Key occasions
Jason Burke
The airstrikes in Gaza on Sunday got here amid Israeli offensives in Beit Lahiya and the close by cities of Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya.
The tight siege of the three cities and a collection of evacuation orders has raised widespread issues that Israel intends to pressure civilian populations to go away the northernmost elements of Gaza and won’t allow their return.
“Over the last weeks, conversations in Gaza have been intense about the so-called ‘Generals’ Plan’ … within the Israeli forces … which consists of wiping Palestinians off the northern part of Gaza by either killing them, forcing them out, or starving to death those who stay,” Médecins Sans Frontières stated on Friday.
“The way the ongoing offensive in the north is being waged … reinforces the idea that we are witnessing the execution of this plan,” the NGO added.
Israel denies any such intention and says the offensives, launched final month, are an effort to stop Hamas from regrouping in areas which were cleared in earlier a number of rounds of fight.
Listed here are some pictures from the scene in Beirut, the place an Israeli strike is believed to have killed Hezbollah spokesperson Mohammed Afif:
Sunday’s strike by Israel killed one particular person – reported to be Hezbollah spokesperson Mohammed Afif – and injured three, in line with the Lebanon well being ministry.
AFP cited the official Nationwide Information Company as reporting that the strike by “enemy aircraft” brought on “great destruction”, with an unspecified variety of folks “trapped under the rubble” in Ras al-Nabaa.
The NNA stated “one of the residents of a neighbouring building had received a warning call urging evacuation but it was not taken seriously”.
Ali Hijazi, secretary-general of the Lebanese department of the Ba’ath get together, has “confirmed the death of Hezbollah media official” Mohammed Afif, studies AFP, citing the official Nationwide Information Company.
Israel has but to touch upon the reported dying of Afif.
Afif had been the general public face of Hezbollah in a number of press conferences after Israel’s assassination of chief Hassan Nasrallah in September this 12 months.
He’s pictured right here at a press convention in Beirut earlier this week:
Israeli strike in northern Gaza reportedly kills dozens of Palestinians
Jason Burke
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed or injured by an Israeli strike on a multistorey residential constructing in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, native medics and officers within the territory have stated.
The federal government media workplace in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, put the variety of these killed at 72. It stated the strike on Sunday morning hit a residential constructing that housed six households.
There was no impartial affirmation of the studies or the reported dying toll, which adopted intensive Israeli bombardment of targets throughout Gaza in current days. Israeli officers have beforehand accused authorities in Gaza of systematically exaggerating studies of casualties from strikes within the territory.
William Christou studies for the Guardian from Beirut on the strike by Israeli forces on a Ba’ath get together heart in Ras al-Nabaa, central Beirut, on Sunday afternoon, the primary strike on central Beirut in over a month:
The assault on the busy residential neighbourhood got here with out warning, and appeared to trigger injury to neighbouring buildings.
The strike comes as Israel intensifies its airstrikes throughout Lebanon as Lebanese officers put together to provide their response to an Israeli ceasefire proposal on Monday. The Israeli army issued a collection of evacuation warnings on Saturday and Sunday for Dahiyeh, the southern suburbs of Beirut, putting over a dozen targets in bombings heard throughout the capital metropolis.
Israeli troopers proceed to advance on the bottom in south Lebanon, with Israeli troopers reaching the village of Chamaa – about three miles from the Lebanese-Israel border. Hezbollah stepped up its assaults in northern Israel in tandem, asserting the focusing on of 5 army targets in Haifa on Saturday night time.
Lebanese officers famous constructive steps within the ceasefire negotiations, although they stated that an Israeli request for a western-led mediation physique in Lebanon was a stumbling block. Israeli calls for reportedly contain pushing Hezbollah previous the Litani river, some 18 miles from the border.
The Israeli army intensification is reportedly meant to place strain on Lebanese negotiators, who accused their Israeli counterparts of conducting negotiations “under fire”.
Hezbollah spokesperson killed in Israeli strike
The primary Israeli airstrike on central Beirut in over a month has killed Mohammed Afif, the primary spokesperson for Hezbollah, an official from the group has confirmed to the Guardian and Related Press.
AP studies:
Afif had been particularly seen after Israel’s army escalation in September and following the assassination of longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was additionally killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Israeli warplanes had earlier pounded the southern suburbs of Beirut after the army warned folks to evacuate from a number of buildings. The Hezbollah militant group has a robust presence within the space, often called the Dahiyeh, and the strikes got here as Lebanese officers are contemplating a U.S.-brokered cease-fire proposal.
