Israeli air strike on Gaza school kills 12 at Shati refugee camp

Israeli forces stepped up bombardment across the Gaza Strip and ordered more evacuations, creating a fresh wave of displacement from northern Gaza, to which Palestinians fear they will not be able to return.

As Israeli tanks advanced in Beit Lahiya, a month into a new push on northern Gaza, dozens of families streamed out, arriving at schools and other shelters in Gaza City with whatever belongings and food they could bring.

Drones hovered overhead broadcasting evacuation orders, which were also carried on social media outlets, and on audio and text messages sent to residents' phones, one displaced man said.

"After they displaced most or all of the people in Jabalia, now they are bombing everywhere, killing people on the roads and inside their houses to force everyone out," the man told Reuters via a chat app, giving only one name, Ahmed, for fear of repercussions.

Palestinian officials say Israel is carrying out a plan of "ethnic cleansing".

Residents say no aid has entered Jabalia, Beit Lahiya or Beit Hanoun since the operation began on 5 October.

The United States has had conversations with Israel in the past week about establishing the first meeting of a channel for Washington to raise and discuss civilian harm incidents in Gaza, the State Department has said.

The first meeting has not yet taken place, but State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters the US was hoping it would happen in the next week or two in person.

The US proposed a new channel to "raise and discuss civilian harm incidents" with Israel in a letter sent by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last month, which gave Israel a month to take steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid.

Malaysia said Friday that six of its peacekeepers serving under the United Nations were injured in an explosion in Lebanon.

The defence ministry said in a statement shortly after midnight that the blast happened Thursday near the Saida Stadium, but did not give details on what caused the explosion.

The UN has said that five Malaysian peacekeepers were among those wounded in an Israeli air strike in South Lebanon on Thursday, in a raid that also killed three civilians.

Israel launched a barrage of strikes after Lebanon's Hezbollah said it carried out a missile attack targeting a military base near Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday.

Malaysia's defence ministry said the explosion had "targeted another civilian vehicle headed towards Beirut but also caused damage to a bus carrying" the Malaysian UN peacekeepers, injuring six of them.

It described the injuries as "minor", including one peacekeeper who suffered a fracture in the left arm and was taken to hospital.

The Malaysian Armed Forces "will continue to monitor this situation closely and will provide updates regarding the incident as they become available," the statement said.

The armed forces "remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of its personnel while carrying out peacekeeping missions under the United Nations banner," it added.

Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours have resulted in at least 53 deaths and 161 injuries, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

This brings the total death toll since October 2023 to 3,103, with 13,856 people injured.

 Israel's Yoav Gallant reportedly informed the families of captives that the Israeli military had met all its 'objectives' its war on Gaza.

He also stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decisions regarding a hostage deal were based on factors unrelated to military or political concerns, according to a source speaking to Israeli news publication Haaretz.

The alleged meeting involving Gallant comes after Prime Minister Netanyahu dismissed him, sparking protests across Israel.

Israel Katz, a fellow Likud party member and current Foreign Minister, is set to replace Gallant.

Israeli police briefly detained two French security officials in Jerusalem, leading to the cancellation of a visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

Barrot had intended to visit the French-owned Eleona Church compound as part of diplomatic efforts to ease regional tensions.

He called the incident "unacceptable" after Israeli forces entered the compound with weapons without prior French approval.

On Thursday, the Israeli army detained at least 18 Palestinians, including two girls and former prisoners, in raids across the occupied West Bank, according to a statement from the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

The raids took place in Hebron, Qalqilya, Tubas, and Ramallah.

The statement also reported that detainees and their families faced abuse, threats, and damage to their homes.

This brings the total number of Palestinians detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank since October 2023 to over 11,600.

تغطية صحفية| الاحتلال يطلق النار بشكل عشوائي تجاه مخيم طولكرم. pic.twitter.com/z906M9a6Am

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) November 7, 2024

Over 100 Lebanese MPs have appealed to the United Nations, urging protection for historic sites endangered by Israeli bombings in its conflict with Hezbollah.

In a letter to UNESCO’s director, they condemned Israel's actions during the war as "grave human rights violations and atrocities," calling for the safeguarding of Lebanon’s heritage sites in Baalbek, Tyre, Sidon, and other at-risk locations amid the ongoing violence.

The Israeli military called for the evacuation of several areas in northern Gaza on Thursday.

"We inform you that the designated area is considered a dangerous combat zone. For your safety, move south immediately," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X along with a map of the area in Gaza City's northwest.

An Israeli airstrike has destroyed an Ottoman-era building just a stone's throw from the UNESCO-listed temples of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, the closest Israel has come yet to striking one of Lebanon's most treasured archaeological sites.

Heaps of grey masonry and twisted metal lay on Thursday next to a burnt-out bus just a few dozen metres (yards) from the World Heritage Site, a day after the attack which was part of a wave of strikes that killed 40 people in and around the city.

The Israeli military has told residents of the entire city to leave Baalbek, in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, which houses one of the biggest and best preserved complexes of Greco-Roman and Phoenician temples in the Levant.

The surrounding city has come under repeated attack from Israel which says leaders of the Iran-backed Shi'ite movement Hezbollah shelter there.

Governor Bachir Khodr told news agency Reuters the destroyed building in the historic Manshiyeh neighbourhood just outside the ancient temple site was valuable in itself, dating to the Ottoman era.

"It's a very artisanal neighbourhood, typically full of tourists. There was no one in that building," he said.

No damage was immediately visible to the temple complex, but it was too early to be conclusive, he said.

The closest Israeli 🇮🇱 airstrike today on Baalbek Temple Ruins since the beginning of the war on Lebanon 🇱🇧

A missile fell inside the parking lot of the Monolithic Roman Ruins in Lebanon, causing significant damage to the historic Manshiyeh neighborhood

The Temple has not yet… https://t.co/TiMaAPbejW pic.twitter.com/rsmg0rUz10

— Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) November 6, 2024

Gaza's civil defence agency said 12 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on Thursday on a school housing displaced people in the north of the Palestinian territory.

There were "12 martyrs and a large number of injuries as a result of the occupation aircraft bombing" of a school housing displaced people in Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, the agency said in a statement.

Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said earlier that at least 27 people were killed in Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip on Thursday.

UNIFIL has issued a statement confirming that five of its newly arrived peacekeepers were lightly injured in an Israeli drone strike near Sidon, Lebanon.

The injured were treated on-site by the Lebanese Red Cross before proceeding to their posts.

UNIFIL urged all parties to avoid endangering peacekeepers or civilians, emphasising that "differences should be resolved at the negotiating table, not through violence."

Statement:

This afternoon, a UNIFIL convoy bringing newly-arrived peacekeepers to south Lebanon was passing Saida when a drone strike occurred nearby.

— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) November 7, 2024

The leader of Yemen's Houthis said on Thursday that Donald Trump will fail once more to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after his historic re-election as US president this week.

"Trump failed in the project of... the deal of the century despite all his arrogance, haughtiness, recklessness and tyranny, and he will fail this time as well," Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in his weekly speech.

The Health Ministry in Gaza reports that at least 43,469 people have been killed and 102,561 injured in Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023.

In the past 48 hours alone, 78 Palestinians lost their lives and 214 were wounded.

The Israeli military reported that around forty projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel.

Air raid sirens were activated for 13 minutes in Western Galilee, Haifa Bay, and Northern Galilee.

The military stated that some of the projectiles were intercepted, and the others were identified upon impact.

Shortly after, sirens were triggered again in the northern regions.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching rockets at Israeli soldiers at the Hermon military site gate near the Lebanese border.

They also claimed to have targeted Israeli forces with missiles in the Liman, Hanita, and Saar settlements, as well as the Al-Karyot residential complex in northern Haifa.

At least six people, including three children, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on Rafah city in southern Gaza, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Hezbollah welcomes any effort to stop the war in Lebanon but does not pin its hopes for a ceasefire on a particular U.S. administration, Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim al-Moussawi said on Thursday when asked about Donald Trump's election victory.

"It might be a change in the party who is in power, but when it comes to Israel, they have more or less the same policy," Moussawi told news agency Reuters. "We want to see actions, we want to see decisions taken," he said.

Moussawi acknowledged the heavy toll of Israeli attacks that have blown apart thousands of buildings, mostly in Lebanon's Shi'ite Muslim-dominated south and east and Beirut's southern suburbs, but said the group's military capabilities remained strong.

"Our hearts are broken - we are losing very dear lives. This feeling that cannot be punished or brought to international justice is a result of U.S support which renders them immune to accountability," he said.

"America is a full partner in what's happening because they can exercise influence to stop this destruction."

Lebanon's health ministry confirmed that three people were killed on Thursday in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle at the main entrance to Sidon, in southern Lebanon. 

"The Israeli enemy's raid on a car in Sidon resulted in the deaths of three people and the injury of three others," the ministry said in a statement.

The strike occurred near a busy junction, just metres from a Lebanese army checkpoint at the northern entrance to the city.

The target remains unclear. Initial reports indicate that at least four members of Malaysia's UN peacekeeping contingent were injured as their convoy passed the site at the time of the attack.

In recent weeks, several UNIFIL members have been injured, and their facilities targeted by Israeli forces.

Breaking | According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, 3 civilians have been reported killed and others injured due to an Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle in Sidon, southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/WznN0icrRo

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 7, 2024

Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced on X that he has arrived in Israel "to continue a demanding dialogue on Lebanon and Gaza."

He stated that "diplomatic solutions" are possible to free the captives, protect civilians, and ensure everyone’s safety, adding that "it is time to end the tragedy that began on October 7." 

In a separate post, Barrot, accompanied by photos of a meeting with the families of two captives held in Gaza, vowed that France would do "everything in its power" to secure the release of all hostages.

Although he did not mention Palestinians in either post, he expressed "solidarity" with Israel.

The Times of Israel reports that Barrot is currently meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, in Jerusalem, before engaging with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

The French minister is also expected to travel to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to meet with Palestinian Authority officials.

398 jours de cauchemar.

Aux proches d’Ofer et Ohad, dès mon arrivée à Tel Aviv, j’ai exprimé à nouveau l’émotion et la solidarité de la Nation.

La France continuera de faire tout ce qui est en son pouvoir pour libérer les siens, et tous les otages encore retenus à Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Ome3GF9o65

— Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot) November 7, 2024

Israel says it has reached an agreement to purchase 25 advanced F-15 fighter jets from US aerospace giant Boeing for $5.2 billion.

The Defense Ministry said the agreement, concluded Wednesday, was part of a broader aid package approved by the US government earlier this year.

Deliveries will begin in 2031, and there’s an option for the purchase of an additional 25 aircraft.

The United States has provided crucial military support to Israel as it has attacked Gaza and Lebanon- as well as trading fire with Iran.

The Biden administration recently warned Israel that if it did not facilitate the delivery of more aid to Gaza, US laws may force the administration to curb some of its military support.

The State Department said this week that Israel had yet to sufficiently improve aid deliveries ahead of a mid-November deadline.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end the wars in the Middle East without saying how he plans to do it .

He was a staunch supporter of Israel during his previous term but also cultivated close ties with Arab Gulf leaders.

Lebanon's transport minister said Thursday the country's only international airport was operating normally, after Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, including one on an area near the hub.

Minister Ali Hamie told news agency AFP that planes were taking off and landing without any issue.

A heater factory next to the airport's perimeter wall had been badly damaged in a strike, according to AFP.

Israel has been at war with Lebanon's Hezbollah since late September when it broadened its focus from the Gaza Strip to its northern border.

The strike near the airport came after Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it had targeted a military base close Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main international transport hub.

The overnight strike in Beirut caused "minor damage" to some buildings but "not inside the terminal building", an airport official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to media.

He said the strike had affected a maintenance building belonging to a subsidiary of Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's national carrier and practically the only airline still operating flights there.

The ongoing Israeli bombardment in northern Gaza, under siege for over a month, has led to escalating casualties.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, three people were killed in airstrikes in the Nuwairi area, located west of the Nuseirat refugee camp.

In southern Gaza, Wafa also reported, citing local sources, that an Israeli drone strike east of Rafah city claimed the lives of five people.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on Thursday criticised the unveiling of a giant 'Free Palestine' banner at a Paris Saint Germain (PSG) soccer match, saying it was "unacceptable."

Asked if he would seek sanctions against PSG, Retailleau told Sud Radio: "I am not ruling out anything. I will demand explanations from PSG."

On Wednesday night, fans from Paris St Germain's Auteuil Kop unveiled a giant 'Free Palestine' banner before their Champions League game against Atletico Madrid, eight days before France take on Israel in Paris in a Nations League game.

Medical sources who spoke to Al Jazeera Arabic report that Israeli raids in Gaza have killed at least 22 people since dawn, with 14 of those fatalities occurring in northern Gaza.

The attacks have primarily targeted the Jabalia and Beit Lahiya areas in northern Gaza, as well as the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the enclave.

More updates to come.

The Palestinian health ministry said an Israeli strike killed one person in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, after the Israeli military announced it had targeted the area.

The ministry said in a statement that "a martyr shot by (Israeli) forces" had arrived at Tulkarem Governmental Hospital from the Tulkarem camp.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said its staff transferred "a 22-year-old martyr" from inside the Tulkarem camp to hospital.

It added separately that a 57-year-old woman was wounded by shrapnel in the camp.

The health ministry announced the death of another Palestinian shortly after midnight in the nearby northern city of Jenin.

"A martyr shot by (Israeli) forces in Jenin," it said in a statement.

A Palestinian security source told news agency AFP the person was killed late Wednesday and identified him as retired Palestinian intelligence officer Abdallah Saadi.

Violence in the West Bank, particularly in the northern areas of the territory, has soared since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7 last year.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 761 Palestinians in the West Bank over that period, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.

Palestinian attacks on Israelis have also killed at least 24 people in the same period in the West Bank, according to official Israeli figures.

Lebanese state media said an Israeli drone strike on Thursday targeted a car on a key road linking the capital Beirut with the Bekaa plain and eastern neighbour Syria.

"An enemy drone targeted a car in Araya," the National News Agency said, adding the road had been cut off by the strike that comes after two cars were targets on the same route last week, including a van loaded with Hezbollah ammunition.

Israel’s parliament passed a law early Thursday that would allow it to deport family members of Palestinians accused as attackers, including the country’s own citizens, to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip or other locations.

The law, which was championed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and his far-right allies, passed with a 61-41 vote but is likely to be challenged in court.

It would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed east Jerusalem who knew about their family members' alleged 'attacks' beforehand or who "express support or identification with the act of terrorism."

They would be deported, either to the Gaza Strip or another location, for a period of 7 to 20 years.

The war is still raging in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed and most of the population has been internally displaced, often multiple times .

It was unclear if it would apply in the occupied West Bank, where Israel already has a longstanding policy of demolishing the family homes of Palestinians who are accused of being attackers.

Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute and a former international law expert for the Israeli military, told news agency the Associated Press that if the law comes before the Supreme Court, it is likely to be struck down based on previous Israeli cases regarding deportation.

"The bottom line is this is completely non-constitutional and a clear conflict to Israel’s core values," said Shamir-Borer.

Iran on Thursday called Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election an opportunity for the United States to reassess past "wrong policies".

Trump, who is set to return to the White House in January after defeating US Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday's election, had pursued a "maximum pressure" strategy on Iran during his first term.

"We have very bitter experiences with the policies and approaches of different US governments in the past," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

Trump's win, he added, was a chance "to review previous wrong policies".

Iran and the United States have been adversaries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the Western-backed shah, but tensions peaked during Trump's first term from 2017 to 2021.

Before Trump was declared the winner on Wednesday, Iran had dismissed the US election as irrelevant.

"The general policies of the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran are fixed," said government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani.

"It doesn't matter who becomes president. Plans have already been set so that there is no change in people's livelihood," she added.

During his first term, Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and imposed harsh sanctions on the Islamic republic.

In 2020, under Trump's presidency, the United States killed revered Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general Qasem Soleimani in an air strike on Baghdad airport.

Dubai's Emirates Group announced half-year profits of $2.5 billion on Thursday, citing robust demand despite conflicts in the Middle East.

The airline group, operating from the world's busiest airport for international traffic, has faced regional disruptions due to the conflicts, but has expanded its network elsewhere.

Pre-tax profits of 10.4 billion dirhams ($2.8 billion) in the six months to September were a record for the group, but were subject to the United Arab Emirates' new 9.0 percent corporate tax for the first time.

"We expect customer demand to remain strong for the rest of 2024-25, and we look forward to increasing our capacity to grow revenues," group chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in a statement.

"The outlook is positive," he said, with more aircraft expected to join the fleet and expanded facilities for dnata, Emirates' ground services arm.

Emirates flights to Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Iran -- a close neighbour of the UAE -- have all been affected by conflicts stemming from the war in Gaza, which erupted in October last year.