Middle East latest: Large airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs as Israel expands northern Gaza operations

Several large airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early Thursday, including one on a site adjacent to Lebanon’s only international airport. The Israeli military had issued an evacuation notice for the site, saying Hezbollah facilities were there, without giving more details.

Also Thursday, the Israeli military announced it expanded its month-old ground operation in northern Gaza to include part of Beit Lahiya, a town that has been heavily bombed since the earliest days of the war and where Israel says Hamas militants have regrouped.

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a speech aired Wednesday that the Lebanese militant group is open for cease-fire negotiations only once “the enemy stops its aggression.” His speech marked the 40-day mourning period since former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in Beirut.

Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,100 people have been killed and some 13,800 wounded in Lebanon, the health ministry reported.

The Israel-Hamas war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Israel's military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.

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Here’s the latest:

UN humanitarian official for Gaza meets with Netanyahu

UNITED NATIONS – The top U.N. humanitarian official for Gaza has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss implementing a U.N. resolution adopted last year that demands Israel allow unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

Sigrid Kaag “raised measures that require urgent implementation to address the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza and underlined the U.N.’s position regarding UNRWA,” U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said Thursday.

The U.N. calls the agency a lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza by providing health care, education and social support.

Israel has alleged that some of UNRWA’s 13,000 staffers in Gaza participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that sparked the war. It’s also accused hundreds of UNRWA staff of having militant ties.

Israel’s parliament voted on Oct. 28 to ban UNRWA, with the legislation taking effect in 90 days.

Israel is severely limiting aid to northern Gaza, UN says

UNITED NATIONS – Israel is not allowing food and water into northern Gaza that the U.N. is trying to send there as aid, the U.N. humanitarian office says.

The only U.N. assistance Israel has allowed in since the beginning of its latest offensive there a month ago has been hospital supplies during medical evacuation missions, U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay told reporters Thursday.

He said the offensive is preventing the estimated 75,000 to 95,000 Palestinians in the north from receiving essential items for their survival.

Tremblay said Israeli bombardments and ground operations are preventing humanitarian workers from reaching people in need.

On Thursday, she said, Israeli authorities ordered Palestinians in parts of Gaza to move.

An initial estimate by the U.N.’s partners on the ground indicated that 14,000 people were displaced, and are in shelters and other sites, including three centers operated by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA, she said.

Israeli soldier on video celebrating Trump win with gunfire will be punished, army says

JERUSALEM — The Israeli army says it will punish a soldier seen in a video circulating on social media firing a heavy machine gun indiscriminately in the Gaza Strip to celebrate Donald Trump’s election victory.

The soldier, sitting on the ground, turns to the camera and smiles, saying “This is on the occasion of Donald Trump’s presidency. God bless America! God bless Israel!”

He then cheers as he fires at least six rounds. Laughter is heard in the background as the camera turns toward the ruins of buildings off in the distance and other shots are apparently fired.

The Israeli army said the soldier’s actions are “severe” and do not align with its values.

“The soldier will be disciplined by his commanders,” the statement said, giving no further details.

Gallant has last official conversation with US defense secretary

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s outgoing defense minister, Yoav Gallant, says he has held his last official conversation with his U.S. counterpart.

Gallant has developed a close relationship with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin throughout the war, and the two men speak several times a week.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week fired Gallant after months of tensions and disagreements. Gallant, a former general, was replaced by a Netanyahu loyalist with little military experience.

In a statement, Gallant said he thanked Austin for his “partnership and deep commitment” to the countries’ defense ties. “Our special bond must remain powerful and unshakeable.”

Throughout the war, a number of videos have been posted on social media showing soldiers committing vandalism and other misconduct in Gaza.

The army says it punishes soldiers for wrongdoing, including removing soldiers from their posts on some cases. But human rights groups say they army does a poor job of investigating or punishing wrongdoing

52 people killed in Lebanon in last day, health ministry reports

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s health ministry says 52 people were killed and 161 wounded Wednesday, raising the total toll over the past year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah to 3,102 killed and 13,819 wounded. One-quarter of them are women and children.

Lebanon’s crisis response unit recorded 121 airstrikes and incidents of shelling Wednesday, mostly concentrated in southern Lebanon, Baalbek-Hermel province and the Nabatiyeh province.

The health ministry said that over the past year, 2,230 men, 614 women and 192 children were killed.

Some 1,145 centers — including educational complexes, vocational institutes, universities, and other institutions — are sheltering 190,740 people, including 45,189 families, displaced by the Israeli offensive in Lebanon, the report said.

Among these shelters, 981 have reached full capacity. The fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, including more than 400,000 children, according to the U.N. children’s agency.

14 killed at school-turned-shelter in Gaza City

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian rescue workers say Israel struck a school-turned-shelter run by the United Nations in Gaza City, killing 14 people and wounding dozens of others.

The Israeli military said the attack Thursday that the building was being used by Hamas to plan and execute attacks on Israel, without giving more details. The military said it took steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including using precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence.

In recent months Israel has conducted dozens of airstrikes on schools across the embattled enclave, structures where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by fighting have sought refuge.

The Gaza-based Civil Defense emergency service reported rescuers recovering the bodies of 14 people in the rubble of the school building in Shati refugee camp, just west of Gaza City along the Mediterranean coast. The school had been operated by the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency known as UNRWA.

Shortly after the strike, the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of Shati camp among other neighborhoods west of Gaza City, spreading panic among Palestinians who in recent days had sought refuge in those areas from Israel’s renewed offensive against Hamas militants further north.

Since the yearlong Israel-Hamas war began, schools in Gaza have been closed and served as shelters for Palestinians fleeing the fighting.

Israeli military to allow 300 truckloads of aid from UAE into Gaza

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it will allow 300 truckloads of humanitarian aid supplied by the United Arab Emirates to enter the Gaza Strip in the coming days.

That’s less than the 350 trucks per day that the United States has said it wants to see enter the war-ravaged territory.

COGAT, the military body in charge of civilian affairs in Gaza, said the aid was brought in by sea and unloaded at the Israeli port of Ashdod, just north of Gaza. It said the shipment, which includes food, water, medical equipment, shelter and hygiene supplies, would be inspected before being trucked into Gaza, though it did not specify a date.

The amount of aid entering Gaza dropped dramatically in October as Israel launched another offensive in the territory’s north. By the end of October, an average of just 71 trucks a day were entering Gaza, according to the latest U.N. figures.

The United States has warned Israel to ramp up the entry of aid by mid-November, saying failure to do so could lead to a reduction in military support.

Israel says it allows plenty of aid to enter Gaza and blames U.N. agencies and other aid groups for not distributing it. Humanitarian groups say their efforts are hobbled by Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order.

Dozens of Lebanese killed in struck apartment building are laid to rest

TYRE, Lebanon — Dozens of Lebanese were laid to rest Thursday following an Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment building in the town of Barja, just north of the port city of Sidon.

The Lebanese Civil Defense said it pulled at least 30 bodies and remains following Tuesday's strike.

Among the killed were many members of the Basma family, who had fled deeper into southern Lebanon for safety. Family members who survived found shelter elsewhere or weren’t in the building at the time.

“My sister was killed last week, and now my brother, my nephew, and my other nephew with members of his family,” said Hassan Basma.

Nearby, Khadija Daramsis, who washes the bodies of the dead before burial in accordance with Islamic tradition, found herself doing the same for her nieces. She had just seen them last week.

“They told me they were scared of the strikes and then they were struck,” Daramsis said as she wept. “What did they have to do with anything? Are they resistance? Are they Hezbollah?”

Israel says its strikes target Hezbollah militants or the group’s assets. The strike in Barja came without warning.

Khalil Basma says the war and Israel’s military escalation is the worst he’s seen in Lebanon.

“Knowing the wars we have gone through, this is regretfully the first time we see such crimes,” he said. “May God protect everyone and end this crisis.”

Israeli drone strike kills 3 in southern Lebanon city of Sidon, Lebanese state media says

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state news agency says an Israeli drone strike has hit a car at an army checkpoint in the southern port city of Sidon, killing three people and wounding several others including U.N. peacekeepers.

The National News Agency said one of the wounded was taken to the hospital while the peacekeepers were treated for minor injuries at the scene of the attack at the northern entrance of Sidon, Lebanon’s third-largest city.

The U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL said in a statement that a convoy bringing newly-arrived peacekeepers to south Lebanon was passing by when a drone strike took place near it. The strike lightly injured five peacekeepers, it said.

“We remind all actors of their obligation to avoid actions putting peacekeepers or civilians in danger. Differences should be resolved at the negotiating table, not through violence,” the statement said.

A drone strike earlier Thursday hit a car on a main highway just outside Beirut, killing one woman, according to local media.

French diplomat urges diplomatic solution

PARIS — France’s top diplomat has urged action in the coming weeks toward a political solution to the wars in the Mideast.

Visiting Israel, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Thursday that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has ″never hid his wish to end the interminable wars in the Middle East."

“So the conditions seem right to me to move in the coming weeks toward a diplomatic solution to the current conflict. Because force alone cannot suffice to guarantee Israel’s security,” Barrot said.

Barrot called for a halt to Israel’s bombings of northern Gaza, saying they are contrary to Israel’s long-term interests.

″The Palestinian question will not disappear, regardless of what American administration is in office,″ Barrot told reporters.

He also warned Iran against further escalation, and called for a diplomatic solution for Lebanon. He met his Israeli counterpart and heads next to the Palestinian territories for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Iran's Supreme Leader says militant groups against Israel remain strong

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says its alliance of militant groups opposed to Israel remains strong despite the killing of many of their senior leaders.

“God willing, the world will see a day when the Zionist regime will be defeated by them,” Iranian state TV reported the leader as saying Thursday.

The report quoted Khamenei as saying that Hamas and other “leaders of the resistance” are “still fighting” even though some of their leaders have been killed by intensified Israel airstrikes.

Israeli strikes and military operations in recent months have killed the top leaders of both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as many of their senior commanders.

Both groups are part of what is known as the Axis of Resistance, which includes other Iran-backed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Iran and its allies have repeatedly traded fire with Israel and the United States over the past year following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, raising fears of a regional war.

Israel announces $5.2 billion fighter jet deal with Boeing

JERUSALEM — Israel has reached an agreement to purchase 25 advanced F-15 fighter jets from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing for $5.2 billion.

The Defense Ministry said the agreement, concluded Wednesday, was part of a broader aid package approved by the U.S. government earlier this year. Deliveries will begin in 2031, and there’s an option to purchase an additional 25 aircraft.

The United States has provided crucial military support to Israel as it has battled Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and traded fire with Iran.

The Biden administration recently warned Israel that if it did not facilitate the delivery of more aid to Gaza, U.S. laws may force the administration to curb some of its military support.

The State Department said this week that Israel had yet to sufficiently improve aid deliveries ahead of a mid-November deadline.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end the wars in the Middle East without saying how he plans to do it. He was a staunch supporter of Israel during his previous term but also cultivated close ties with Arab Gulf leaders.

Israeli military extends shutdown of Al Jazeera's West Bank bureau

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Al Jazeera news network says the Israeli military has extended the order shutting down its bureau in the occupied West Bank.

Walid al-Omari, the network’s bureau chief, said Israeli troops raided the office in Ramallah again early Thursday and posted a notice extending the closure for an additional 45 days.

Israel had previously raided the office and shut it down on Sept. 22. Earlier this year, authorities took the rare step of barring the Qatar-based network from operating in Israel.

Israel accuses Al Jazeera of serving as a mouthpiece for Hamas, an allegation denied by the network. Last month, Israel accused six Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza of being Palestinian militants, which the network also denied.

Al-Jazeera has provided near 24-hour coverage from inside Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, with a heavy focus on the war’s toll among Palestinian civilians. Several of its correspondents have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces.

It also routinely airs unedited Hamas videos showing attacks on Israeli forces and hostages speaking under duress.

Israel passes law that would allow it to deport the families of Palestinian attackers, including citizens

Israel’s parliament passed a law early Thursday that would allow it to deport family members of Palestinian attackers, including the country’s own citizens, to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip or other locations.

The law, which was championed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his far-right allies, passed with a 61-41 vote but is likely to be challenged in court.

It would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed east Jerusalem who knew about their family members’ attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.”

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Israel expands its ground operation in northern Gaza

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military has expanded its month-old ground operation in northern Gaza to a town that has been heavily bombed since the earliest days of the war.

The military said in a statement Thursday that “troops started to operate” in the area of Beit Lahiya after intelligence indicated the presence of militants there. Hamas has repeatedly regrouped in areas where the military already conducted major operations.

The town in the northwestern corner of Gaza was among the first targets of the ground invasion launched over a year ago, after Hamas’ attack into southern Israel. The northern third of the territory has been encircled by Israeli forces since then.

Israel launched another major offensive in nearby Jabaliya, a decades-old urban refugee camp, in early October. It has sharply restricted the amount of aid entering northern Gaza and ordered a full evacuation. Tens of thousands have fled to nearby Gaza City in the latest mass displacement of the war.

Airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, including one on site adjacent to airport

BEIRUT — Several large airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early Thursday, including one on a site adjacent to Lebanon’s only international airport.

The Israeli military had earlier issued an evacuation notice for the site, saying that there were Hezbollah facilities there, without giving more details.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Beirut’s airport has not been directly targeted in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, and national air carrier Middle East Airlines has continued to operate commercial flights.