Israel bombs central Beirut amid continued Gaza attacks

Israel's strike on central Beirut, the third in less than 24 hours, came just hours after media reports that US special envoy Amos Hochstein would not be visiting Lebanon on Tuesday, as expected to discuss the latest ceasefire proposal.

Hochstein has been in Israel to discuss a deal to stop the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel which has been ongoing since October 2023.

Officials in Lebanon have been hopeful that a ceasefire could be finalised and had expressed optimism prior to the media reports that Hochstein's visit would be delayed.

A source close to Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that there had been no official communication that Hochstein would visit Beirut tomorrow.

"But there was anticipation for that, and until now we have not been informed of any date," noting that "the visit has not been cancelled, but as we said previously and this is also our position, any tour by the US envoy must carry a serious and tangible development."

The source said that Lebanon's position on the ceasefire is well known.

"We will only abide by Resolution 1701 without any amendment or attempts to circumvent it, and we will not submit to any Israeli conditions that affect Lebanese sovereignty, no matter how much the enemy tries to pressure with fire."

Despite media leaks that Hochstein will visit Beirut tomorrow, more than one official Lebanese source confirmed to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed this morning that "the Parliament Speaker has not yet been informed of any date for Hochstein's visit".

Lebanon's health ministry said five people have been killed in Israel's strike on a building in Zokak al-Blatt neighbourhood of central Beirut on Monday evening.

At least 24 people were injured in the strike which marks the third on central Beirut in two days. The strike came without warning and hit just minutes away from Lebanon's parliament buildings.

It is unclear at the moment who the strike was targeting.

A woman was killed when a rocket struck a building in Shfaram in northern Israel on Monday, Israel's ambulance service said.

(Reuters)

Lebanon's health ministry said an Israeli air strike on a densely-populated central district of Beirut killed at least four people on Monday.

"The Israeli enemy strike on Zuqaq al-Blat in Beirut killed four people and injured 18," the ministry said in a statement, giving a preliminary toll.

At least six people were wounded on Monday when a rocket struck a building in a northern Israeli town, Israel's ambulance service said.

One woman was still trapped in the building, it said.

The Israeli military said about five projectiles had been fired from Lebanon.

"Interception attempts were made and fallen projectiles were identified," the military said.

(Reuters)

European Union foreign ministers did not agree to suspend political dialogue with Israel during a meeting on Monday, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said, following a proposal from EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

"We know that there are tragic events in Gaza, huge civilian casualties, but we do not forget who started the current cycle of violence," Sikorski told reporters in Brussels. "And I can tell you that there was no agreement on the idea of ​​suspending negotiations with Israel."

Dozens of heritage sites in Lebanon were granted "provisional enhanced protection" by UNESCO Monday, the UN cultural body said, offering a higher level of legal shielding as fighting continues between Israel and Hezbollah.

The 34 cultural sites affected "now benefit from the highest level of immunity against attack and use for military purposes," UNESCO said in a statement, adding that "non-compliance with these clauses would constitute 'serious violations' of the 1954 Hague Convention and... potential grounds for prosecution".

Prime Minister Najib Mikati commented on the decision issued in favour of Lebanon by the UNESCO committee responsible for preserving cultural property during armed conflicts.

"This decision, which calls for enhanced protection of Lebanese archaeological sites threatened by Israeli aggression and for which Lebanon had submitted a request for review, represents a victory for justice and a resounding blow to the Israeli enemy that continues its destructive aggression against Lebanon," he said.

Mikati added that "this decision serves as a strong deterrent against the Israeli enemy, as it considers attacks on archaeological sites to be war crimes, requiring the prosecution of the aggressor before international courts."

He emphasised that "all nations and decision-makers must act to end the bloody and destructive Israeli aggression against Lebanon and implement international resolutions, foremost among them Resolution 1701."

A Lebanese security official told AFP that an Israeli strike hit a central neighbourhood of the capital Beirut on Monday, the third such attack in the last 24 hours.

"An Israeli air strike hit close to the Al-Zahraa Husseiniya in Zuqaq al-Blat," he told AFP requesting anonymity, referring to a Shia place of worship in the densely-populated district. An AFP correspondent in a nearby area heard two blasts, while reporters in another part of Beirut heard ambulance sirens.

A loud explosion was heard in Beirut and its surroundings amid initial reports of an Israeli airstrike targeting the Lebanese capital. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel's attack on that Iran last month degraded its defense and missile production capabilities, and also hit an element of its nuclear program.

"It's not a secret," Netanyahu said in a speech in parliament. "There is a specific component in their nuclear program that was hit in this attack."

However Netanyahu added that Iran's path to a nuclear weapon had not been blocked. 

(Reuters)

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 3,516 people and wounded 14,929 since October 2023, the Lebanese health ministry said on Monday

The United States imposed sanctions on Monday on Israel's Amana settler organization, the Treasury Department's website showed, targeting a group that operates in the occupied West Bank.

(Reuters)

An official source has told TNA's Arabic language site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that there is no official appointment scheduled yet with the US envoy to Lebanon, Amos Hochstein.  

Hochstein was expected to arrive in Beirut tomorrow to discuss the latest US-brokered ceasefire deal, the draft of which was delivered to Lebanon last week.  

Earlier today, Lebanese officials had voiced optimism that a deal would be agreed. However, Hochstein's decision to delay his visit is not seen as a positive sign, raising concerns about potential obstacles in finalising the agreement.

US President Joe Biden called on G20 leaders Monday to step up pressure on Hamas for a ceasefire with Israel, as he vowed to "keep pushing" for a deal in his last weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House.

"I ask everyone here to increase their pressure on Hamas, which is currently refusing this deal," Biden said in his opening remarks to the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

US envoy Amos Hochstein has told Lebanon's speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, that he will be delaying his departure to the country until he gets clarifications on Lebanon's position on a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, an Axios reporter said on Monday citing US officials.

🚨🇺🇸🇱🇧🇮🇱U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein informed the Lebanese Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, that he is delaying his departure to Beirut until getting more clarifications about the Lebanese position regarding the cease-fire agreement, U.S. officials told me

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 18, 2024

Hezbollah said Monday that four members of its media office died in an Israeli strike on a central Beirut district a day earlier that also killed its spokesman Mohammed Afif.

"Hezbollah's media relations mourns four knights of the resistance media... who were martyred on the road to Jerusalem alongside their beloved leader" Afif, a statement said. Lebanon's health ministry had reported four dead including a woman and 14 wounded including two children in the strike on Beirut's Ras al-Nabaa district.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have threatened to hit vessels of German shipping firms passing near the Red Sea or using Israeli ports, the German shipowners' association VDR said Monday.

The emailed warnings sent to the German industry body and cargo carriers in recent months were "attempts at intimidation", VDR executive Irina Haesler said.

The threats were "directed against ships that call at Israeli ports, as well as against those that pass through the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean", the association said.

"Regardless of their location, ships with supposed links to Israel are considered potential targets," it said.

One such email from the Houthis, seen by AFP, warned German shipowners of "a naval blockade on the Israeli enemy".

It said "all vessels belonging to it, associated with it or bound for it" would be "subject to punishment and ... prohibited from crossing the area of operations of the Yemeni Armed Forces".

A VDR spokeswoman told AFP the authenticity of the emails had been confirmed by the German navy and International Chamber of Shipping.

Israeli forces have killed the deputy mayor of Burh al-Shemali in Sour district, after targeting a water company in the city of Sour, L'Orient Today reported on Monday.

The mayor was identified as Kassem Wehbi.

The Lebanese group Hezbollah has fired around 60 rockets into Israel since midnight, Israeli website Haaretz said.

There is no alternative to the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, its chief insisted on Monday, following Israel's order to ban the organisation which coordinates nearly all aid in war-ravaged Gaza, in Israel and occupied east Jerusalem.

"There is no plan B," head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, told reporters in Geneva.

Israeli airstrikes targeting a water company in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre has killed one person and wounded two others, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. 

The NNA added that Israeli airstrikes and artillery hit other areas of the south, as Israel presses its ground offensive.

A convoy of 109 trucks was violently looted on 16 November after crossing into Gaza, resulting in the loss of 98 trucks, an UNRWA aid official told Reuters on Monday.

The convoy carrying food provided by UN agencies UNRWA and the World Food Programme was instructed by Israel to depart at short notice via an unfamiliar route from Kerem Shalom crossing, Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Senior Emergency Officer told Reuters.

"This incident highlights the severity of access challenges of bringing aid into southern and central Gaza," she said.

(Reuters)

17 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on a house in Beit Lahia near the Kamal Adwan Hospital, in northern Gaza.

Others were wounded in the strike, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa, which reported the strikes.

Gaza's Ministry of Health has announced that in the last 24 hours Israeli attacks on the enclave have killed 76 people and wounded a further 158 others.

The ministry added that 43,922 people have been killed since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, with a further 103,898 wounded.

A vessel located 60 nautical miles southeast of Yemen's Aden reported on Monday a missile splashing into the sea in its close proximity, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

UKMTO added that the vessel and its crew were safe.

(Reuters)

The Israeli military said about 30 projectiles were detected crossing from Lebanon into Israel on Monday, with the country's air defence system intercepting some of them.

"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in the Upper and Western Galilee areas, approximately 30 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory," the army said in a statement.

The European Union needs to continue its diplomatic dialogue with Israel amid tensions in the Middle East, Dutch foreign Caspar Veldkamp said on Monday, disagreeing with the EU's top diplomat who proposed to pause the dialogue with the country.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell last week proposed that the bloc suspend its political dialogue with Israel, citing possible human rights violations in the war in Gaza, according to four diplomats and a letter seen by Reuters.

Reports that Palestinian militant group Hamas' office has moved to Turkey do not reflect the truth, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Monday, adding members of the group visited the country from time to time.

Doha said last week it had told Hamas and Israel it will stall efforts to mediate a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal until they show willingness and seriousness. It also said that media reports it had told Hamas to leave the country were not accurate.

Turkey has fiercely criticised Israel over its offensives in Gaza and in Lebanon and does not deem Hamas a terrorist organisation. Some Hamas political officials regularly visit Turkey.

The European Union's top diplomat on Monday confirmed he would suggest to members of the bloc that the EU pauses its political dialogue with Israel, citing the country's conduct of the war in Gaza.

"Many people tried to stop the war in Gaza... this has not happened yet. And I don't see a hope for this to happen. That's why we have to put pressure on the Israeli government, and also, obviously on the Hamas side," Josep Borrell told journalists ahead of an EU meeting.

The European Union's foreign policy chief last week proposed that the bloc suspend its political dialogue with Israel, citing possible human rights violations in the war in Gaza, according to four diplomats and a letter seen by Reuters.

In a sign his proposal won't be welcomed by all EU members, Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said the EU needed to uphold its dialogue with Israel.

"In the view of the Netherlands, this door should be kept open", he said

The US official overseeing contacts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is due to visit Beirut on Tuesday, sources in Lebanon said on Monday, with Beirut expected give its response to a US truce proposal.

The US-led ceasefire diplomacy has come back into focus as Israel has been stepping up its offensive. Israeli strikes in two Beirut neighbourhoods killed six people including at least one senior Hezbollah official on Sunday, the first time Israel has struck central areas of the capital in a month.

The new US truce proposal was delivered last week to Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has been endorsed by Hezbollah to negotiate.

White House envoy Amos Hochstein was expected in Beirut on Tuesday for talks on the ceasefire, a Lebanese political source told Reuters. Lebanese media outlet Voice of Lebanon also reported the visit, citing Lebanese lawmaker Kassem Hashem, who is part of Berri's parliamentary bloc.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) has claimed a new drone attack against Israel that has been reportedly launched from Syria.

In a Telegram statement late yesterday, the group said the attack was launched against a "vital" target in the southern Israeli city of Eilat.

The New Arab's Arabic language site Al-Araby al-Jadeed quoted three sources close to the IRI as saying that the group decided to launch attacks from Syria for "security and political reasons" aiming to avoid a military response by Israel or the US against the group in Iraq.

Yemen's Houthi forces claimed responsibility yesterday evening for two fresh drone launches targeting Israel's southern Ashkelon and central Gush Dan area.

In a statement, the group's military spokesman Yahya al-Sarea said that a number of drones were launched and "achieved their goals successfully". He said that the group would continue their operations until Israel halted its "aggression" on Gaza and Lebanon.

After midnight, the Israeli army said that it intercepted a hostile unmanned aircraft in the Eilat area before it crossed into Israel, with no reports of casualties as a result of the interception.

The Houthi launches follow a similar drone launch on 16 November targeting Israel's southern Red Sea city of Eilat, which was also intercepted by Israel.

Palestinian factions have condemned the killing of Hezbollah's media chief Mohammed Afif with Hamas describing it as a "heinous crime", saying his assassination "will not silence the voice of resistance".

In a Telegram statement yesterday, the group said Afif represented a "strong and defiant voice of resistance".

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also denounced Afif's killing as "sinful", saying that "this barbaric aggression will only increase the brilliance and strength of the resistance".

For its part, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said the "cowardly assassination" of Afif is nothing but additional evidence of Israel's "failure to break the will of the resistance… and its [Israel's] inability to silence the voice of the resistance and its free media".