Palestinian officials say 51 killed in Israeli strikes on southern Gaza

Palestinian officials say 51 killed in Israeli strikes on southern Gaza
A relative holds the body of a a Palestinian child from al-Durrah family, who was killed in an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. (File/Reuters)
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Palestinian officials say 51 killed in Israeli strikes on southern Gaza

Palestinian officials say 51 killed in Israeli strikes on southern Gaza
  • The European Hospital in Khan Younis said it received the bodies after heavy Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in the city
  • The dead include several women and children

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli strikes killed at least 51 people in southern Gaza overnight, including women and children, as the military launched ground operations in the hard-hit city of Khan Younis, Palestinian medical officials said Wednesday.
Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets across Gaza nearly a year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack ignited the war there, and even as attention has shifted to Lebanon and Iran. Israel has launched ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Tehran fired ballistic missiles on Israel late Tuesday.
Separately, Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli troops in the Lebanese border town of Odaisseh, forcing them to retreat.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or independent confirmation of the fighting, which would mark the first ground combat since Israeli troops crossed the border this week. Israeli media reported infantry and tank units operating in southern Lebanon after the military sent thousands of additional troops and artillery to the border.
The military warned residents to evacuate another 24 villages in southern Lebanon after making a similar announcement the day before. Hundreds of thousands have already fled their homes as the conflict has intensified.

Palestinians describe massive raid in Gaza
The Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 51 people were killed and 82 wounded in the operation in Khan Younis that began early Wednesday. Records at the European Hospital show that seven women and 12 children, as young as 22 months old, were among those killed.
Another 23 people, including two children, were killed in separate strikes across Gaza, according to local hospitals.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Residents said Israel had carried out heavy airstrikes as its ground forces staged an incursion into three neighborhoods in Khan Younis. Mahmoud Al-Razd, a resident who said four relatives were killed in the raids, described heavy destruction and said first responders had struggled to reach destroyed homes.
“The explosions and shelling were massive,” he told The Associated Press. “Many people are thought to be under the rubble, and no one can retrieve them.”
Israel carried out a weekslong offensive earlier this year in Khan Younis that left much of Gaza’s second largest city in ruins. Over the course of the war, Israeli forces have repeatedly returned to areas of Gaza where they have previously fought Hamas and other armed groups as the militants have regrouped.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7 and took around 250 hostage. Around 100 are still in captivity in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say a little more than half were women and children. The military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Iran fires missiles to avenge attacks on militant allies
Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel on Tuesday in what it said was retaliation for a series of devastating blows Israel has landed in recent weeks against Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets into Israel since the war in Gaza began.
Israelis scrambled for bomb shelters as air raid sirens sounded and the orange glow of missiles streaked across the night sky.
The Israeli military said it intercepted many of the incoming Iranian missiles, though some landed in central and southern Israel and two people were lightly wounded by shrapnel.
Several missiles landed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where one of them killed a Palestinian worker from Gaza who had been stranded in the territory since the war broke out.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against Iran, which he said “made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it.”
US President Joe Biden said his administration is “fully supportive” of Israel and that he’s in “active discussion” with aides about what the appropriate response should be.
Iran said it would respond to any violation of its sovereignty with even heavier strikes on Israeli infrastructure.
Hezbollah and Hamas are close allies backed by Iran, and each escalation has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East that could draw in Iran and the United States, which has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel.
Iran said it fired Tuesday’s missiles as retaliation for attacks that killed leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian military. It referenced Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, both killed in an Israeli airstrike last week in Beirut. It also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader in Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July.
The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday morning to address the escalating situation in the Middle East.
Israel says its forces are operating in Lebanon
Israel is meanwhile carrying out what it says are limited ground incursions into southern Lebanon. Israeli airstrikes and artillery have been pounding southern Lebanon as Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets, missiles and drones into Israel, where there have been few casualties.
Israel has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until it is safe for tens of thousands of its citizens displaced from homes near the Lebanon border to return. Hezbollah has vowed to keep firing rockets into Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza with Hamas.
Israel has warned people in southern Lebanon to evacuate to the north of the Awali River, some 60 kilometers (36 miles) from the border and much farther than the Litani River, which marks the northern edge of a UN-declared zone intended to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their 2006 war. The border region has largely emptied out over the past year as the two sides have traded fire.
Israeli strikes have killed over 1,000 people in Lebanon over the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.
Hezbollah is a widely seen as the most powerful armed group in the region, with tens of thousands of fighters and an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles. The last round of fighting in 2006 ended in a stalemate, and both sides have spent the past two decades preparing for their next showdown.


Lebanese factions revive bid to fill presidency as Israel attacks

Lebanese factions revive bid to fill presidency as Israel attacks
Updated 03 October 2024
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Lebanese factions revive bid to fill presidency as Israel attacks

Lebanese factions revive bid to fill presidency as Israel attacks
  • Israel is waging a major offensive against Hezbollah which has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon since Sept. 16 and uprooted one million

BEIRUT: Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon has prompted a renewed bid by some leading Lebanese politicians to fill a two-year-long presidential vacuum, an effort to revive the paralyzed state as it grapples with an escalating conflict.
Lebanon has not had a president or a fully empowered cabinet since October 2022 due to a power struggle in which Hezbollah has played a big part. Along with its allies, the heavily armed Shiite Muslim group has insisted the post, reserved for a Maronite Christian, go to their Christian ally Suleiman Frangieh.
With Hezbollah reeling from the killing of its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the presidency came into renewed focus this week when Shiite Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally, indicated flexibility on the matter, telling Prime Minister Najib Mikati he supported the election of a president who doesn’t represent “a challenge” to anyone.
A Hezbollah official told Reuters the group had delegated Berri to negotiate on its behalf over the presidency.
The presidency is decided by a vote in Lebanon’s 128-seat parliament. No single political alliance has enough seats to impose its choice, meaning an understanding among rival blocs is needed to secure the election of a candidate.
Following a meeting on Wednesday with Berri and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, Mikati — a Sunni Muslim — read a joint statement calling for the election of a “consensus president who will reassure everyone and dispel their concerns.”
The statement did not name any candidates.
Israel is waging a major offensive against Hezbollah which has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon since Sept. 16 and uprooted one million.
Wael Abu Faour, a senior lawmaker from Jumblatt’s faction, told Reuters the election of a consensus president would send “a message to the outside world that there is a strong government in the country ready to negotiate” over a ceasefire.
He said the meeting of the three leaders did not represent the formation of a new alliance and that factions including Christian parties were being engaged in discussions on the presidency.
The Lebanese Forces party, a major Christian faction and fierce Hezbollah opponent, on Monday called for the election of a president, saying this was the only way for “the state to assume its responsibilities on its own” — implicit criticism of Hezbollah over its possession of a massive arsenal of weapons.
Lebanon’s last president, Michel Aoun, was a former army commander and a political ally of Hezbollah.
A senior Western diplomat who did not wish to be named said Western and Arab nations had been urging Lebanon’s politicians to elect a president, adding that it was also in the interest of Hezbollah for the political conundrum to be resolved so the state could take more of the “weight” of the Israel crisis.
Abu Faour said the three leaders also discussed avoiding internal tensions in Lebanon as a result of the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from Hezbollah-controlled areas into other parts of the country.


In music and dance, Sudanese performers transport refugee audiences back home

In music and dance, Sudanese performers transport refugee audiences back home
Updated 02 October 2024
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In music and dance, Sudanese performers transport refugee audiences back home

In music and dance, Sudanese performers transport refugee audiences back home
  • A band with 12 Sudanese members now lives with thousands of refugees in Egypt
  • The troupe, called “Camirata,” includes researchers, singers and poets who are determined to preserve the knowledge of traditional Sudanese folk music and dance

CAIRO: As the performers took the stage and the traditional drum beat gained momentum, Sudanese refugees sitting in the audience were moved to tears. Hadia Moussa said the melody reminded her of the country’s Nuba Mountains, her family’s ancestral home.

“Performances like this help people mentally affected by the war. It reminds us of the Sudanese folklore and our culture,” she said.

Sudan has been engulfed by violence since April 2023, when war between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces broke out across the country. 

The conflict has turned the capital, Khartoum, into an urban battlefield and displaced 4.6 million people, according to the UN migration agency, including more than 419,000 people who fled to Egypt.

A band with 12 Sudanese members now lives with thousands of refugees in Egypt. The troupe, called “Camirata,” includes researchers, singers and poets who are determined to preserve the knowledge of traditional Sudanese folk music and dance to keep it from being lost in the ruinous war.

Founded in 1997, the band rose to popularity in Khartoum before it began traveling to different states, enlisting diverse musicians, dancers and styles. 

They sing in 25 different Sudanese languages. Founder Dafallah El-Hag said the band’s members started relocating to Egypt in recently, as Sudan struggled through a difficult economic and political transition after a 2019 popular uprising unseated longtime ruler Omar Bashir. Others followed after the violence began. El-Hag arrived late last year.

The band uses a variety of local musical instruments on stage. El-Hag says audiences are often surprised to see instruments such as the tanbour, a stringed instrument, being played with the nuggara drums, combined with tunes of the banimbo, a wooden xylophone.


Biden won’t support a strike on Iran nuclear sites as Israel weighs response to Iran missile attack

Biden won’t support a strike on Iran nuclear sites as Israel weighs response to Iran missile attack
Updated 02 October 2024
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Biden won’t support a strike on Iran nuclear sites as Israel weighs response to Iran missile attack

Biden won’t support a strike on Iran nuclear sites as Israel weighs response to Iran missile attack
  • “The answer is no,” Biden told reporters when asked if he would support such retaliation
  • The US and allies are urging Israel to show restraint as it weighs retaliation against Iran for Tuesday’s attack

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will not support an Israeli strike on sites related to Tehran’s nuclear program in response to Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
“The answer is no,” Biden told reporters when asked if he would support such retaliation after Iran fired about 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday.
Biden’s comments came after he and fellow Group of Seven leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom spoke by telephone about coordinating new sanctions against Iran.
The US and allies are scrambling to keep the Mideast conflict — sparked by Iran-backed Hamas militants’ in Gaza’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel— from spreading further. They are urging Israel to show restraint as it weighs retaliation against Iran for Tuesday’s attack.
Israel is now carrying out what it has described as limited ground operations across its northern border with Lebanon to dig out Hezbollah, another Iran-backed group, after carrying out a series of massive air strikes that killed the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and decimated its leadership.
Last month, thousands of explosives hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah detonated, killing dozens of people and maiming thousands, including many civilians. Israel is widely believed to be behind the attack
Biden stated his opposition to Israel hitting Iranian nuclear facilities as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed a range of options in how to respond to Tuesday’s attack. It was the second such attack by Iran on Israel in less than six months.
Israel’s choices range from a largely symbolic strike— similar to how Israel responded after Iran launched a barrage of missiles and attack drones in April— to hitting oil facilities and other infrastructure.
Targeting Iran’s controversial nuclear program is seen as perhaps the most provocative action that Israel could take. It’s one that the Democratic president believes could further enflame a Mideast conflict that he already worries could develop into a broader regional conflict.
The White House said in a statement that G7 leaders “unequivocally condemned Iran’s attack against Israel” and that Biden reaffirmed America’s “full solidarity and support to Israel and its people.”
Biden added that he supports Israel’s right to defend itself and “there are things that have to be done” in response to the Iranian barrage. He said he expected sanctions from the G7 nations to be announced soon.
“We will be discussing with the Israelis what they are going to do,” Biden told reporters before heading to the Carolinas to see the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. “All seven of us agree that they have a right to respond.”
The office of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said in a statement that the leaders expressed “strong concern for the escalation of these last hours” and emphasized that “a conflict on a regional scale is in no one’s interest.” Italy holds the rotating presidency of the G7 group of industrialized democracies.
Biden said that he planned to speak with Netanyahu “relatively soon.”
Biden’s administration has signaled that it is urging Israel to display restraint in how it responds to Iran’s missile attack, which Biden said was “ineffective and defeated.”
The US military helped Israel defend against the attack that Iran carried out in retaliation for the killing of Tehran-backed leaders of Lebanese Hezbollah.
Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said there “must be a return message” to Iran. He said the US and Israel officials continue to discuss their response.
“At the same time, I think we recognize as important as the response of some kind should be, there is a recognition that the region is really balancing on a knife’s edge,” Campbell said at forum hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Wednesday with his counterparts Britain, France, Germany, and Italy to discuss the situation in the Middle East.


Israeli army crosses into Lebanon, clashes with Hezbollah

Israeli army crosses into Lebanon, clashes with Hezbollah
Updated 02 October 2024
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Israeli army crosses into Lebanon, clashes with Hezbollah

Israeli army crosses into Lebanon, clashes with Hezbollah
  • Hezbollah says it destroyed three Israeli Merkava tanks with rockets near border town of Maroun El Ras
  • Losses are deadliest suffered by Israeli military on Lebanon front in the past year of border-area clashes

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army Command confirmed on Wednesday that “an Israeli enemy force breached the Blue Line for approximately 400 meters inside Lebanese territory in the areas of Khirbet Yaroun and Bab Al-Adaisseh, and withdrew after a short period.”

The incursion, justified by the aim of eliminating Hezbollah, resulted in three confrontations with the group — along the road to Adaisseh, in the town of Maroun Al-Ras, and on the road to Yaroun.

Videos documented the process of transferring the injured from the site in Adaisseh to Rambam Hospital in Haifa and Ziv Hospital in Safed.

Israeli Army Radio reported that “the rescue operation was extremely complex and took place under difficult conditions and amidst gunfire.”

According to Hezbollah’s account, “an Israeli infantry unit infiltrated the Adaisseh road three days ago, where Hezbollah members merely observed their movements. The Israeli force subsequently retreated, only to attempt another incursion into the same area on Wednesday, mistakenly believing it to be secure.”

The group added: “Unbeknownst to the Israeli soldiers, they had fallen into a well-planned ambush, as Hezbollah operatives opened fire with both machine guns and rockets, resulting in the deaths of four Israeli soldiers and injuries to 20 others.”

Hezbollah said in a press release that its operatives “targeted a large infantry force in the settlement of Misgav Am, opposite the town of Adaisseh, using rocket and artillery fire, resulting in a direct and precise hit.”

The group said that “another clash occurred with a force from the Israeli army that was infiltrating the town of Maroun Al-Ras from the eastern side,” adding that it inflicted “several casualties among the force. The Israeli army acknowledged the death of a division commander, while Israeli media reported that 35 soldiers were injured.”

In an attempt by an Israeli force to encircle the town of Yaroun, Hezbollah reported that its members “detonated an explosive device, resulting in casualties among all members of the force, both dead and injured.”

The Israeli army reported that “commando forces, including fighters from the Egoz unit, successfully located and destroyed a combat center belonging to Hezbollah, which housed a rocket launch platform, a stockpile of explosives, and other combat equipment.”

It said that “to date, more than 150 terrorist infrastructures have been destroyed through airstrikes, including the headquarters of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, weapon depots, and rocket launch sites.”

According to the Israeli army, “additional armored forces joined the units involved in a limited ground operation in Lebanon.”

The Israeli army targeted Lebanese border towns, most largely uninhabited, with airstrikes, as well as towns in northern Bekaa.

An airstrike destroyed a house in the town of Debel in the Bint Jbeil district, resulting in the deaths of three people.

Another strike hit a residence in Alma Al-Shaab, leading to the destruction of a home and injuries to a Syrian family of seven.

Additionally, a military drone attacked a vehicle belonging to the Civil Defense team affiliated with Hezbollah while they were assisting the injured, resulting in the deaths of four paramedics.

An airstrike targeting the town of Borj Qalaouiye resulted in two deaths and one injury.

The Lebanese army was engaged in efforts to clear the road connecting Kawkaba and Marjeyoun, which had been obstructed by Israeli shelling.

During this operation, an Israeli drone launched two missiles at the army, one of which detonated, causing minor injuries to a soldier.

The Israeli army repeated its evacuation request to the residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday night before launching airstrikes.

Residents surrounding the southern suburbs woke to the smell of smoke and the sight of flames rising from the buildings that had been reduced to rubble by the intense airstrikes.

Israeli warnings disseminated through social media gave residents about 20 minutes to evacuate before the targeted site was bombed.

A tour organized by Hezbollah on Wednesday for journalists revealed the extent of the destruction caused by 17 Israeli airstrikes from Tuesday night to Wednesday, spanning an area from Chiyah to Choueifat.

Hezbollah media official Mohammed Afif, who accompanied about 200 journalists, said: “The targeted buildings are inhabited by civilians. The objective of the Israeli attacks is to destroy landmarks in the suburbs and incite supporters of Hezbollah against it.”

The influx of displaced individuals into Beirut from the southern suburbs continued.

Evacuation operations expanded to include neighborhoods adjacent to the southern suburbs due to the damage inflicted on their homes by the force of the explosions caused by the missiles.

During a tour of neighborhoods in Beirut, one could witness a number of people seeking refuge at the entrances of buildings, accompanied by their children and possessing only a few belongings.

Dozens of displaced people took refuge in the unoccupied offices of the Azarieh building. They made use of the storefronts that had sustained damage from the port explosion four years ago.

Hundreds of men fled their homes along the sidewalks up to Bechara Al-Khoury Street. They watched the news on screens in the storefronts, in cafes, and on cell phones.

“I am an electrician and now I am out of work. I learned that my house was hit by an Israeli raid. I lost everything I had in the blink of an eye. I don’t know where this war is taking us next,” said Al-Majed, from Khirbet Silm. He only gave his surname.

“My family and I took refuge in the public school nearby. Men are staying on the streets to give more space to women. My house in the town that I never left before was destroyed. There is no roof to protect me and my family. Was this war really necessary? Why did we do this to ourselves?” Al-Bazzi, another displaced man, said.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati informed the Cabinet that the number of shelters has increased to 874.

This announcement was made after the Cabinet meeting to address the unprecedented displacement of nearly 1 million refugees which, according to Mikati, is “the largest displacement movement that may have happened” in Lebanon.

The Forum de Beirut exhibition center also opened its doors to displaced people.

“The majority of the people in the streets are non-Lebanese,” said Mikati. “We are cooperating with UNHCR to take care of them in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs. The fact that people are staying in the streets is not acceptable.”

Mikati directed the security forces to protect private properties. These directives were issued after displaced people walked into empty residential buildings and occupied apartments.

“The limited violations that have been committed were addressed,” Mikati said.

Based on its estimations, the Lebanese government needs $427 million to cover the shelter and relief operations for the coming three months.

“We received the immediate approval of international organizations to grant us about $200 million, a sum that must be delivered through the UN via a clear and transparent mechanism,” Mikati said.

Nasser Yassin, head of the government’s emergency committee, said that most schools in Beirut and Mount Lebanon reached maximum capacity, and that “we are trying to direct the displaced people toward the north.”


Hamas claims Tel Aviv shooting attack that killed seven

Hamas claims Tel Aviv shooting attack that killed seven
Updated 02 October 2024
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Hamas claims Tel Aviv shooting attack that killed seven

Hamas claims Tel Aviv shooting attack that killed seven
  • “The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades takes responsibility for the heroic Jaffa operation carried out by the fighters from the (occupied West Bank) city of Hebron,” the group said
  • The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades named the attackers as Mohammed Misk and Ahmed Al-Haimoni

JERUSALEM: Hamas’s armed wing claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the killing of seven people in a shooting and stabbing attack in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv the previous day.
The attack — one of the deadliest in the country since the October 7 Hamas onslaught — came as Iran fired about 200 missiles at Israel, sending hundreds of thousands of people into public shelters.
“The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades takes responsibility for the heroic Jaffa operation carried out by the fighters from the (occupied West Bank) city of Hebron,” the group said in a statement, referring to the attack near the Tel Aviv light rail station in Jaffa on Tuesday.
“The attack coincided with the painful strikes in the heart of the entity (Israel)... executed by Iran,” it said, referring to Tuesday evening’s missile barrage.
The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades named the attackers as Mohammed Misk and Ahmed Al-Haimoni, who managed to “infiltrate into our occupied lands.”
Israel and Hamas have been at war in Gaza since October 7 when the Palestinian militant group carried out its attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 41,689 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations has said the figures are reliable.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli police said seven people had been killed in the Jaffa attack, with one of the victims succumbing to his wounds overnight.
On Tuesday, Israeli police said 17 others had been wounded.
Police said the alleged assailants “began their killing spree when they entered the carriage of the light rail train that stopped at the station and fired at passengers.”
They were armed with an assault rifle and a knife, and continued on foot until police “neutralized” them, it added.
One of the attackers was shot dead and the other was seriously wounded, police added.
Overnight, the Israeli security agency and the army arrested several suspects in Hebron and Jerusalem believed to have aided the suspects.
Israeli media identified three of the dead as Israelis and one as Georgian. The others were Greek and Moldovan, their governments said.
The identity of the seventh victim has not been released.
Palestinian militants have carried out several attacks on Israelis since October 7, killing at least 23, according to Israeli official figures.
Violence in the West Bank has also surged. Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 682 people in raids or attacks in the territory since October 7, according to Palestinian health ministry figures.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and its troops regularly make incursions into Palestinian towns and cities, which often result in heavy clashes.