa Valley.

It said the deaths came in 16 areas, most of them in the Baalbek region, which is a Hezbollah stronghold.

The ministry said 58 people were wounded and that rescue efforts were ongoing across the area. 

The region’s governor, Bachir Khodr, called the attacks the “most violent” in the area since Israel invaded Lebanon last month, targeting what it says are Hezbollah’s operatives, infrastructure, and weapons in the country.

The Israeli military has not yet commented.

At least 55 people have been killed in Gaza following an Israeli strike on the town of Beit Lahiya, according to reports. 

The Palestinian news agency Wafa and Hamas media both reported the attack on the town in northern Gaza. 

Many of those killed in the strike were women and children, Wafa reported, citing medics. 

The Gaza civil service says the strike hit a residential building. 

We’ll bring you more on this breaking story as we get it.

Israel’s parliament voted yesterday to ban the UN relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from the country within 90 days.

The Knesset banned the agency from conducting “any activity” or providing any service inside Israel, including the areas of East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank. 

A second vote declared the group a terror organisation.

The legislation will take effect 60 to 90 days after Israel’s foreign ministry notifies the UN, according to the spokesman for politician Dan Illouz, one of the co-sponsors of one of the bills.

UNRWA provides education, health care and other basic services to millions of Palestinian refugees across the region, including in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the new laws “could have devastating consequences” for Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank.

UNRWA’s chief Philippe Lazzarini has warned the ban “will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza”.

UNRWA has come under repeated attack from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who says it has links to Hamas and other militant groups – something the group disputes.

When Israel first brought the accusations against UNRWA, it initially led top donor countries to suspend their funding for the agency.

The UK resumed its fundingof the agency in July, just weeks after the Labour Party was elected.

Welcome back to our live coverage of developments in the Middle East.

Israel has passed a law banning UN aid agency UNRWA from operating in the country – a move which the organisation’s chief says will “deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza”.

The new law passed in the Knesset yesterday banned the agency from having any ties to Israeli officials and stripped its staff of their legal immunities.

The Israeli parliament also declared the group a terror organisation. We’ll bring you more on that and the global reaction to this story in a moment.

We’ll also bring you the latest on the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, where the country’s health ministry says at least 60 people were killed yesterday in Israeli raids.

Elsewhere, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel has not received a temporary ceasefire proposal from Egypt, as had been suggested.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi proposed on Sunday an initial two-day ceasefire in Gaza to exchange four Israeli hostages of Hamas for some Palestinian prisoners.

Mr Netanyahu’s office said that the Israeli leader would have accepted such a proposal “immediately” if it had been raised.

That brings an end to our live updates on the conflicts in the Middle East for today.

Before we go, here’s a round-up of the day’s key developments: 

• The top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has warned Israel it will face “bitter consequences” following its attack on the country’s military sites on Saturday, Iranian media says;
• Iraq has submitted a complaint to the UN over Israel’s use of its airspace to strike Iran, a government spokesperson has said;
• Lebanon’s health ministry said at least seven people died after a dawn attack on the southern port city of Tyre by Israel;
• A fresh evacuation warning was issued for Lebanon’s third-largest city later in the morning, followed by reports of strikes on the ground;
• The social platform X has suspended a new account on behalf of Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that posted messages in Hebrew. A note on the account says it has been suspended for violating X’s rules;
• According to the latest figures from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, 43,020 people have now been killed by Israel in the enclave since 7 October 2023, 96 more than yesterday’s number;
• In Lebanon, the number of deaths since the conflict begun has risen to 2,672, with 12,468 people wounded.

Israel’s high-powered laser interception system, dubbed Iron Beam, is expected to be operational next year.

That’s according to the director-general of Israel’s foreign ministry Eyal Zamir, who signed a $535m (£411m) contract with manufacturers Rafael and Elbit yesterday.

Iron Beam would supplement Israel’s other aerial defence capacities, such as the more well-known Iron Dome.

These have been unable to intercept every projectile launched into Israel, resulting in both civilian and military casualties.

The cost of a single Iron Dome interception is thought to be about $50,000 (£38,400). Iron Beam interceptions, by contrast, would cost a few dollars apiece.

“This may sound like science-fiction, but it’s real,” said Israel’s former prime minister Naftali Bennett in 2022, adding the Iron Beam’s interceptions would be silent, invisible and cost $3.50 each.

This month, the US equipped Israel with a highly advanced defence system that possesses the ability to fend off ballistic missiles inside or outside the atmosphere.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) requires a crew of 95 soldiers to operate it, which the US is also supplying.

You can read more on Israel’s air defence systems below.

Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz has called on Benjamin Netanyahu to strike a deal that would allow for the release of hostages, even if it comes at a “painful” price.

A total of 97 hostages remain unaccounted for following the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel.

Israel’s official figure for those held in Gaza is 101 – but this includes four people taken hostage in 2014 and 2015, two of whom are believed to have died.

Mr Gantz conceded fighting in Gaza would have to “continue for years”, but said it was necessary to bring back the hostages who were kidnapped “because of the biggest mistake in our history”.

“The time is more ripe than ever to strive for a rapid plan to return the hostages,” he said.

“I call on the prime minister – just as you rightly ordered an attack on Iran, do what is right and necessary to bring our daughters and sons home, even if it comes at a painful price – do not hesitate, for you will receive full support.

“The fighting in Gaza, you know as well as I do, will continue for years – because it is not possible for Gaza to be ruled by Hamas. 

“The question is whether in Israel we will get to see our 101 sons and daughters, who were kidnapped because of the biggest mistake in our history – on your watch. 

“They should be returned home. It is difficult, it is complex – and it is necessary.”

The Israel Defence Forces says around 30 rockets have been fired into the country from Lebanon in the past hour.

It said sirens were sounded in the Western Galilee and Upper Galilee areas at around 2.30pm local time (12.30pm UK time).

“Approximately 30 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory,” the military said.

Some of the rockets were intercepted by Israel’s air force, while others fell in the area, it added.

No injuries were reported in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

Nearly 100 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry has said.

According to its latest figures, 43,020 people have now been killed by Israel since 7 October 2023, 96 more than yesterday’s number.

A further 101,110 have been injured during that time, it added.

The ministry’s figures do not differentiate between Hamas fighters and civilians.

For context: While Israeli officials have cast doubt on the numbers killed in Gaza, several independent groups say the ministry’s figures have proved to be largely reliable and broadly in line with those later produced by the UN and Israel itself.

Examination of data from previous Gaza conflicts, comparing the ministry’s counts with post-war United Nations analysis, shows the initial data is largely accurate with, at most, a 10-12% discrepancy.

The Israeli military told Sky News earlier this month that 20,000 Hamas militants had been killed, but this remains unverified. 

The Israeli military says it arrested around 100 suspected Hamas militants during a raid on a hospital in northern Gaza last week.

The Israel Defence Forces stormed the Kamal Adwan hospital and detained dozens of its staff.

“The soldiers apprehended approximately 100 terrorists from the compound, including terrorists who attempted to escape during the evacuation of civilians,” the military said.

“Inside the hospital, they found weapons, terror funds and intelligence documents and in the surrounding area.”

Gaza health officials have denied any militant presence at the hospital, which is one of the last functioning medical facilities in the north of the enclave.

The head of the World Health Organisation said reports of the hospital’s facilities and medical supplied being damaged or destroyed during the siege were “deplorable”.

Tedros Ghebreyesus said on social media: “The whole health system in Gaza has been under attack for over a year. I cannot stress loudly enough that hospitals must be shielded from conflict at all times.”

The IDF launched a renewed offensive in northern Gaza in the past month in which its airstrikes have caused widespread destruction.

Israel’s military says it is trying to prevent Iran-backed Hamas fighters from regrouping after more than a year of fighting.