Gaza Civil Defense reported 21 dead on Sunday in an Israeli strike on a mosque transformed into a shelter for displaced people in Deir al-Balah (center), the Israeli army explaining for its part that it had targeted fighters from the Palestinian movement Hamas . “The death toll rises to 21 and there are a large number of injured following the bombing by the (Israeli) army of a mosque sheltering displaced people in front of the entrance to the Martyrs’ Hospital in Al-Aqsa in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip“, declared Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal.
The Israeli army explained in a statement that it had “carried out a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a command and control center located in a structure that previously served as a mosque – Shuhada al-Aqsa – in the Deir al-Balah area».
Response against Iran
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi also affirmed his determination to strike “without respite» Hezbollah, against which it has recently intensified its offensive.
«This week we will commemorate the anniversary of the war and October 7 (2023). We are ready to increase our forces in preparation for that day“, for fear of attacks, assured Saturday evening the spokesperson for the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, without further details.
In a message on the occasion of this anniversary, Israeli President Isaac Herzog denounced “the permanent threat posed to the State by Iran and its terrorist proxies (…) determined to destroy our one and only nation-State».
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to deliver a speech to the nation on Monday to mark the anniversary of the attack, which sparked the war in Gaza.
The unprecedented Hamas assault resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, shot, burned alive or mutilated, according to a count by theAFP based on official Israeli figures, including hostages dead or killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip. Of the 251 people kidnapped then, 97 are still hostages in Gaza: 64 presumed alive and 33 dead.
«Right to defend oneself»
After the salvo of missiles launched Tuesday by Iran against Israel, the army “prepare a response», assured theAFP an Israeli military official on condition of anonymity.
«Iran has already launched hundreds of missiles on our territory twice (…) Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and respond to these attacks and that is what we will do“, Netanyahu also said.
From Damascus, the head of Iranian diplomacy Abbas Araghchi warned that “for every action, there will be a proportional and similar reaction from Iran, and even stronger».
Read also: Lebanon: France and United States press for a 21-day “immediate ceasefire”
According to Tehran, the approximately 200 missiles fired towards Israel on Tuesday are a response “legitimate» to the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, killed on September 27 in an Israeli raid on the southern suburbs of Beirut, and to that on July 31 of Ismaïl Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, who died in an explosion in Tehran blamed on Israel.
In April, Iran launched a first missile attack against Israel in response to a strike against its consulate in Damascus attributed to Israel.
US President Joe Biden has advised Israel against attacking Iranian oil sites. His predecessor and Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, suggested strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Lost contact with Safieddine
After weakening Hamas during reprisals still ongoing in the besieged Gaza Strip, Israel moved most of its operations in mid-September to the Lebanese front, opened by Hezbollah in support of Hamas on October 8, 2023.
The Netanyahu government wants to put an end to Hezbollah rocket fire and allow tens of thousands of displaced people to return to their homes in northern Israel.
Its army undertook a campaign of violent and deadly aerial bombardments on Hezbollah strongholds, which it intensified from September 23, before launching a ground offensive in southern Lebanon on September 30.
The official Lebanese press agency reported “more than 30 keystrokes» Israeli attacks during the night from Saturday to Sunday, on the southern suburbs of Beirut and its surroundings, shortly after Israeli calls to evacuate several neighborhoods of this Hezbollah stronghold.
The Israeli army declared on Telegram that she “currently striking terrorist targets» of Hezbollah in the Beirut sector.
Images of theAFP showed plumes of smoke rising from targeted areas as well as a large fireball in the sky.
A correspondent of theAFP near Sabra, close to 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.
Hezbollah, for its part, assured that it had repelled during the night from Saturday to Sunday a “tentative» of infiltration of the Israeli army in Blida, on the border.
«Endless nightmare»
The Israeli army claimed to have, since September 30, “eliminated around 440 terrorists including 30 commanders» you Hezbollah.
The Israeli army violently shelled the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday, targeting, according to the Israeli news site YnetHachem Safieddine, potential successor to Nasrallah who was considered the most powerful man in Lebanon. The Israeli army has not confirmed this information.
But a Hezbollah official said on condition of anonymity that the contact with Hachem Safieddine was “lost» since Friday.
Since October 2023, more than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, including more than a thousand since the intensification of Israeli strikes on September 23, according to the authorities. Around 1.2 million people have been displaced. “We’ve been on the streets for 13 dayssaid Salma Salmane, 30, who fled the southern suburbs to central Beirut. “We are living a never-ending nightmare.”
«Shame»
In the Gaza Strip, hungry and ravaged by 12 months of war, Civil Defense reported on Sunday 21 dead in an Israeli strike on a mosque transformed into a shelter for displaced people in Deir al-Balah (center).
The Israeli army explained that it had “carried out a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a command center (…) in a structure that previously served as a mosque».
Over the past year, 41,825 people have been killed in the devastated territory, according to figures from the Hamas government’s Ministry of Health published on Saturday, and therefore not taking into account this latest strike. This data is considered reliable by the UN.
French President Emmanuel Macron called on Saturday to stop deliveries to Israel of weapons used in Gaza, angering the Israeli prime minister. Exchanges quickly took on the appearance of a crisis between the two countries. At such a level that the Élysée published an update on Saturday evening ensuring that France “is Israel’s unwavering friend» and deploring the words “excessive» de Benjamin Netanyahu.
«Shame», replied the Israeli leader, addressing the French president and other Westerners calling for arms embargoes against his country.
Qatar, a key mediator in talks on a Gaza ceasefire, said Macron’s statement was “an important and appreciated step towards ending the war“, while Jordan welcomed the French leader’s call.
The British Foreign Minister, David Lammy, for his part judged “deeply disturbing» information on Israeli strikes which would have affected “sanitary facilities and hospital staff» in Lebanon.
The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, for his part called for an end to “shocking violence» and «bloodshed» in Gaza and Lebanon.
Par Le360 (with AFP)
10/06/2024 at 6:26 a.m.
