Israeli strikes kill dozens in Lebanon and the isolated northern Gaza Strip, officials say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip – Israeli strikes killed dozens of people on Sunday in Lebanon and the northern Gaza Strip, where the military has been waging a major offensive for more than a month that aid groups say has further deepened the humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.

An Israeli airstrike killed at least 20 people in the village of Aalmat, north of Beirut and far from areas in Lebanon’s south and east where the militant Hezbollah group has a large presence. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, another six people were injured. There was no immediate Israeli comment.

In the northern Gaza Strip, an Israeli attack on a home for displaced people in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp killed at least 17 people, according to the director of a nearby hospital that received the bodies.

Dr. Fadel Naim, director of Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza City, said nine women were among the dead and the number of victims was likely to rise as rescue efforts continued.

The Israeli military said it struck a site in Jabaliya where militants were operating, without providing evidence. It said the details of the strike were currently being reviewed.

A separate attack hit a house in Gaza City on Sunday, killing Wael al-Khour, a minister in the Hamas-led government, as well as his wife and three children, according to Civil Defense, a first responder organization subordinate to the government.

Israeli forces have encircled and largely isolated Jabaliya and the nearby towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun over the past month, allowing only a trickle of humanitarian aid to enter the country. Since the offensive began on October 6, hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands of people have fled to nearby Gaza City.

On Friday, experts on a panel that monitors food security said famine is looming or may already have occurred in the north. The growing desperation comes as the deadline approaches for an ultimatum from the Biden administration to Israel to increase the amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza or risk possible curbs on U.S. military funding.

The northern third of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, was the first target of Israel’s ground invasion and suffered the worst destruction of the 13-month war sparked by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel. As in other areas of the Gaza Strip, Israel has sent troops back after repeated operations and said Hamas had regrouped.

The military says it only targets militants it accuses of hiding among civilians in homes and shelters. Women and children are often killed in Israeli attacks.

After the war broke out in Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and missiles at Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians and their Iranian-backed militant group Hamas.

Israel retaliated, and a series of escalations over several months led to all-out war in September, when Israel carried out a wave of serious attacks, killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his top commanders.

Since then, Israel has attacked deeper and deeper areas in Lebanon, while Hezbollah has expanded its rocket fire from northern to central Israel. According to the Health Ministry, more than 3,000 people were killed in the fighting in Lebanon and more than 70 people in Israel.

Videos purporting to show the aftermath of Sunday’s strike in Aalmat, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Beirut, showed people pulling the body of a little girl from the rubble. The house was leveled and several nearby cars were also damaged.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants blew holes in the border fence and stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023. They killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250. About 100 hostages are still in the Gaza Strip. about a third of them are considered dead.

Over 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to local health authorities, which do not distinguish between civilians and militants in their count but say over half of the fatalities were women and children.

Israeli bombings and ground attacks have reduced large swaths of the Gaza Strip to rubble and displaced around 90% of the 2.3 million people, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in overcrowded tent camps with few or no public services and have no idea when they will be able to return to their homes or rebuild.

Ceasefire talks brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have repeatedly stalled since the start of the year, as have parallel efforts by the United States and others to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Qatar, which has served as a key mediator for Hamas, said over the weekend that it had suspended its efforts and would not resume them until “the parties demonstrate their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war and the ongoing suffering of the civilian population.” .

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Chehayeb from Beirut.

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