Lebanon Health Ministry Says Separate Israeli Strikes on South Kill Several on Sunday

New Israeli strikes on Lebanon - REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
New Israeli strikes on Lebanon - REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
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Lebanon Health Ministry Says Separate Israeli Strikes on South Kill Several on Sunday

New Israeli strikes on Lebanon - REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
New Israeli strikes on Lebanon - REUTERS/Karamallah Daher

Lebanon's health ministry said three people were killed in separate Israeli strikes on south Lebanon on Sunday, as Israel said it was striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

In separate statements, the health ministry said one person was killed in "Israel enemy" strikes in three different south Lebanon villages.

Hezbollah on Sunday announced two fighters had been killed, without specifying where they died.

The Iran-backed group said it launched "explosive laden drones" towards two troop positions in northern Israel "in response to the enemy attacks" on south Lebanon.

Early Sunday, it said it fired dozens of rockets at military production facilities and an air base near the north Israel city of Haifa.

The Israel military said a barrage of rockets, cruise missiles and drones were launched overnight towards Israeli soil, mostly from Lebanon to the north.

Hezbollah has traded near daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces in support of Hamas since the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack triggered the Gaza war.

Tensions have spiked dramatically in recent days, with several dozen killed and thousands wounded in Lebanon when Hezbollah pagers and two-way radios exploded on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hezbollah has blamed Israel, which has not commented.

On Friday, an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs that targeted Hezbollah military commanders killed 45 people, the health ministry said.



Israeli Tanks Push Deeper into Jabalia in Northern Gaza, Residents Say

Palestinian families arrive in Gaza City after evacuating their homes in the Jabalia area on October 6, 2024, after the Israeli army ordered people to evacuate the area north of Gaza. (AFP)
Palestinian families arrive in Gaza City after evacuating their homes in the Jabalia area on October 6, 2024, after the Israeli army ordered people to evacuate the area north of Gaza. (AFP)
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Israeli Tanks Push Deeper into Jabalia in Northern Gaza, Residents Say

Palestinian families arrive in Gaza City after evacuating their homes in the Jabalia area on October 6, 2024, after the Israeli army ordered people to evacuate the area north of Gaza. (AFP)
Palestinian families arrive in Gaza City after evacuating their homes in the Jabalia area on October 6, 2024, after the Israeli army ordered people to evacuate the area north of Gaza. (AFP)

Israel sent tanks deeper into Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday and advised people to leave as it pounded the historic Palestinian refugee camp from the air, residents said.

Palestinian medics said casualties had been reported in Jabalia but that they were unable to reach areas under fire.

Israel's army has said its forces are trying to stop fighters from the Hamas group staging attacks from Jabalia and want to prevent them regrouping.

"Jabalia is being wiped out," was repeated in many messages posted on social media by residents of Gaza, who on Monday marked the first anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war, triggered by the Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Palestinian health officials did not immediately provide new casualty figures but said dozens had been killed in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. Israel's military said one soldier had been killed in combat in northern Gaza.

The Israeli army issued new evacuation orders to residents of Jabalia and nearby Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, telling them to head to a humanitarian-designated zone in Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip.

Palestinian and UN officials say there are no completely safe places in Gaza.

"Jabalia is being bombed as if the war has just begun and the world is blind about it," said Salah, 60, a father of five who is a resident of Gaza City.

"We live at least seven kilometers away, but the sounds of Israeli airstrikes and tank shelling deprive us of sleep. The world must stop Israeli crimes," he said via a chat app.

The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters had attacked Israeli forces in the north with anti-tank rockets, and that there were casualties among the Israeli troops.

The Israeli military said it had killed many Palestinian fighters, located weapons, and dismantled military infrastructure in its operations in Jabalia.

Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield reports.

Israel began its offensive after Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, the enclave's health ministry says. Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced and humanitarian conditions have deteriorated sharply.

Israel, which also faces a conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, says Hamas fighters use residential areas as cover in the densely populated territory, including schools and hospitals. Hamas denies this.