At least 29 dead in series of Israeli strikes in Lebanon

(Beirut) At least 29 people were killed Tuesday in Israeli strikes that targeted several regions across Lebanon, including the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

The Lebanese Islamist movement opened a front against Israel on October 8, 2023 in support of Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

After almost a year of cross-border shooting, the situation degenerated into open war on September 23 and the Israeli army is carrying out a campaign of intense strikes in Lebanon.

These mainly target Hezbollah strongholds in the south and east, but some have affected regions where the movement is not traditionally established.

On Tuesday, in the mountainous Chouf region south of Beirut, 12 people were killed and eight others injured, the Health Ministry said.

The Lebanese National Information Agency (ANI) specified that the strike had targeted a residential building housing displaced people who had fled Israeli bombings.

A few kilometers further north, in the mountainous region of Aley, east of Beirut, eight people were killed and several others injured, according to the ministry.

A security source told AFP that the strike had targeted a villa where displaced people had taken refuge.

Seven dead in the south

In southern Lebanon, where the Israeli army has been carrying out ground incursions since September 30, seven people were killed in strikes targeting the towns of Tefahta and Roumine, according to the ministry.

In neighborhoods almost deserted by residents, heavy gunfire had been heard before, with the aim of alerting people who were not aware of the Israeli call to evacuate, witnesses told AFP.

Strikes also targeted the large city of Nabatiyeh, as well as the coastal city of Tyre, which has been regularly shelled in recent days.

The Israeli military said it struck “Hezbollah terrorist targets” in south Beirut, including “command centers, weapons production sites and other terrorist infrastructure […] ».

Furthermore, two people were killed in two strikes targeting the Hermel region in the eastern Bekaa plain, bordering Syria, where Hezbollah is based.

The pro-Iranian movement, for its part, announced that it had launched missiles at an air base south of Tel Aviv, in central Israel, as well as explosive drones at a military base near the town of Nahariya, in the north of the country.

Two residents in their 50s from the town of Nahariya, in northern Israel, were killed in a rocket attack, Israeli municipal authorities announced.

Mardi matin, Israël a lancé 13 frappes aériennes sur la banlieue sud de Beyrouth, selon l’ANI, après un appel israélien à évacuer plusieurs quartiers.

Dans les quartiers quasiment désertés par les habitants, des tirs nourris avaient été entendus peu avant, dans le but d’alerter les personnes qui ne seraient pas au courant de l’appel à l’évacuation, ont indiqué des témoins à l’AFP.

Depuis fin septembre, l’aviation israélienne pilonne régulièrement la banlieue sud, où habitaient entre 600 000 et 800 000 personnes selon les estimations.

L’armée israélienne a déclaré avoir frappé « des cibles terroristes du Hezbollah » dans le sud de Beyrouth, notamment « des centres de commandement, des sites de production d’armes et d’autres infrastructures terroristes ».

Plus de 3300 personnes ont été tuées selon les autorités libanaises depuis le début des affrontements en octobre 2023. La plupart des victimes ont été tuées depuis septembre dernier.

Nouveau point de passage pour l’aide humanitaire à Gaza

Israël a annoncé l’ouverture mardi d’un nouveau point de passage pour l’aide humanitaire dans la bande de Gaza, juste avant une date butoir fixée par les États-Unis pour l’augmentation de cette aide que des ONG jugent toujours insuffisante.

Washington a pour sa part affirmé qu’Israël n’enfreignait pas le droit américain concernant l’aide humanitaire entrant dans le territoire, mais a appelé à des progrès supplémentaires.

Alors que la guerre entre Israël et le mouvement islamiste palestinien Hamas, qui dure depuis plus d’un an, a plongé Gaza dans une grave crise humanitaire, les États-Unis avaient donné aux autorités israéliennes jusqu’à la mi-novembre pour qu’elles permettent l’augmentation de l’aide à la population du territoire menacée de famine selon l’ONU.

Dans le cadre de cet effort, le « point de passage de “Kissoufim” a été ouvert aujourd’hui pour les camions d’aide humanitaire », a indiqué mardi l’armée israélienne.

Le Programme alimentaire mondial « nous a annoncé aujourd’hui qu’il avait acheminé le premier convoi d’aide » par Kissoufim, a indiqué le porte-parole du chef de l’ONU, Stéphane Dujarric, faisant état de 15 camions transportant des colis alimentaires et de la farine.

Dans une lettre datée du 13 octobre, les ministres américains des Affaires étrangères et de la Défense, Antony Blinken et Lloyd Austin, avaient adressé une série d’exigences à Israël pour permettre l’augmentation de l’aide, en lui donnant 30 jours pour y répondre.

À défaut de quoi les États-Unis menaçaient de suspendre une partie de leur assistance militaire à Israël.

La lettre évoquait notamment la nécessité pour Israël de laisser entrer jusqu’à 350 camions d’aide humanitaire par jour, d’ouvrir un cinquième point de passage vers la bande de Gaza et de limiter les ordres d’évacuation.

« Bonne direction »

L’agence des Nations unies pour les réfugiés palestiniens (UNRWA) et huit ONG internationales ont estimé mardi que l’aide entrant à Gaza était encore insuffisante.

« Israël a échoué à remplir les exigences de son allié [américain]at an enormous human cost for civilians,” estimate the eight NGOs, including OXFAM and Save the Children.

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza today is at its lowest point since the start of the war […] We call on the US government to immediately conclude that Israel is in violation of its commitments,” they write.

Israel’s actions are going “in the right direction”, reacted the spokesperson for the US State Department, Vedant Patel, saying however he wanted to “see more”.

The war was triggered on October 7, 2023 by the unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data, including hostages killed or died in captivity. That day, 251 people were kidnapped. In total, 97 remain hostages in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army.

The retaliatory offensive by Israel left 43,665 dead in the Palestinian territory, the majority of them civilians, according to data from the Hamas government’s Ministry of Health. At least 14 people were killed Tuesday in several Israeli strikes on the territory, local Civil Defense said.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army announced that four soldiers had been killed in the north of the territory, bringing to 376 the number of Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of its ground operation on October 27, 2023.

The United States said Tuesday that it had not “lost hope” of reaching a ceasefire, even though Qatar recently suspended its mediation, accusing Israel and Hamas of not showing “will and seriously.”

Joyce Msuya, acting head of the UN humanitarian affairs office, denounced the “daily cruelty” suffered by Palestinians, describing “acts reminiscent of the most serious international crimes”.