Israel strikes central Beirut, Gaza as Lebanon ground offensive stalls

Loud explosions were heard on Thursday in the countryside around the Syrian capital Damascus, the state news agency SANA reported. No further details were immediately given. 

Earlier on Thursday Iran's Student News Network reported that a consultant working for Iran's Revolutionary Guards died from injuries sustained in an Israeli air attack on Damascus on Monday.

It identified the consultant as Majid Divani, without giving further details.

The attack appeared to be the same as one reported by Syrian state media, which said on Tuesday that three civilians were killed and nine others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital Damascus.

Syrian air defences intercepted "hostile targets" over the vicinity of Damascus three times in a row in one night, following explosions that were heard in the capital, state media said on Tuesday.

When asked about the reported attack, the Israeli military said on Tuesday that it does not comment on foreign media reports.

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since last year's Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on southern Israel.

A Lebanese Red Cross and Lebanese army convoy has been hit while evacuating casualties in Taybeh village in south Beirut, the LRC said.

One solider was killed and four Lebanese Red Cross volunteers were wounded in the strike in the Marjeyoun district. In a statement, the medical team said its "movements are always coordinated with UNIFIL," and said its convoy was "targeted".

OCHA Lebanon said on Thursday that it had recorded 38 attacks on healthcare facilities which have killed 40 health workers. 

Last week, 25 health workers were killed in Israeli airstrikes, OCHA said.

The Israeli military on Thursday issued a warning to residents of over 20 more towns in south Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately, spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X.

Adraee said that anyone "who is near Hezbollah elements, installations, and combat equipment" is in danger and called on residents to move north.

This is one of several warnings issued to residents of the south since Israel's ground incursion began on Tuesday morning. Twenty-five towns are listed by Adraee as needing to evacuate.

#عاجل ‼️ تحذير عاجل لسكان القرى التالية في جنوب لبنان: الخرايب, ارزي, زرارية, عدلون, أنصارية, مزرعة دير تقلا, مزرعة الواسطة, مزرعة جمجم, قصيبه, جبشيت, نبطية, مزرعة سيناي, دوير الشرقية, كفر رمان, نبطية الفوقا, منزلة, ,حبوش ,الحمصية, بيصرية, السكسكية, لوبية, كفر تبنيت, أرنون, زوطر… pic.twitter.com/bcENOdWKN1

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 3, 2024

The European Union on Thursday said it was giving an extra 30 million euros ($33 million) of humanitarian aid to Lebanon as fighting raged between Israel and Hezbollah.

"Today, we are stepping up our humanitarian aid to the people of Lebanon," said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

"Our new funding will ensure civilians receive much needed assistance during this very difficult time.

"I am extremely concerned by the constant escalation of tensions in the Middle East. All parties must do their utmost to protect the lives of innocent civilians."

The latest EU aid package comes on top of 10 million euros announced over the weekend, taking the bloc's humanitarian assistance for Lebanon to over 100 million euros this year.

The World Health Organization chief warned Tuesday that Lebanon's health system was struggling to keep up, after Israel escalated airstrikes and launched ground raids into the country.

"The death toll in Lebanon is rising, and hospitals are overwhelmed with the influx of injured patients," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on X.

"The health system has been weakened by successive crises and is struggling to cope with the immense needs," he said, adding that WHO was scaling up its response.

Read more here.

Gaza's health ministry has issued its daily report on the number of dead and wounded from ongoing Israeli strikes.

Its hospitals received 99 dead and 169 injured people in the past day, bringing the total of dead to 41,788 Palestinians and 96,794 wounded since Oct. 7 2024.

Health officials fear the death toll could be higher considering the number of people trapped under rubble and inaccessible for rescue teams.

Seven members of Beirut's civil defense team and paramedic team were killed in an Israeli strike in central Beirut last night, the civil defense operations room said on Thursday.

A strike targeted a floor of an apartment block in the Bashoura neighbourhood at around 1:30am local time. Hezbollah’s civil defense unit said seven of its members were killed.

The Civil Defense Operations Room of the Health Authority named the seven killed:

1. Raja Ramez Zureik (Civil Defense Officer in the Beirut area).

2. Mahdi Adnan Halbawi (Assistant Civil Defense Officer and Director of Beirut Area Operations).

3. Wissam Mahmoud Salhab (Equipment Officer in the Civil Defense in the Beirut area).

4. Ahmed Mohammed Hayek (Machinery and Maintenance Officer in the Civil Defense in the Beirut region).

5. Mustafa Ali Al-Moussawi (rescue officer in the Civil Defense in the Beirut area).

6. Volunteer paramedic Sajid Shawky Sherri.

7. Volunteer paramedic Hassan Ali Al-Khansa.

The Israeli military on Thursday said a strike three months ago killed three senior Hamas leaders in Gaza, where the army has been battling the Palestinian militants for nearly a year.

The military said the strike killed Rawhi Mushtaha, the head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, and Sameh al-Siraj, who held the security portfolio for Hamas's political bureau, and Sami Oudeh, a commander.

"Mushtaha was one of Hamas' most senior operatives and had a direct impact on decisions relating to Hamas' force deployment," said the military in a statement.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee accused the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah on Thursday of smuggling weapons from Syria through the Masnaa border crossing. 

Lebanon's Hezbollah said it confronted on Thursday an attempt by Israeli forces to advance at the Fatima Gate border roundabout, according to a statement published by the militant group.

The British government has chartered a limited number of flights to support its citizens to leave Lebanon, it said on Thursday, repeating its advice for them to leave the country immediately.

More than 150 British nationals and dependents left Beirut on a government chartered flight on Wednesday, the statement said.

"To meet the demand for the charter flight on Wednesday, additional flights will depart from Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport from Thursday. The flights will continue for as long as the security situation allows," it added. 

(Reuters)

Lebanon said Wednesday that the death toll had risen to 1,928, with 9,290 injured since Oct. 8, 2023, in Israeli attacks against the country.

The Disaster Risk Management Unit reported that 134 Israeli airstrikes and shelling attacks were recorded in the last two days, primarily targeting southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The report added that 55 people were killed and 156 injured in the last 24 hours, bringing the numbers since Oct. 8, 2023, to 1,928 fatalities and 9,290 wounded.

It noted the number displaced has risen to 1.2 million, with 160,200 registered in shelters.

The Israeli military said on Thursday it killed approximately 15 Hezbollah members after striking the municipality building of southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil where it said fighters of the Iran-backed group were operating.

(Reuters)

Flights have resumed in Iran since Thursday morning, state media reported the country's Civil Aviation Organisation as saying, after restrictions were imposed on Tuesday when Tehran launched missiles at Israel.

(Reuters)

Yemen's Houthis on Thursday said they carried out a drone attack on Tel Aviv, although there was no direct confirmation from Israeli authorities.

In a statement, the Huthis said they "carried out a military operation targeting a vital target in the Jaffa (Tel Aviv) area in occupied Palestine with a number of Jaffa drones".

"The operation achieved its goals successfully as the drones reached their targets without the enemy being able to confront or shoot them down."

The Israeli military said it intercepted "a suspicious aerial target" off central Israel overnight, without giving further details.

On Wednesday, the Huthis claimed to have fired cruise missiles at Israel, following Iran's mass bombardment of the country the night before.

Last week, the rebels said they fired a missile at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, prompting Israeli air strikes on Yemen including the vital port of Hodeida.

The Huthis, who have controlled large swathes of war-torn Yemen for a decade, are part of Iran's "Axis of Resistance" against Israel and the United States.

Since November, they have been attacking ships off Yemen's coast in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in what they say is a show of solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.