CD Staff
Common Dreams / October 6, 2024
The Israeli military announced a “new phase” of the war in Gaza while conducting its most severe airstrikes so far in Beirut.
Israeli forces stepped up attacks in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon overnight and into Sunday.
Israeli forces bombed a mosque and a school-turned-shelter in Gaza, killing 26 and injuring dozens more, according to the Palestinian health ministry; the Israeli military described the two sites as Hamas “command and control centers” but provided no evidence.
The Israeli military also on Sunday announced a “new phase” of the war in Gaza, issuing new evacuation orders that cover most of the northern part of the enclave, The New York Times reported. The military said it would send more soldiers and weapons to Gaza to “destroy terrorist infrastructures and undermine Hamas’ capabilities until all the war’s goals are achieved.”
Al-Jazeera’s Moath al-Kahlout reported that “the situation here in northern Gaza is deteriorating as the Israeli army intensifies its bombing.” He said that children, women, and journalists were among the victims.
“An entire family was killed by the Israeli army in the overnight attacks,” he added.
Meanwhile, Israel conducted the “most severe” airstrikes so far on Beirut, “pounding” the city overnight, according to The Guardian. The strikes were in southern Beirut and its suburban outskirts, which are seen as a Hezbollah stronghold and have been heavily targeted by Israeli forces for the past two weeks.
Al-Jazeera journalist Ali Hashem, reporting from Beirut, described a “massive air strike” on Sunday near the city’s international airport—an area that Israel has been bombarding for days. He said that daytime strikes are particularly harrowing.
“During the nights there are warnings,” Hashem reported. “During the days there are no warnings.”
Hashem said that emergency services have been prevented from getting into the suburban area where many of the strikes are taking place.
The Lebanese health ministry said Sunday that 23 people were killed and 93 injured in Israeli strikes on Saturday.
The Israeli military continues to advance its ground incursion in southern Lebanon. On Sunday, it ordered people in 25 villages to evacuate immediately, “signalling it’s expanding its ground offensive,” Al-Jazeera reported
Filippo Grandi, the United Nations’ high commissioner for refugees, visited Beirut on Sunday and called for a cease-fire—saying it was “desperately needed”—and international humanitarian aid.
This article was written by Common Dreams staff
_____________
‘Increasing destruction’: Israel continues bombing campaign across Lebanon
CD Staff
Common Dreams / October 5, 2024
“Complete blocks are being destroyed one after another,” Al Jazeera reported.
Israeli forces continued attacks on the outskirts of Beirut and in southern Lebanon on Saturday.
There were 13 Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight and another five on Saturday, one of which may have been targeted at paramedics, according to Al-Jazeera. The number of casualties is not yet clear.
“There is increasing destruction and it’s clear that complete blocks are being destroyed one after another,” Al-Jazeera’s Ali Hashem reported from Beirut.
“One strike hit near the airport, and we understand another missile hit near a paramedic team to prevent them from getting to the scene of the bigger strike,” he reported.
The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for certain suburban areas south of Beirut on Friday night, indicating attacks would follow, The New York Times reported.
Israeli forces unleashed a “huge strike” on the same area earlier Friday in an attempt to kill Hashem Safieddine, the presumed successor to recently assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to the Times. Al-Jazeera reported that “bunker buster” bombs were believed to be used in the Friday attack, as they were in Nasrallah’s killing. It’s not clear if Safieddine was killed, though media reports indicate that he likely was.
Israel’s military also continued attacks in southern Lebanon on Saturday.
“From northern Israel, I can see dark grey clouds of dust and smoke rising above two [Lebanese] villages as warplanes zoom overhead and the sound of artillery echoes through the area,” the Times‘ Natan Odenheimer reported Saturday.
An Israeli strike in northern Lebanon killed Hamas commander Saeed Ali on Saturday, the armed Palestinian group said. Hamas has a longstanding presence in Lebanon.
According to Al-Jazeera, which cited Israeli media reports, the Israeli military is planning to expand its ground incursion into southern Lebanon, which began earlier this week, and to conduct “large-scale assaults” on Lebanon, Iran, and Gaza. The media outlet didn’t provide details.
Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, principally targeting military facilities. Iran said the strikes were retaliation for Israeli assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. Most of the strikes were intercepted by Israeli and U.S. forces.
Observers are now watching closely to see how Israel responds, and what role the U.S.—Israel’s chief diplomatic ally and military supplier—might play. President Joe Biden said Friday that he’d advise Israel to consider “alternatives” to striking Iranian oilfields.
This article was written by Common Dreams staff
