Israeli strikes kill dozens in Lebanon and in isolated northern Gaza
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes killed dozens of people including children Sunday in Lebanon and isolated northern Gaza, as the world watched for signs of how the U.S. election might affect the war against Iranian-backed militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has spoken three times with Donald Trump since Tuesday’s election and they “see eye-to-eye regarding the Iranian threat and all of its components.†Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Biden on Tuesday.
The Israeli airstrike in Lebanon killed at least 23 people including seven children in Aalmat village north of Beirut, far from the areas in the east and south where Hezbollah militants have a major presence. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said six additional people were wounded. There was no Israeli evacuation warning. There was no immediate Israeli comment.
Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel after war broke out in Gaza, in solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Israel retaliated, and a series of escalations have led to all-out war.
In northern Gaza, an Israeli strike on a home sheltering displaced people in the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya killed at least 17 people including nine women, according to Dr. Fadel Naim, director of Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza City.
Israel’s military said it targeted a site where militants were operating, without providing evidence. It said the details of the strike are under review.
For those determined to stay out of the fight between Hezbollah and Israel, the war in Lebanon can feel at a remove.
A separate strike hit a house in Gaza City, killing Wael al-Khour, a minister in the Hamas-run government, as well as his wife and three children, according to the Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the government.
Israel has struck deeper inside Lebanon since September, when it killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as well as most of his top commanders. Hezbollah has expanded its rocket fire from northern to central Israel. The fighting has killed more than 3,000 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry, and more than 70 people in Israel.
After Israel’s strike in Aalmat, some 25 miles north of Beirut, legislator Raed Berro denied that any Hezbollah personnel or assets were in the building that was hit, adding: “The important people are on the front line resisting … It is impossible for them to be among people in civilian life.â€
Hassan Ghaddaf, who lived next door and was lightly wounded, said displaced people were in the house that was struck.
“I had seen them and got to know them the other day,†Ghaddaf said. “They were peaceful. On the contrary, they had someone from the Lebanese Internal Security Forces that works for the state, and we saw their garb and clothes in the rubble.â€
In Syria, an Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, state news agency SANA reported. Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least three people were killed and suggested Hezbollah was targeted. Israel did not immediately comment.
The mid-month deadline is approaching for an ultimatum the Biden administration gave Israel to allow more aid into Gaza or risk possible restrictions on U.S. military funding.
As Israeli airstrikes flatten swaths of Lebanon, groups warn the attacks mirror some of the patterns of destruction and displacement seen in Gaza.
Israeli forces have encircled and largely isolated Jabaliya and the nearby northern Gaza towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun for the past month, allowing only a trickle of humanitarian aid. Experts from a panel that monitors food security say famine is imminent or may already be happening.
The northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, has suffered the heaviest destruction of the 13-month war that was triggered by Hamas’ attack into southern Israel. Israel has sent forces back in after repeated operations, saying Hamas has regrouped.
Israeli strikes often kill women and children. The military says it only targets militants, whom it accuses of hiding among civilians.
Also Sunday, Israel’s military released what it said was video footage of Hamas abusing detainees. The soundless footage, dated from 2018 to 2020, appears to show hooded detainees chained in stress positions. In some clips, men beat or poke them with batons.
It was not possible to independently verify the videos, which the military said it recovered during operations in Gaza.
Rights groups have long accused the Hamas-run government in Gaza and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank of abusing detainees and violently quashing dissent. Israel has been accused of similar abuses, especially since the start of the war. Israeli prison authorities say they follow relevant laws and investigate any allegations of wrongdoing.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. They killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third believed to be dead.
Qatar signals it may return to mediation if both sides show ‘serious political willingness.’ Meanwhile, at least 16 people are reported killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities who do not distinguish between civilians and militants in their count but say more than half the dead were women and children.
Israeli bombardment and ground invasions have left vast areas of Gaza in ruins and displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million people, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people live in tent camps with few if any services.
Cease-fire talks mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have repeatedly stalled, as have parallel efforts by the U.S. and others to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, said Saturday it had suspended its efforts and would resume them when “the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war.â€
Shurafa, Magdy and Chehayeb write for the Associated Press. Magdy reported from Cairo and Chehayeb from Beirut. Associated Press writers Lujain Jo in Aalmat, Lebanon, and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.
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