10:05 a.m.: Intense Israeli bombardments on Beirut
Violent Israeli aerial bombardments on the southern suburbs of Beirut terrorized residents of the Lebanese capital this Sunday.
The official Lebanese news agency ANI reported that more than “30 strikes” hit several areas overnight in the southern suburbs, stronghold of pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which according to Israel has already lost “440 fighters” since Monday.
9:42 a.m.: New Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut
A new Israeli strike targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday morning, a few hours after extremely violent nighttime raids on this Hezbollah stronghold, the official Lebanese agency ANI said.
AFP correspondents heard a huge explosion and saw columns of smoke rising from the southern suburbs. For almost two weeks, the Israeli air force has been bombing the southern suburbs which have been emptied of its inhabitants.
08:50: The Israeli army says it is “surrounding” Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip
The Israeli army said on Sunday it was “surrounding” the area of Jabaliya, in the north of the Gaza Strip, where it believes that Palestinian Hamas is rebuilding its capabilities despite months of fighting and airstrikes.
“Troops of the 401st and 460th brigades have successfully surrounded the area and are currently continuing their operations in the area,” the army said.
05:36: Protests against the war in Gaza, a man attempts to set himself on fire in Washington
A man, presenting himself as a journalist, attempted to set himself on fire on Saturday in Washington as a sign of protest against the Israeli offensive in Gaza, during one of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations which mobilized thousands of people in the United States, noted AFP journalists.
In Washington, more than a thousand angry protesters, waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags, gathered outside the White House, many demanding an end to US military aid to its strategic ally Israel.
Nearly two hours after the start of the demonstration, a man approached and attempted to set himself on fire, according to AFP journalists. He managed to set his left arm on fire before passers-by and police doused him with water and managed to extinguish the flames using keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves.
“I’m a journalist,” he said, denouncing “disinformation,” between howls of pain once the flames were extinguished. Police said his “injuries were not life-threatening.”
05:27: UN chief calls for an end to “bloodshed” in Gaza and Lebanon
“This day (October 7) is an opportunity for the international community to once again loudly condemn the abominable acts of Hamas, including the taking of hostages,” Antonio Guterres said in a statement released on Saturday.
In the same statement, Mr. Guterres demanded their “immediate and unconditional release”, while asking Hamas to “allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit these hostages”.
“Since October 7, a wave of shocking violence and bloodshed has been unleashed,” said Mr. Guterres. “It is time to release the hostages (…) It is time to silence the guns. It is time to stop the suffering that has overwhelmed the region.”
The secretary general also expressed concern about the extension of the conflict in Lebanon against Hezbollah, supported by Iran.
“The war that followed the terrible attacks a year ago is still destroying lives and inflicting profound human suffering on the Palestinians in Gaza, and today, on the Lebanese people,” he continued.
04:33: The United States evacuates around 145 new people from Lebanon
The United States evacuated around 145 new people from Lebanon on Saturday in two planes bound for Turkey, the US State Department announced, amid the intensification of the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah.
“Two State Department-organized flights enabled the safe departure of approximately 145 passengers from Beirut to Istanbul, Turkey, today (Saturday),” a State Department spokesperson said in a press release, which does not specify their nationalities.
“So far, we have helped 600 American citizens, permanent residents (in Lebanon), as well as members of their first family circle from Lebanon via flights organized by the United States,” the spokesperson continued.
03:04: At least 18 dead in air raid on mosque in Gaza
At least 18 people were killed and dozens of others injured following an Israeli air raid on a mosque in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Wafa agency said overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
According to witnesses, the number of victims could rise sharply, because the mosque, close to Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, is a place of accommodation for displaced people.
The Israeli army said in a statement on Saturday that it had “carried out a precise attack against Hamas terrorists operating inside a command and control center set up in a structure that previously served as a mosque and school in the Deir al-Balah region. The location would have been used to plan terrorist attacks against Israel, according to the IDF.
12:55 a.m.: At least five Israeli strikes south of Beirut, according to the official agency
The Lebanese national news agency ANI reported on the night of Saturday to Sunday five Israeli strikes targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut and its surroundings, including four “very violent”, after Israeli calls to evacuate several neighborhoods of this stronghold of Hezbollah.
AFP journalists heard several detonating explosions and saw smoke rising from the southern suburbs of Beirut. Ambulances rushed to the scene, according to ANI, which had also reported the presence of Israeli reconnaissance drones flying at low altitude, before these strikes.
AFP images showed plumes of smoke rising from targeted areas as well as a huge fireball projected into the sky. Flaming debris scattered, causing secondary fires and a dense cloud of smoke.
An AFP correspondent near Sabra, near Beirut’s southern suburbs, saw dozens of people in the streets, some carrying bags and fleeing on foot or motorbikes as explosions echoed in the background.
12:36 a.m.: Lebanese Hezbollah says it has repelled an Israeli infiltration “attempt” at the border
Hezbollah said it had repelled during the night from Saturday to Sunday an “attempt” to infiltrate the Israeli army which has been carrying out incursions into southern Lebanon for several days where it is fighting the pro-Iranian movement.
In a statement, the Lebanese Islamist movement declared that “when a force of enemy Israeli soldiers attempted to infiltrate… into Blida” and its fighters “targeted it with shells of artillery and forced to retreat”. The Israeli army also claimed on Saturday evening that Lebanese Hezbollah had fired nearly 130 missiles on Saturday towards Israel.
