US vetoes UNSC resolution on Gaza ceasefire as south Lebanon fighting continues

The Palestinian Authority condemned the United States on Wednesday for vetoing a call for a ceasefire in Gaza at the UN Security Council, saying it "emboldens Israel to continue its crimes".

"The US decision to exercise its veto for the fourth time emboldens Israel to continue its crimes against innocent civilians in Palestine and Lebanon," it said in comments carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein has arrived in Israel following meetings with Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri about a proposal for a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, according to Haaretz.

An Israeli soldier has been seriously wounded in combat in northern Gaza, according to reports from the Times of Israel. 

The Lebanese Ministry of Health has announced that 14 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in the last 24 hours, updating the total death toll for the war to 3,558 people killed and 15,123 wounded.

Palestinian militant group Hamas accused the United States on Wednesday of being "directly responsible" for Israel's "genocidal war" in Gaza after it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire.

"Again, the United States demonstrates that it is a direct partner in the aggression against our people, that it is a criminal, kills children and women and destroys civilian life in Gaza, and that it is directly responsible for the genocidal war and ethnic cleansing, just like the occupation (Israel)," Hamas said in a statement.

Gaza's displaced population faces a second winter of war as Israel's 14-month-long assault continues with no sign of ending.

Gazans have endured over a year of devastation and inadequate access to essential provisions, including tents and warm clothing.

Maysoun Kahil, a mother of six sheltering in the Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City, told The New Arab that rainfall has made her nights difficult, with her dilapidated cloth tent soaking through during rain storms.

"All of my children got wet and cried for long hours," she said, adding: "I do not have enough money to buy a new tent or even to buy winter clothes that would help them get some warmth."

The Kahil family, like thousands of others, relies on the entry of meagre humanitarian aid into Gaza.

"We receive a little food, but we have not received tents nor even blankets or clothes for us and our children," she said.

The United States on Wednesday vetoed a UN Security Council push to call for a ceasefire in Gaza that Washington said would have emboldened Hamas.

"We made clear throughout negotiations we could not support an unconditional ceasefire that failed to release the hostages," said US ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood.

The Syrian defence ministry said 36 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in Israeli air strikes in the city of Palmyra on Wednesday.

"The Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the direction of the Al-Tanf area, targeting a number of buildings in the city of Palmyra," a ministry statement said, adding that it had killed 36 people and wounded more than 50, as well as causing "significant material damage".

The Jordanian army said Wednesday it sent eight helicopters loaded with more than seven tonnes of aid to Gaza, which is grappling with a humanitarian crisis after more than a year of war.

The helicopters carrying food, medicine and supplies for children took off from Jordan toward the Palestinian territory, where the aid would be handed over to the World Food Programme, the army said in a statement.

Here is a summary of the main points from Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem's speech.

• Qassem vowed a strong response to the assassination of the group's media chief Mohammed Afif, saying he had a civilian role in the group as a spokesperson.
• He also vowed that the response to the targeting of Afif in the heart of Beirut will hit the heart of Tel Aviv.
• He reiterated his group's support for Palestinians in Gaza, stressing that while the world remained "passive" to the Israeli aggression in Gaza, Hezbollah, alongside groups in Iraq, Yemen and Iran will continue in their support.
• On the US-brokered ceasefire talks, Qassem highlighted that Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated just days after agreeing to a US-French brokered deal in September which fell through.
• He said that Hezbollah is focused on killing "enemy forces" and repelling advances by Israeli forces.
• He added that the group is capable of sustaining the fight "indefinitely" and continues to confront the Israeli army wherever it advances.
• Qassem said "victory" would be defined by preventing the Israeli army from achieving its objectives.
• He encouraged displaced people to "remain patient", adding he had acknowledge "their sacrifices".

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Wednesday that any ceasefire deal with Lebanon must ensure Israel has the "freedom to act" against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

"In any agreement we will reach, we will need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations," he told foreign ambassadors ahead of US envoy Amos Hochstein's expected arrival in Israel to discuss a truce.

An Israeli air strike killed seven Palestinians in western Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Gaza medics said.

The strike hit a group of people in Al-Mawasi, a humanitarian-designated area, medics said. The dead included at least one girl, they added.

(Reuters)

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in a televised address on Wednesday that Israel's assassination of the group's media head, Mohammad Afif, in Beirut last week would not go unanswered.

"The Israeli enemy has attacked the capital, Beirut, and Afif, who held a civilian, media, and political role that should be protected in such circumstances. The enemy did not stop at targeting Ras al-Nabeh to assassinate Afif but also attacked the areas of Mar Elias and Zoqaq al-Blat, striking and assassinating in the heart of Beirut. Therefore, it must expect a response in the heart of Tel Aviv."

Qassem said: "We have faced two battles: the first was supporting Gaza for 11 months, and the second began two months ago, which we have called the 'Battle of the Mighty' to repel Israel's comprehensive aggression on Lebanon."

He also addressed the US-brokered ceasefire talks currently in progress.

"We agreed to the idea proposed by US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, which suggested that a solution could be reached by halting the aggression. However, they assassinated our Secretary-General on September 27, and the battle has continued since then," he said in reference to the killing of the group's former chief Hassan Nasrallah.

He said Hezbollah experienced a "period of confusion" for ten days after Nasrallah's killing, but then managed to regroup.

"We have been able to regain our political, resistance, and media strength across all fields. While the losses are painful and severe - enough to topple states, parties, and armies - we have resilient figures who help us withstand these challenges."

A monitor of Syria's war said 11 pro-Iran fighters were killed in Israeli strikes on Palmyra in the centre of the country on Wednesday, raising an earlier toll of four dead.

The strikes killed "four non-Syrian fighters from pro-Iran groups and seven of Syrian nationality" and wounded "dozens including at least seven civilians", the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

There is no indication that a part of the Parchin military complex that Israel hit in an air attack last month was a nuclear facility or had nuclear material present, U.N. atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday.

He was responding to a journalist's question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comment in a speech on Monday that Israel had struck "a specific component in their nuclear programme".

(Reuters)

Israel's military said Wednesday it was fighting the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, not the Lebanese army, after the latter said four of its soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes.

"We emphasise that the (Israeli army) is operating precisely against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation and is not operating against the Lebanon Armed Forces," the military told AFP in a statement.

An Israeli airstrike targeting a house in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood has resulted in at least two fatalities, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Several others have also been injured in the attack.

US envoy Amos Hochstein is set to leave Lebanon for Israel in the coming hours.

He is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow to discuss a potential ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid.

U.S. envoy @amoshochstein will travel to Israel from Lebanon on Wednesday night, Israeli officials say. He will meet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Thursday to discuss the Lebanon ceasefire deal

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 20, 2024

Gaza's Ministry of Health said that Israeli attacks in the last 24 hours have killed 13 people and wounded a further 84, adding that the total number of killed since the start of Israel's war on Gaza is now 43,985 people killed and 104,092 wounded.

The Israeli military on Wednesday said it struck more than 100 "terror targets" in Lebanon over the past day and had "eliminated" two Hezbollah commanders at the weekend.

The targets included "launchers, weapons storage facilities, command centres, and military structures", the army said in a statement. It also said: "On Sunday, the (air force) eliminated the commanders of Hezbollah's anti-tank missile and operations unit in the coastal sector" who were "responsible for terror attacks against Israeli civilians".

Syrian state media said an Israeli attack targeted the central city of Palmyra on Wednesday, reporting an unspecified number of wounded in the attack.

State news agency SANA said an "Israeli attack... targeted residential buildings and the industrial area" of the city, renowned for its ancient ruins, while state television reported unspecified "wounded due to the Israeli attack that targeted the city of Palmyra".

Hezbollah said its chief Naim Qassem would give a speech Wednesday, a day after cancelling a similar announcement and with US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut seeking an end to the Israel-Hezbollah war.

A statement from the Iran-backed group announced the speech by Qassem would be "today", without specifying a time.

The Israeli miliary said that a soldier has been killed in combat in north Gaza, with the commander of the Nachshon Battalion being seriously wounded in the same incident. 

The Israeli military has marked him as the 800th military death since the war started.

A UN peacekeeping patrol in Lebanon comprising French troops came under fire on Tuesday, France's foreign ministry said, adding that none of its forces were wounded in the incident.

It did not say who was responsible for the shots, but stressed that the safety and security of United Nations personnel, property and premises must be ensured.

"France reiterates that it is imperative that UNIFIL be able to exercise its freedom of movement so that it can fully implement its mandate," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

(Reuters)

North Gaza's Kamal Adwan hospital is still under siege by the Israeli military, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa, with medicine, food, staff and ambulances unable to enter the hospital.

According to the agency, 85 women and children are in the hospital receiving care, with six in a critical case. Likewise, the report added that there is a rise of malnutrition being registered at the hospital, with an elderly man dying from dehydration.

France's foreign minister said on Wednesday that US-led efforts for a truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon had created the chance for a lasting ceasefire and he called on both sides to accept a deal on the table.

"There is a window of opportunity that's opening for a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon that would allow the return of those displaced, ensure the sovereignty of Lebanon and the security of Israel," Jean-Noel Barrot told Europe 1 radio.

"I call on all sides with whom we are in close contact to seize this window."

(Reuters)

Lebanon's army said one soldier was killed Wednesday in an Israeli attack on a military vehicle, after previously reporting two personnel wounded in the incident in south Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Hezbollah.

One soldier "died of his wounds sustained due to the Israel army targeting of an army vehicle" in south Lebanon, a statement on X said, a day after the military said three soldiers were killed when Israel struck an army position.

A Hezbollah official said on Wednesday that any US-brokered ceasefire deal between the group and Israel must end fighting swiftly and must preserve Lebanon's sovereignty, an apparent reference to Israel's stance that it will keep striking the Iran-backed group even with a truce in place.

Speaking to Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV, Mahmoud Qmati said that he was neither overly optimistic nor overly pessimistic about the prospects of a truce.

(Reuters)

The Lebanese army has said that an Israeli air strike killed three of its soldiers in an attack yesterday on the southern town of Sarafand.

The army said in a brief statement that "the Israeli enemy targeted an army headquarters in the town of Sarafand, which led to the martyrdom of 3 soldiers".

Late last night, 17 others "including civilians in the surrounding area" were injured in the strike, NNA reported.

This latest incident comes just two days after two Lebanese soldiers were killed in an Israeli strike that hit an army post in the southern town of Mari in Hasbaya district.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani has described an Israeli complaint to the UN Security Council regarding attacks by armed groups in the country as a pretext to attack his country.

"These accusations are nothing more than pretexts aimed at justifying a planned aggression against Iraq by those authorities, as part of a new step aimed at expanding the scope of the regional conflict," Shafaq News website quoted Sudani as saying yesterday.

He ordered the military and the security forces "to prevent and pursue any military activity outside the framework of the state's control".

Since the start of the Gaza war, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) has claimed it launched dozens of drone and missile attacks targeting areas inside Israel.