Wednesday, October 16, 2024
1241 GMT — Lebanon lodged a new complaint with the UN Security Council to compel Israel to halt its ongoing attacks immediately and withdraw troops from Lebanese territory.
A Foreign Ministry statement said the complaint calls for condemning “Israel’s ongoing aggression on Lebanon and obligating it to implement Resolution 1701."
The ministry denounced "Israel's continued violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty by sea, land, and air, and its targeting of Lebanese army posts, ambulance and relief agencies, and civilians… with indiscriminate shelling of cities and villages."
It called on the UN Security Council "to condemn the expanded and persistent Israeli hostility against Lebanon and its people, as well as the invasion of its land."
1221 GMT — Israeli strikes kill at least six on municipal buildings in southern Lebanon
At least six people were killed and 43 others injured in Israeli air strikes on municipal buildings in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, the Health Ministry said.
A ministry statement said that efforts were underway to search for survivors under the rubble.
1210 GMT — Two Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on Gaza
At least two Palestinians have been killed and 3 others injured in an Israeli drone strike on a car in Al-Zawayda town, central Gaza, a medical source told Anadolu.
1133 GMT — Hezbollah strikes Safed, Yiftah settlement, artillery bunkers in northern Israel
Lebanese group Hezbollah announced cross-border rocket strikes targeting the city of Safed and the illegal settlement of Yiftah, as well as artillery bunkers in other parts of northern Israel.
The Israeli army also released a statement, saying that sirens were activated in Safed and its surrounding areas following a barrage of 50 rockets from Lebanon early Wednesday at midnight.
The Safed municipality claimed that the strikes caused minor damage in a building and that two people were lightly injured, according to the Times of Israel news website.
1110 GMT — Britain calls urgent UN meeting to discuss Gaza's humanitarian situation
Britain's foreign secretary said that his country, along with France and Algeria, had called an urgent meeting at the United Nations Security Council to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
David Lammy said in a statement Israel must ensure civilians were protected and routes were open to allow life-saving aid through, and that the United Nations meeting would address these issues.
"The humanitarian situation in Northern Gaza is dire, with access to basic services worsening and the United Nations reporting that barely any food has entered in the last two weeks," Lammy added.
1038 GMT — Division in Europe on Gaza, Lebanon sends wrong messages: Egypt
Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has said divisions between European states over the conflict in Gaza and Lebanon sent wrong messages to Israel and Arab countries, saying it was unacceptable for splits to continue.
1011 GMT — Iran urges pressure on Israel backers to end Gaza, Lebanon killings
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for more pressure on Israel's backers to end the bloodshed in Gaza and Lebanon.
"The president... demanded more pressure on the supporters of the Zionist regime (Israel) to stop the killings" in Gaza and Lebanon, Pezeshkian said during a phone call with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, according to a presidency statement.
1009 GMT — UNRWA 'very near' to possible breaking point on Gaza operations, says head
The UN Palestinian refugee agency is close to a possible breaking point for its operations in Gaza due to increasingly complicated conditions, said its head.
"I will not hide the fact that we might reach a point that we won't be able anymore to operate," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told journalists at a news conference in Berlin.
"We are very near to a possible breaking point. When will it be? I don't know. But we are very near of that," he said.
1007 GMT — UNIFIL holding all positions despite direct, deliberate Israeli attacks: Spokesperson
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has reiterated it will not abandon its positions despite being “directly and deliberately attacked” by the Israeli military.
“Peacekeepers remain in all positions and the UN flag continues to fly,” UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said.
“We will continue our work to implement our mandate, despite the immense challenges we are facing right now.”
1001 GMT — Israeli army arrests 10 more Palestinians in West Bank raids
The Israeli army has detained 10 more Palestinians in military raids in the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.
A woman and former prisoners were among the detainees in the raids that targeted several areas in the West Bank, including Hebron and Nablus, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.
“The arrests were marked by abuse, threats against detainees and their families, and acts of vandalism and destruction on citizens' homes,” the statement said.
0954 GMT — Lebanon state media says Israeli jets' sonic boom rattles Beirut
Lebanese official media has reported that Israeli jets caused two sonic booms over Beirut and the surrounding area, with journalists in the capital hearing loud bangs.
"Enemy aircraft violently broke the sound barrier twice in the airspace of (Beirut's) southern suburbs" and surrounding areas, the National News Agency said.
0947 GMT — Israel kills 65 more people in Gaza as death toll tops 42,400
Israeli attacks killed at least 65 more Palestinians in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll since last year to 42,409, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave has said.
A ministry statement added that some 99,153 others have been wounded in the ongoing assault.
“Israeli forces killed 65 people and injured 140 others in six massacres of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.
“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
0900 GMT — Israeli forces fire on Palestinians in occupied West Bank town, injuring one
Clashes erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the town of Biddu, located northwest of occupied Jerusalem, following an Israeli military raid, according to local sources.
Social media footage showed Israeli soldiers chasing several Palestinians, firing live ammunition, and reportedly injuring at least one person during the encounter.
Local sources reported that Israeli forces entered the town, conducting searches of several homes, which led to confrontations with local residents.
04:50 GMT — Israeli strikes kill 23, injure 31 in southern, eastern Lebanon
Israel has killed at least 23 people and wounded 31 in a series of air strikes on several towns in southern and eastern Lebanon, according to official figures.
Lebanon's official news agency reported that the strikes in the south targeted the districts of Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil and Marjaayoun, as well as Tyre and Jezzine.
In eastern Lebanon, the air strikes hit the districts of Zahle and West Bekaa.
04:22 GMT — Biden informs Congress of US ballistic missile deployment to Israel
US President Joe Biden has informed the Congress about his decision to deploy a ballistic missile defense system to Israel.
"I directed the deployment to Israel of a ballistic missile defense system and United States service members capable of operating it to defend against any further ballistic missile attacks while this defensive posture is deemed warranted," Biden said in a letter to congressional leadership on Tuesday.
The Pentagon said earlier that an advance team of US troops and the initial components for the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system have arrived on Monday in Israel.
04:00 GMT — US senator urges Biden not to send weapons to Israel
US Senator Bernie Sanders urged President Joe Biden not to send weapons to Israel for its carnage in besieged Gaza.
"When Congress returns, I will move Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to block offensive arms sales to Israel," Sanders wrote on X.
"But President Biden should act now: Israel is clearly violating US & international law, using starvation as a tool of its all-out war against the Palestinian people."
03:21 GMT — Israel uses scabies to torture inmates: Palestinian group
The Israel Prison Service uses scabies as a tool of torture against Palestinian detainees, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said.
"Scabies has emerged as one of the most significant health issues affecting prisoners, with visible effects on their bodies when they are released. Medical tests have confirmed that they suffer from other health problems as a result," it said in a statement.
"The Prison Service use scabies as a means of harassment and torture, transforming the right to medical treatment over decades into a tool of abuse."
02:30 GMT — Netanyahu rejects ceasefire in call with Macron
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron that Israel would not agree to a unilateral ceasefire in Lebanon or a settlement that would allow Hezbollah to rearm, according to a statement.
"The Prime Minister told President Macron that he opposes a unilateral ceasefire, which would not change the security situation in Lebanon and would return the country to its previous state," Netanyahu's office said about the telephone call.
Netanyahu "was taken aback at President Macron's intention to host a conference in Paris on the issue of Lebanon, with participants such as South Africa and Algeria, which are working to deny Israel its fundamental right of self-defence and, in effect, reject its very right to exist," according to the statement.
For our live updates from Tuesday, October 15, 2024, click here.
