Closing summary
Hello, Middle East blog readers. We are bringing this live coverage to a close for the time being. All our latest articles on the region can be found here.
It’s not long after 9pm in Gaza City, Beirut and Tel Aviv. Here’s where things stand:
Donald Trump promises that he will bring “peace” to the Middle East, with the US Republican nominee for president making the pronouncement in a letter just six days before the US election for the White House on 5 November. “During my administration, we had peace in the Middle East, and we will have peace again very soon! I will fix the problems caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon,” he said in his letter to Lebanese Americans.
At least 30 people were killed as Israel pummeled Gaza with new bombardments, Palestinian medics said. Eight of today’s victims were killed in northern Gaza. The area Israel hit is near to where medics said at least 93 people had been killed or reported missing on Tuesday in an Israeli strike Washington called “horrifying”.
The UN security council “strongly warned against any attempts to dismantle or diminish” the operations and mandate of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, after Israel passed a law banning its operations. In a statement adopted by consensus, the 15-member body expressed grave concern over the legislation adopted by the Israeli parliament on Monday.
Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, warned Israel it would pay a heavy price if its forces remain in Lebanon, stressing his group was ready for a prolonged conflict. “Get out of our land to reduce your losses. If you stay, you will pay more than you have ever paid in your life,” Qassem said in a pre-recorded speech, asserting Hezbollah could sustain fighting “for days, weeks and months”.
Airstrikes rocked the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek and its outskirts, hours after Israel issued an evacuation call for the area. Baalbek mayor Mustafa al-Shall confirmed strikes had hit the city and surrounding areas, without providing further details.
Naim Qassem said he would stick to the war strategy laid out by his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel last month after full-scale fighting broke out. “My work programme is a continuation of the work programme of our leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,” Qassem said in his first remarks as Hezbollah leader. Qassem pledged to press on with “the war plan that he (Nasrallah) developed with the leadership” of the Iran-backed group.
The Israeli army said it had killed the deputy head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, Mustafa Ahmad Shahadi, in a strike in the Nabatieh area of south Lebanon. “In an intelligence-directed strike, the Israeli air force struck and eliminated Mustafa Ahmad Shahadi, deputy commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan forces, in the area of Nabatieh,” the army said in a statement.
Israel’s security cabinet is discussing the terms of a truce with Hezbollah in south Lebanon, where Israeli troops are conducting a ground offensive, energy minister Eli Cohen said. “There are discussions, I think it will still take time,” Cohen told Israeli public radio. According to Israel’s Channel 12 television, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with ministers on Tuesday evening on Israel’s demands in return for a 60-day truce.
At least 43,163 Palestinians have been killed and 101,510 injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said. The ministry said that 102 Palestinians had been killed and 287 injured in the past 24 hours. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said it had launched drones at an Israeli base in the port city of Haifa. Hezbollah fighters “launched an air attack at 7.45am (0545 GMT) … with a squadron of attack drones” on a “base in southern Haifa”, the group said in a statement.
Human Rights Watch warned that Syrians fleeing Israel’s onslaught on Lebanon could face repression at home as more than 355,000 Syrians returned in more than a month of war. “Syrians escaping Lebanon, particularly men, risk arbitrary detention and abuse by Syrian authorities,” the group said in a statement. AFP reports that since Israel launched its intensive air campaign on Lebanon on 23 September, in an action against Hezbollah, more than half a million people have fled from Lebanon to Syria, including more than 355,010 Syrians, according to Lebanese official figures.
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the US “rejects any Israeli efforts to starve Palestinians in Jabaliya or anywhere else” and called on the Netanyahu government to tackle the “catastrophic humanitarian crisis” in Gaza.
Updated
The White House media briefing just wrapped up in Washington DC and press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed misgivings about Israel voting to ban the United Nations humanitarian organization Unrwa from the country within 90 days.
“We are troubled by any legislation that could shut down Unrwa,” Jean-Pierre said, Reuters reports.
The US is talking to the Israeli government about the vote this week, the White House said.
Gaza, deep in a humanitarian crisis during the massive Israeli military offensive that’s been going on since just after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel last October, relies heavily on Unrwa for survival supplies for Palestinians trapped in the enclave.
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The United States said that ally Israel was not doing enough to answer questions a day after a strike in Gaza killed a large number of children.
“They are not doing enough to get us the answers that we have requested,” Matthew Miller, the US state department spokesperson, told reporters, AFP writes.
The strike Tuesday in the northern Gaza district of Beit Lahia collapsed a building and left at least 93 people dead, including a large number of children, according to the territory’s civil defense agency.
Miller yesterday called the strike “horrifying” and said that the United States was seeking answers from Israel, which relies on US diplomatic and military support.
Asked whether the US had learned more over the past day since it asked for answers, Miller said:
We reiterated that call with them today. We do not yet have an explanation. They have said to us what they had said publicly, which is they’re investigating the matter.
Meanwhile, from earlier today: the Washington Post reported that the US government has received about 500 reports that American weapons are killing Palestinians.
The reports have been received from across the government, global aid organisations, non-profit groups, media reports and other eyewitnesses – but no single case has been acted on.
Updated
Hezbollah has just said that it targeted a military camp south-east of Tel Aviv in Israel with missiles.
There are few details yet but the basic news has just been reported by Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP). We’ll bring you any more information as it emerges.
Updated
US state department supports Israel in its targeting of ‘legitimate’ Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
State department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at a regular news briefing that Israel does so in a way that does not threaten the lives of civilians. “That’s especially true in densely populated areas,” he said.
“It’s important that they not threaten the lives of journalists, UN peacekeepers, members of the Lebanese armed forces, and it’s also critical that civilian infrastructure and significant cultural heritage sites can be protected.”
Updated
Donald Trump promises 'peace' in the Middle East
In a letter addressed to the Lebanese-American community, US presidential candidate Donald Trump promises that he will bring “peace” in the Middle East just six days before Americans head to the polls.
“During my Administration, we had peace in the Middle East, and we will have peace again very soon! I will fix the problems caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon,” he said in his letter.
“I want to see the Middle East return to real peace, a lasting peace, and we will get it done properly so it doesn’t repeat itself every 5 or 10 years!” he added.
Trump added that he wanted to work with Lebanese Americans to “ensure the safety and security of the great people of Lebanon”.
“You have my word. I will preserve the equal partnership among all Lebanese communities. Your friends and family in Lebanon deserve to live in peace, prosperity, and harmony with their neighbours, and that can only happen with peace and stability in the Middle East,” he added.
The former president did not offer any details about his plans to achieve peace in the region.
Updated
At least three drones were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in the past hour, one of which was intercepted by air defences, according to the military.
The IDF says it has received reports of two drone impacts. It does not specify where they hit or if any damage was caused.
Updated
More than 1,000 figures from the literary and entertainment industry – including several Nobel laureates, Pulitzer prize, and Booker prize winners – have signed an open letter against “illiberal and dangerous” cultural boycotts.
The letter was released by the nonprofit body Creative Community For Peace [CCFP], which campaigns against cultural boycotts of Israel, after more than 1,000 book industry figures pledged to boycott Israeli cultural institutions that “are complicit or have remained silent observers of the overwhelming oppression of Palestinians”.
Among the signatories of the CCFP letter are Lee Child (creator of the Jack Reacher novels), Booker winner Howard Jacobson, Pulitzer winner David Mamet, Nobel winners Herta Müller and Elfriede Jelinek, historians Simon Schama and Simon Sebag Montefiore, and entertainers Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne and Debra Messing…
I understand that there are millions of Americans who disagree with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on the terrible war in Gaza. I am one of them.
While Israel had a right to defend itself against the horrific Hamas terrorist attack of 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 innocent people and took 250 hostages, it did not have the right to wage an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people.
It did not have the right to kill 42,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom were children, women and the elderly, or injure over 100,000 people in Gaza. It did not have the right to destroy Gaza’s infrastructure and housing and healthcare systems. It did not have the right to bomb every one of Gaza’s 12 universities. It did not have the right to block humanitarian aid, causing massive malnutrition in children and, in fact, starvation…
Sirens have sounded on Israel’s northern border.
The Israeli military says the sirens are due to the “identification of a number of suspicious aerial targets that crossed from Lebanon”.
It says the targets are being “monitored” by the Israeli air force, and the situation is still “developing”.
We will bring you the latest as we hear it.
Updated
At least 30 killed in fresh strike on Gaza
Israel pummelled the Gaza Strip with new bombardments that killed at least 30 people on Wednesday, Palestinian medics said.
Eight of today’s victims were killed in northern Gaza. The area Israel hit is near to where medics said at least 93 people were killed or missing on Tuesday in an Israeli strike Washington called “horrifying”.
Israel sent tanks into Beit Lahiya and the neighbouring towns of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia earlier this month as part of their battles with Hamas. The assault on the area has left hundreds of dead civilians and medical workers.
Officials in Beit Lahiya issued a statement urging world powers and aid agencies to halt Israel’s attacks and bring in essential medical supplies, fuel and food, saying the latest military actions had left the area “without food, without water, without hospitals, without doctors.”
Dr Eid Sabbah of Beit Lahiya’s Kamal Adwan hospital told Reuters that destroyed hospitals, and medical supply shortages were making saving people injured by airstrikes and gunfire impossible.
“Whoever is injured just lies there on the ground, and whoever is killed can’t be transported, except by mule-drawn cart,” he said.
Updated
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant tells IDF troops in Rafah that bringing the hostages home is their most important mission in Gaza.
“Your obligation is to create military pressure. Our obligation, the political echelon, is to bring about a deal… You apply pressure, do what is necessary, and we bring about a deal because you create the conditions for us to carry it out, and I hope we will do it,” he says.
“This is our most important mission in Gaza at this time. We have regular tasks — one is to maintain the defense of the communities and the forces, and the second is to maintain the freedom of action to do whatever is necessary inside Gaza,” Gallant adds.
Charity ActionAid called on world leaders to act immediately to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Lebanon, after staff of its partner organisation RDFL (The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering ) were forced to flee Baalbek.
Roula Zeaiter, Programme Manager for RDFL, said:
People have started evacuating from areas affected by Israeli orders, including shelters where displaced families are staying. The areas affected by Israeli orders are densely populated and heavily crowded. There are no logistical resources to help people to leave, and some people are having to move on foot.
People are panicking, running around in confusion, bumping into each other, unsure where to go or what to do. Minutes after the order to leave came, the streets were filled with people grabbing their things, locking their homes and closing their shops. We’re scrambling like scared mice, moving from place to place. Lebanon is becoming like Gaza, with Israeli forces using the same tactics.
UN security council warns against attempts to dismantle Unrwa
The UN security council on Wednesday “strongly warned against any attempts to dismantle or diminish” the operations and mandate of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, after Israel passed a law banning its operations.
Reuters reports that in a statement adopted by consensus, the 15-member body expressed grave concern over the legislation adopted by the Israeli parliament on Monday.
The council “urged the Israeli government to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of Unrwa and live up to its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip”.
Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, said on Wednesday he would agree to a ceasefire with Israel under acceptable terms but said a viable deal has yet to be presented, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“If the Israelis decide that they want to stop the aggression, we say we accept, but on the conditions that we see as appropriate and suitable,” Qassem said in a pre-recorded speech, though he added a suitable agreement has not been offered.
Two German naval ships are avoiding the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have attacked passing maritime traffic, and are instead sailing around Africa, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
Defence minister Boris Pistorius had ordered the longer route for the frigate and supply ship on their way back from an Indo-Pacific deployment, ministry spokesperson Col Mitko Mueller told a press conference, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The threat level is quite high” in the Red Sea, Mueller told a Berlin press briefing, citing the “very complex attacks” carried out there in recent months involving tactical ballistic missiles, drones and other weapons.
He said that, unlike other German naval vessels, the two ships are not “specifically designed to carry out air defence operations” to protect themselves as well as fleets of nearby vessels.
According to AFP, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had during an India trip last week visited the two ships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and supply ship Frankfurt am Main, in the south-western state of Goa.
The frigate will next head into the Mediterranean to join a mission for Unifil, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, while the supply ship will sail back to Germany, Mueller said.
Most major shipping companies are avoiding the Red Sea route towards Egypt’s Suez canal and the Mediterranean Sea, forcing them to instead make the longer and more costly journey around Africa.
Qassem warns Israel will pay 'heavy price' if forces remain in Lebanon
Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, on Wednesday warned Israel it would pay a heavy price if its forces remain in Lebanon, stressing his group was ready for a prolonged conflict, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Get out of our land to reduce your losses. If you stay, you will pay more than you have ever paid in your life,” Qassem said in a pre-recorded speech, asserting Hezbollah could sustain fighting “for days, weeks and months”.
Updated
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday hosted the first meeting of a new “international alliance” to press for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Unveiled last month on the sidelines of the UN general assembly, the “international alliance to implement the two-state solution” brings together nations from the Middle East, Europe and beyond.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said nearly 90 “states and international organisations” were taking part in the two-day meeting in Riyadh.
“A genocide is happening with the goal of evicting the Palestinian people from their land, which Saudi Arabia rejects,” he said, describing the humanitarian situation as “catastrophic” and denouncing the “complete blockade” of northern Gaza.
The Riyadh meeting was expected to focus on humanitarian access, the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) and measures to advance a two-state solution, diplomats said.
The European Union was set to be represented by Sven Koopmans, the special representative for the Middle East peace process, diplomats said.
The US, Israel’s most important military backer, sent Hady Amr, the state department’s special representative for Palestinian affairs, reports AFP.
The hard-right Israeli government of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains implacably opposed to Palestinian statehood.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter and custodian of Islam’s two holiest sites, paused US-brokered talks on recognising Israel after the Gaza war broke out between Palestinian militants Hamas and Israel.
In September, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said an “independent Palestinian state” was a condition for normalisation. Prince Faisal reiterated that position on Wednesday, reports AFP.
Ireland, Norway and Spain announced their recognition of a Palestinian state in May, prompting an angry response from Israel. Slovenia soon joined them, bringing the number of countries that recognise a Palestinian state to 146 out of the 193 UN member states.
Updated
Strikes hit Lebanon’s Baalbek and Bekka after Israel evacuation call
Strikes rocked the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek and its outskirts on Wednesday, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent reported, hours after Israel issued an evacuation call for the area.
Baalbek mayor Mustafa al-Shall confirmed strikes hit the city and surrounding areas, without providing further details.
Reuters reports, citing security sources, that Israel launched heavy airstrikes on Baalbek and surrounding villages in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region.
The news agency reports that thousands of people have fled the city since the evacuation order was issued, approximately four hours before the strikes began. There was no immediate word on casualties, it said.
Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, said on Wednesday that the Iran-backed group is fighting Israel to defend Lebanese territory, not as a result of foreign influence, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
In a pre-recorded speech, his first as Hezbollah leader, Qassem said the movement was not “fighting on anyone’s behalf,” adding that Iran “supports us but doesn’t want anything” in return.
Here are some of the latest images coming in via the news wires:
Hezbollah’s new leader vows to uphold predecessor Nasrallah’s 'war plan'
Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, said on Wednesday he would stick to the war strategy laid out by his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel last month after full-scale fighting broke out.
“My work programme is a continuation of the work programme of our leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,” Qassem said in his first remarks as Hezbollah leader, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Qassem pledged to press on with “the war plan that he (Nasrallah) developed with the leadership” of the Iran-backed group.
Here is an image of Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, shared on the news wires today:
Israel army says it killed deputy head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force
The Israeli army said Wednesday it has killed the deputy head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, Mustafa Ahmad Shahadi, in a strike in the Nabatieh area of south Lebanon, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“In an intelligence-directed strike, the Israeli air force struck and eliminated Mustafa Ahmad Shahadi, deputy commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan forces, in the area of Nabatieh,” the army said in a statement, adding that Shahadi had previously run Radwan operations in Syria and overseen “terror attacks in southern Lebanon”.
There has been no response yet from Hezbollah.
Updated
Israel issues evacuation call for Lebanon’s Nabatieh region
The Israeli army urged residents of several villages in the Nabatieh area of south Lebanon to leave immediately on Wednesday, warning it was poised to attack Hezbollah targets, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Hezbollah’s terrorist activities force the (Israeli army) to act forcefully against it in these areas”, military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a post on X, with Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reporting strikes had already begun on the city of Nabatieh.
Updated
The Washington Post reports that the US government has received about 500 reports that American weapons are killing Palestinians.
The reports are received from across the government, global aid organisations, nonprofits groups, media reports and other eyewitnesses. Despite the number of reports, no single case has been acted on.
“They’re ignoring evidence of widespread civilian harm and atrocities to maintain a policy of virtually unconditional weapons transfers to the Netanyahu government,” said John Ramming Chappell, a legal and policy adviser focused on US security assistance and arms sales at the Center for Civilians in Conflict.
“When it comes to the Biden administration’s arms policies, everything looks good on paper but has turned out meaningless in practice when it comes to Israel.”
State department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the United States was “deeply concerned by the loss of civilian life” and that Washington was seeking a “full explanation”. The Israeli military said it was “aware of reports that civilians were harmed”.
Updated
Hezbollah announces that its newly appointed leader, Naim Qassem, will deliver his maiden speech as secretary general today at 1pm GMT.
Hezbollah appointed Qassem on Monday, following Israel’s assassination of his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut last month and of his presumed successor, Hashem Safieddine, earlier this month.
Updated
American diplomats are developing a plan to pause the fighting between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, starting with a 60-day ceasefire, Reuters reports as the war enters its fourth week.
The sources – a person briefed on the talks and a senior diplomat working on Lebanon – told Reuters the two-month period would be used to finalise full implementation of UN security council resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to keep southern Lebanon free of arms outside state control.
“We’d like to reiterate that we seek a diplomatic resolution that fully implements 1701 and gets both Israeli and Lebanese citizens back to their homes on both sides of the border,” said Sama Habib, spokesperson at the U.S. embassy in Beirut.
Meanwhile, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon continues to intensify. On Wednesday the Israeli army ordered residents of Baalbek, where tens of thousands of mostly Shia Muslim Lebanese people, including many who had fled other areas, were living.
Updated
Iran said on Wednesday that its production of missiles remained intact, after Israeli airstrikes targeting military facilities last week, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“There has been no interruption in the process of producing offensive systems such as missiles,” defence minister Aziz Nasirzadeh told reporters. “The enemy tried to damage both our defensive and offensive systems,” he added.
Israel launched strikes on military sites in Iran on Saturday, citing Tehran’s 1 October missile attack that followed the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said later that the strikes “hit Iran’s defence capabilities and missile production”.
Iran’s armed forces said the attack killed four soldiers and caused “limited damage” to a few radar systems. Iranian media said a civilian was also killed.
Israel has warned Iran against retaliating, while Tehran, asserting it does not seek war, vowed an “appropriate response”.
Western governments have long criticised Iran’s missile programme which has come under severe sanctions in recent years.
In September, the European Union imposed sanctions on prominent Iranian officials and entities over their alleged involvement in transferring missiles and drones to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine, reports AFP.
Tehran has repeatedly denied the accusations.
Hezbollah’s new leader is to give a speech on Wednesday, a source close to the group said, his first since he was appointed earlier this week.
“A speech by the new secretary general of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, is scheduled for Wednesday,” the source told Agence France-Presse (AFP), requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Senior Hezbollah official Hassan Fadlallah said on Wednesday a remark by Israel’s defence minister suggesting the Lebanese armed group’s new chief, Naim Qassem, would not hold the post for long would not deter the group’s resistance, reports Reuters.
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant posted a photo of Qassem on X on Tuesday with the caption:
Temporary appointment. Not for long.”
Israeli security cabinet discussing terms of truce with Hezbollah in Lebanon, says minister
Israel’s security cabinet is discussing the terms of a truce with Hezbollah in south Lebanon, where Israeli troops are conducting a ground offensive, energy minister Eli Cohen said on Wednesday, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“There are discussions, I think it will still take time”, Cohen told Israeli public radio.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 television, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with ministers on Tuesday evening on Israel’s demands in return for a 60-day truce.
These include a Hezbollah pullback north of the Litani river, 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli frontier, the Lebanese army’s deployment along the border, an international intervention mechanism to enforce the truce and a guarantee that Israel will maintain freedom of action in case of threats, reports AFP.
“Thanks to all the army’s operations these past months and particularly these past weeks … Israel can come in a position of strength after the entire Hezbollah leadership was eliminated and over 2,000 Hezbollah terrorist infrastructures were hit”, said Cohen, a former intelligence minister.
According to Israeli media, US president Joe Biden’s Middle East adviser and special envoy Amos Hochstein will head to the region on Wednesday to meet Netanyahu and other Israeli officials to discuss conditions for a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Updated
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has described the decision by Israel’s Knesset on Monday to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), as an “unprecedented attack on a UN agency” that “if implemented, would only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe”.
In a statement, the IRC strongly urged for the legislation to not be applied:
Unrwa plays a critical role in serving civilians in desperate need in Gaza. Humanitarian actors rely on coordination with Unrwa to deliver aid and alleviate suffering. Unrwa cannot be replaced by NGOs like IRC.
The bill passed in the Israeli parliament is an unprecedented attack on a UN agency and, if implemented, would only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe.
We strongly urge that this legislation is not applied. We continue to advocate for an immediate ceasefire to get aid in, to release the hostages and to meet the growing and dire needs of the civilian population.
UNRWA plays a critical role in serving civilians in desperate need in Gaza. Humanitarian actors rely on coordination with UNWRA to deliver aid and alleviate suffering. UNWRA cannot be replaced by NGOs like IRC.
— IRC - International Rescue Committee (@RESCUEorg) October 29, 2024
At least 43,163 Palestinians killed in Israeli offensive since 7 October 2023, says Gaza health ministry
At least 43,163 Palestinians have been killed and 101,510 injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry said that 102 Palestinians were killed and 287 injured in the past 24 hours.
The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.
Mediators for a ceasefire in Gaza are to propose a truce of “less than a month” to Hamas, a source with knowledge of the talks told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday.
Meetings between the Mossad head David Barnea, CIA director Bill Burns and Qatar’s prime minister in Doha, which concluded on Monday, discussed proposing a “short-term” truce of “less than a month”, the source said on condition of anonymity because of the talks’ sensitivity.
Israel orders evacuation of Baalbek, Ain bourday and Durous in the Bekaa valley
William Christou is a Beirut-based journalist writing for the Guardian.
Israel ordered residents of the cities of Baalbek, Ain bourday and Durous in the Bekaa valley to “immediately” evacuate on Wednesday morning before it started bombing what it said were Hezbollah facilities. This was the first evacuation order issued for the Bekaa valley and Baalbek specifically, a city famed for its ancient ruins, designated as a Unesco world heritage site. Previously, evacuation orders were confined to south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The mayor of Baalbek, Moustafa al-Chall, said that the evacuation order prompted many families to flee the city.
“A warning of this type naturally scares many people, many are leaving. It’s natural for many people who have no relation to any party or the war, the normal citizens, to leave,” al-Chall said. He added that around half of the city’s population had already left after Israel started an intense aerial campaign all over Lebanon on 23 September.
Previously, Israeli evacuation orders have started in specific areas, before expanding to include entire regions or cities. Over a quarter of the country is under Israeli evacuation orders according to the UN, displacing more than 1.2 million people.
The evacuation orders have come under criticism from Amnesty International, which said that they were often “inadequate” and seemed designed to provoke mass displacement. The rights group added that even if an evacuation order was issued, civilians in that area do not become a legitimate military target.
On Monday night, more than 60 people were killed and more than 120 injured in Israeli strikes in Baalbek-Hermel province, the bloodiest day for the region. Part of the famed Baalbek castle was damaged in the strikes. Last November, Lebanon’s ministry of culture removed the blue shield emblem which indicated Baalbek was a cultural site to be protected during conflict, saying that the destruction in Gaza showed that the shield would not protect the city’s ruins.
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Israel criticises UN expert over 'eradication' of Palestinians claim
The UN rights expert Francesca Albanese is a “political activist” abusing her mandate “to hide her hatred for Israel”, the country’s mission in Geneva charged on Wednesday, according to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Albanese, UN special rapporteur on rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, reiterated an allegation that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza, saying it is seeking the “eradication of Palestinians” from their land.
Albanese said the offensive Israel unleashed after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks was “part of a long-term international, systematic state-organised forced displacement and replacement of the Palestinians”.
In response, Israel’s Geneva UN mission said in a statement:
According to her hate-filled paradigm, the state of Israel has no historic reason to exist, no right to defend its population, and both the attack of October 7 and the rescue of hostages are merely used by Israel as an excuse.
This distorted reality is a smokescreen to hide her hatred for Israel.
Francesca Albanese is nothing but a political activist who abuses an already discriminatory UN mandate. She is regularly spewing antisemitism, shielding and encouraging terrorism, and distorting the law.
As a UN mandate holder, she has breached every possible rule of the UN code of conduct. She must immediately be held accountable for her continuous abuses.”
Albanese has long faced criticism, allegations of antisemitism and demands for her removal, from Israel and some of its allies, over her relentless criticism and longstanding accusations of “genocide”.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council. They do not speak on behalf of the UN itself.
Albanese wrote in a report released on Tuesday:
The genocide of the Palestinians appears to be the means to an end: the complete removal or eradication of Palestinians from the land so integral to their identity, and which is illegally and openly coveted by Israel.
Since its establishment, Israel has treated the occupied people as a hated encumbrance and threat to be eradicated, subjecting millions of Palestinians, for generations, to everyday indignities, mass killing, mass incarceration, forced displacement, racial segregation and apartheid.”
Updated
Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it targeted Israel base in Haifa
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said it launched drones at an Israeli base in the port city of Haifa on Wednesday, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Hezbollah fighters “launched an air attack at 7:45 am (0545 GMT) … with a squadron of attack drones” on a “base in southern Haifa”, the group said in a statement.
Lebanon security official says one dead in Israel strike on munitions van
A Lebanese security official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that an Israeli strike on a van carrying munitions near Beirut killed the driver on Wednesday.
“A van was targeted in an Israeli strike on the Kahhale road and its driver killed,” the official said, adding that the vehicle was carrying munitions. According to AFP, he requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Lebanese state media said the Kahhale road, which links Beirut to Damascus, had been “blocked in both directions due to a ‘security incident’”.
The Israeli military issued an evacuation warning on Wednesday to residents of the city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, Reuters reports citing a social media post on X by a military spokesperson.
What does the new Israeli law mean?
Under the laws – which will not be implemented for several months – Unrwa could not “operate any institution, provide any service, or conduct any activity, whether directly or indirectly”.
Opponents charge that would imperil the already fragile process for distributing aid in Gaza at a moment when Israel is under increased US pressure to ramp up aid.
While most of Unrwa’s activities take place in the West Bank and Gaza, it is hugely dependent on an agreement with Israel to operate, including access to border crossings into Gaza including for humanitarian aid.
The legislation does not include provisions for alternative organisations to oversee its work.
Explainer: Why has Israel’s parliament voted to ban Unrwa?
Why has Israel’s parliament voted to ban Unrwa?
On Monday 92 Israeli MPs voted for a measure to ban Unrwa’s activities in Israel while only 10 voted to oppose the measure. A second bill severed diplomatic relations with the agency.
Israel has long complained that Unrwa is obsolete and its continuing support of the descendants of those initially displaced in 1948 is an impediment to a peace settlement.
Critics say that Israel’s own actions – not least its failure to meaningfully accept the foundation of a Palestinian state, and continued settlement activity on lands intended for that Palestinian state – represent the most significant obstacle to peace.
During the current conflict with Hamas, Israel also has repeatedly claimed that Unrwa has employed militants from Hamas.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has in the past called on the US – Israel’s top ally and the agency’s biggest donor – to roll back its support, saying the agency is “perforated by Hamas”.
A six-page Israeli dossier shared with the US accused 12 Unrwa staff members of taking part in the 7 October 2023 attacks, including nine who it said worked as teachers in the agency’s schools.
The dossier said Israel also had wider evidence that Unrwa has employed 190 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, which would represent 0.64% of the total Unrwa staff if true. The agency fired nine employees after an investigation but denied it knowingly aids armed groups.
Unrwa, however, has long shared the list of its staff with Israel. Speaking earlier this year, the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, reiterated the currency of this arrangement.
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What is Unrwa?
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees is the main refugee agency for Palestinians and operates across the Middle East.
It was originally set up in 1948 to support 700,000 Palestinians displaced in the war that saw Israel established, and provides services education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and runs shelters during periods of conflict.
Its operations are spread across the occupied West Bank – including East Jerusalem – and the Gaza Strip, as well as Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
It is funded largely by voluntary contributions from UN member states, and also receives some funding directly from the UN. Employing 30,000 Palestinians, it serves almost 6 million refugees, including in Gaza where 1,476,706 Palestinians are registered as refugees in eight Palestinian refugee camps, while in the West Bank 800,000 are registered.
During the current conflict in Gaza almost the entire population of Gaza has been reliant on Unrwa for basic necessities, including food, water and hygiene supplies. More than 200 Unrwa staff have been killed in Israeli attacks during the year-long war.
Israel is not addressing the “catastrophic humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, the US envoy to the United Nations has said as a deadline imposed by Washington looms for the Israelis to improve the situation or face potential restrictions on military aid.
“Israel’s words must be matched by action on the ground,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the security council. “Right now, that is not happening. This must change – immediately.”
The US told Israel on 13 October that it must take steps within 30 days or face consequences including the potential stopping of US weapons transfers. “The US has stated clearly that Israel must allow food, medicine and other supplies into all of Gaza – especially the north, and especially as winter sets in – and protect the workers distributing it,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
Her remarks came as Norway said it would seek clarification from the international court of justice (ICJ) over Israel’s aid obligations after the Knesset vote banning any cooperation with the UN Palestinian relief agency Unrwa, as world leaders and international organisations voiced fears for aid deliveries to Gaza.
Israel will seek to impose the measures voted for by Israeli MPs on Monday – including a ban on new visas and work permits for foreign Unrwa staff who must enter via Israel – within 90 days. This means western diplomats have a brief window after the US elections to try to force it to step back.
Sanctions on Israeli government members and reviews of trade ties are also under consideration among some countries if the vote is implemented.
Thomas-Greenfield said there was no alternative to Unrwa for delivering aid to Gaza and Washington had “real concerns” about the laws. Unrwa is the largest provider of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians, including health and education services.
You can read the full piece by Patrick Wintour and Andrew Roth here:
Deadly Israeli strike in Gaza amid anger over UN agency ban
An Israeli airstrike on a single residential block killed nearly 100 people on Tuesday, Gaza’s civil defence agency said, leaving rescuers scrambling for survivors as Israel pursued its offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.
Israel’s key ally and backer the US called the strike – which killed a large number of children – “horrifying”.
The bombing came with Israel facing an international backlash after its parliament voted overwhelmingly to ban Unrwa, the main United Nations aid agency working with Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian rescuers and desperate family members gathered around the demolished five-storey block in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The number of martyrs in the massacre of the Abu Nasr family home in Beit Lahia has risen to 93 martyrs, and about 40 are still missing under the rubble,” Gaza civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
Israel’s military said it was “looking into the reports” of the strike. It earlier reported its forces had killed 40 Hamas fighters, and the loss of four soldiers in Gaza.
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Syrians fleeing Israel-Hezbollah war risk abuse at home, says Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch warned on Wednesday that Syrians fleeing Israel’s onslaught on Lebanon could face repression at home as more than 355,000 Syrians returned in more than a month of war.
“Syrians escaping Lebanon, particularly men, risk arbitrary detention and abuse by Syrian authorities,” the group said in a statement, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The deaths in custody of deportees under suspicious circumstances highlight the blatant risk of arbitrary detention, abuse and persecution for those fleeing back,” said HRW’s deputy Middle East director, Adam Coogle.
AFP reports that since Israel launched its intensive air campaign on 23 September, more than half a million people have fled from Lebanon to Syria, including more than 355,010 Syrians, according to Lebanese official figures.
HRW said it had documented five arrests in October. It cited the case of a fleeing woman whose husband was “immediately” arrested by Syrian military intelligence, although they had hoped a recent amnesty, which included army deserters, would protect him.
Coogle said:
Syria is no safer for return than it was before, but the escalating dangers in Lebanon have left many Syrians with nowhere else to go.
Their return is not a sign of improved conditions in Syria, but of the stark reality that they’re being shut out of safer alternatives and forced back into a country where they still face the risks of detention, abuse and death.”
Last week, transport minister Ali Hamieh told AFP Israeli bombing had made a second border crossing between Lebanon and Syria inoperable – leaving only one official crossing between the neighbouring countries operational.
Israel’s Shin Bet security agency has appointed a new deputy head, reports the Times of Israel.
According to the publication, the new deputy, was selected by agency director Ronen Bar and approved by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Citing a statement from Shin Bet, the Times of Israel reports that the deputy was “only identified by the Hebrew initial of his first name: ‘Shin’” and “will enter the role in a few months”.
US says it rejects Israeli efforts to 'starve' Palestinians in northern Gaza – video
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has said the US “rejects any Israeli efforts to starve Palestinians in Jabaliya or anywhere else” and called on the Netanyahu government to tackle the “catastrophic humanitarian crisis” in Gaza.
You can listen to Thomas-Greenfield’s comments in the below video:
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The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) has said “the Israeli government must let more aid in now” in reaction to the decision by Israel’s Knesset on Monday to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa).
An FCDO spokesperson said on Tuesday:
This sobering report makes clear the stark reality that many people are facing the risk of famine. Access to basic services is becoming harder by the day. This dire situation cannot continue.
The UK government is playing a leading role in providing humanitarian funding, but aid is still not reaching those in need. The world will not tolerate any more excuses on humanitarian assistance – the Israeli government must let more aid in now.”
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Opening summary
Israeli tanks entered the outskirts of the Lebanese village of Khiam in their deepest incursion yet into southern Lebanon in their ground operation, Lebanese media reported, while the health ministry said at least 14 people were killed in Israeli strikes on the south.
The official National News Agency on Tuesday reported the entry of a “large number” of Israeli tanks into the eastern outskirts of the town of Khiam, about 6km from the border with Israel.
It said Israeli forces carried out a series of air attacks on Khiam later on Tuesday and launched a large-scale sweep “using heavy and medium weaponry”, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Hezbollah said it destroyed two tanks using guided missiles and targeted Israeli troops south and south-west of Khiam with rockets and artillery.
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on the town of Sarafand in south Lebanon killed at least eight people, the Lebanese health ministry said late on Tuesday. It also reported six dead in an earlier strike on Haret Saida near the main southern city of Sidon.
In other developments:
At least 93 Palestinians were killed or missing and dozens injured in an Israeli strike on a crowded block of flats in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, the Gaza health ministry said on Tuesday. The US state department called the incident “horrifying”. Medics said at least 20 children were among the dead. “A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defence crews cannot reach them,” the health ministry said.
Israel is not addressing the “catastrophic humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, the US envoy to the United Nations told the UN security council. Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s remarks on Tuesday came as a Washington-imposed deadline looms for Israel to improve the situation on the ground in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza, with one officer severely injured, the Israeli military said. Separately, the military said another soldier died from wounds sustained in battle in southern Lebanon, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since October last year to 777.
The UN said that if Israel put in place new laws cutting ties with the UN Palestinian relief agency Unrwa, the Israeli government would have to meet their needs under international law. Secretary general António Guterres said Unrwa would be prevented from doing work mandated by the UN general assembly if Israel implemented the laws, and called on it “to act consistently with its obligations”. He wrote in a letter to Benjamin Netanyahu about the “devastating impact” on Palestinians in the occupied territories if the legislation was implemented, the UN chief’s spokesperson said. The World Health Organization head, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the Israeli parliament’s decision was “intolerable” and would have “devastating consequences”.
Norway said it would seek clarification from the international court of justice over Israel’s aid obligations after the Israeli vote on Unrwa. The Israeli UN ambassador said Israel would facilitate humanitarian aid in Gaza but asserted that “Unrwa has failed in its mandate and is no longer the right agency for this job”.
Two senior advisers to the US president, Joe Biden, will arrive in Israel on Thursday to try to close a deal that would end the war in Lebanon, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing three unidentified sources. The US news website quoted Israeli and US officials as saying the deal to end Israel-Hezbollah fighting could be achieved within a few weeks.
At least 43,061 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 101,223 injured in Israeli airstrikes since last October, according to the latest figures from the territory’s health ministry on Tuesday.
The UN’s World Food Programme called for immediate action to avert famine in northern Gaza. It said north Gaza “continues to deteriorate, the likelihood of a larger group being impacted by famine will surely increase”. In Gaza’s two northern governorates, where about 300,000 people remain trapped, famine was expected to arrive between now and May.
Hezbollah has elected its deputy secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, as its new head, ending a month-long vacuum after the Lebanese militant group’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed by Israel. Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, warned that Qassem’s appointment was “not for long”.
A senior Hamas official has said the group is “open to any deal or ideas” from mediators to end the war in Gaza but insisted that these should include a complete Israeli military withdrawal from the Palestinian territory. The remarks from Sami Abu Zuhri, do not signal a change from Hamas’s outstanding conditions. Netanyahu has said the war can only end when Hamas is eradicated.
Austria’s chancellor, Karl Nehammer, condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the “very serious” rocket attack on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon which led to eight Austrian soldiers being injured on Tuesday. The Israeli military said Hezbollah was responsible for the attack on the Unifil headquarters in Naqoura, while Unifil issued a statement saying the rocket was fired “likely by Hizbullah or an affiliated group”, and that it had opened an investigation.
Germany has recalled its ambassador to Tehran and summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires in Berlin in protest over the execution of a German-Iranian dual national, Jamshid Sharmahd, accused of terrorism by Iran.
The US has offered a $5m reward for information about a 1994 plane bombing in Panama blamed on Hezbollah that killed 21 people. Alas Chiricanas Flight 901 exploded midair after taking off in the Caribbean province of Colon. All those onboard – mostly members of the Central American nation’s Jewish community – were killed, including three Americans. The offer was welcomed by relatives of the victims.
