An Israeli airstrike destroyed several buildings and one multi-storey residential building and allegedly resulted in the deaths of around 70 people. The strike came after an unsuccessful attack on the Israeli prime minister’s home on Saturday.
Doctors and officials reported dozens of people suffered injuries in the Israeli airstrike in the town of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip. While no official death toll has yet been released by the health ministry, Hamas said at least 73 people lost their lives. However, the Israeli military questioned the figures cited and is currently conducting an investigation.
In addition, the military stated that it had previously issued evacuation orders that were aimed at separating Hamas fighters from civilians. According to them, on Saturday, the planes dropped leaflets over southern Gaza with a picture of Yahya Sinwar and the message: “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza.” They also denied there was any systematic plan to clear civilians from Jabaliya or other northern neighbourhoods.
The strike came after the drone struck the home of Benjamin Netanyahu in the seaside town of Caesarea on Saturday. One of the prime minister’s three homes was hit, but neither Netanyahu nor his wife Sara were home at the time. He responded by saying that “the attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake,” according to him. “I say to Iran and its proxies and its axis of evil, anyone who tries to harm Israel’s citizens will pay a heavy price,” he added.
Israeli authorities say a Hamas attack on Israeli settlements on 7 October killed some 1,200 people and took another 253 hostages. Israel’s subsequent offensive left Gaza in ruins, killing more than 42,500 Palestinians, with another 10,000 unaccounted for dead believed to lie under rubble, Gaza health authorities report.
Casualties mount, talks stall
A major Lebanese highway near the predominantly Christian town of Jounieh was hit by an Israeli strike on Saturday, killing two people. The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident. One of the strikes also killed at least four people in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, health authorities said. In southern Lebanon, the army is actively dismantling Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure, destroying militants and confiscating weapons. The Israeli Air Force has killed over 65 Hezbollah fighters and striking numerous terrorist targets.
Hezbollah, in turn, fired about 200 projectiles on Saturday alone, according to the Israeli military. A series of Hezbollah rockets into Israel killed one person and injured at least nine others, according to the Israeli ambulance service. Hezbollah has not yet commented on information about any drone attack on Netanyahu’s home in northern Israel.
Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel since the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas began in Gaza last October. The escalating fighting led Israel to launch a ground operation inside Lebanon nearly three weeks ago in an attempt to stabilise the border region for its citizens fleeing the fighting. More than 2,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 2023, most of them in the past month, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, while Israeli authorities say 59 people have been killed in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.
Despite the deaths of key Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, the end of the conflict is still a long way off. World leaders, including US President Joe Biden, said that Sinwar’s death offered a chance for a Gaza truce and the release of the remaining hostages. Negotiations on such a deal have been stalled for weeks. US Vice President Kamala Harris also reiterated her call for a ceasefire in Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip and said it was important to seize the opportunity presented by Sinwar’s killing. Despite, both Hamas and Israel refusing to end the fighting, resulting in more deaths.
