The Israeli army carried out two attacks this Saturday, November 23 in the morning, in the Gaza Strip and in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. These strikes come two days after the issuance of an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant by the International Criminal Court.
In the Gaza Strip as in Beirut, residents woke up to the sound of explosions. This Saturday, November 23, Civil Defense announced the death of 19 people, including at least six children, killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza City, in the north of the territory, in Khan Younes, in the south, as well as in Rafah . More than 40 injuries have also been reported.
These new attacks in the Gaza Strip come as the Hamas Ministry of Health launched, the day before, “An urgent warning as all hospitals in the Gaza Strip will stop functioning or reduce their services within 48 hours due to the obstruction of the entry of fuel” by Israel in the small besieged territory.
For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it “deeply concerned” by the situation of 80 patients, including 8 in intensive care, and staff at Kamal Adwan hospital, one of only two hospitals partially functioning in the north of the territory.
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Four dead in Beirut
At the same time, the Israeli army carried out other strikes in Beirut, Lebanon, destroying a residential building in the popular and densely populated Basta neighborhood. The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported at least four deaths and 23 injured. Shots also targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold located near the capital's international airport.
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By way of justification, the IDF claimed in a statement to have targeted “Hezbollah terrorist command centers”of the “arms depots”, places or people linked to the Lebanese movement. Supporting Hamas since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah became the target of the Israeli army, which launched an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon two months ago to the day, on September 23. .
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As a reminder, since Thursday, November 21, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, and the head of the armed wing of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, have been targeted by an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Israeli officials are accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. These mandates will also be the subject of a debate near Rome, between the foreign ministers of the G7 member countries, at the beginning of next week.