Israel-Hezbollah Escalation

/11/2024

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Disclaimer: Independent Press takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.


  • Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed at least 43,391 Palestinians and injured 102,347 since October 7, 2023. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive.
  • At least 17 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 86 others injured in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
  • Israeli forces have attacked Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza for a second day, injuring medical staff and patients, including newborn babies at the facility’s nursery, according to medical staff.
  • At least 16 people were killed and 90 others injured on Monday in Israeli attacks on Lebanese villages in the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts. Efforts are ongoing to rescue survivors from the rubble, according to the National News Agency.
  • In Lebanon, at least 3,002 people have been killed and 13,492 wounded in Israeli attacks since the war on Gaza began.

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Netanyahu trying to take firmer control of Israeli government: Former minister

Yossi Beilin, Isreal’s former justice minister, tells Al Jazeera that Netanyahu’s firing of the defence minister tonight is “long overdue”.

“Netanyahu wanted to fire his defence minister [for a long time], he did it almost a year ago and people took to the streets and demonstrated against this … and the prime minister reneged on this, and took him back”, he said.

“I think that for Netanyahu, the whole issue of portfolios in the cabinet … is totally secondary. He is referring to the portfolios as kind of a prize for participating in his coalition.”

Beilin explained that this move, the dismissal of Gallant, is not a new precedent, but within the framework of Netayahu’s attempt to centralise his power over the government.

“He believes that he is not only the prime minister, but the minister in every portfolio, so that eventually, it will be [solely] his decision,” to hire and fire whoever he wants, he said, adding that it remains to be seen if people will take to the streets in protest of Gallant’s firing.

“Either way, it may be a first step towards the dissolution of Netanyahu’s government,” Beilin added.

More than 3,000 killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed at least 3,013 people and wounded 13,553 since October 2023, the Lebanese government has said.

Earlier, citing the World Health Organization (WHO), we reported that emergency medical services in Lebanon have reported 201 attacks over the past year on rescue workers. The attacks have resulted in 151 deaths and 212 injuries, WHO said.

Rescuers carry a body at the site of an Israeli attack in the eastern village of Bazzaliyeh in Bekaa Valley's Hermel district, Lebanon, November 1, 2024
Rescuers evacuate a body at the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted the eastern village of Bazzaliyeh in the Hermel district of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley [File: Sam Skaineh/AFP]

Differences with Gallant ‘only grew wider’: Netanyahu

In the statement announcing Gallant’s dismissal, PM Netanyahu said he had made attempts to bridge the differences.

“But they only grew wider. These divisions even reached public knowledge in an unusual manner and, worse, became known to our enemies, who took pleasure in them and derived substantial benefit from them,” he said.

“The growing breach of trust between the defence minister and me has become public, preventing the normal continuation of our campaign management.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Netanyahu, centre, speaks to Gallant, left, at the Knesset last month [Debbie Hill/Pool Photo via AP]

Timeline: Netanyahu and Gallant tensions

Divisions between PM Netanyahu and Defence Minister Gallant have been ongoing during the course of Israel’s war on Gaza:

  • In May this year, Gallant said Israel should not be involved in ruling Gaza once the fighting ends. Netanyahu responded saying he was not “prepared to exchange Hamastan for Fatahstan”.
  • Last month, Gallant cancelled a visit to the US Pentagon as Israeli media reported Netanyahu wanted first to speak with President Joe Biden and said Gallant’s trip to the US was not approved.

Protests in Israel against Gallant’s dismissal

Israeli media is reporting that families of captives still held in Gaza are protesting Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s dismissal.

The report said that the dismissal was a “direct continuation of the efforts to torpedo the abductee deal”.

It added that the protesters stated that “we demand the incoming defence minister to express an explicit commitment to the end of the war and to carry out a comprehensive deal for the immediate return of all the abductees”.

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What Netanyahu said while dismissing Gallant

This is what Netanyahu said in the statement confirming Gallant’s dismissal:

  • There is a need for complete trust between the prime minister and the defence minister.
  • Today, I decided to terminate the service of Defence Minister Gallant and appoint Katz in his place.
  • The crisis of trust that occurred between me and the defence minister did not make it possible to continue managing the war in this manner.
  • I have assigned Gideon Saar to take over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  • I am confident that this step will make the cabinet more harmonious.

Israel Katz replaces Gallant as defence minister

Netanyahu has named Foreign Minister Israel Katz as the country’s new defence minister while appointing Gideon Saar in Katz’s former position.

This comes less than 24 hours after Gallant approved the Israeli army’s recommendation to send out 7,000 more draft orders to ultra-Orthodox men.

The issue of drafting ultra-Orthodox men has been a sticking point between Gallant and Netanyahu, whose coalition is dependent on a right-wing bloc.

In a post on X, immediately after news broke out of his ouster, Gallant wrote, “The security of the State of Israel was and will always remain my life’s mission.”

European companies step back from Israel-linked finance

Several of Europe’s biggest financial firms have cut back their links to Israeli companies or those with ties to the country, a Reuters news agency analysis of filings shows.

While banks and insurers are often vocal about their environmental and governance aims, they are less forthcoming about disclosing their potential exposure to war.

UniCredit put Israel on a “forbidden” list as the conflict escalated in October last year, according to a source familiar with the matter, confirming a study by Dutch NGO PAX.

While in line with the Italian bank’s defence-sector policy of not directly financing arms exports to any country involved in conflict, it goes beyond Italy’s guidelines on arms exports to Israel.

Norwegian asset manager Storebrand and French insurer AXA have sold shares of some Israeli firms, including banks.

Netanyahu fires Israeli defence minister

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Netanyahu said that there have been too many gaps between him and Gallant over the management of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

We will bring you more news on this as we get it.

Exhausted woman seeks refuge in Gaza City after evacuation from northern Gaza: Video

A video clip shared by photographer and activist Omar al-Qatta, and verified by Al Jazeera, captures the moment an exhausted woman arrives in Gaza City, dragging some belongings after being forcibly displaced from Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza.

She tearfully shares that some of her family members have been detained by Israeli forces, as her daughter tries to comfort her, assuring her they will be released.

Earlier today, Israel issued evacuation orders for Beit Lahiya, triggering yet another major exodus of residents, many of whom had already been displaced from the Jabalia refugee camp.

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Arabs, Muslims in US ‘united in their bitterness, divided in their approach’

For the past 50 or 60 years, no global power has held influence in the Middle East comparable to that of the US, says Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara.

“America has been calling the shots,” he said. “There is no quarrel about the fact that America shapes Middle East politics, while the Middle East does not shape much American policy,” he added, noting the exception of Israel because of its powerful lobby, which in the US has influence over Democrats and Republicans alike.

Among Democrats, there are growing concerns not necessarily because this influence is overwhelming, but because “the difference between Harris and Trump is so little in some of those important swing states like Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, where the Arab vote will play some role”.

“Almost two-thirds of Arab Americans are not Muslims, and only one-fifth of Muslims in America are Arabs,” Bishara said. “They have different worries, preoccupations, goals, drivers.”

And while the question of Palestine did cause many to criticise the Biden administration, “that does not mean it is the only driver for their vote and support”, Bishara said, explaining, “hence why they are united in their bitterness, divided in their approach to what to do today, how to vote”.

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Israeli air raid on Lebanese town near Tyre kills one

According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, Israeli jets targeted a house in al-Bourghoulieh, near Tyre, killing one person and wounding two.

The report added that the casualties were a Syrian and two Palestinians.

In Lebanon, at least 3,002 people have been killed and 13,492 wounded in Israeli attacks since the war on Gaza began.

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‘It is important Iraq not be drawn into regional conflict’: Blinken tells Iraqi PM

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani yesterday about ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says on X.

“The Secretary emphasised it is important Iraq not be drawn into regional conflict and called on the Iraqi government to protect US personnel,” the statement said.

The statement comes as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of pro-Iran armed groups, claimed responsibility for a drone attack against a “vital target” in southern Israel today.

The Israeli military said earlier that it had intercepted a drone approaching from the east.

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Egypt says Israeli ban on UNRWA ‘unacceptable’

Egypt has condemned Israel’s decision to ban the UN agency for Palestinians, calling it an “unacceptable disregard” for the UN, its agencies and the international community.

Israel officially informed the UN on Monday of its decision to cut ties with UNRWA after a vote by Israeli lawmakers to bar the organisation, which is seen as vital for Palestinians.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the move is a “dangerous development” aimed at erasing the Palestinian cause, particularly the issue of refugees and their right of return.

It warned of “serious consequences for innocent Palestinian civilians”, saying the decision could lead to “the complete collapse of humanitarian efforts and vital services” provided by UNRWA.

The ministry said it holds the Israeli government “fully responsible for the repercussions of this decision” and emphasised UNRWA’s role “cannot be replaced or dispensed with”.

If you’re just joining us

Here are the latest developments:

  • At least seven people were killed in an Israeli military raid and air attacks on the occupied West Bank.
  • An Israeli attack hit an industrial zone and residential buildings in central Syria’s al-Qusayr. No injuries were reported.
  • At least 54 people were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn.
  • Israeli bulldozers have caused extensive damage to infrastructure and private property during a four-hour operation in Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps in the occupied West Bank.
  • Israeli authorities have demolished seven homes in occupied East Jerusalem.

Ireland approves Palestinian ambassador for first time

The Republic of Ireland has confirmed the appointment of a full Palestinian ambassador for the first time, after Dublin formally recognised a Palestinian state earlier this year.

Senior ministers confirmed that Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid would step up from her current position as Palestinian head of mission to Ireland.

In May, Ireland said it was recognising Palestine as “a sovereign and independent state” comprising Gaza and the occupied West Bank and agreed to establish full diplomatic relations.

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Bulldozers tear down homes in occupied territory

Up to eight homes have been demolished so far and seven people killed. One of those killed was not even defending a home or opposing the Israeli forces.

He was a young man standing on the rooftop of his home looking on.

That gives you an idea about the situation in the occupied West Bank and how easy it is for the Israeli army to kill Palestinians in that area.

It has always been official Israeli policy to demolish homes in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. However, with the world’s attention diverted towards the ongoing US elections, it is typical of Israel to accelerate the demolition of homes.

Israel demolishes seven Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem

Municipal workers began demolishing seven homes in occupied East Jerusalem’s Silwan neighbourhood after an Israeli court called their construction illegal.

“This morning the Jerusalem Municipality, with a security escort from the Israel police, began its enforcement against illegal buildings in the al-Bustan neighbourhood in Silwan,” Jerusalem’s Israeli-controlled municipality said in a statement.

Activist Fakhri Abu Diab, one of those affected by the demolition, confirmed to the AFP news agency that “at least seven homes have been demolished, and the operation is ongoing.”

He said about “40 people, including children, were affected by the demolitions in the neighbourhood, leaving them homeless”.

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Gaza looks at US polls with ‘cautious optimism, but also scepticism’

So far, there hasn’t been any significant change [in Gaza] from the beginning of the US election campaign.

The people that we talked to have major concerns over two important elements: concern over supplying Israel with more weapons, which will eventually be used to continue the genocidal act across the Gaza Strip. And concern on the impact on humanitarian aid – whether this is going to increase the flow of humanitarian aid, or it will be the same.

Many of the people we talked to said that for a whole year, the US administration headed by President Joe Biden did not do much to change the catastrophic humanitarian situation across the Gaza Strip.

So far, what we’re looking at is cautious optimism, but also scepticism over what is going to happen as soon as the election is over and we have a new president in the White House, because nothing has changed in the past year.

Death toll in Israeli raids in occupied West Bank rises to seven

At least seven people were killed during an Israeli military raid and air attacks on the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Five were killed in two Israeli attacks in Qabatiya, near Jenin, which we reported on earlier, while the other two were killed in the Tammun area, in Tubas.

Aftermath of an Israeli military raid on Qabatiya, south of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.
People inspect a building that was blown up during an Israeli raid in Qabatiya, near Jenin in the occupied West Bank, on ______________________________________________ 

Hezbollah bombs Meron base in northern Israel

The Lebanese armed group says it has hit the Meron base with a missile barrage.

Hezbollah also said its fighters “targeted a vital objective in the southern occupied territories, marking the sixth such operation today, using drones”.

More on Israeli attack on Syria

An Israeli attack targeted an industrial zone and some residential buildings in al-Qusayr, Homs province, in central Syria, Syrian state TV reports.

The outlet quoted the Homs province’s health director as saying there were no injuries.

A previous “Israeli aggression” on al-Qusayr on Thursday wounded a number of civilians and caused material damage, state media said.

Israel’s military, which typically does not comment on specific reports of strikes in Syria, claimed in a statement in reference to that attack that it had hit weapons storage facilities and command centres used by Hezbollah.

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Lebanon sees Biden, Harris as ‘different sides of the same coin’

The US vote is seen in some countries as the difference between war and peace stability or volatility. But for the Middle East, many here believe that, though both candidates may differ on many of their policies, when it comes to this region, they are more aligned than anywhere else.

People here believe that both of the candidates have the same rhetoric that we’ve been hearing that they have unconditional support for Israel and that is likely to continue once they are in office.

There isn’t a lot of hope here in the Middle East that things will change drastically. What we have seen from the Biden administration is failed attempts to try and bring about a ceasefire to end this conflict between Hezbollah and Israel and it hasn’t been successful so far.

The official position here from various government levels that we’ve heard is that the United States hasn’t been strong enough to stand against Israel and to pressure Israel into agreeing to a ceasefire and that is the government position.

What we’ve heard from regular Lebanese citizens is that these two candidates are basically different sides of the same coin.

There isn’t going to be a drastic change whoever is voted into the White House. There is a clear understanding that the US policy is going to be siding with Israel and things will continue as they are what they are hoping for.

Israel kills 54 people in Gaza since dawn

At least 54 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across various areas of the Gaza Strip since dawn, according to medical sources who spoke with our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

Of those, 39 were in northern Gaza, where Israel launched a major air and ground assault about a month ago.

Israel destroys private property, infrastructure in West Bank’s Tulkarem and Nur Shams

Israeli bulldozers have caused extensive damage to infrastructure and private property during a four-hour operation in Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps in the western occupied West Bank.

Videos verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad show scenes of bulldozing and vandalism of the streets in the camps. One video clip captures Israeli forces detonating an explosive device in Nur Shams.

In Tulkarem camp, Israeli bulldozers destroyed streets and damaged the main water line supplying the area, according to the Wafa news agency.

In Nour Shams camp, properties were also heavily damaged, with a shop set on fire and completely destroyed.

Israeli forces also maintained a tight siege around both camps, deploying vehicles at all access points and placing snipers on rooftops, Wafa reported.

Israeli forces kill 3 Palestinians near occupied West Bank’s Jenin

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israeli soldiers have raided the occupied West Bank city of Qabatiya, killing three Palestinian men.

We will bring you more news on this as we get it.

In step hailed by BDS, Carrefour in Jordan being replaced with new retail chain

Carrefour’s Middle East franchisee Majid Al Futtaim says it is replacing Carrefour in Jordan with a new brand, Hypermax, which is to focus on locally sourced products.

Majid Al Futtaim, the exclusive Middle East franchisee of the French retailer, attributed this step to the fact that it “regularly reviews and assesses its businesses to ensure it remains agile in adapting to evolving market dynamics”.

But Carrefour, which launched in Israel in May last year under a franchise agreement, has been targeted by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement over its business in the country.

The Carrefour Jordan Facebook post was shared more than 7,000 times with many comments linking the closure to the boycott campaign over Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

Majid Al Futtaim said Hypermax, a “brand-new Arab grocery chain”, would be rolled out across all 34 of its stores in Jordan.

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Israeli ‘aggression’ targets Syria’s al-Qusayr town: State media

Syria’s official SANA news agency reports that Israeli fighter jets launched an aerial attack targeting residential buildings surrounding an industrial area in al-Qusayr, south of Homs.

We will bring you more on this as we get it.

Video circulates of Israeli army pouring cement into Lebanon tunnel

Israeli social media accounts have been circulating a video showing the Israeli army pouring a cement mixture into a tunnel they claimed to have uncovered in southern Lebanon.

The video, initially published by journalist Yinon Magal on Telegram on Monday and subsequently deleted the same day, shows several trucks carrying the cement mixture, accompanied by Israeli military vehicles, as they pour the material into the tunnel.

Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency has verified the location of the video to be the Maroun al-Ras area in southern Lebanon.

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European Parliament member highlights ‘repression and occupation’ in West Bank

Marc Botenga, a member of the European Parliament, has documented his visit to the occupied West Bank, saying that “all signs of repression and occupation are evident there, even in the smallest details”.

Botenga, who is also a member of the Federal Parliament of Belgium, posted a video from his visit to the city of Hebron on his social media accounts, saying that Israeli authorities and illegal settlers are partnering to commit the most heinous violations against the Palestinian people.

In video verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad news agency, Botenga said Israeli settlers sometimes throw garbage and Molotov cocktails at Palestinian shops and windows.

He also mentioned the numerous checkpoints set up by the Israeli military, which now controls “even the breaths of the people of the land”, according to his description.

Translation: In Hebron in Palestine, signs of Israeli occupation are everywhere. Checkpoints, closed shops, desertion of residents … We went there to see apartheid and occupation directly. A colonial machine still supported by the European Union – a disgrace.

Israeli authorities demolish home in East Jerusalem’s Silwan

Israeli authorities have demolished a home in the al-Bustan neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem’s Silwan area, news agencies have reported.

According to the Jerusalem Governorate, this is the seventh house demolished in the neighbourhood in the past year. Approximately 120 additional homes are under demolition orders, which could displace about 1,500 people.

Since October last year, the Israeli government has accelerated demolitions in Palestinian areas, in what campaigners call collective punishment.

An excavator of the Israeli forces demolishes a house in the al-Bustan neighbourhood of Silwan on November 5, 2024. [Ahmad Gharabli / AFP]
An excavator of the Israeli forces demolishes a house in the al-Bustan neighbourhood of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem [Ahmad Gharabli/AFP]

Photos: Palestinians bury relatives in mass grave in Gaza’s Beit Lahiya

People bury the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in a mass grave at a yard, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip November 5
[Stringer/Reuters]
A mass grave in a yard is prepared for the burial of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, November 5
[Stringer/Reuters]
A relative looks on as people bury the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in a mass grave at a yard, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip November 5
[Stringer/Reuters]

Footage shows panic and fear as Israeli bombs hit Kamal Adwan Hospital

Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, has shared a live video documenting Israel’s bombardment of the medical facility in northern Gaza today, which instilled panic and fear among patients and staff.

The video, verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency, was posted on Abu Safiya’s Instagram account. It captures the upper floor of the hospital being bombed by Israeli forces with nurses and wounded patients fleeing as the bombardment intensifies.

“Patients and children run amid the Israeli occupation bombing the hospital and water tanks! As if the siege is not enough and patients and doctors must die of thirst,” Abu Safiya wrote.

Kamal Adwan Hospital is the last functioning hospital in besieged northern Gaza.

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Israeli shelling kills 4 people in Gaza’s Jabalia, 2 in Rafah

At least four people have been killed in Israeli shelling of the Alami area in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, Israeli shelling targeted a motorcycle, killing two Palestinians and injuring an unknown number of others in Khirbet al-Adas, north of Rafah, the team reported.

According to medical sources, 44 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli raids in Gaza since dawn, 30 of them in northern Gaza.

Pro-Palestine activists storm French Football Federation HQ in Paris

Pro-Palestine activists have stormed the headquarters of the French Football Federation in Paris, demanding the cancellation of the upcoming UEFA Nations League match between the French and Israeli teams.

Social media videos, verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, Sanad, showed activists staging a protest in the lobby, where they waved Palestinian flags and held banners condemning Israel.

According to the French daily Le Figaro, the French Football Federation agreed to meet with the protesters to discuss their demands.

The match is scheduled for November 14.

Israel hits residential building south of Beirut: Report

Lebanese state media has reported a strike on an apartment in the Jiyeh coastal area south of Beirut.

The official National News Agency said “a raid targeted a residential apartment in a building in the town of Jiyeh,” where the AFP news agency said a large plume of grey smoke covered the area.

We will keep you updated.

Palestinian prisoners suffer worsening medical neglect in Israel: Report

The Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs has reported a worsening policy of deliberate medical negligence towards injured and sick inmates in Israeli prisons since the Gaza war began last year, according to the Wafa news agency.

The commission’s lawyers who visited various Israeli prisons to assess the conditions of sick Palestinians there have reported that significant medical neglect, malnutrition, and physical violence had led to severe weight loss and overall deterioration in the health of the inmates, Wafa said.

Israeli forces demolish buildings in Meiss el-Jabal, southern Lebanon

Videos have been posted on X, showing Israeli forces demolishing residential buildings in the town of Meiss el-Jabal in southern Lebanon.

The scenes show a massive explosion in the area.

The footage has been verified by Sanad, Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency.

Translation: Meiss el-Jabal, southern Lebanon. A small part of what the 5280th Engineering Battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade did there.

Kamal Adwan Hospital attacked again as Israel orders evacuation of Gaza’s Beit Lahiya

We just learned that Kamal Adwan Hospital has been targeted by Israeli quadcopters. We’re not sure yet if there have been any injuries, but this is not the first time the hospital has been targeted.

There are people still trying to rescue and pull more bodies from the al-Masry family house in Beit Lahiya, where at least 25 Palestinians were killed, including 13 children.

There have been no ambulances, and no civil defence teams for the past 24 hours after Israeli forces forced them to evacuate.

There have been leaflets asking the people in Beit Lahiya to evacuate from that area.

There is only one hospital working in the northern Gaza Strip, and that is Kamal Adwan. It has no water or medicine.

A man who was injured during Israeli bombardment on Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, is placed on a cart on November 4
A man who was injured during Israeli bombardment on Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, is placed on a cart on Monday [AFP]

Gaza death toll rises

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 43,391 Palestinians and injured 102,347, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The count includes 17 deaths and 86 injuries that were recorded in the past 24 hours, according to the ministry.

Relative of the Palestinians who lost their lives mourns at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after Israeli army attacked the tents of displaced Palestinians in Deir al Balah, Gaza on November 05
Relatives of killed Palestinians mourn at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after the Israeli army attacked the tents of displaced Palestinians in Deir el-Balah, Tuesday [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]

French politicians, activists slam bill to outlaw criticism of Israel

The proposal of a member of the French National Assembly, Caroline Yadan, to criminalise all criticism of Israel has drawn a strong backlash from activists, intellectuals and politicians in France.

They say the bill, which would ban expressions like “from the river to the sea”, constitutes a suppression of free speech.

“Caroline Yadan seeks to suppress the freedom of thought, criticism, and writing, to prevent condemnation of the genocide committed by Israel in Gaza,” poet Jean-Philippe Cazier wrote on his X account. “She wants us all to become partners in this genocide.”

European MP Rima Hassan also responded via her account, saying: “If there is one state that deserves criticism, it is Israel, the state that has violated all United Nations resolutions for decades and commits the most heinous international crimes.”

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US vote unlikely to change anything for Israel, but Trump ‘can surprise us’: Analyst

Yossi Beilin, a former Israeli justice minister, has told Al Jazeera that the US “support of Israel is bipartisan”, meaning he did not expect much to change in that respect for Israel with either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris winning the US presidency.

“[However] Trump is an isolationist, he doesn’t want to get involved in the conflicts of others, so his victory might impact our side of the world,” he said. “But he can surprise us … He is totally unpredictable.”

“Who expected him to go to North Korea and hug this crazy dictator there?!” Beilin said, referring to Trump’s landmark meeting with Kim Jong Un in 2019.

Israeli army withdraws several brigades from southern Lebanon: Report

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reports that the Israeli army has withdrawn several brigades from southern Lebanon amid progress in efforts to reach a deal.

Citing informed sources, it said officials involved in negotiations assess a deal to be reached with Hezbollah within a week and a half to two weeks.

There has been progress in the talks, mainly in regards to the drafting of a document that will guarantee Israel’s military freedom of operation in southern Lebanon in case the ceasefire enforcement fails.

In the meantime, Israeli forces are waiting for a decision from the political echelon in Jerusalem, the newspaper said.

An Israeli soldier looks through the scope of a rifle into southern Lebanon from Israel, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, northern Israel, November 4
An Israeli soldier looks through the scope of a rifle into southern Lebanon from northern Israel, Monday [Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters]

UNRWA warns of humanitarian collapse in Gaza if operations halted

Juliette Touma, the communications director for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, has told Israeli daily Haaretz that halting the agency’s operations could lead to a total collapse of food and humanitarian aid distribution for Gaza’s two million residents.

She emphasised that Israel has no alternative for its humanitarian activities in the besieged enclave.

“The Israeli public has fallen victim to a campaign spreading false information about UNRWA,” Touma said. “The assumption that if we close UNRWA we will eliminate the Palestinian refugee problem is a naive concept.”

Israel has officially notified the UN of its decision to cut ties with UNRWA. In a statement on Monday, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it cancelled a cooperation agreement from 1967, which provided the legal basis for the country’s relations with the refugee agency.

two children stand next to a destroyed building with a blue un flag flying from it
Palestinian boys stand near the damaged UNRWA headquarters at the Nur Shams refugee camp east of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank on Nov. 2, after Israeli forces demolished most of the building in their latest raid of the camp [Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP]

More than 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza: WHO

More than 100 patients, including children, suffering from trauma injuries and chronic diseases will be evacuated from Gaza tomorrow in a rare transfer out of the war-ravaged enclave, according to a World Health Organization official.

“These are ad hoc measures. What we have requested repeatedly is a sustained medevac (medical evacuation) outside of Gaza,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, adding that 12,000 people were awaiting transfer.

The patients will travel in a large convoy via the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom in Israel, before flying to the United Arab Emirates, he added, and then some of them will travel to Romania.

Photos: Aftermath of Israeli attack on tents of displaced people in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah

Palestinians inspect destruction after Israeli attacks on makeshift tents, where displaced Palestinians stay in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on November 5
Palestinians inspect destruction after Israeli attacks on makeshift tents in Deir el-Balah [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]
Palestinians inspect destruction after Israeli attacks on makeshift tents, where displaced Palestinians stay in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on November 5
The tents were sheltering displaced Palestinians [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]
Palestinians walk among destroyed makeshift tents, where displaced people stay, after Israeli attacks on the area in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on November 5
Palestinian children walk among destroyed tents [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]
 Palestinians are seen after Israeli attacks on makeshift tents, where displaced Palestinians stay in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on November 5
Displaced Palestinians are seen after the Israeli attacks [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]

In case you’re just joining us

Here is a recap of the latest developments:

  • More than 60 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) have been arrested in the occupied West Bank and Lebanon, according to a joint statement by the Israeli army and Shin Bet, as reported by The Times of Israel.
  • Intense Israeli attacks have wiped out 37 towns in southern Lebanon, destroying more than 40,000 housing units, a report from Lebanon’s National News Agency says.
  • The Islamic Resistance of Iraq has claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a “vital target” in southern Israel. The coalition of armed groups said it was the sixth such attack today.
  • The Palestinian Civil Defence says the northern part of Gaza is “facing a real famine” due to the Israeli prevention of entry of aid.

Gaza’s Beit Lahiya death toll rises to 25

The death toll from an Israeli air attack on the al-Masry family home in the town of Beit Lahiya in besieged northern Gaza has risen to 25, according to the Wafa news agency.

The report citing medical sources said the victims included 13 children and that more people are still under the rubble.

The area has been under intense bombardment since October 6, when Israel’s military began a sweeping air and ground assault in northern Gaza, focusing on the towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoon.

Smoke billows following Israeli bombardment on Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 4, 2024. [Photo by AFP]
Smoke billows following Israeli bombardment on Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 4, 2024. [Photo by AFP]

Israeli army, security service claim to have arrested PFLP members in Lebanon, West Bank

More than 60 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) organisation have been arrested in the occupied West Bank and Lebanon, according to a joint statement by the Israeli army and the Shin Bet internal security service cited by The Times of Israel newspaper.

Founded by George Habash in 1967, the PFLP is a secular Marxist-Leninist political group and part of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). It is the second-largest group in the PLO after Fatah.

The group’s armed wing, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, has fought Israel in Gaza alongside Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Israeli attacks wiped out 37 towns in southern Lebanon: Report

Intense Israeli attacks have completely wiped out 37 towns in southern Lebanon, destroying more than 40,000 housing units, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).

The report said the destruction is concentrated in the area from the city of Naqoura to the outskirts of Khiam town, 3km (2 miles) deep into Lebanese territory from the border with Israel.

Israeli soldiers have at times filmed themselves detonating explosives and celebrating the destruction. The Israeli army claims its targets are Hezbollah infrastructure.

A picture taken from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows smoke billowing after an Israeli strike on the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila on November 5
A picture taken from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows smoke billowing after an Israeli strike on the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila on Tuesday [Jalaa Marey/AFP]

Hezbollah claims to have bombed Israeli barracks in northern Israel

The Lebanese armed group says its fighters targeted Israeli soldiers in their barracks in the illegal Dovev settlement in northern Israel’s upper Galilee area with “a rocket salvo”.

The attack came this morning after another rocket attack was claimed by Hezbollah just after midnight against Israeli forces on the southwestern outskirts of the Lebanese town of Maroun al-Ras.

At least 70 Palestinians killed in Gaza in past 24 hours

Israel’s war on Gaza shows no signs of slowing down. Deadly attacks are being carried out against residential buildings across the Gaza Strip by the Israeli Air Force as well as ground troops.

The civilian death toll has been mounting in the past 24 hours due to the repeated Israeli attacks on a very heavily built-up neighbourhood in the town of Beit Lahiya in the northern part of Gaza.

At least 20 Palestinians have been killed there and people are still trapped under the rubble.

We know that the humanitarian situation in the northern part of Gaza. There is a shortage of basic necessities due to a monthlong Israeli siege.

At least nine Palestinians have been confirmed killed in the central and southern areas of Gaza where three tented camps of displaced people were targeted.

In total, at least 70 Palestinians have been killed in the past 24 hours across the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources.

Palestinians mourn relatives killed in an Israeli strike on displacement tents in the vicinity earlier, at the the Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5
Palestinians mourn relatives killed in an Israeli strike on displacement tents in the vicinity earlier, at the the Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday [Eyad Baba/AFP]

Renewed Israeli incursions into occupied Tulkarem and East Jerusalem

Sources have told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces are storming the city of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank.

Sources also reported that Israeli police have stormed neighbourhoods in Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem.

Earlier, Hamas had called for Palestinians to confront the incursions by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

“We call on the masses of the West Bank for more defiance, steadfastness and continued confrontation with the occupation and settlers in all governorates,” it said in a statement.

 

Translation: Scenes showing the heavy presence of occupation forces in the town of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa [Mosque].

Northern Gaza heading towards ‘a real famine’: Civil defence

Gaza’s civil defence has said the northern part of the enclave is “facing a real famine” due to the Israeli forces’ prevention of entry of aid.

It said in a statement that the Israeli forces continue to disrupt humanitarian and medical services in northern Gaza for the 14th day in a row, to put pressure on the people in northern Gaza.

Death toll in Israeli attack on central Gaza’s az-Zawayda rises to six

We reported earlier that Israeli forces bombed tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in the az-Zawayda town in central Gaza, killing four people.

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report that the death toll has risen to six, including two children – a six-year-old and a four-year-old.

A mother of one of the people killed said they were burned in the attack while they were sleeping.

Israel bombs three villages in southern Lebanon

Israeli artillery has bombed the villages of Bint Jbeil, Maroun al-Ras and at-Tiri in southern Lebanon, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

The Israeli army announced it killed two Hezbollah fighters with dual Asian nationalities who infiltrated Israel during the war, without giving further details.

The Lebanese National News Agency earlier reported that an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in the town of Haris, killing one person while fighter jets also bombed the town’s mosque.

Israeli captives’ families block Tel Aviv highway, demand deal with Hamas

Videos shared on X show a protest being held on the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, organised by the families of captives held in Gaza, demanding a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

The footage shows the protesters near Yitzhak Sadeh Street, holding banners accusing Netanyahu of trying to thwart a prisoner exchange deal.

The video has been verified by Sanad, Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency.

Translation: The families of abductees and the women’s protest for the return of the abductees block Ayalon Darom near Yitzhak Sadeh Street. “Netanyahu’s goal: thwarting the kidnap deal. Demand a deal now,” their signs read.

Israeli army intercepts drone ‘from the east’

The Israeli Air Force has intercepted an “unmanned aircraft that crossed into Israeli territory from the east”, according to the military.

The launch triggered sirens in Masada in southern Israel, it said.

The Israeli military did not specify the origin of the launch, but Israeli media said the army uses “from the east” to refer to launches that come from the direction of Iraq.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq had earlier claimed launching three drone attacks at the Israeli city of Haifa.

Two Palestinians killed in Israeli drone attack on occupied West Bank

The Wafa news agency is reporting that Israeli forces have carried out a drone attack on the village of Muthalath al-Shuhada, south of the city of Jenin, killing at least two Palestinians.

One of the victims was a 40-year-old man who died of his injuries after being hit with shrapnel in the attack, Wafa reported, citing the director of Al-Razi Hospital. It said that the Jenin Government Hospital received a second body whose identity has not yet been confirmed.

The drone attack came as Israeli forces continued their raid on the nearby town of Qabatiya which has been ongoing for more than seven hours. The Israeli military is sending its reinforcements to the town’s entrances, while violent confrontations are taking place at the Martyrs’ roundabout at the entrance to the town, according to Wafa.

Earlier, we reported that two more Palestinians were killed in an Israeli raid on the town of Tammun, near the city of Tubas.

Palestinians stand at a morgue near the body of Hani Bani Odeh who was killed by Israeli forces in Tubas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 5
Palestinians stand at a morgue near the body of Hani Bani Odeh who was killed by Israeli forces in Tubas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters]

Second person killed in Israeli raid on West Bank’s Tammun

The Wafa news agency is reporting that a second person has been killed following Israel’s siege on the town of Tammun.

A video clip circulating on social media shows an Israeli military bulldozer carrying the victim’s body as it withdrew from the town.

The deceased has not been identified.

Earlier, we reported another man had been killed in the same raid after Israeli soldiers fired “Energa” shells at the building. The Palestinian Information Center identified the victim as Hani Bani Awda Abu Asif.

Israeli forces have also arrested two men, shooting one of them, after besieging their home in the Thinnabeh suburb, east of Tulkarem, according to Wafa. The extent of the wounded man’s injuries is not known.

The Israeli military also arrested two men in the city of Qalqilya.

Israeli attacks have killed 151 emergency workers in Lebanon

The World Health Organization (WHO) says emergency medical services in Lebanon have reported 201 attacks over the past year following the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

The attacks have resulted in 151 deaths and 212 injuries, it said.

The violence “is hindering the rescue and relief efforts, and ultimately contributing to high death rates,” it added.

Medics in Lebanon have accused Israel of directly targeting them in attacks that rights experts say amount to war crimes.

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Sirens in Israel’s Haifa, 20 other towns after ‘launches’ from Lebanon

The Israeli Air Force said the alerts were activated in northern Israel after fighter jets intercepted “two launches” that crossed from Lebanon.

It also said it had intercepted an “unmanned aircraft” that crossed into Israel from the direction of Syria.

Earlier, we reported that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq had claimed four separate drone attacks on Haifa.

It’s unclear if the latter two incidents were related.

Premature births, maternal deaths rising in Gaza, UNFPA says

The UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency says its partners in Gaza are reporting a rise in premature births and maternal deaths amid Israel’s war on the Palestinian enclave.

“Sexual and reproductive healthcare, including postnatal and family planning services, have become severely limited for 155,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women, who face serious health risks due to a lack of prenatal and postnatal care,” the agency said.

“Complicated and high-risk pregnancies linked with negative outcomes have increased, while access to safe childbirth services has dramatically decreased, especially in the North.”

Many women are being forced to give birth without access to medical support, it said.

“Menstrual hygiene has also become nearly impossible to manage, as over 690,000 menstruating women lack access to basic sanitary supplies,” the agency said. “The cost of essential items like soap has skyrocketed by 1,100%, making it impossible to keep clean and increasing women’s vulnerability to violence and exploitation.”

Women mourn Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, October 6, 2024.
Women mourn Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on October 6, 2024 [File: Ramadan Abed/ Reuters]

US soldier injured during Gaza humanitarian aid pier operation dies

An American soldier who has been in critical condition after suffering severe noncombat injuries while working on an aid pier off the coast of Gaza has died, the US military announced on Monday.

Sergeant Quandarius Davon Stanley was seriously injured in May while supporting sea operations for the US-built pier, which was designed to increase the flow of aid into Gaza to circumvent Israel’s blockade.

The US Army confirmed Stanley’s death, though it did not specify when he passed.

“Stanley was an instrumental and well-respected first-line leader in the 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary, especially during the mission to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza,” said Colonel John “Eddie” Gray, commander of the unit.

The pier, which cost nearly $230m to build, was beset by setbacks from the start and delivered only a fraction of the promised aid before it was closed in July.

INTERACTIVE - Gaza pier floating dock United States aid sea israel - JULY18-2024-1721286217
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If you’re just joining us

Let’s bring you up to speed:

  • Israeli forces have killed at least 33 people in Gaza overnight, including 20 in the besieged northern town of Beit Lahiya, and four others in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood, according to Al Jazeera Arabic and the Wafa news agency.
  • In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during a raid on the town of Tammun and carried out several drone attacks on the area.
  • Syria’s Foreign Ministry has condemned Israel’s attack on Damascus and urged UN member states to take “urgent action” to stop the Israeli “aggression”. The attacks hit civilian areas and caused significant material damage, it said.
  • Israeli forces have continued to pound Lebanon, with at least one person reported killed in the southern town of Haris, while the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed to launch three drone attacks on the Israeli port city of Haifa.
  • The UN’s refugee agency said an average of 400-600 refugees from Lebanon are arriving in Iraq daily as more people flee Israel’s attacks on the country.
  • Malaysia has announced that it is working on a resolution that proposes Israel’s expulsion from the UN if it is found to have violated international law in Palestine.

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Israeli forces continue onslaught of northern Gaza hospital: Health ministry

Gaza’s health ministry has issued a statement warning that it may be its “last distress call” as Israeli forces continue to besiege Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza.

The ministry said in a statement that Israeli soldiers “continue to bomb and destroy” the hospital, affecting all its facilities.

“There are many injuries among the medical staff and patients. The medical staff cannot move between the hospital departments and cannot save their injured colleagues,” the ministry said.

Palestinian prisoners’ groups say Israel using scabies as tool of torture

The Prisoners’ Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club have warned of an impending “health disaster” in the Negev prison, in the occupied West Bank, amid the ongoing spread of scabies among prisoners.

The prisoner rights institutions warned that hundreds of detainees were exhibiting health symptoms from the parasitic infestation, as Israeli authorities were “deliberately depriving prisoners of treatment” and using it as a “tool to torture them physically and psychologically.”

They added that the Israeli authorities were seeking “to kill prisoners by any possible means”, including facilitating the spread of the skin disease by denying prisoners access to showers, clean clothes or washing machines.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, among other organisations, have documented detailed allegations of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment perpetrated against Palestinians inside Israeli prisons, including sexual abuse of women and men.

Israeli air raids damage Baalbek’s historic and governmental sites

Israeli air strikes have left significant destruction across the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, hitting historic landmarks, government structures, and civilian areas.

In the nearby town of Douris, a civilian house was also targeted, leading to the complete destruction of the structure, the head of the Baalbek Municipalities Union, Shafiq Qassem Shehadeh, told Reuters.

There was also severe damage caused to the surrounding area, including the municipal building and Christian cemeteries, he added, noting that the residential target had not been on Israel’s list of forced evacuations.

On Friday, Lebanon’s health ministry said 52 people were killed in Israeli strikes on more than a dozen towns in the Baalbek region, which has UNESCO-listed Roman ruins.

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Families of Israeli captives demonstrate outside Knesset

A protest took place on a road leading to the Israeli parliament or Knesset in Jerusalem, coinciding with a session to vote on a proposal to withdraw confidence from the government, footage verified by Al Jazeera shows.

According to Israeli media, mothers of several captives held in Gaza took part in the protest to demand a prisoner exchange deal to bring their family members back.

UNRWA says Israel ban likely to cause ‘collapse’ of Gaza aid work

The UN agency for supporting Palestinian refugees has said that Israel’s ban on its operations would lead to the “collapse” of humanitarian work in the besieged Gaza Strip.

“If this law is implemented, it would be likely to cause the collapse of the international humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip – an operation of which UNRWA is the backbone,” Jonathan Fowler, an UNRWA spokesman, told AFP.

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Airlines suspend flights as Middle East tensions rise

Concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East have prompted international airlines to suspend flights to the region or to avoid affected air space.

Below are some of the airlines that have cancelled services to and from the region:

Aegean Airlines: The Greek airline has cancelled flights to and from Beirut until December 17 and to and from Tel Aviv until November 17.

Emirates: The UAE’s state-owned airline has cancelled flights to Beirut and Baghdad until November 30.

Qatar Airways: The Qatari airline has temporarily suspended flights to and from Iran and Lebanon.

‘The question is: Who is going to replace UNRWA?’

Juliette Touma, global communications officer for UNRWA, says two million people depend on UNRWA for food assistance and healthcare.

“Who is going to replace UNRWA? When this brutal war finally comes to an end, who will provide education to 400,000 children who go to UNRWA schools, who? What is the plan? We don’t have any answer to that,” she told Al Jazeera from Amman.

Touma said that Israel’s ban on the agency will take place in 90 days, calling it a “race against time for member states around the world to work with Israel to not implement this ban.”

She added that even other UN agencies who have education within their mandate cannot manage teaching on this level or of this scale. “We are the only UN agency in the world that runs 700 schools … In the absence of a political solution for Palestinian refugees, there is no alternative to UNRWA.”

“It’s easy to talk. The question is what are you going to do about the ban and how are you going to fill the void? You meaning the State of Israel.”

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UNRWA’s Lazzarini says humanitarian aid entering Gaza at lowest point

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has said Israeli authorities allowed only 30 trucks of aid a day to enter Gaza, bringing assistance to its “lowest in a long time.”

This is equivalent to only six percent of commercial and humanitarian supplies entering Gaza before the war broke out on October 7, 2023, he said on social media platform X.

Lazzarini warned this was insufficient to respond to the needs of over 2 million people, “many of whom are starving, sick and in desperate conditions.”

Israel on Monday notified the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which is the largest provider of aid in the occupied Palestinian territories, that it was cancelling a cooperation agreement from 1967 which provided a legal basis to its operations.

In a legally binding order, the International Criminal Justice (ICJ) in March ordered Israel to open more land crossings to allow aid into Gaza. The measures were requested by South Africa as part of its continuing case that accuses Israel of carrying out genocide in Gaza.

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If you’re just joining us

Here’s a recap of the latest developments.

  • Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 10 Palestinians in Gaza, with seven dead in an attack on two houses in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahiya and three fatalities in a strike on a house in Nuseirat camp in the enclave’s centre.
  • The Israeli Foreign Ministry has informed the UN that it has ended the 1967 agreement that recognises the UN’s relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
  • The Israeli military said Abu Ali Rida, who “directed and executed” attacks on Israeli forces and commanded Hezbollah fighters in the region, was killed in the Baraachit area in southern Lebanon.
  • The Israeli army said it intercepted a “suspicious aerial” target over the occupied Golan Heights and another making its way to Israel “from the east”, a phrase that often refers to projectiles fired from the direction of Iraq.
  • Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has criticised what he calls the United States’s “destabilising presence” after its deployment of B-52 bombers in the region.

Activists vandalise Glasgow office of pro-Israel company

Members of the Action for Palestine group vandalised the Allianz insurance company in Glasgow, Scotland, spraying it with red paint, according to footage verified by Al Jazeera.

Activists daubed the offices of the German insurance company with red paint in protest over the company’s links with Elbit Systems.

The group said Allianz provides insurance to Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons company which works closely with the Israeli military.

On its instagram page, the group wrote: “Days after repairs following our last move, activists returned to Allianz’s office in Glasgow, which provides insurance and invests in Israel’s largest weapons company (Elbit Systems). Without insurance, Elbit cannot operate in Britain.”

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Interactive-gaza-death toll-Nov4-2024

Israeli strikes kill 10 people in Gaza: Report

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 10 Palestinians in Gaza, with seven dead in an attack on two houses in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahiya and three fatalities in a strike on a house in Nuseirat camp in the enclave’s centre, medics told Reuters news agency.

Several people were wounded in both attacks, they said, adding that Israeli forces had sent tanks into the northeast of Nuseirat camp earlier today.

Israel deployed tanks into Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya on Oct. 5, 2024, saying it intended to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

Palestinians said the new aerial and ground offensives and forced evacuations were “ethnic cleansing” aimed at emptying two northern Gaza towns and a refugee camp of their population to create buffer zones. Israel denies this, saying it is fighting Hamas militants who launch attacks from there.

Gaza’s government media office put the number of Palestinians killed since October 5 at 1,800. It said 4,000 others were wounded.

Video shows aftermath of Israeli air attack in Tyre, Lebanon

Lebanese media outlets have shared videos on X of the aftermath of an Israeli air attack on a building in Deir Qanoun in Ras al-Ain in the city of Tyre, southern Lebanon.

The video has been verified by Sanad, Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency.

At least 7 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strike on Beit Lahiya

An Israeli air attack on two houses in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza, has killed at least seven people and wounded several others, medics say.

We will bring you updates as they come in.

Israeli air raids reported across Lebanon

Lebanon’s news agency NNA has reported several attacks across the country this morning, including:

  • In the Tyre district in southern Lebanon, warplanes raided the towns of Zibqin, Halloussiyeh, Bayada, Qana and Rashkananiyeh. In Deir Qanoun, an air raid hit a four-story building. Mahrouna was also hit two separate times.
  • In the Byblos district in central Lebanon, raids hit the town of Yanouh, injuring several people.
  • In the Bint Jbeil district in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military struck several towns, including Tayri, Kunin and Ainata.

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Israeli settlers attack Burqa village in West Bank, torch olive fields

Israeli settlers have attacked the Palestinian village of Burqa near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and burned olive fields, according to witnesses.

A group of settlers set fire to olive fields in the area and hurled rocks at Palestinian homes, triggering confrontations with local villagers, the witnesses said.

It came hours after some 20 Palestinian vehicles were burned in a settler attack early this morning in nearby el-Bireh.

Berlin calls on Israel to boost aid access to ‘desperate’ north Gaza

Germany has called on Israel to let more humanitarian aid into north Gaza, where a lack of supplies has led to a “desperate” and “unbearable” situation, a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry has said.

“We call on the Israeli government urgently to meet its responsibilities under international law,” the spokesperson told a regular news conference in Berlin.

“Israel has the right to self defence against Hamas within the framework of humanitarian international law,” he added.

The spokesperson was responding to a question about an ultimatum set by Washington for Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza this month or face potential restrictions on US military aid.