Israel strikes Beirut's Ouzai suburb after evacuation order

At least three people have been killed and tens of others injured following an Israeli strike on a Beirut neighbourhood near the capital's main government hospital, a senior security source told Reuters on Monday.

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US President Joe Biden has signalled "tacit approval and explicit support for Israel's unlawful military aggression against Iran," Iran's mission to the United Nations said on Monday, citing remarks by Biden in Germany last week.

"The United States will bear full responsibility for its role in instigating, inciting and enabling any acts of aggression by Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran as well as for the catastrophic consequences on regional and international peace and security," Iran's UN mission said in a letter to the UN Security Council.

Biden, on a visit to Berlin, also told reporters he has an understanding of how and when Israel will respond to the missile attacks by Iran. He declined to elaborate

Lebanese state media reported an Israeli strike on the Ouzai neighbourhood of south Beirut for the first time Monday shortly after the Israeli army warned residents of several districts to evacuate.

"An Israeli air strike targeted the Ouzai area. This is the first targeting of the Ouzai district since the start of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon," the National News Agency said.

AFPTV footage showed two plumes of smoke rising from Beirut's southern suburbs, with AFP correspondents also hearing two loud bangs before the strikes.

The Israeli military on Monday called on residents to leave parts of southern Beirut, a warning which AFPTV images showed was followed almost immediately after by a strike on the area.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee posted the new call on social media pointing out places that were asked to be evacuated, included an area close to Beirut airport. "You are located near facilities and interests affiliated with Hezbollah that the IDF will work against in the near future," he wrote.

Hezbollah group said on Monday that it had launched rockets at an army intelligence base in the suburbs of the main Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah fighters launched "quality rockets" at "the Glilot base of the Military Intelligence Unit 8200 in the Tel Aviv suburbs," the group said, adding the attack was "in defence of Lebanon," "in response to Israeli aggressions" and dedicated to their slain leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The Lebanese Sahel Hospital in Beirut's southern suburbs is being evacuated following Israeli claims a Hezbollah cash bunker is located beneath it, hospital director Fadi Alameh told Reuters on Monday.

Alameh denied the allegation and called on the Lebanese army to visit the site.

The Israeli army on Monday claimed it hit a Hezbollah bunker holding tens of millions of dollars worth of cash and gold during strikes aimed at the group's financial network.

"The Israeli Air Force carried out a series of precise strikes on these Hezbollah financial strongholds," said military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

"One of our main targets last night was an underground vault with millions of dollars in cash and gold. The money was being used to finance Hezbollah's attacks on Israel."

The Israeli military said on Monday it will carry out more strikes targeting Hezbollah and its financial network in Beirut and throughout Lebanon.

"Even in the coming hours, we will continue to attack Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon, including in Beirut in Dahiyeh," military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said at a televised briefing, referring to the southern Beirut Hezbollah stronghold that has been pounded by Israeli strikes in recent weeks.

The Israeli military on Monday said it struck about 300 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the past 24 hours, in a widening air campaign now also targeting the group's financial operations.

"Approximately 300 targets were hit in the last 24 hours alone," the military said in a statement, after military chief Herzi Halevi said around 30 targets related to Al-Qard al-Hassan, a financial firm linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The United States has launched a review of an Israeli military unit over an  allegedly sexual assault of a Palestinian detainee in Gaza, that could have implications on Washington's assistance to Israel, Axios reported on Monday, citing two Israeli and two US officials.

The review focuses on the IDF's 'Force 100,' which is in charge of guarding detainees from Gaza, and no findings have been reached yet, Axios reported, citing a US official. Several members of the unit are currently on trial in Israel for the sexual assault on the detainee.

The United Nations condemned on Monday Israeli strikes the night before targeting a Hezbollah-linked firm that, it said, caused "extensive damage" to civilian property and infrastructure.

"We condemn the heavy Israeli bombardment of various urban and residential areas... which the IDF (Israeli military) says targeted various facilities affiliated with the Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial association," the UN Human Rights Office in the Middle East and North Africa said in a statement.

The attacks caused "extensive damage to civilian objects," it said, including "residential properties, civilian infrastructure, and business premises".

The Rights Office added that the attacks also triggered "indescribable panic and another wave of displacement among residents of those areas".

"International humanitarian law must be always respected. Civilians and civilian infrastructure are not a target," it said, calling for a ceasefire.

 President Joe Biden is “deeply concerned” about the release of classified documents on Israel's preparation for a potential retaliatory attack on Iran, according to a White House spokesman.

U.S. officials confirmed on Saturday that the administration is investigating an unauthorized release of classified documents that assess Israel’s plans to attack Iran .

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that the administration was still not certain if the classified information that became publicly disclosed was leaked or hacked.

Kirby added that administration officials “don’t have any indication at this point that there’s an expectation that there’ll be additional documents like this finding their way into the public domain.”

Hezbollah reports it has targeted the Yoav military camp in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights with a "large missile barrage."

The Israeli army has not yet commented.

Meanwhile, sirens were activated in the Margaliot and Manara areas of Upper Galilee, according to the Israeli Home Front Command.

The Israeli military reported that a loud explosion heard in Tel Aviv was due to a rocket fired from Lebanon, which landed in an open area, according to The Times of Israel.

The military stated that there are no reported injuries.

Additionally, the military noted that around 45 rockets were fired from Lebanon towards the Golan Heights, also landing in open areas.

Gaza's civil defence told Al Araby TV that the Israeli army forced thousands of displaced Palestinians to leave their shelters in Jabalia, using force and leaving them without safe alternatives.

They also stated that rescuers are being barred from reaching hit areas, where many killed and injured remain trapped under rubble.

Lebanon's health ministry said Sunday four rescuers affiliated to Hezbollah or its ally Amal were killed in Israeli strikes "targeting rescue teams" in the country's war-torn south in the past 24 hours.

"Israeli enemy strikes in the past 24 hours targeted rescue teams, leading to the following bloody toll," the ministry said in a statement, listing one rescuer from a group affiliated with the Amal party and three Hezbollah-linked paramedics as having been killed in different locations.

Israel's airport authority on Monday resumed operations at the country's main airport, Ben Gurion, after briefly closing its airspace.

"The airport is open for landings and departures," the airport authority said in a statement, while Israeli media reported a "suspicious object" being spotted near the facility that had led to the closure of the facility for about 30 minutes.

Lebanon said an Israeli strike on the main eastern city of Baalbek killed six people including a child Monday, with state media reporting it hit a building in a densely-packed residential area.

"The Israeli enemy strike... in Baalbek killed six people, including a child," the Lebanese health ministry said, and the state-run National News Agency reported that all six were from the same family.

Six children and women from one family were killed and eight Lebanese were injured in an Israeli airstrike on Baalbek. pic.twitter.com/3trOGhZ4MU

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) October 21, 2024

Israeli authorities are still preventing humanitarian missions from reaching areas of northern Gaza with critical supplies including medicine and food for people under siege, the head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said on Monday.

Hospitals have been hit and are without power while injured people are left without care, Philippe Lazzarini said on X.

"@UNRWA remaining shelters are so overcrowded, some displaced people are now forced to live in the toilets. According to reports, people attempting to flee are getting killed, their bodies left on the street. Missions to rescue people from under the rubble are also being denied," he added.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on the UNRWA statement.

"Humanitarian agencies including @UNRWA must get access to north Gaza. Denying & weaponizing humanitarian assistance to achieve military purposes is a sign of how low the moral compass is," Lazzarini said.

He said assistance must reach everyone in need in the Palestinian enclave, including children and Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants.

"A ceasefire is the beginning of putting an end to this endless nightmare," he added.

#Gaza: the Israeli Authorities continue to deny humanitarian missions to reach the north with critical supplies including medicine and food for people under siege.

Hospitals have been hit and are left without power while injured people are left without care.@UNRWA remaining…

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) October 21, 2024

Israeli soldiers in Gaza allegedly used captured Palestinians as "human shields," sending them into uncharted houses and tunnels, according to detainees interviewed by The Guardian.

Ramez al-Skafi, a 30-year-old Palestinian, described how he was forced to enter multiple homes in his Shujayea district over 11 days in July, effectively becoming a shield against potential booby traps and Hamas fighters.

Skafi recounted his resistance to this practice, stating that he was beaten and told by an officer that he had no choice in the matter.

He was one of three Palestinians who shared similar experiences with the newspaper.

Israel's security services have broken up a spy ring that was gathering information on behalf of Iranian intelligence in the latest attempt by Tehran to recruit Israelis for espionage, the Shin Bet and police said on Monday.

Seven Israelis from Israel's north, including the port city of Haifa, were arrested after an investigation found they had gathered intelligence on Israeli military bases and energy and port infrastructure, a joint Shin Bet and police statement said.

Israeli police said the security breach was among the most serious ever seen by Israel.

"The assessment is that the activity of the members of the ring has caused security damage to the security of the state," a senior source with the Shin Bet security service said.

Iran's foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment.

At least 41 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza today, according to medical sources.

Of those, 33 were in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, where Israeli forces have been conducting a ground incursion for 17 days.

Since the assault on northern Gaza began, at least 640 Palestinians have been killed.

British Airways announced it will suspend all flights to and from Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport until the end of March 2025, citing ongoing security concerns.

French President Emmanuel Macron told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he sees the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as a chance for a possible new phase of negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, Macron's office said on Monday.

Macron, whose government has had increasingly tense public exchanges with Israel over the past few weeks, also reiterated previous calls for ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza and condemnations of Israeli army action towards UN forces in Lebanon.

Macron also expressed solidarity with Netanyahu after a drone was launched towards the prime minister's home, the French president's office said.

Right-wing and ultra-nationalist Israeli activists have convened in southern Israel, near Gaza, for a conference focused on re-establishing Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.

Workshops at the event are teaching how to construct settlements without government approval, with the aim of establishing the first settlement in the Netzarim Corridor, an area created by Israeli forces during the conflict that separates northern Gaza from the south.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is expected to speak at the conference, and ten members of Netanyahu's Likud Party will also be in attendance, according to Israeli media.

US envoy Amos Hochstein Monday said that a UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict would be the basis of a new ceasefire, but would require more than just commitments from the warring parties.

"The commitment that we have is to resolve this conflict based on (UN Resolution) 1701 that is what the solution is going to have to look like," Hochstein told reporters, adding that "both sides simply committing to 1701, is just not enough" after years of weak implementation.

Germany on Monday demanded Israel "clarify every incident" involving the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and urged it to investigate the destruction of a UNIFIL observation tower.

UN peacekeepers on Sunday said an Israeli "army bulldozer deliberately demolished" an observation tower and fence of a UN position in southern Lebanon, where the army is fighting Hezbollah.

Visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein on Monday said it was not in Lebanon's interests to link its fate to other conflicts, saying Washington wants to end the Israel-Hezbollah war "as soon as possible".

"Tying Lebanon's future to other conflicts in the region was not and is not in the interest of the Lebanese people," Hochstein told a press conference after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, adding that the United States wants to end the conflict "as soon as possible".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart for the Middle East on Monday, the State Department said, as Washington is pushing to kickstart ceasefire negotiations to end the Gaza war following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Blinken will discuss with regional leaders the importance of ending the Gaza war, ways to chart a post-conflict plan for the Palestinian enclave, as well as how to reach a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the State Department said in a statement.

The top diplomat's trip will start with Israel, the State Department said, but did not provide the other exact destinations.

"Throughout the region, Secretary Blinken will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people," the State Department said in a statement.

"He will continue discussions on post-conflict period planning and emphasize the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives," it said.

Israel's army has confirmed the death of Colonel Ahsan Daksa, a senior military officer, who was killed in a Hamas attack in northern Gaza.

According to military spokesman Daniel Hagari, Daksa was killed in the Jabalia area when an explosive device detonated after he exited his tank.

A battalion commander was also reported to be seriously injured in the incident.

The total death toll of Israeli troops has now reached 747 since October 7, 2023, with at least 4,969 soldiers wounded in Gaza.

Wounded and ill Palestinians from Gaza will soon be evacuated to Europe for emergency medical treatment. Israel, which has been besieging the territory, has pledged to allow 1,000 additional medical evacuations to the European Union in the coming months, according to Hans Kluge of WHO Europe.

Kluge emphasised that ongoing dialogue made this possible, adding, "The most important medicine is peace." WHO’s Rik Peeperkorn noted in May that around 10,000 people in Gaza urgently needed evacuation for medical care.

Three bodies have been recovered in Khirbet al-Adas and Moraj, located in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city.

A statement on Telegram did not specify the cause of death, but Israeli forces have been active in the area, with clashes reported between troops and Palestinian fighters.

Despite an International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to halt the military operation, Israel has continued its attacks on Rafah since May.

At least two Palestinians were killed, and others injured, in an Israeli attack northwest of Gaza City, Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

According to local residents, Israeli artillery shelled homes in the as-Saftawi area, causing the deaths.

Multiple explosions also hit Gaza City and the northern parts of the enclave.

These attacks occurred amid the ongoing Israeli siege of northern Gaza, now in its 17th day.

Iran has written to the U.N. nuclear watchdog to complain about Israel's threats against its nuclear sites, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday at a weekly news conference.

"Threats to attack nuclear sites are against U.N. resolutions.... and are condemned... we have sent a letter about it to... the U.N. nuclear watchdog," Baghaei said in the televised news conference.

Iran launched its Oct. 1 missile attack to retaliate against Israeli strikes targeting its allies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

It was the second Iranian attack on Israel this year; Israel responded to the first missile volley in April with an air strike on an air defence site in central Iran. 

Iran denied Monday an accusation from Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati that it was interfering in Beirut's internal affairs over remarks attributed to Tehran's speaker of parliament.

"Iran has never had any intention or (taken any) action that could be suspected of interfering in the internal affairs of Lebanon," said Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei during a weekly news conference.

 Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi will travel to Bahrain and Kuwait on Monday, ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said at a weekly press conference.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein will hold talks with Lebanese officials in Beirut on Monday on conditions for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, two sources told news agency Reuters, as Israel expanded its air campaign on the group's assets overnight.

While Hochstein is likely to push for calm after a year of fighting during which Israel killed leaders of both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, the US has made it clear it will show unwavering support for Israel despite rising death tolls.

Hochstein is set to meet Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati and speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Monday.

Berri told the Al-Arabiya broadcaster over the weekend that Hochstein's visit was "the last chance before the U.S. elections" to reach a truce and said he would reject any amendments to United Nations resolution 1701, which ended the last bloody conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

Israel gave the United States a document last week with its conditions for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Lebanon, Axios reported on Sunday, citing two US officials and two Israeli officials.

White House Special envoy Amos Hochsteien is visiting Beirut on Monday to discuss a diplomatic solution to the conflict, the report added.

 The U.S. military has rushed its advanced anti-missile system to Israel and it is now "in place", U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

Austin declined to say whether the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD was operational. But he added: "We have the ability to put it into operation very quickly and we're on pace with our expectations."