Shelters shut down as Israeli attacks push Gaza death toll past 42,000

This live blog has now wrapped up. The New Arab will be back at 9am with live updates from Gaza and Lebanon.

The Israeli military has launched another strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing at least three people, according to the Wafa news agency.

The report also states that several others were injured when Israeli forces shelled al-Hawja Street within the camp.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reports that Israeli fighter jets targeted a building in the eastern Baalbek region, resulting in the deaths of at least four people.

Additionally, one person was critically wounded and has been transferred to a hospital for treatment, according to the report.

Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu agreed Wednesday to stay in "close contact" as Israel mulls its response to Iran, with the US leader also urging the Israeli premier to "minimize" harm to civilians in Lebanon, the White House said.

Biden and Netanyahu's call was their first in nearly two months and came amid mounting pressure from Washington not to strike Iran's oil or nuclear facilities less than four weeks before the US presidential election.

A White House readout of the call did not directly mention possible retaliation for an Iranian missile strike on Israel last week but said Biden had condemned Tehran's attack "unequivocally" and pledged "ironclad" support for Israel.

Biden and Netanyahu "agreed to remain in close contact over the coming days, both directly and through their national security teams," the readout said, adding that Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also joined the call.

The call came as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who had been due to discuss Israel's response in Washington on Wednesday before the last-minute postponement of his visit by Netanyahu, pledged on Wednesday: "Our attack on Iran will be deadly, precise and surprising."

Syrian state TV reported early Thursday that an Israeli "aggression" is taking place in Hasiya industrial city, located in the Homs countryside.

Israel has carried out intermittent airstrikes on Syria, particularly after intensifying its strikes against Lebanon two weeks ago.

Lebanon's state civil defence body said an Israeli strike on Wednesday killed five of its personnel in the country's south, with the health ministry condemning the latest deadly strike on rescue workers.

Five personnel "were killed in an Israeli strike that targeted the civil defence centre in the village of Derdghaiya as they were inside on the alert to receive emergency calls," a statement from the body said.

Lebanon's health ministry said the toll of five was provisional, calling on the international community to take a "firm position" after Israel "renewed its targeting of rescue and ambulance teams".

Members of the United Nations Security council warned Israel on Wednesday against proceeding with a law aimed at curbing the UN's Palestinian refugees agency.

The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, approved two bills on Sunday essentially aimed at ending UNRWA's activity and privileges in Israel. These bills were quickly condemned by UN chief Antonio Guterres.

Washington's envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Wednesday that the United States was "following with deep concern the Israeli legislative proposal that could alter UNRWA's legal status."

She said it risked "hindering its ability to communicate with Israeli officials and removing privileges and immunities afforded to UN organizations and personnel around the globe."

Algeria, which along with Slovenia called the emergency Security Council meeting on the crisis in the Palestinian territories, said "for years, the Israeli authorities has made clear its desire, its will to dismantle UNRWA."

"It symbolizes the Palestinian refugees and their inviolable rights. We reiterate that the rights of Palestinian refugees are not subject to statutes of limitation," said Amar Bendjama, ambassador of non-permanent Security Council member Algeria.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday that Israel's retaliation against Iran for last week's missile barrage will be "deadly, precise and surprising".

"Our attack in Iran will be deadly, precise and surprising," Gallant said in a statement posted on social media, adding: "Those who try to harm the State of Israel will pay a price."

U.S. President Joe Biden's call on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "direct" and "productive" and included discussions on a potential attack on Iran, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.

"It was 30 minutes long. It was direct, it was productive," Jean-Pierre said.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Wednesday warned airlines to have strict risk monitoring procedures for flights within the airspace of Israel.

"The European Commission and European Union Aviation Safety Agency have updated the Conflict Zone Information Bulletin (CZIB) for Israel issued on September 28. The revised CZIB recommends air operators to implement a stringent monitoring process and risk assessment for each flight when intending to operate within the airspace of Israel," it said.

"The recommendation is valid until October 31 and can be reviewed earlier and adapted or withdrawn subject to the revised assessment," it added.

The United States is incredibly concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, particularly in northern Gaza, the State Department said on Wednesday, adding it is the subject of very urgent discussions between Washington and Israel.

"It has been the subject of some very urgent discussions between our two governments," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.

"We have been making clear to the government of Israel that they have an obligation under international humanitarian law to allow food and water and other needed humanitarian assistance to make it into all parts of Gaza, and we fully expect them to comply with those obligations."

The United Nations World Food Program on Wednesday said that aid entering the Gaza Strip has plummeted to its lowest level in months, forcing the agency to stop the distribution of food parcels this month.

Israel must avoid conducting military operations in Lebanon like it has in Gaza, the US State Department said Wednesday, while also expressing concern over the humanitarian situation in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

"I'm making very clear that there should be no kind of military action in Lebanon that looks anything like Gaza and leaves a result anything like Gaza," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told journalists.

Miller was responding to a question about a video released by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

"You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza," Netanyahu said. "I say to you, the people of Lebanon: Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end."

Israel has conducted three airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. The targeted areas include the vicinity of al-Rayah Stadium and the Haret Hreik neighborhood.

We will provide updates on this situation as more details become available.

The Palestinian official news agency WAFA said that Israeli special forces had opened fire on a vehicle that the men were travelling in in the city of Nablus in the northern occuped West Bank.

Israeli forces claim they killed five armed Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, Israeli police said.

There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials or groups. The Palestinian health ministry confirmed the deaths of only four men.

(Reuters)

Hezbollah told the Lebanese authorities it accepted a ceasefire with Israel the day an Israeli strike killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah, a government source told AFP on Wednesday.

Previously, the Iran-backed militant group had said it would only accept a truce if there was also one with its Palestinian ally Hamas in Gaza.

"On September 27, Hezbollah officially informed the Lebanese government, via parliament speaker Nabih Berri, that he accepted an international initiative for a ceasefire," the source said.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spokewith Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, the White House said, as Israel weighs its response to last week's missile attack by Iran.

"This morning, President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel. Vice President Harris also joined the call," the White House said in a statement, adding a readout would be released later.

Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank town of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry said on Wednesday.

(Reuters)

US Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to join President Joe Biden for his call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

The talks are expected to include a discussion of Israeli plans for a retaliatory strike on Iran.

(Reuters)

Photojournalist Mohammed Al-Tannani was killed after an Israeli sniper shot and killed him. Two other journalists, Tamer Lubbad and Al Jazeera cameraman Fadi Al-Wheidi, were targeted by an Israeli drone in northern Gaza.

Over 175 journalists have been killed since 7 October - according to the Gaza Media Office.

Activists on Wednesday briefly pasted a photo of a bloodied mother and child in Gaza over a Picasso painting at a London gallery, calling for an arms embargo on Israel.

The National Gallery said two people had been arrested by police after an incident involving Picasso's 1901 work "Motherhood" and that no damage had been carried out.

The Youth Demand group said two protesters stuck a photograph of the mother and child on the protective glass cover over Picasso's work.

A social media video posted by the group showed a security guard taking down the photo. One protester shouted "Free, free Palestine" as he was frogmarched out of the room and detained.

As he was on the floor, the protester said the UK government was "complicit in genocide" in Gaza, and that there was widespread support for stopping weapons sales.

🚨 BREAKING: IMAGE OF PALESTINIAN MOTHER AND CHILD REPLACES PICASSO'S 'MOTHERHOOD'

❌ 16,000 children have been killed. When will @Keir_Starmer stop fuelling Israel's war machine?

🔥 From Nov 11, young people will be disrupting their cities. Join them: https://t.co/rqU3OswTSi pic.twitter.com/gsppgLqAzc

— Youth Demand (@youth_demand) October 9, 2024

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called Israel a "Zionist terrorist organisation" over its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, and repeated his criticism of Western powers, namely the United States, over the support given to Israel.

Speaking to lawmakers from his ruling AK Party in parliament, Erdogan also said the cross-border fire between Israel and Iran in recent days had heightened the risk of a regional conflict.

(Reuters)

Israeli bombardment on Wednesday killed a policeman in the south of Syria near the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, state media said, the day after a deadly air strike on the capital.

Israel has repeatedly struck Syria throughout the civil war that started in 2011, but it has ramped these up in recent weeks as it also pounds Lebanon.

Citing a police official, the official SANA news agency reported "the death of a security force member and wounding of another in an Israeli strike" on the outskirts of Quneitra city.

It comes after a strike in the Damascus neighbourhood of Mazzeh late Tuesday that a war monitor said targeted a building used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The Syrian government said it killed seven civilians.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor on Wednesday reported a higher toll of nine civilians, including four children.

France will hold an international ministerial conference over the crisis in Lebanon on 24 October that will focus on the domestic political situation and humanitarian aid amid Israel's war on Lebanon, the foreign ministry said.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry said the focus was also on strengthening support for the Lebanese armed forces as countries try to convince both sides to accept a ceasefire.

(Reuters)

The European Union said Wednesday it had launched a "humanitarian air bridge" to fly aid to Lebanon as fighting rages between Israel and Hezbollah.

The European Commission said three initial flights were scheduled to carry supplies from Italy and Dubai to the conflict-wracked country, with the first arriving in Beirut on Friday.

"The EU stands by the people affected by the crisis in Lebanon," commission president Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X.

"From blankets to shelter kits and medicines. More will come."

The EU last week said it was ramping up spending on humanitarian assistance to Lebanon by 30 million euros ($33 million) in response to the unfolding violence.

Hezbollah said it was fighting Israeli troops in a border area in southern Lebanon on Wednesday as Israel intensified its ground offensive against the Iran-backed armed group.

The Lebanese group fired rockets and artillery shells "as Israeli troops tried to advance in the Mays al-Jabal area from several directions", it said.

"Clashes are ongoing."

Hezbollah said earlier on Wednesday its fighters had repelled two Israeli army attempts to infiltrate Lebanese territory near other frontier villages.

Air France said on Wednesday it had opened an internal investigation after one of its planes flew over Iraq on 1 October during an Iranian missile attack on Israel.

The company said flight AF662 from Paris to Dubai was travelling at the time of the attack through a special corridor used by all airlines in southern Iraq and fifteen minutes later it left the country's air space, which was not closed to airplane traffic until 1756 GMT.

"Without waiting for instructions from the Iraqi authorities, Air France has decided to suspend overflight of the country's airspace by its aircraft from 1700 GMT," the airline said.

"An internal investigation has been launched into this event," it added.

Air France also said that another flight returned to Paris, while a third, from Singapore to Paris, made an additional stop in Delhi to get more fuel to take a longer route.

The story was first reported by TV channel TF1 Info. 

(Reuters)

Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that Hezbollah was still organised and had not lost its chain of command despite strikes by Israel which Moscow said was trying to stoke an armed conflict across the Middle East.

"According to our assessments, Hezbollah, including the military wing, has not lost its chain of command and is demonstrating organisation," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.

Zakharova said that the West, in particular the United States and Britain, was stoking the conflict in the Middle East and showing hypocrisy by its support for Israel which was inflicting significant civilian casualties in Lebanon.

Hezbollah was formed by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the early 1980s to battle Israel. It is also a major social, religious and political movement for Lebanese Shi'ite Muslims.

Russia also scolded Israel for a strike on Syria.

"Once again, Israel has grossly violated the sovereignty of Syria by launching a missile attack on a multi-storey apartment building in a densely populated area of Damascus," Zakharova said.

"It is outrageous that such actions have literally turned into a routine practice applied to Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip," Zakharova said, adding that it showed Israel's "desire to further expand the geography of armed escalation in the region." 

(Reuters)

The Israeli army intensified shelling of northern Gaza and closed roads, preventing the delivery of aid, the war-torn Palestinian territory's civil defence agency said Wednesday.

The army, which said it surrounded Jabalia in northern Gaza at the weekend, issued new evacuation demands on Tuesday, as analysts suggested Hamas was regrouping, despite a year of strikes and fierce fighting.

"The shelling is intensifying, targeting civilians and their homes, causing significant fear and terror among the residents," said Ahmad al-Kahlut, the agency's director in north Gaza.

The director said the Israeli army also was targeting the northern towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanun along with Jabalia.

"Roads have been closed, and there has been a continuous siege for the fourth consecutive day, with no supplies entering the North Gaza Governorate," Kahlut said.

According to the director, "a large number" of people died in northern Gaza during the fighting.

But he said counting the casualties had been complicated by the "difficulty of recovery and access to all areas".

Hamas said on Wednesday it had begun meetings with rival Palestinian faction Fatah in Cairo to discuss the year-long war in the Gaza Strip and efforts towards national unity.

"A meeting has just commenced in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, between the delegations of the Hamas movement... and the Fatah movement," a Hamas statement read.

It added that they were discussing "aggression on the Gaza Strip, the political and field developments, and to unify national efforts and ranks".

Two Fatah sources confirmed the meeting to AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.

(Reuters)

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will discuss bilateral issues and efforts to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza on his visit to Saudi Arabia Wednesday, a senior Iranian official said.

Araqchi arrived in Riyadh earlier Wednesday and will also visit Qatar later in the day.

"Regional unity and cooperation to secure peace in the Middle East, ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza as well as bilateral issues will be discussed during the Iranian foreign minister's visit to Saudi Arabia," the source told Reuters.

(Reuters)

Two paramedics have been killed on Wednesday by Israeli fire in Wadi Jilo, south Lebanon, after the Israeli army targeted a civil defence centre, The New Arab's Arabic-language site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described Israel's military offensive in Lebanon as an "invasion" on Wednesday, saying that the international community had to act.

"It is clear that there has been an invasion by a third country of a sovereign state such as Lebanon, and therefore the international community cannot remain indifferent," the Socialist premier told parliament.

Israeli emergency responders said two people were killed on Wednesday in a rocket attack on the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, as the army and Lebanon's Hezbollah exchanged fire along the border.

"We found a man and a woman aged around 40 years old, unconscious and injured by shrapnel. We carried out medical examinations, but their injuries were serious and we had to declare them dead on the spot," said emergency service provider Magen David Adom in a statement.

Hezbollah says it has targeted Israeli forces in Lebanon border village.

More to follow...

Jewish settlers will be using Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque "for religious events, Talmudic rituals and dance parties" until Saturday evening, the New Arab's Arabic-language site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported, citing settler social media pages.

The Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank's Hebron continues to be closed since Wednesday after Jewish settlers invaded its courtyard and began performing songs and dance under the pretext of the current Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur on Tuesday evening.

During the incursion, Israeli forces assaulted the mosque's administrative staff, and prevented them from entering, while settlers used the religious site's loudspeaker to blast music.

Bolivia has joined South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice that alleges the Israeli Gaza offensive breaches the UN Genocide Convention, the court said on Wednesday.

The South American country is the latest of several nations, including Colombia, Libya, Spain and Mexico, adding their weight to the case against Israel, which vehemently denies the accusations.

Bolivia already announced in November it was severing diplomatic ties over what it described as the "disproportionate" attacks on Gaza by Israel.

At the time, Israel slammed the move as "a surrender to terrorism".

In its submission to the court made public on Wednesday, Bolivia argued: "Israel's genocidal war continues, and the Court's orders remain dead letters to Israel."

Hamas said on Wednesday it had begun meetings with rival Palestinian faction Fatah in Cairo to discuss the year-long war in the Gaza Strip and efforts towards national unity.

"A meeting has just commenced in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, between the delegations of the Hamas movement... and the Fatah movement," a Hamas statement read, adding that they were discussing "aggression on the Gaza Strip, the political and field developments, and to unify national efforts and ranks".

At least six people were wounded, two of them seriously, in a stabbing attack in the Israeli city of Hadera on Wednesday, Israeli authorities said.

"The terrorist has been neutralized," police said in a statement. "Four separate locations have been identified, resulting in six victims with stab wounds."

The police did not immediately provide other details but issued a brief video of the suspected attacker being apprehended.

Of the six people rushed to the hospital, at least two were in serious condition, according to medical officials.

(Reuters)

Turkey on Wednesday sent ships to evacuate around 2,000 of its citizens from Lebanon, with its Beirut envoy saying it would be "the biggest" evacuation of its type from the war-torn country.

A Turkish diplomatic source told AFP two naval ships carrying the evacuated nationals and their families would arrive at the southern Turkish port of Mersin "in the early hours" of Thursday morning.

The two ships set sail overnight for the Lebanese capital whose southern suburbs were hit overnight by fresh Israeli bombardments.

"These ships, with a capacity of around 2,000 people, will be ready to take those of our citizens who requested it from Lebanon to Mersin port," Turkish ambassador Ali Baris Ulusoy told TRT Haber public television.

Israel has shut down the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron to Muslims to allow settlers to celebrate two Jewish holidays - Anadolu reports.

The site will be open for settlers to perform rituals and organise celebrations.

“Israeli occupation authorities closed the mosque on Wednesday to celebrate the Sukkot and Yom Kippur holidays," the Director of the Ibrahimi Mosque, Moataz Abu Sneineh, told Anadolu.

Israel has divided the mosque, allocating 63% of the space to Jewish worshipers and 37% to Muslims since 1994.

Hamas' leader Yahya Sinwar has reportedly revived suicide bombings - according to the Wall Street Journal.

Arab intelligence officials told the publication that Sinwar gave the directive to relaunch suicide bombings to Zaher Jabrin - a Hamas fundraiser.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says the Palestinian death toll from the war in Gaza has passed 42,000.

It said Wednesday that 42,010 Palestinians have been killed and 97,720 wounded since 7 October.

Tehran has told Gulf Arab states it would be "unacceptable" if they allowed the use of their airspace or military bases against Iran and warned that any such move would draw a response, a senior Iranian official said.

The comments come amid growing concern over possible Israeli retaliation for last week's Iranian missile attack, as Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi headed to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states for talks on Wednesday.

They followed discussions between Iran and Gulf Arab capitals last week on the sidelines of an Asia conference in Qatar when Gulf states sought to reassure Iran of their neutrality in any conflict between Tehran and Israel.

"Iran made it clear that any action by a Persian Gulf country against Tehran, whether through the use of airspace or military bases, will be regarded by Tehran as an action taken by the entire group, and Tehran will respond accordingly," the senior Iranian official told Reuters.

"The message emphasised the need for regional unity against Israel and the importance of securing stability," he said.

"It also made clear that any assistance to Israel, such as allowing the use of a regional country's airspace for actions against Iran, is unacceptable."

(Reuters)

Palestinian officials say Israeli strikes in central and northern Gaza killed at least 18 people, including five children and two women.

Two strikes hit tents for displaced people in the urban Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps in central Gaza early Wednesday. The bodies of nine people, including three children, were brought to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah. An Associated Press journalist saw the bodies at the morgue.

In northern Gaza, an Israeli strike hit a family home in the Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least nine people, according to the Civil Defense, a rescue agency operating under the Hamas-run government. The dead were taken to the Al-Ahly Hospital, which said two women and two children were among those killed.

Footage shared by the Civil Defense showed first responders recovering dead bodies and body parts from under the rubble.

The Israeli military said it intercepted two projectiles fired from Lebanon on Wednesday shortly after air raid sirens blared in and around the coastal town of Caesarea, south of Haifa.

Sirens were also sounded elsewhere in northern Israel, a day after the army said Hezbollah had fired 180 projectiles into Israel, mainly at Haifa and the north.

Hezbollah said Wednesday that its fighters repelled two Israeli army attempts to infiltrate southern Lebanon as Israel intensifies its ground offensive against the Iran-backed armed group.

In two separate statements, the Lebanese group said Israeli troops had tried to enter border areas near Blida in the southeast and Labouneh in the southwest but were driven back.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed the departure of Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to Washington last night, demanding that he first speak with US President Joe Biden himself, Israeli media reported. 

Netanyahu's phone call with Biden, the first in two months, was scheduled prior to him delaying Gallant's trip, according to Walla news site.

The Haaretz daily said that Netanyahu had demanded that the security cabinet approve a planned retaliation on Iran after last week's missile attack on Israel before Gallant departs to meet US Secretary of Defence Llyod Austin. 

Citing unnamed Israeli officials, Walla said that the Israeli response was expected to be "significant" and would likely include a combination of air strikes on military targets in Iran and covert attacks, similar to one that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The Syrian foreign ministry has strongly denounced a deadly Israeli strike in the capital Damascus yesterday, which killed at least seven civilians, including women and children, and injured a dozen others.

In a statement, the ministry said that Israel had launched three missiles at a building in the "densely populated" Mezzeh suburb of Damascus, describing the attack as a "savage crime" against civilians.

Mezzeh is an upscale residential area housing several embassies and diplomatic facilities, including the Iranian embassy compound targeted in an Israeli strike earlier this year.

Thirty-six people were killed and 150 others wounded in Israeli attacks across Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese health ministry said on Tuesday.

(Reuters)

Lebanese state-run media reported a series of Israeli strikes on south Beirut on Tuesday, causing "massive destruction" and razing four buildings after the Israeli army warned residents to evacuate.

"Beirut's southern suburbs are still being subjected to a series of strikes, the latest of which hit the main road at Al-Kafaat and caused massive destruction" in several south Beirut neighbourhoods, the National News Agency said.

The NNA said "four adjacent residential buildings collapsed in the Burj al-Barajneh area after the recent Israeli strike," and had earlier reported several "enemy" strikes in the area.

Beirut's southern suburbs have been the target of intense Israeli strikes for several consecutive days.