The Israeli army launched fresh airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people, as sirens sounded across central Israel after long-range rockets were fired from Lebanon.
14 Palestinians killed as Israel launches fresh airstrikes in Gaza
Three people were killed, including two women, when Israeli fighter jets struck a house in eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, a medical source said.
Five more people were killed in another strike on a house in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, the source added.
In the northern city of Beit Lahia, five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house, another medical source said.
The source added that another Palestinian was killed and five others were injured in a strike on a school housing displaced people in Jabalia in northern Gaza. Israeli troops also struck a house in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, injuring six people, including three children, another medical source said.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army intensified its ground offensive in northern Gaza, with dozens of homes blown up in the Beit Lahia and Jabalia neighbourhoods.
The Israeli army imposed a siege in northern Gaza last month, claiming it was trying to stop the Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the territory and forcibly displace its residents. More than 1,800 people have died since then, according to Palestinian health authorities. Supplies of food and other aid are severely restricted.
Israel has continued its devastating offensive on Gaza since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 43,400 people and rendering the enclave virtually uninhabitable. For its actions in the blockaded enclave, Israel faces a genocide case in the UN International Court of Justice.
At least 25 killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon
At least 25 people were killed and 14 others injured in overnight Israeli airstrikes in central and southern Lebanon, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry said in a statement that Israeli warplanes struck a building in the town of Barja in central Lebanon, killing 20 people and injuring 14 others. The ministry expects the death toll to rise as many people are still under the rubble.
State news agency NNA reported that the bodies of five people were recovered from under the rubble after an Israeli strike on a house in the southern Lebanese town of Chehabiyeh.
Meanwhile, NNA reported that the Israeli army flew a military reconnaissance balloon over Baalbek in eastern Lebanon amid intense Israeli drone activity in the Bekaa Valley.
Since late September, Israel has stepped up its aerial campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets, an escalation after years of cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese group since Israel launched its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip.
More than 3,000 people have been killed and more than 13,500 injured in Israeli attacks since October 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities. Israel expanded the conflict by launching a ground attack on southern Lebanon on October 1 this year.
Sirens sound in Tel Aviv and throughout central Israel
Sirens sound throughout central Israel after long-range rockets were fired from Lebanon.
People hear them in Tel Aviv and many nearby cities. Sirens are also sounding in some towns near the border with Lebanon. The IDF says details are being investigated.
The Israeli IDF says about ten rockets were fired from Lebanon. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said in a statement that drones were used to strike a “vital target” in Eilat.
