Air strikes hit the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek and its environs on Wednesday, hours after Israel announced the evacuation of residents in the area, as British warplanes have launched a new airstrike on Hodeidah province in western Yemen, the Houthi group said on Thursday.
Israeli strikes target Lebanon’s Baalbek
Baalbek Mayor Mustafa al-Shall confirmed that the strikes hit the city and its surroundings, while state media reported that “enemy warplanes carried out a series of strikes on the Asira neighbourhood of Baalbek city” and the nearby town.
Earlier on Wednesday, Baalbek residents rushed to flee their homes after the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of one of the largest cities in the Beqaa region and its neighbourhood for the first time in more than a month of war.
Lebanon’s health ministry said on Monday that Israeli raids in Beqaa had killed at least 60 people, most of them in the Baalbek neighbourhood.
Yemen’s Houthis report one more US-UK airstrike on Hodeidah
British warplanes have launched a new airstrike on Hodeidah province in western Yemen, the Houthi group said on Thursday.
The airstrike targeted the al-Hawak neighbourhood in the province, the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported. No casualties or damage were reported.
The attack came hours after two airstrikes by US and British warplanes hit Hodeidah airport on Wednesday night. The US and Britain had no comment on the report. Hodeidah is a large Yemeni province with three major ports and a long coastal strip.
Since early 2024, the US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against Houthi positions in parts of Yemen in response to the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The counterattacks were periodically accompanied by retaliatory actions by the group.
In a show of support with the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to Israel’s war since October 7 last year, the Houthis have launched missile and drone strikes against Israeli cargo ships or vessels linked to Tel Aviv, declaring their determination to continue operations until the end of the offensive on the enclave.
Israeli army advances near shelter schools, hospital in northern Gaza
Israeli troops advanced on Thursday near an Indonesian hospital and two shelters for displaced civilians in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip amid a massive offensive in the area, eyewitnesses reported.
The Israeli army ordered displaced civilians in Tal al-Zaatar and Tal al-Rabi schools in al-Fakhour neighbourhood to leave amid a mass exodus from the area, eyewitnesses reported.
Israeli artillery also shelled several areas in northern Gaza, including Sheikh Zayed Ring Road, Beit Lahiya and Jabalia refugee camp.
The Israeli army has been continuing its deadly offensive on northern Gaza since October 5 to allegedly prevent Hamas from regrouping amid a suffocating blockade of the area. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the territory and forcibly displace its residents.
Since then, the Israeli army has prevented humanitarian aid, including food, medicine and fuel, from entering the area, leaving most of the population on the brink of imminent starvation.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in northern Gaza since the offensive began, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence Service. The offensive was the latest episode in Israel’s war against the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.
Since then, more than 43,100 people, mostly women and children, have been killed and more than 101,500 injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli offensive has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine. Israel also faces a genocide case in the UN International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
