Israeli strikes kill dozens of people in Lebanon and isolated northern Gaza, officials say

DEIR EL-BALAH – Israeli attacks killed dozens of people on Sunday in Lebanon and the northern Gaza Strip, where the army has been fighting a major offensive Aid agencies say the humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave has continued to worsen for more than a month.

An Israeli airstrike killed at least 23 people in the village of Aalmat, north of Beirut and far from areas in southern and eastern Lebanon where the militant Hezbollah group has a large presence. The Lebanese Health Ministry said another six people were injured. There was no immediate Israeli comment.

In northern Gaza, an Israeli attack on a house hosting displaced people in the Jabaliya urban refugee camp killed at least 17 people, the director of a nearby hospital that received the bodies said.

Dr. Fadel Naim, director of Gaza City’s Al-Ahly Hospital, said nine women were among the dead, and the toll was likely to rise as rescue efforts continued.

The Israeli military said it targeted a location where militants were active in Jabaliya, without providing evidence. It said details of the strike were under investigation.

A separate attack on Sunday hit a house in Gaza City, killing Wael al-Khour, a minister in the Hamas-led government, as well as his wife and three children, according to the Civil Defense, an organization of first responders who operates under the government.

The offensive in northern Gaza raises fears of famine

Israeli forces have surrounded and largely isolated Jabaliya and the nearby towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun over the past month, leaving just a trickle of humanitarian aid. Hundreds of people have been killed since the offensive began on October 6, and tens of thousands have fled to nearby Gaza City.

Experts from a panel that monitors food safety said this on Friday Famine threatens in the north or maybe already happening. The growing desperation comes as the deadline is approaching As an ultimatum, the Biden administration gave Israel the level of humanitarian aid allowed in Gaza risk possible restrictions on US military financing.

The northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, was the first target of Israel’s ground invasion and has suffered the heaviest destruction of the 13-month war sparked by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel. Just like in other areas of Gaza, Israel has sent troops back after repeated operationssaying that Hamas has regrouped.

The military says it is only targeting militants, whom it accuses of hiding among civilians in homes and shelters. Israeli attacks often kill women and children.

On Sunday, the Israeli army released video footage showing Hamas abusing prisoners. The silent footage, dating from 2018 to 2020, appears to show detainees with hoods over their heads, chained in stress positions. In some clips, men hit or poke them with batons.

It was not possible to independently verify the videos, which the army said it recovered during operations in Gaza.

Rights groups long accused the Hamas-led government in Gaza and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank of abusing prisoners and violently suppressing dissent. Israel has been accused of similar abusesespecially since the start of the war. Israeli prison authorities say they follow relevant laws and investigate all allegations of misconduct.

Israel is pushing deeper and deeper into Lebanon

Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and rockets into Israel after the war broke out in Gaza, in solidarity with the Palestinians and the Iranian-backed militant group Hamas.

Israel retaliated, and a series of escalations over several months led to all-out war in September, when Israel launched a wave of heavy attacks and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallahas well as most of its top commanders.

Since then, Israel has hit areas deeper and deeper into Lebanon, while Hezbollah has expanded its rocket fire from northern to central Israel. According to the Health Ministry, the fighting has killed more than 3,000 people in Lebanon and more than 70 in Israel.

In videos purported to show the aftermath of Sunday’s strike in Aalmat, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Beirut, people were seen pulling the body of a little girl from the rubble. The house was razed to the ground and several nearby cars were also damaged.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants blew holes in the border fence and stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023. They killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250 people. There are still about a hundred hostages in Gazaabout a third of whom are believed to be dead.

The Israeli offensive has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities who do not distinguish between civilians and militants in their count but say more than half of the fatalities were women and children.

Israeli bombings and ground invasions have left large parts of Gaza in ruins and displaced approximately 90% of the population of 2.3 million people, often several times. Hundreds of thousands of people live in overcrowded tent camps with few or no public facilities and they have no idea about it when they could return to their homes or rebuild.

Ceasefire talks brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have stalled repeatedly since the start of the year, as have parallel efforts by the US and others to stop fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Qatar, which has served as a key mediator with Hamas, said as much this weekend it had suspended its efforts and would not resume them until “the parties demonstrate their willingness and seriousness to put an end to the brutal war and the continued suffering of civilians.”

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Chehayeb from Beirut. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed.

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