The Israeli army offensive on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip is claiming more casualties, while UN warns of a likely famine in the northern Gaza, which has been besieged by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) units for more than a month.
Sirens activated in Jerusalem Hills as IAF intercepts missile form Yemen
Sirens sounded early Monday morning in the hills of Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Kiryat Arba and nearby communities.
The IDF confirmed that a single rocket launch from Yemen was detected and successfully intercepted, there were no casualties. However, explosions were heard in Beit Shemesh and nearby neighbourhoods. Police and Magen David Adom (MDA) brigades began checking the affected areas for possible damage or debris.
Firefighters from the Beit Shemesh station were dispatched to inspect and secure the area. Residents reported that they discovered a fire that affected local vegetation and a vehicle. Crews arriving on the scene localised and extinguished the fire.
Death toll from Israeli onslaught on Lebanon nears 3,200
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon killed at least 53 people over the weekend and injured 99 others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said on Sunday.
The death toll on Saturday raised the total number of people killed in Israeli attacks in the country since October 2023 to 3,189, while 14,078 were injured, the ministry said in a statement.
Since late September, Israel has stepped up its air campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets, continuing a long-running cross-border war between Israel and the Lebanese group since Israel launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
Israel expanded the conflict by launching an invasion of southern Lebanon on October 1 this year.
UN must formally declare famine in northern Gaza
A human rights group says relevant international organisations and the UN should officially declare a famine in the northern Gaza Strip as Israel has blocked aid from reaching the besieged Gaza for more than 50 days.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said in a report on Sunday that Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon is a component of the ongoing genocide in the Strip, which also includes massacres and forced displacement. The report said:
“Due to the illegal Israeli blockade on the enclave, 10s of thousands of Palestinians, including dozens of patients in three hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, are in immediate danger of starvation or long-term health consequences.”
Israel has blocked any humanitarian aid from reaching northern Gaza since September 25, the report also said.
Residents of northern Gaza have been deliberately and continuously bombed, deprived of food, water and medicine, the report said. It added:
“Anyone who tries to flee in search of these necessities is targeted by Israeli drones and killed.”
Euro-Med Monitor said its field team had documented shocking accounts of severe hunger and food shortages by Palestinians forced to flee the northern Gaza Strip. The report said:
“The international community has both an ethical and legal responsibility to stop the spread of famine in the Gaza Strip.”
Israel must be pressured to restore health, water and sanitation in the Gaza Strip and ensure safe supplies, the report said.
The number of victims is growing
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that between 75,000 and 95,000 people are still trapped in northern Gaza, at double risk of being killed by Israeli strikes or starving to death.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip have killed at least 52 Palestinians in the past 24 hours. The latest casualties include three men killed by a drone near a well in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the enclave.
Earlier, the health ministry said the total number of victims of the conflict since October 2023 has surpassed 43,603, with 102,929 injured.
Israel launched a brutal war on besieged Gaza on October 7 after Hamas launched an attack on Israeli territory that killed 1,200 people and captured 250. Later, it imposed a complete blockade on the densely populated territory, depriving more than two million Palestinians living there of fuel, electricity, food and water.
