► Lebanon: several deadly Israeli strikes
At least six people, including four rescue workers affiliated with Hezbollah, were killed in an Israeli strike targeting a town in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said Thursday, November 14.
“Israeli enemy strike on Arabsalim targeted Islamic Health Committee center, killing six people, including four rescuers”indicated the ministry, condemning “crimes (..) against first responders and health establishments”.
At least five Lebanese civil defense rescue workers were also killed in an Israeli raid targeting their center near the town of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, a local association official said.
The Lebanese news agency Ani, for its part, reported a “enemy air raid” on the center, where there were “more than 20 rescuers” at the time of the strike according to the governor of Baalbek, Bachir Khodr.
► Washington denounces the accusations of a UN committee
The United States denounced the findings of a UN Special Committee that Israel’s methods of warfare in the Gaza Strip “correspond to the characteristics of a genocide”calling them“unfounded”.
“This is something we unequivocally disapprove of.”reacted the spokesperson for the American Department of State, Vedant Patel. “We believe that this type of wording and these types of accusations are most certainly unfounded. »
► Israel denies being at the origin of a “crime against humanity”
Israel rejected as “totally false” the conclusions of the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) which affirmed the same day that the repeated forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza constituted a “crime against humanity”.
“Again and again, Human Rights Watch’s rhetoric regarding Israel’s behavior in Gaza is completely false and detached from reality”declared the spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Oren Marmorstein, on the social network X.
► Syria: 20 dead in Israeli raids
At least 20 people, including Palestinian and pro-Iranian fighters, were killed Thursday in Israeli raids targeting residential buildings in Damascus and its suburbs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) said.
“The Israeli enemy carried out an aerial assault from the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting residential buildings in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus and the Qudsaya region”according to the statement from the Syrian Ministry of Defense published by the official Sana news agency, which specifies that among the dead are “women and children”.
► Lebanon: nearly 100,000 homes damaged in one year
Nearly 100,000 homes have been damaged in Lebanon, mainly in the south, in a year of conflict between the Israeli army and the Hezbollah movement, according to an estimate published by the World Bank, which mentions “economic losses” of $5.1 billion.
The World Bank study covers the period from October 2023 to October 2024. “The conflict damaged around 99,209 homes”underlines the report of the international organization. It also caused “economic losses of $5.1 billion”mainly in the commerce, tourism and hospitality sectors.
► Israel announces having struck 30 targets south of Beirut in 48 hours
The Israeli army said it struck ” around 30 terrorist targets » in the southern suburbs of Beirut, stronghold of the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah, over the past 48 hours.
These strikes aim to “dismantle and weaken the military capabilities of Hezbollah”indicated the army, specifying that it had “not long ago” targeted “weapons warehouses, command centers and other infrastructure” of the Islamist movement.
► Israel’s methods “correspond to the characteristics of genocide”
The methods of warfare used by Israel in the Gaza Strip “correspond to the characteristics of a genocide”affirms a Special UN Committee charged with investigating Israeli practices.
The Committee highlights the “Massive civilian casualties and conditions imposed on Palestinians there intentionally endangering their lives”in a report to be presented Monday to the UN General Assembly in New York.
In Gaza, the Hamas government’s health ministry announced a new death toll of 43,736 in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel more than a year ago.
► Iranian nuclear: the head of the IAEA will visit two sites on Friday
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, traveling to Iran, announced a visit on Friday to uranium enrichment sites against a backdrop of escalation of the nuclear program developed by Tehran.
“Tomorrow will mark a very important stage of my visit, since I will visit the important installations of Fordo and Natanz”in order to “get a complete idea of the evolution of the program”he declared alongside the head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghchi, according to a video transmitted by the IAEA.
Iran’s nuclear facilities “must not be attacked”the head of the IAEA said earlier while the new Israeli defense minister judged on Monday that Iran was “more exposed than ever to strikes on its nuclear installations”.
► Gaza: Israel accused of “crime against humanity”
The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimates in a report that the repeated evacuation orders from the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip lead to forced population displacements, which falls under “crime against humanity” a you “war crime”.
“Human Rights Watch has collected evidence that Israeli officials (…) are committing the war crime of forcible transfer” civilians, the report said.
According to HRW, “Israel’s actions also appear to fit the definition of ethnic cleansing” in areas where the army has ordered Palestinians to leave and where they will not be able to return.
► Strike on soldiers in northern Israel
Lebanese Hezbollah said it fired missiles at Israeli soldiers in northern Israel, shortly after claiming responsibility for another strike on Israeli soldiers deployed in southern Lebanon.
In a statement, the pro-Iranian movement said it had “targeted a gathering of Israeli enemy forces in Sa’sa with a salvo of missiles”specifying that the strike took place at 11:50 p.m. local time on Wednesday. This locality is located in the north of Israel.
► Lebanon: Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut
A strike targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut on the night of Wednesday to Thursday after a call to evacuate published by the Israeli army, after three series of strikes on this Hezbollah stronghold in less than 24 hours.
The images showed smoke rising from the area that was the subject of a call to evacuate, published on X by the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, about an hour before.
► Lebanon: the UN condemns the attacks against UNIFIL
The UN Security Council has condemned attacks in recent weeks against the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), calling “all parts” to respect the safety of the peacekeepers.
“Peacekeepers must never be the target of attack”Council members insisted in a statement released Wednesday.
► Israeli soldiers targeted by missiles in southern Lebanon
Lebanese Hezbollah said it fired missiles at Israeli soldiers on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, where the Israeli army has been carrying out a ground offensive for 45 days.
In a statement, the pro-Iranian movement said it had “targeted at the southern outskirts of the town of Bint Jbeil, with a salvo of Nasr 1 type missiles”. During the previous war between Hezbollah and the Israeli army in 2006, fierce fighting took place for control of this town near the border, with heavy losses on both sides.
