Lebanese family killed in Israeli strike on their home ahead of daughter’s wedding

Lebanese family killed in Israeli strike on their home ahead of daughter’s wedding
Maya Gharib was planning to get married in October, though she was worried her brother living abroad wouldn’t be able to make it back to Lebanon as tensions with Israel grew. (AP)
Short Url
Updated 31 October 2024
Follow

Lebanese family killed in Israeli strike on their home ahead of daughter’s wedding

Lebanese family killed in Israeli strike on their home ahead of daughter’s wedding
  • Maya Gharib was planning to get married in October, though she was worried her brother living abroad wouldn’t be able to make it back to Lebanon as tensions with Israel grew
  • Israel said it struck a site hiding Hezbollah rocket launchers and missiles. Maya’s brother said the family had no connection to the group

BEIRUT:The family WhatsApp group chat buzzed with constant messages. Israel was escalating its airstrikes on villages and towns in southern Lebanon. Everyone was glued to the news.
Reda Gharib woke up uncharacteristically early that day, Sept. 23. Living a continent away in Senegal, he scrolled through videos and pictures shared by his sisters and aunts of explosions around their neighborhood in Tyre, Lebanon’s ancient coastal city.
His aunts decided to leave for Beirut. His father, mother and three sisters had no such plans.
Then his father announced to the group that he had received a call from the Israeli military to evacuate or risk their lives. After that, the chat fell silent. Ten minutes later, Gharib called his father. There was no answer.
The Gharibs’ apartment had been directly hit by an Israeli airstrike. The family had no time to get out. Gharib’s father, Ahmed, a retired Lebanese army officer, his mother, Hanan, and his three sisters were all killed.
“The whole apartment was gone. It is back to bare bones. As if there was nothing there,” said Gharib, speaking from the Senegalese capital, Dakar, where he has been living since 2020.
The Israeli military said it struck a Hezbollah site hiding rocket launchers and missiles.
Gharib said his family had no connection to Hezbollah. The direct hit gutted their apartment, while those above and below suffered only damage, suggesting a specific part of the building was targeted. Gharib said it was his family’s home.
The strike was one of more than 1,600 Israel said it carried out on Sept. 23, the first day of an intensified bombardment of Lebanon it has waged for the past month. More than 500 people were killed that day, a casualty figure not observed in Gaza on a single day until the second week, said Emily Tripp, director of London-based Airwars, a conflict monitoring group.
Israel has vowed to cripple Hezbollah to put an end to more than a year of cross-border fire by the Iranian-backed militant group that began the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered the war in Gaza. It says its strikes are targeting Hezbollah’s members and infrastructure. But there are also hundreds of civilians among the more than 2,000 people killed in the bombardment over the past month — often entire families killed in their homes.
Since then, the street where the Gharib family lived — an area of shops, residential buildings and offices of international agencies in Tyre’s Al-Housh district — has been battered with repeated airstrikes and is now deserted.
Gharib, 27, a pilot and entrepreneur, moved to Senegal in search of a better future but always planned to return to Lebanon to start a family.
He was close to his three sisters, the keeper of their secrets and best friend, he said. Growing up, their father was often away, so he and his mother took charge of family affairs.
The last time he visited his family was in May 2023, when his sister Maya, an engineering student, got engaged. She had planned to marry on Oct. 12. But as tensions with Israel grew in September, Gharib’s plans to come home for the wedding were uncertain. She told him she would put it off until he could get there.
After the strike, her fiancé, also an army officer, found her body and those of the rest of her family in a hospital morgue in Tyre.
“She was not destined to have her wedding. We paraded her as a bride to paradise instead,” Gharib said. On the day the wedding was to have taken place he posted pictures of his sister, including her wedding dress.
His sister Racha, 24, was about to graduate as a dentist and planned to open her own clinic. “She loved life,” he said.
His youngest sister, Nour, 20, was studying to be a dietitian and prepping to be a personal trainer. Gharib called her the “laughter of the house.”
There is nothing left of his family now except for a few pictures on his phone and on social media posts.
“I am so hurt. But I know the hurt will be hardest when I come to Lebanon,” Gharib said. “Not even a picture of them remains hanging on the walls. Their clothes are not there. Their smell is no longer in the house. The house is totally gone.”
“They took my family and the memories of them.”


Palestinians accuse Israeli forces of raiding West Bank hospital

Palestinians accuse Israeli forces of raiding West Bank hospital
Updated 52 min 33 sec ago
Follow

Palestinians accuse Israeli forces of raiding West Bank hospital

Palestinians accuse Israeli forces of raiding West Bank hospital
  • Israeli authorities confirmed the raid in which they apprehended a Palestinian injured in an Israeli strike
  • Israelis accuse him of being ‘the third member of a terrorist cell that carried out a shooting’ at Mehola junction

NABLUS, Palestinian Territories: The Palestinian health ministry in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday condemned a raid by Israeli forces on a hospital in Nablus and the arrest of an injured patient.
Israeli authorities confirmed the raid on Wednesday evening in which they apprehended a Palestinian injured in an Israeli strike the day before.
The health ministry in a statement called the raid “a flagrant violation of all international laws and conventions that stipulate the protection of treatment centers and patients.”
The detained Palestinian is from near Tubas in the northern West Bank, where he was targeted in an Israeli strike on Tuesday that the Israeli military said killed three other Palestinians.
Medical sources confirmed the man’s identity to AFP and that he was injured in the strike.
In a joint statement, the Israeli military, the Shin Bet security service and the Israeli police announced that they had arrested the man at a hospital in Nablus.
They accused him of being “the third member of a terrorist cell that carried out the shooting attack” at Mehola junction in August in which an Israeli was killed. They also accused him of planning to carry out further attacks and posing “an imminent threat to Israeli civilians.”
The Palestinian health ministry called on “international institutions” and the Red Cross to “intervene immediately to stop the occupation’s attacks on treatment centers and staff, demanding immediate protection for the health system and all its components.”
The Israeli organizations said: “The security forces will continue to operate wherever necessary to thwart terrorism in the area and to maintain the safety of Israeli civilians.”


Qatar emir and UK prime minister discuss investment relations

Qatar emir and UK prime minister discuss investment relations
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani shake hands at Downing Street. (Reuters)
Updated 04 December 2024
Follow

Qatar emir and UK prime minister discuss investment relations

Qatar emir and UK prime minister discuss investment relations
  • In talks at Downing Street, Keir Starmer welcomed Qatar’s £1 billion investment in British climate technologies
  • Sheikh Tamim wrapped up his two-day state visit to Britain, which included meeting King Charles

LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Qatar’s £1 billion investment in British climate technologies as he met the emir on the final day of a state visit to London.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani held talks with Starmer at his Downing Street residence on Wednesday afternoon.

During the meeting, the two leaders agreed that Qatar and the UK’s “thriving investment relationship would continue to grow and deliver significant benefits for both countries,” Starmer’s office said. 

They also discussed strengthening defense ties and Qatar’s mediation role in the Middle East, including in Gaza.

Earlier, the UK announced the agreement with Qatar to invest £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in British climate technologies.

Engineering company Rolls-Royce will receive investment in technology programs that “improve energy efficiency, support new sustainable fuels and lower carbon emissions,” the UK government said.

Qatar is one of the largest purchasers of Rolls-Royce engines, which are used in some Qatar Airways jets.

“Enabling the energy transition through lower carbon technologies is a key part of our strategy,” Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic said. “We are delighted to welcome Qatar as a strategic partner, who will support the growth of these technologies. They share our ambition to make an impact on the challenge of climate change.”

The UK partnership with Qatar is expected to create thousands of highly skilled jobs and will launch climate technology hubs across the UK and Qatar, the UK government said.

It will include investment in start-ups in the UK and Qatar focusing on energy efficiency, carbon management and green power.

Starmer said that the deal was a “significant step in our ambition to become a clean energy superpower and further evidence that the UK is one of the best places in the world for companies to develop those technologies.”

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Thani said: “The United Kingdom has a proud history of innovation in cutting-edge technology, and Qatar has long been a trusted investment partner to British businesses.

“This new collaboration aligns with our long-term strategy to invest in the economies of the future.”

On Tuesday, Sheikh Tamim and Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al-Thani were greeted by Prince William and the Princess of Wales, before taking a royal carriage procession to meet King Charles.

On Wednesday the emir visited Sandhurst military academy, which he attended in the 1990s.


Israel PM announces body of hostage recovered from Gaza in ‘special operation’

Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency said that Israeli forces have recovered the body of Svirsky in Gaza. (AP)
Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency said that Israeli forces have recovered the body of Svirsky in Gaza. (AP)
Updated 05 December 2024
Follow

Israel PM announces body of hostage recovered from Gaza in ‘special operation’

Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency said that Israeli forces have recovered the body of Svirsky in Gaza. (AP)
  • Body of Svirsky was recovered in an operation by the Shin Bet internal security agency, aided by the military
  • Hostages and Missing Families Forum welcomed the return of Svirsky’s body while demanding the immediate release of the remaining hostages

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a statement Wednesday that the body of a hostage had been recovered from the Gaza Strip.
“In a special operation, the body of hostage Itay Svirsky, who was kidnapped on October 7 (2023) from kibbutz Beeri and murdered in captivity by Hamas terrorists in January 2024, was brought back,” Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office.
The body of Svirsky, who was 38 when he was kidnapped during Hamas’s surprise attack, was recovered in an operation by the Shin Bet internal security agency, aided by the military, both organizations confirmed in a joint statement.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a campaign group for relatives of those abducted to Gaza, welcomed the return of Svirsky’s body while demanding the immediate release of the remaining hostages.
“The families continue to wait for their loved ones after 425 days of captivity. Many hostages remain alive but in grave danger, requiring immediate release for urgent medical care and rehabilitation. Others must be returned for dignified burial,” it said.
Separately on Wednesday, the Israeli military released a statement on its investigation into the deaths of six hostages, whose bodies were recovered in August.
The military said they were likely executed by their captors as Israel struck near their location in February.
“According to the most plausible scenario, the terrorists shot the hostages close to the time of the strike,” the military said.
During the October 7, 2023 attack, militants kidnapped 251 people, 96 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the Israeli military.
Svirsky’s is the 38th body of a hostage to be brought back from the Gaze Strip.


Israeli strikes on a Gaza tent camp kill at least 21 people, hospital says

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
Updated 04 December 2024
Follow

Israeli strikes on a Gaza tent camp kill at least 21 people, hospital says

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
  • The strikes were the latest deadly assault in the war-wracked Gaza Strip, where Israel’s offensive against Hamas is nearly 14 months old and showing no end in sight

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli aircraft struck a sprawling tent camp housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people, according to a local health official, setting off fires in the coastal tent city that Israel has designated a humanitarian zone but which has been repeatedly targeted.
The Israeli military said it struck senior Hamas militants “involved in terrorist activities” in the area, without providing additional details, and said it took precautions to minimize harm to civilians.
The strikes were the latest deadly assault in the war-wracked Gaza Strip, where Israel’s offensive against Hamas is nearly 14 months old and showing no end in sight, despite international efforts to revive negotiations toward a ceasefire.
The Biden administration has pledged to make a new push to get a ceasefire for Gaza after Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to end more than a year of cross-border fighting. And President-elect Donald Trump demanded in a social media post this week the release of hostages held by Hamas before he is sworn into office in January.
The strike Wednesday in Muwasi, a desolate area with few public services that holds hundreds of thousands of displaced people, also wounded at least 28 people, according to Atif Al-Hout, the director of Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
An Associated Press journalist at the hospital counted at least 15 bodies, but he said reaching a precise number was difficult because many of the dead were dismembered, some without heads or badly burned.
Videos and photos shared widely on social media showed flames and a column of black smoke rising into the night sky, as well as twisted metal tent frames and shredded fabric. Palestinian men searched through the still-burning wreckage, shouting “Over here guys!” Further away, civilians stood at a distance, observing the destruction.
The military said the strikes had set off secondary explosions, indicating explosives present in the area had detonated. It was not possible to independently confirm the Israeli claims, and the strikes could also have ignited fuel, cooking gas canisters or other materials in the camp.
The strikes followed earlier Israeli attacks on other parts of the Gaza Strip that killed eight people, four of them children, according to Palestinian medics. The military said it had struck “terrorist targets” in a series of strikes.
On Wednesday, Israel said its forces recovered the body of one hostage who was captured alive during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, yet who Israel believes was killed by his captors. Israel believes about a third of the remaining 100 hostages are dead.


Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047

Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047
Updated 04 December 2024
Follow

Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047

Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047
  • Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad says 316 children, 790 women among dead
  • Says real numbers may be higher due to unrecorded deaths of Lebanese citizens

BEIRUT: The death toll in Lebanon in more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah has reached 4,047 people, most of them since a September escalation, authorities said Wednesday.
A week after a ceasefire took effect, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad told reporters that “until now... we have recorded 4,047 dead and 16,638 wounded.”
Abiad said 316 children and 790 women were among the dead.
Most of the deaths occurred after September 15, he said, adding that “we believe the real number may be higher” due to unrecorded deaths.
A source close to Hezbollah had told AFP that hundreds of the group’s fighters had been killed, without providing a precise figure.
On the Israeli side, authorities reported at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians dead.
Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
A fragile ceasefire came into effect last week and is generally holding, though both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
During the fighting, according to Abiad, there were “67 attacks on hospitals, including 40 hospitals that were directly targeted,” killing 16 people.
“Seven of these hospitals are still closed,” the minister said.
“There were 238 attacks on emergency response organizations, with 206 dead,” he said, adding that 256 emergency vehicles including fire trucks and ambulances were also “targeted.”
The Israeli military has insisted its actions were aimed at militants, and in October accused Hezbollah of using ambulances “for terrorist purposes.”
On Monday, Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed 11 people, according to the health ministry, after Hezbollah earlier in the day claimed its first attack on an Israeli position since the truce began.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that “if we return to war, we will act with greater force and penetrate deeper” into Lebanon, adding that “there will be no immunity” for the Lebanese state, which was not a party to the Israel-Hezbollah war.