Israel strikes deeper into Lebanon

Israel has struck deeper into Lebanon since September, when it killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his top commanders. Hezbollah has expanded its rocket fire from the north into central Israel. The fighting has killed more than 3,100 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry, and more than 70 people in Israel.

After the Israeli strike in Aalmat, about 40 kilometers north of Beirut, lawmaker Raed Berro denied that there were any Hezbollah personnel or assets in the struck building.

“Everyone can see, in front of the cameras, that what is being pulled out from under the rubble are women, children and old people who have nothing to do with the weapons or missile caches,” Berro said.

Hassan Ghaddaf, who lived next door and was slightly injured as he walked to the balcony with his morning coffee, said there were displaced people in the building.

“I saw and knew them the other day,” Ghaddaf said. “They were peaceful. On the contrary, they had someone from the Lebanese Internal Security Forces working for the state, and I saw their clothes and their clothes in ruins.”

Loading

In Syria, an Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, and the Defense Ministry said seven civilians were killed, state news agency SANA reported. UK-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights suggested Hezbollah was targeted. Israel did not immediately comment.

Famine fears in northern Gaza

The mid-month deadline is approaching for the Biden administration’s ultimatum to Israel: Allow more aid to Gaza or risk possible restrictions on US military funding.

Israeli forces have largely surrounded and cordoned off Jabaliya and the nearby northern Gaza towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun over the past month, allowing only a trickle of humanitarian aid. Experts from a food security monitoring group say famine is imminent or may already be happening.

The northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, suffered the heaviest destruction of the 13-month war. Israel sent the forces back, saying Hamas had regrouped.

Israeli strikes often kill women and children. The army says it is only targeting militants, whom it accuses of hiding among civilians.

Also on Sunday, the Israeli military released what it called footage of Hamas abusing detainees. The silent footage, dated from 2018 to 2020, appears to show hooded inmates chained in positions of stress. In some clips, the men beat or push them with sticks. It was not possible to independently verify the videos, which the military said it recovered during operations in Gaza.

Rights groups have long accused the Hamas-led government in Gaza and the West-backed Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank of abusing detainees and violently cracking down on dissent. Israel has been accused of similar abuses, especially since the beginning of the war. Israeli prison authorities say they comply with relevant laws and are investigating allegations of wrongdoing.

The balance of the war

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250. About 100 hostages are still in Gaza, about a third of whom they are believed to be dead.

Israel’s 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 dead were women and children.

Israeli bombardment and ground invasions have left vast areas of Gaza in ruins and displaced an estimated 90 percent of the population of 2.3 million people, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands live in tent camps with little or no services.

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

Qatar, a key Hamas mediator, said on Saturday it had suspended its efforts and would resume them when “the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war”.

Some Palestinians in Gaza responded with frustration.

“The Arab silence that controls the Arab capitals, this is due to the fear of the American administration and Israel,” said Akram Jarada, displaced from Gaza City.

A?

Get a grade directly from abroad correspondents about what is making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.