Israeli airstrikes hit the southern suburbs of Beirut just hours after Washington expressed concerns about the scale of Israeli operations in the city. The strikes come amid a rising death toll and growing fears of a broader regional conflict…reports Asian Lite News
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have conducted strikes across Gaza Strip and Lebanon in its ongoing war against Hamas and Hezbollah, which is shattering any effort to a peace deal in the region.
At least 26 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian medical and security sources.
Medical sources said 11 Palestinians were killed in Israeli shelling near the al-Faluja area in Jabalia refugee camp, while at least 10 others were killed in an airstrike targeting an inhabited house east of Khan Younis city in southern Gaza.
They added five more were killed in the Israeli bombing of a house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, noting they were all transferred to Al-Aqsa Hospital.
According to Palestinian security sources, Israeli tanks continue to besiege the Jabalia refugee camp for the 11th day in a row, as residents of Jabalia, its camp, and the nearby cities of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia were ordered to evacuate southward.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Tuesday that the IDF continues its operations in the Jabalia area targeting militant infrastructure and operatives embedded inside civilian areas.
The IDF added that it acted in accordance with international law to facilitate humanitarian aid to Gaza residents, particularly assistance concerning the health system, including the transfer of patients, accompanying personnel, and hospital staff, as well as fuel delivery for operating hospitals.
Airstrikes in Beirut
At least one Israeli strike hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early on Wednesday morning, Reuters reported, hours after the U.S. said it opposed the scope of Israeli attacks in Beirut amid a rising death toll and fears of wider regional escalation.
Reuters cited witnesses who reported hearing two blasts and observing plumes of smoke rising from two separate neighborhoods.
The Israeli military has in recent weeks carried out strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, without advance warnings, or issued a warning for one area while striking more broadly.
The Israeli military said it conducted a strike on an underground Hezbollah weapons stockpile in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including advancing warnings to the population in the area,” the Israeli military said.
Israeli military evacuation orders were also affecting more than a quarter of Lebanon, according to the U.N. refugee agency, two weeks after Israel began incursions into the south of the country that it says are aimed at driving back Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since the beginning of the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict on October 8, 2023, has reached 2,350, while injuries went up to 10,906, Health Ministry figures showed on Tuesday.
Iran condemns strike on Gaza hospital
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has strongly condemned a deadly Israeli airstrike on tents of displaced persons near a hospital compound in the central Gaza Strip.
He made the remarks on Tuesday in a statement released by the Ministry, describing the attack “using incendiary bomb” as a complete example of a “war crime” and part of the “genocide plot” against Palestinians.
Baghaei stressed that targeting civilians and civilian facilities, especially hospitals and relief and medical centers, was prohibited during conflicts, Xinhua news agency reported.
Israel’s “frequent and intentional” strikes against hospitals and killings of the sick, injured, and medical staff were sufficient on their own to put Israeli leaders on trial, he noted.
At least four Palestinians were killed and about 70 others injured on Monday in the Israeli bombing of the tents of displaced people near Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported, citing medical sources.
MBS, Sisi call for immediate ceasefire
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, emphasising the need to address the worsening humanitarian situation and halt policies that contribute to escalation and tensions in the region. This statement followed a meeting in Cairo between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Egyptian Presidency reported that the leaders discussed regional developments, with a particular focus on Gaza and Lebanon. Both sides underscored the seriousness of the situation in the region and the urgency of de-escalation. They reaffirmed their commitment to a lasting peace and security solution through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on international resolutions.
The two leaders stressed that any attempt to marginalise the Palestinian cause would prolong the conflict in the region. They called for immediate measures to calm the situation, including a ceasefire in both Gaza and Lebanon, as well as efforts to improve the deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
The leaders also highlighted the importance of respecting Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity. They exchanged views on several regional issues, with a focus on the security of the Red Sea region, as well as the situations in Sudan, Libya, and Syria.
Concluding the meeting, the two leaders signed an agreement to form the Egyptian-Saudi Supreme Coordination Council, co-chaired by President El-Sisi and the Saudi Crown Prince, as well as an agreement to encourage and protect mutual investments between the two countries.
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