Israeli army orders evacuation of residents in south Lebanon, north Gaza

Israeli army orders evacuation of residents in south Lebanon, north Gaza
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The Israeli military ordered residents of 22 southern Lebanese villages on Saturday to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, which flows from the western Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean.

The order, communicated via a military statement, mentions villages in southern Lebanon that have been recent targets of Israeli attacks, many of which are already almost empty.

At least five people in Lebanon were killed by Israeli strikes late on Friday, with the town of Al-Bissariyeh in Sidon district.

The strikes targeted the home of Sheikh Abbas Chami, a local mosque leader in the town, and killed Chami's four children and brother, according to Lebanese media.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon continued throughout Saturday, with several locations in the country's south, including Kawthriyat al-Sayyad in the Nabatieh area , where a three-storey building in the town was completely destroyed.

Hezbollah have reportedly fired rockets at an air base in the northern Israeli town of Haifa in retaliation, with reports of Hezbollah drones also flying over Tel Aviv.

In the Gaza Strip, subject to an indiscriminate Israeli assault for over a year, at least two Palestinians were killed in an drone strike near the fishermen’s port in western Gaza.

Israeli shelling  also targeted a house in areas in Jabalia and Khan Younis, Palestinian media said.

The Israeli army has reportedly issued new evacuation orders for Jabalia, al-Nazla and the northern areas of of Gaza City, including the neighbourhoods of al-Saftawi and Sheikh Radwan, saying residents must leave immediately towards the Palestinian territory's south, amid fears of ethnic cleansing.

UN force say 'lot of damage' to south Lebanon positions
2:24 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

A spokesman for UN peacekeepers in Lebanon said on Saturday that Israel in the south of the country had inflicted "a lot of damage" on its positions.

Working is "very difficult because there is a lot of damage, even inside the bases," UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP. "Just last night, on the position of the Ghanaian peacekeepers, just outside, the blast was so strong that it destroyed some of the containers inside very badly."

UNIFIL posts have been targeted by Israel in recent days [Getty]
100 healthcare centres in conflict-hit Lebanon closed
2:14 PM
The New Arab Staff

100 healthcare centres in conflict-hit areas of Lebanon are now closed due to Israeli military attacks, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Five hospitals have been shut as a result of structural damage following Israeli attacks, the organisation said, calling for attacks on health workers and facilities that have killed almost 100 people to come to a halt.

 

Iran bans walkie-talkies on flights after Lebanon blasts
1:28 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Iran has banned pagers and walkie-talkies on all flights, local media reported Saturday, weeks after deadly sabotage attacks in Lebanon which were blamed on Israel.

"The entry of any electronic communication device, except mobile phones, in flight cabins or ... in non-accompanied cargo, has been banned," ISNA news agency reported, citing the spokesman for Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation Jafar Yazerlo.

The decision came over three weeks since sabotage attacks targeting members of the Iran-allied Hezbollah group in Lebanon that saw pagers and walkie-talkies explode, killing at least 39 people.

Nearly 3,000 others were wounded in the attack, which Iran and Hezbollah blamed on Israel, including Tehran's ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani.

Earlier this month, Dubai-based airline Emirates banned pagers and walkie-talkies onboard its planes.

Hezbollah says launched drone attack on base in Haifa
1:03 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Hezbollah said Saturday it launched a drone attack on a military base in north Israel's Haifa a day earlier.

Hezbollah fighters at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) on Friday launched "an air attack with a swarm of explosives-laden drones on an air defence base" in Haifa, a statement from the Iran-backed group said.

Iran parliament speaker visits site of central Beirut strike
12:01 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has visited the site of Thursday's central Beirut explosion, accompanied by two Hezbollah legislators, according to the AFP news agency.

The Israeli air raid on Thursday night in the densely populated Basta neighbourhood killed at least 22 people.

It had targeted the Lebanese group’s security chief Wafiq Safa, but his fate remains unknown, according to Hezbollah sources.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in central Beirut, visiting the site of Thursday strike [Getty]
No food has entered north Gaza since October 1: WFP
11:47 AM
The New Arab Staff

Escalating violence in the Gaza Strip is having "serious impacts" on food security levels, as no food has entered northern parts of the territory since October 1, the World Food Programme said.

"It is unclear how long WFP’s remaining food supplies in the north, already distributed to shelters and health facilities, will last," they said in a statement on X.

North Gaza has been under an intensified Israeli offensive for days [Getty]
Russia, Syria, Iran should evaluate after Israel's strike
11:34 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Russia, Syria and Iran should take more effective measures to protect Syria's territorial integrity, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said, when asked about Israel's recent strike on Damascus.

"We will defend an urgent and permanent peace in Syria...Israel is the most concrete threat to regional and global peace," Erdogan said in an interview with Turkish media.

"It is essential that Russia, Iran and Syria take more effective measures against this situation, which poses the greatest threat to Syria's territorial integrity," according to a readout of the interview from the presidency. 

Israel orders Lebanese to evacuate north of Awali river
10:34 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

 The Israeli military has ordered residents of 22 southern Lebanese villages to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, according to a statement released on Saturday.

Israel army warns s. Lebanon residents 'not to return home'
9:43 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

The Israeli military on Saturday warned residents of south Lebanon "not to return" to their homes as troops continued fighting Hezbollah militants in the area.

Israeli forces continue to "target Hezbollah posts in or near your villages", military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X. "For your own protection, do not return to your homes until further notice. Do not go south; anyone who goes south may put his life at risk."

Gaza death toll rises to 42,175, health ministry says
9:05 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

At least 42,175 Palestinians have been killed and 98,336 others injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023, Gaza's health ministry said on Saturday.

Iran parliamentary speaker lands in Beirut in state visit
8:46 AM
The New Arab Staff

Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, landed in Beirut on Saturday where he was received at the airport by MP Mohammad Khawaja, representing Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and MP Hassan Ezzedine.

Ghalibaf is the second high-profile Iranian politician to visit Lebanon following Israel's intensified aggression in the country in late September.

Army spox claims Hezbollah using ambulances 'for weapons'
8:21 AM
The New Arab Staff

The Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, claimed that Hezbollah members are "using ambulances to transport terrorists and weapons", in a statement posted on X on Saturday.

Adraee issued a warning "against the continuation of this phenomenon", and called on "medical teams to avoid dealing with Hezbollah members and not cooperate with them".

 

Hezbollah says launched missiles on Israeli base near Haifa
8:11 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Saturday said it launched a salvo of missiles at an Israeli military base south of the coastal city of Haifa, as Israelis marked the Yom Kippur holiday.

Hezbollah fighters struck a base "south of the city of Haifa, targeting the explosives factory there with a salvo of... missiles", the group said in a statement.

 

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