Closing summary
It’s just gone 5pm in Tel Aviv, Gaza City and Beirut and we’re wrapping up today’s live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
Earlier today Israeli forces reached their deepest point in Lebanon since they invaded six weeks ago, before pulling back after fierce battles with Hezbollah, Lebanese state media reported. Israeli troops captured a strategic hill in the southern Lebanese village of Chamaa, about three miles from the Israeli border, the state-run National News Agency reported. It said Israeli troops were later pushed back.
Here’s a round-up of today’s other key events:
Airstrikes hit the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut this morning, shortly after the Israeli army issued a new call to evacuate the area. The Israeli military said its aircraft had targeted “a weapons storage facility” and a Hezbollah “command centre”. Israel also said Hezbollah had fired more than 60 projectiles at the country today.
Lebanon’s National News Agency also reported a strike on the southern city of Tyre. Elsewhere in south Lebanon, the health ministry said Israeli strikes killed two rescuers affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally Amal.
Gaza’s civil defence agency reported 11 people killed in strikes across the territory earlier today. The Gaza health ministry said at least 35 people were killed in the territory in the previous 24 hours, taking the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war to 43,799.
An Italian air force plane took off earlier today carrying more than 13 tonnes of humanitarian aid to be delivered to the population in Gaza, a defence ministry statement said. “Italy is doing and will continue to do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza,” defence minister Guido Crosetto said.
Two senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad members were killed in an Israeli strike on Syria on Thursday, a source from the Palestinian group said earlier today. The figures were Abdel Aziz Minawi, a member of Islamic Jihad’s political bureau, and the group’s foreign relations chief Rasmi Abu Issa, who were killed in the strike on Qudsaya, in the Damascus area.
An Iranian official met with Elon Musk to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, its support for anti-Israel groups throughout the Middle East and prospects for improved relations with the US, according to a US official. Iran later denied the reports.
Israel said Hezbollah had fired more than 60 projectiles into Israel today, as Israeli troops pushed the furthest they have been into Lebanon since its ground invasion began last month.
Israeli troops captured a strategic hill in the southern Lebanese village of Chamaa, about 5km (3 miles) from the Israeli border, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. It said the troops were later pushed back.
Israel’s military said its troops “continue their limited, localised and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon”.
Updated
An Italian air force plane took off earlier today carrying more than 13 tonnes of humanitarian aid to be delivered to the population in Gaza, a defence ministry statement said, Reuters reports.
The aid aboard the C-130J aircraft, which departed from the central Italian city of Pisa, had been collected by charity group Confederazione Nazionale delle Misericordie d’Italia, the statement said.
“Italy is doing and will continue to do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza,” said defence minister Guido Crosetto, adding Italy did not forget those who are suffering and was committed to a de-escalation of the conflict.
The plane will fly to Larnaca airport in Cyprus after which all the materials it is carrying will be transferred to Gaza.
Earlier this year, Italy launched a flagship initiative dubbed Food for Gaza to help civilians there, and it has sent several consignments of aid to those hit by the war.
The IDF said it had completed a series of attacks in southern Beirut.
Israel’s air force said in a tweet it had targeted strikes “in the Da’aheh area of Beirut in which they attacked a munitions warehouse, a headquarters and terrorist infrastructures that were used by the terrorist organization Hezbollah”.
The military shared a video purporting to show the strikes. It was not possible to independently verify the footage.
Earlier Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said “the enemy” had carried out three air raids on Beirut.
בהכוונת אגף המודיעין, מטוסי קרב של חיל-האוויר השלימו לפני זמן קצר סדרת תקיפות נוספות במרחב הדאחייה שבביירות במסגרתה הותקפו מחסן אמצעי לחימה, מפקדה ותשתיות טרור שהיו בשימוש של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה.
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) November 16, 2024
כלל המטרות שהותקפו מוקמו על ידי חיזבאללה במכוון בלב האוכלוסייה האזרחית. זו דוגמה… pic.twitter.com/3nkjA9DfbG
Gaza’s civil defence agency reported 11 people killed in strikes across the territory earlier today, AFP reports.
The Gaza health ministry said at least 35 people were killed in the territory in the previous 24 hours, taking the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war to 43,799. The majority of the dead were civilians, according to ministry figures, which the United Nations considers reliable.
In Rafah, in the south of the Strip, resident Jamil al-Masry said a house was hit, causing “a massive explosion”.
“We went to the house, only to find it in ruins, with fire raging and smoke and dust everywhere,” he said.
People “started searching for martyrs and survivors” with their bare hands, he said, with some “still under the rubble”.
The Israeli military said it is continuing “operational activity” in Jabalia and Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, the targets of an intense offensive since early October. Troops also operated in the southern district of Rafah, the army said.
Israel says its renewed operations in the ravaged north were meant to stop Hamas militants from regrouping.
Updated
Israel air strikes hit Beirut and south Lebanon
AFP provides some more detail about Israel’s strikes on Lebanon today –
Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah bastions in Beirut and south Lebanon, a day after Lebanese government officials said they were studying a US truce proposal.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said “the enemy” carried out three air raids in the morning, later reporting another attack in the neighbourhood of Chiyah.
The Israeli military said its aircraft had targeted “a weapons storage facility” and a Hezbollah “command centre” in south Beirut.
NNA also reported a strike on the southern city of Tyre, in a neighbourhood near the city’s UNESCO-listed ancient ruins.
Elsewhere in south Lebanon, the health ministry said Israeli strikes killed two rescuers affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally Amal.
Hezbollah claimed several rocket attacks on northern Israel, targeting military sites including a naval base in the Haifa area.
The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières has shared a video about the difficulties faced by internally displaced people who suffer from diabetes – including shortages of vital medication such as insulin, lack of healthcare facilities and a diet made up of donated food that is often high-carbohydrate and therefore not suitable for people living with the condition.
The UN estimates about 600,000 people have become internally displaced in Lebanon since Israel started its ground invasion in the country last month.
Dr Nancy Abi Assaf breaks down why it’s difficult for people to manage their diabetes after being displaced by conflict ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/XfGAz9By3g
— MSF International (@MSF) November 16, 2024
Israeli troops reach deepest point in Lebanon since invasion, local media says
Israeli ground forces have reached their deepest point in Lebanon since they invaded six weeks ago, before pulling back after fierce battles with Hezbollah militants, Lebanese state media reported.
Israeli troops captured a strategic hill in the southern Lebanese village of Chamaa, about three miles from the Israeli border, early on Saturday, the state-run National News Agency reported. It said Israeli troops were later pushed back from the hill.
The agency added that Israeli troops blew up the Shrine of Shimon the Prophet in Chamaa as well as several homes before they withdrew, but the claim could not be verified, AP said.
Israel’s military said its troops “continue their limited, localised and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon”.
Updated
Two senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) figures were killed in an Israeli strike on Syria on Thursday, a source from the Palestinian group said.
PIJ has fought alongside Hamas against Israel in Gaza.
The source told AFP on Saturday that Abdel Aziz Minawi, a member of Islamic Jihad’s political bureau, and the group’s foreign relations chief Rasmi Abu Issa were killed in the strike on Qudsaya, in the Damascus area.
A Beirut property developer is one among many wealthy Lebanese people denied access to their fortunes by banks after a financial crisis and now left reeling from effects of Israel’s airstrikes, Ruth Michaelson reports for the Observer:
Ibrahim Abdallah and his family are still members of the nearby country club, but earlier this year he sold his 10-metre-long boat with a plush cream leather interior. Last year, he sold a flat located among embassy buildings in the pricier neighbourhood farther uphill that was intended for his young son.
He has $2m in the bank and the receipts to prove it, but weathering Lebanon’s multiple financial and political crises has left Abdallah selling the trappings of his former life to sustain himself and his family …
“Here’s how it feels: you made your dreams come true, but were forced to give it up. You achieved your aims, then someone takes it away from you,” he said.
Lebanon state media reports a strike on Tyre in the south of the country.
Earlier today two separate airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Another airstrike hit the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut around midday local time, according to AFP, after the area was hit earlier this morning.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported a raid by “enemy aircraft” in the neighbourhood of Chiyah.
Before the strikes, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee had urged residents of three neighbourhoods to leave the area.
Updated
Iran has “categorically” denied that its UN envoy met with Elon Musk in New York, the country’s IRNA news agency reported.
In an interview, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said while “categorically denying such a meeting” he expressed “surprise at the coverage of the American media in this regard”.
Iranian newspapers, particularly those aligned with the reformist party that supports president Masoud Pezeshkian, largely described the meeting in positive terms before Baghaei’s statement.
Gaza death toll: 43,799 Palestinians killed since October last year
Reuters reports 43,799 Palestinians are confirmed to have been killed and 103,601 wounded in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October last year, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
An artillery shell hit the west sector headquarters of UN forces in Lebanon yesterday afternoon, the agency said.
“This afternoon, a 155mm live artillery shell hit UNP 2-3, Unifil West Sector headquarters in Shama,” a Unifil statement said. “The shell did not detonate and Italian bomb disposal experts swiftly secured the area, removed the ordnance, and conducted a controlled detonation. There was no injury among peacekeepers, but only minor damages to the gym.”
The statement did not say whether the shell had come from Israeli or Hezbollah forces.
“We strongly remind all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and properties. Deliberate attacks on peacekeepers are a grave violation of international humanitarian laws and of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701.”
Israel has been accused of targeting Unifil, the UN-mandated force deployed along the border between Israel and Lebanon since it launched its ground invasion of Lebanon early last month. Israel has said its raids are only targeted at Hezbollah.
In the crowded Qalandia refugee camp, UNRWA’s training centre is an island of calm where young people from the occupied West Bank learn trades, but a recent Israeli ban on all cooperation with the UN agency has left the centre in limbo, AFP reports.
UNRWA’s ban in Israel and occupied east Jerusalem has raised fears that its West Bank employees could face problems not only accessing those areas, but also moving around more generally because they would lose the ability to coordinate with the Israeli authorities manning checkpoints.
The same fears apply to visas and permits delivered by Israeli authorities.
Eighteen-year-old Ahmed Naseef, a refugee from the Jalazone camp north of nearby Ramallah, said he didn’t know what he and his classmates would do should the Qalandia training centre close as a result of the law.
“It would disrupt my fellow students. Many don’t have the financial means to go to another institute for study. Here, it’s almost free,” he told AFP during a class in which he was learning how to install lights in a room.
Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA spokesman in Jerusalem, warned that if some of the services were unable to continue, the socioeconomic consequences could be “potentially disastrous”.
“If these services are not able to operate... who is going to provide education for the children and the adolescents in this camp?”
Baha Awaad, the school’s principal, said it trains 350 students but cannot provide for more due to the lack of permission to expand buildings. Asked whether the students would be able to finish their school year, Awaad admitted: “Frankly, we don’t know.”
Tensions between UNRWA and Israel began after Israel accused about a dozen of the agency’s staff of taking part in Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on 7 October last year.
A series of probes found some “neutrality related issues” at UNRWA, and determined that nine employees “may have been involved” in the attack, but found no evidence for Israel’s central allegations.
Outoging US president Joe Biden now has his best opening to end Israel’s war on Gaza but he won’t use it, Mohamad Bazzi writes …
[Biden’s] lack of action this week is especially egregious because he is politically unrestrained: the presidential election is over, and Donald Trump won. Biden can do whatever he wants without incurring a political cost. He doesn’t even have to worry about a transition to his fellow Democrat and vice-president, Kamala Harris. If there was ever a time for Biden to use his considerable power to save Palestinians, this was it. Yet he squandered this final opportunity to make the right and moral choice – and help end the Gaza war before leaving office.
Biden’s decision to keep supplying weapons to Israel reinforces his legacy as the primary enabler of the slaughter in Gaza, and Netanyahu’s campaign to expand the war into Lebanon. While Biden and his allies have done a lot of hand-wringing about Trump’s disregard for the rule of law, the Biden administration failed to uphold US law and its own policies – and it has undermined US credibility around the world even before Trump takes office once again.
You can read the full piece at the link below.
Images are coming through of Israel’s strike on Beirut this morning, showing a large plume of smoke rising above the city.
An Iranian official met with Elon Musk, according to a US official, AP reports.
Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani met with Musk — a key Trump ally and the world’s richest man — on Monday in New York.
The US official said he had been informed that the discussion covered a variety of topics, most notably Iran’s nuclear program, its support for anti-Israel groups throughout the Middle East and prospects for improved relations with the United States.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said no immediate decisions were taken by either side. The official said the Iranians sought the meeting with Musk and that it did not take place at the Iranian mission to the UN.
The Trump transition team would not confirm or deny the meeting.
“The American people re-elected President Trump because they trust him to lead our country and restore peace through strength around the world. When he returns to the White House, he will take the necessary action to do just that,” Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, said in a statement.
Iran’s UN mission declined to comment.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials, that Iran told the Biden administration in a written message delivered on 14 October that it would not try to kill Trump. It was a response to an earlier warning from the US that an attempt on Trump’s life would be considered an act of war, the Journal reported.
Updated
Here is the tweet from the IDF’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, calling for the evacuation of southern Beirut’s Haret Hreik neighbourhood a couple of hours ago.
“To all residents in the southern suburb area, specifically in the buildings specified in the attached maps and the buildings adjacent to them in Haret Hreik … You are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which the IDF will act forcefully in the near future,” a translation of the post reads.
“For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate these buildings and those adjacent to them immediately and stay away from them for a distance of no less than 500 meters.”
AFP reported an Israeli strike hit the south of the city this morning.
#عاجل إلى جميع السكان المتواجدين في منطقة الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا في المباني المحددة في الخرائط المرفقة والمباني المجاورة لها في حارة حريك
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 16, 2024
⭕️أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع بقوة على المدى الزمني القريب
⭕️من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة… pic.twitter.com/tu7wW9UdYj
Updated
Strike hits south Beirut after Israeli evacuation call
Hello, we are restarting the Guardian’s live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. It’s just past 10.30am in Gaza City, Beitrut and Tel Aviv.
A strike hit the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut this morning, shortly after the Israeli army issued a new call to evacuate the area.
Since Tuesday, Israel has carried out several strikes on the city’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah.
Shortly before the attack, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X a call for residents of the Haret Hreik suburb to evacuate. “You are close to facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah, against which the Israeli military will be acting with force in the near future,” the post said in Arabic, identifying specific buildings and telling residents to move at least 500 metres away.
Repeated Israeli air strikes on south Beirut have led to a mass exodus of civilians from the area, although some return during the day to check on their homes and businesses.
Here are some of the other latest developments:
A senior Hamas official has said the Palestinian militant group is “ready for a ceasefire” in Gaza and urged US president-elect Donald Trump to “pressure” Israel to “end the aggression”. “Hamas is ready to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip if a ceasefire proposal is presented and on the condition that it is respected” by Israel, Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim said.
A UN spokesperson said that aid access in Gaza is at a low point with deliveries to parts of the north of the territory all but impossible. “From our perspective, on all indicators you can possibly think of in a humanitarian response, all of them are going in the wrong direction,” Jens Laerke told a press briefing.
An Israeli airstrike flattened a building near one of Beirut’s busiest traffic junctions, Tayouneh. The targeted building was located in an area where the southern suburbs meet other.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister has asked Iran to help secure a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah and appeared to urge it to convince the militant group to agree to a deal that could require it to pull back from the Israel-Lebanon border. The prime minister made the comments in talks with Ali Larijani, a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, AP reported.
Twenty-one civil defence rescuers were killed in two Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Thursday, marking one of the deadliest days for rescue workers since the fighting began between Israel and Hezbollah 13 months ago. The airstrikes brought the total number of emergency workers killed by Israel in Lebanon to more than 200.
Fifty-nine people were killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon on Thursday, bringing the total killed since October last year to at least 3,445, with 14,599 wounded, the Lebanese health ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Updated
