Lebanon’s Civil Defence service said Wednesday they have pulled 30 bodies and remains out of the rubble of an apartment building that Israel struck the night before in the town of Barja, about 33 km south of Beirut. Search efforts were ongoing.
The airstrike Tuesday hit an area that had not been regularly targeted by the Israeli military. It came without warning. There was no statement from the Israeli military on the strike, and it was not immediately clear what the intended target was.
Civil defense official Mostafa Danaj said it was unclear how many survivors or bodies were still trapped under the rubble. "We hope that there isn’t anyone else, but the neighbors have said that there are still people (missing)," he said.
Washington has been seeking a permanent settlement between Israel and Lebanon, but some analysts doubt any deal before Donald Trump takes office after the Republican candidate won the US presidency.
In the Gaza Strip, Israel continued to kill scores of people in airstrikes targeting the north of the devastated territory. At least 15 people were killed in an Israeli attack on a building housing displaced people in Beit Lahia. A mother and her three children were among the casualties.
An earlier strike on Tuesday evening killed five people in the Al-Zarqa neighbourhood north of Gaza City. UN agencies have warned that everyone in northern Gaza is at imminent risk of death as Israel pursues a suspected plan designed to kill, starve, or expel the remaining inhabitants of the area.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump for winning the US presidential election and said he wanted to strengthen ties with the United States.
"Iraq reaffirms its steadfast commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with the United States, grounded in mutual respect and shared interests," he said in a statement, adding, "We look forward to this new phase as a beginning to deepen cooperation across various sectors."
At least seven people were killed and two others were injured in the Wednesday morning Israeli airstrike on Al Ain, a village in east Lebanon's Baalbek district.
شهداء وجرحى في غارة استهدفت مبنى في العين في قضاء بعلبك pic.twitter.com/01ZFANnXt5
— Sawt Beirut International (@SawtBeirut) November 6, 2024
At last 21 Israeli soldiers were injured in the past 24 hours, 13 of them in south Lebanon and eight of them in Gaza, Israeli media has said.
Hezbollah said it fired missiles at an Israeli military base near the country's main international airport on Wednesday, the first such attack in more than a month of war.
In a statement, the group said the salvo of missiles targeted the Tzrifin military base near Ben Gurion International Airport, south of the Israeli commercial hub of Tel Aviv.
A missile landed in the airport premises earlier on Wednesday, causing some material damage.
Lebanon said Wednesday that it had filed a complaint with the United Nations' labour agency over deadly attacks on communication devices across the country in September, which it blames on Israel.
Lebanese Labour Minister Mustafa Bayram called the attack an "egregious war against humanity, against technology, against work", saying his country had filed the complaint with the International Labour Organization in Geneva.
"It's a very dangerous precedent," he told journalists in the Swiss city at an event organised by the UN correspondents' association ACANU.
Israel has conducted strikes on the south Lebanon city of Nabatiyeh. It came hours after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for at least four locations.
Nabatiyeh has been heavily pounded in the Israeli offensive and much of its once bustling and historic market has been destroyed.
Hamas will judge Donald Trump's new US administration on its actions and policy towards Palestinians, the movement said on Wednesday following his election win.
"Our position on the new US administration depends on its positions and practical behaviour towards our Palestinian people, their legitimate rights and their just cause," the group said in a statement.
Egypt joined a call led by Turkey and backed by dozens of countries, urging the United Nations to halt arms deliveries to Israel, citing concerns over their use.
A foreign ministry statement on Tuesday said Egypt joined the call as part of "international efforts to pressure Israel to cease its continuous violations of international law and international humanitarian law".
It also aims to stop "Israeli violations" against Palestinians and protect civilians, the statement read.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani congratulated Donald Trump on Wednesday after the US presidential candidate claimed victory in the race to the White House.
The ruler of the Gulf monarchy, a key mediator for a truce and hostage release deal in Gaza and host of the largest US military base in the Middle East, said he looked forward to "working together again... in promoting security and stability both in the region and globally".
Saudi Arabia's King Salman and his son, de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory on Wednesday, state media reported.
The two leaders sent cables to Trump, who cultivated warm Saudi ties during his first administration, with King Salman hailing "close relations between the two friendly countries and peoples, which everyone seeks to strengthen and develop in all fields", the official Saudi Press Agency said.
King Abdullah II of Jordan on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump after the Republican candidate claimed victory in the US presidential election, saying he hoped they could work for peace and stability.
"Looking forward to working with you again to bolster Jordan's longstanding partnership with the United States, in service of regional and global peace and stability for all," the king wrote on X.
Newly appointed Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem is scheduled to make a speech on Wednesday at 3pm local time (1pm GMT).
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi congratulated on Wednesday Donald Trump as he claimed victory in the US election, hoping his return to the White House could help bring peace to the Middle East.
"I wish him all the success... and I look forward to reaching peace together, upholding regional stability and strengthening the strategic partnership between Egypt and the United States and their friendly peoples," Sisi said on X.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards deputy chief Ali Fadavi said Tehran is ready for confrontation with Israel and does not rule out a pre-emptive strike by the U.S. and Israel, the Iranian Student News Agency reported on Wednesday, after Donald Trump claimed victory in the U.S. presidential election
A missile has reportedly landed very close to the Ben Gurion airport in Israel after a rocket barrage was fired from Lebanon.
Videos shared online showed smoke rising from the airport's vicinity. Other images showed a small crater in what looked like a parking lot with some damage to nearby cars.
Air traffic was stopped following the strike.
🇮🇱🇱🇧🚨 A missile fell near the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Central Israel! pic.twitter.com/C7gbzKj3uO
— TabZ (@TabZLIVE) November 6, 2024
A senior Hamas official told AFP that the United States under Donald Trump, who claimed victory in the presidential election, must end its "blind support" for Israel in the war in Gaza.
"This blind support for the Zionist entity must end because it comes at the expense of the future of our people and the security and stability of the region," Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau, told AFP.
The Iranian government said it was not very concerned about Trump winning the presidential election.
Trump ordered for the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in early January 2020. He also withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday congratulated Donald Trump, who claimed victory in the US presidential election, calling it "history's greatest comeback" and a new beginning in the US-Israel alliance.
"Congratulations on history's greatest comeback! Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!" said Netanyahu in a statement issued by his office.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Wednesday that Donald Trump will be tested on his statements that he can stop the war within hours as U.S. president.
"We urge Trump to learn from (President Joe) Biden's mistakes," Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
The official said the Democratic party's loss is the natural price for their leadership's "criminal stance" towards Gaza.
Israel's newly appointed defence minister, Israel Katz, vowed on Tuesday to prioritize the return of Israel's hostages from Gaza and the "destruction" of Hamas and Hezbollah, in his first post on X since accepting the role.
"We will work together to march the security system to victory against our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war: the return of all the abductees as the most important value mission, the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the containment of Iranian aggression and the return of the residents of the north and south to their homes in safety," he said.
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