Lebanon’s Beirut At least 20 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut on Saturday, according to sources. The once-rare bombings on the center of Lebanon’s capital resumed without warning as diplomats frantically tried to mediate a cease-fire.
The strikes, the fourth in central Beirut in less than a week, injured 66 persons, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
The intensification follows U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein’s visit to the area to try to reach an agreement to put a stop to months of combat between Israel and Hezbollah that has descended into full-scale conflict.
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, over 3,500 people have died as a result of Israeli attacks. Approximately 1.2 million people, or 25% of Lebanon’s population, have been displaced by the conflict. On the Israeli side, the combat and bombardment in northern Israel have killed roughly 50 civilians and 90 soldiers.
An eight-story building is turned to rubble
An eight-story skyscraper in the heart of Beirut was demolished by the 4 a.m. attacks. No Hezbollah officials were inside, according to Hezbollah lawmaker Amin Shiri. Some surrounding buildings lost their facades as a result of the attack, and some cars were crushed.
According to Walid Al-Hashash, a first responder with the Lebanese Civil Defense, the situation is difficult because the region is residential, with densely populated buildings and small alleys.
The Israeli military remained silent about the deaths.
The Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported that a drone strike in Tyre, a port city in southern Lebanon, killed two persons and injured three others on Saturday.
Those slain were Palestinian refugees from the adjacent al-Rashidieh camp who were fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesman for the Fatah Palestinian movement in the Tyre area.
“You can’t tell someone who needs to eat that you can’t fish,” Bikai added, referring to Israel’s army’s admonition last month to stay away from Lebanon’s southern coast.
Eight people, including four children, were killed by additional airstrikes in the eastern town of Shmustar, five in the southern village of Roumin, and five more in the northeastern village of Budai, according to the Health Ministry.
Sticking points in cease-fire talks
On Saturday, two diplomatic representatives from the West outlined the sources of contention in cease-fire talks between Israel and Lebanon. They were not permitted to discuss the discussions, so they talked under the condition of anonymity.
According to the present plan, Hezbollah would halt its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River and Israeli forces would leave Lebanon for a two-month cease-fire. An international committee would oversee the agreement’s execution, and thousands more Lebanese army soldiers would patrol the border region alongside U.N. peacekeepers.
Israel, according to the officials, requested additional assurances that Hezbollah’s weaponry would be taken out of the border region. Israeli officials have stated that if they feel Hezbollah is breaking the agreement, they would not accept a pact that did not specifically give them the right to strike in Lebanon.
According to Lebanese officials, using such a phrase would be against their nation’s sovereignty. Additionally, Hezbollah commander Naim Kassem stated last week that the militant organization would not accept an agreement that did not call for a halt to the aggression in its entirety.
Israel and Lebanon also disagree about who will serve on the monitoring committee. France, which has had a close relationship with Lebanon since the end of its colonial authority there, was denied entry by Israel, according to the authorities. Britain, a staunch friend of Israel, was rejected by Lebanon.
People trapped under rubble amid deadly attacks in Gaza
At least 80 individuals were murdered in northern Gaza on Thursday and Friday, according to the Health Ministry, including close to the Kamal Adwan and Al-Ahli hospitals. Dozens of individuals were reportedly buried beneath the debris.
The Israeli army did not answer inquiries regarding the other attacks and said it was unaware of a strike close to Kamal Adwan.
Associated Press reporters and Nasser Hospital workers said at least six people were murdered in the southern city of Khan Younis on Saturday, including two women and three children.
Ahmad Ghassan, a distraught parent, stated, “We woke up to dust, smoke, and a fire.” His brother was hurt, and we discovered him dead. As he carried his child’s body under a bloodstained sheet, another father broke down in tears.
Additionally, Israel shelled a home north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital, which reported receiving six bodies.
The Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its statistics, reported last week that the number of Palestinian deaths during the 13-month conflict had topped 44,000. According to reports, women and children make up over half of the deceased. Without any proof, the Israeli military claims to have killed more than 17,000 militants.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and kidnapping another 250. This marked the start of the war. At least one-third of the approximately 100 hostages who are still in Gaza are thought to be dead.
Nearly 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been relocated, frequently several times, as a result of the Israeli offensive that has wreaked havoc on large areas. Tent camps housing hundreds of thousands of people lack basic amenities like food and water.
In central Deir al-Balah, at least two women were shot dead Saturday while standing in line for bread, according to witnesses and family members who spoke to the AP. Who shot them and why was unknown.
Less than 20% of the population has stayed in northern Gaza since the offensive started, according to the UN, which claims that its efforts to aid the region, which has been the target of a fresh Israeli offensive for weeks, have been rejected or thwarted.
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