Israel attacks Beirut and Gaza after rockets hit northern Israel

Israel attacked what it said were Hezbollah weapons facilities in southern Beirut on Saturday after the Lebanese armed group fired missiles into northern Israel and a spokesman said a drone had was launched into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vacation home.

Netanyahu was not there at the time and it is unclear whether the building was hit by gunfire. However, he described this as an assassination carried out by “Iran’s proxy group Hezbollah” and called it a “serious mistake”, as Israel prepared to retaliate for Iran’s missile attack earlier this month.

The attacks came as Hamas doctors and media in Gaza, where Israel has been fighting to destroy the Palestinian militant group for more than a year, said Israeli bombings had killed more than 100 people. across the coastal enclave and the siege around three hospitals has been tightened. .

The promise of Israel and its enemies Hamas and Hezbollah keep fighting extinguished hope that the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Wednesday could lead to a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and prevent further escalation in the Middle East.

Officials, diplomats and other sources say that as the US election approaches, Israel looking using increased military operations to try to protect its borders and ensure its opponents cannot regroup.

On Saturday, Israeli planes dropped leaflets over southern Gaza with images of Sinwar and the message: “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza.”

Israeli attacks later on Saturday on a multi-story building in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya killed at least 73 people and wounded dozens, doctors and Hamas media said. .

The Israeli military is checking reports of casualties in an airstrike in northern Gaza, an Israeli official said, adding that a preliminary check showed the number was exaggerated and did not match. with the information they receive.

In the southern suburbs of Beirut, Israel launched heavy attacks on several locations, leaving thick clouds of smoke over the city well into the evening.

The Israeli military said the attacks targeted “several Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and a command center of the Hezbollah intelligence headquarters”.

Witnesses said Israel issued evacuation orders for four separate residential areas in the suburbs, calling on people to stay 500 meters away, but also conducted strikes in other areas.

Tens of thousands of people have fled the southern suburbs – once a densely populated area and home to Hezbollah offices and underground facilities – since Israel began regular attacks there. That was about three weeks ago.

Israel’s airstrike on September 27 killed the secretary general of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallahand nearby attacks have killed other leading figures of the Iran-backed group.

USA want US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Israel would scale back some attacks in and around Beirut.

Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli attack killed two people as they were traveling on Lebanon’s main highway near the Christian-majority town of Jounieh. The Israeli army said it was looking into the incident.

Another attack killed at least four people in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley, health authorities said. One of them is the mayor of a nearby town, second mayor will be killed this week.

The Israeli Ambulance Authority said that in a series of rocket launches by Hezbollah in Israel, one person was killed and at least nine people were injured.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on any drone attack on Netanyahu’s home in the northern Israeli town of Caesarea, which the prime minister said was aimed at killing him and his wife. grandfather.

The conflict over the past year has sparked direct confrontations between Iran and Israel, including missile attacks on Israel in April and October 1.

Mr. Netanyahu vowed to respond to the ballistic missile attack in October.

“I say to Iran and its proxies in the axis of evil: Anyone who tries to harm Israeli citizens will pay a heavy price,” he said in a statement after the Caesarea attack.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a statement: “We responded to the Israeli regime and the action in question was carried out by Hezbollah in Lebanon.”

Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel since the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas began in Gaza last October. On Saturday alone, Hezbollah launched about 200 “projectiles,” the Israeli military said.

Nearly three weeks ago, Israel launched a ground offensive inside Lebanon to try to stabilize the border area for citizens fleeing the fighting.

The Israeli army said on Saturday it had destroyed tunnels and underground infrastructure in southern Lebanon. They also said they killed Hezbollah’s deputy regional commander Bint Jbeil on Friday.

Israeli media said the Israeli army has opened an investigation into the death of a Hezbollah prisoner in Lebanon.

Since October 2023, more than 2,400 people have died in Lebanon, most of them last month, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, while 59 people have died in northern Israel and The Golan Heights is occupied, according to Israeli authorities.

According to Israeli statistics, militants led by Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostages in the attack that sparked the war. Palestinian officials say Israel’s military response has left more than 42,500 people dead.

Israel’s attack has left most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people homeless. famine spread And Hospitals and schools were destroyed.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that oversees administration in the Palestinian Territories, has increased aid deliveries into Gaza amid international pressure. Israel and the United Arab Emirates carried out aid drops into southern Gaza on Saturday.

Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden, say Sinwar’s death offers an opportunity to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and release the remaining hostages.

Negotiations on such a deal have stalled for weeks. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is leading diplomatic efforts, is expected to travel to Israel on Tuesday as part of a regional tour, Axios reported on social media platform X.