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Live: South Beirut hit by fresh Israeli strikes shortly after evacuation order
MIDDLE EAST
An Israeli strike hit southern Beirut early on Wednesday, less than an hour after the military ordered residents in part of the Lebanese capital to evacuate. The Israeli military said that 50 projectiles had been fired from Lebanon hours earlier, with some having been intercepted and others “identified” in northern Israel. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments in the Middle East crisis.
Issued on: 16/10/2024 – 05:41
Modified: 16/10/2024 – 09:11
1 min
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FRANCE 24
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FRANCE 24
Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs after an Israeli strike on October 16, 2024.
Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs after an Israeli strike on October 16, 2024. © Mohamed Azakir, Reuters
Summary:
Israel launched a strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut early Wednesday morning, shortly after issuing an evacuation order for a building in the area.
The Israeli military said that 50 projectiles were fired from Lebanon, with debris “identified” in northern Israel.
The UN’s special envoy to Yemen warned that the country could wind up being dragged into the escalating conflict in the Middle East due to the Houthi rebels’ repeated attacks on international shipping.
More than 42,344 Palestinians have been killed and 99,013 wounded in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since October 7, 2023 according to the Gaza health ministry.
35 minutes ago
Lebanese officials say death toll from Israeli strike on Qana rises to 15
Lebanon’s Civil Defense said the death toll from an Israeli strike on the southern town of Qana has risen to 15.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strike late Tuesday.
Videos shared on social media showed the smoking ruins of what appeared to be a building targeted in the strike with surrounding structures damaged as well. Local media said there were several strikes in the southern town Tuesday night.
Qana was the site of an Israeli artillery strike on a United Nations compound that killed dozens of civilians in 1996.
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37 minutes ago
‘No casualty figures yet’ for Israeli jet strike on southern suburbs of Beirut
Israeli jets struck Beirut’s southern suburbs early Wednesday for the first time in six days, FRANCE 24’s Catherine Norris Trent reported from the Lebanese capital. Israel says it is striking Hezbollah assets in the suburbs, where the militant group has a strong presence, but is also a busy residential and commercial area.
“At this stage, we don’t have casualty figures because it’s so recent,” she said. “But we do know that it came just hours after the US said that it opposed the scope of Israeli attacks in Beirut.”
Watch her full commentary below:
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2 hours ago
Iran tells UN chief it is ready for a ‘regretful’ response if Israel attacks
Iran’s top diplomat on Wednesday warned UN chief Antonio Guterres it is ready for a “decisive and regretful” response if Israel attacks the Islamic republic in retaliation for a barrage of missiles.
“Iran, while making all-out efforts to protect the peace and security of the region, is fully prepared for a decisive and regretful response to any adventures” by Israel, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, quoted by his office.
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3 hours ago
Israeli military says it hit Hezbollah weapons storage depot in Beirut suburb
Israeli jets hit an underground strategic weapons storage depot of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in its Beirut stronghold of Dahieh on Wednesday, the Israeli military said.
It said advance warnings were given to civilians prior to the strike.
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4 hours ago
South Beirut hit by air strikes after Israeli evacuation order
An Israeli strike hit south Beirut on Wednesday, AFPTV footage showed, less than an hour after the Israeli military ordered residents to leave part of the Lebanese capital.
Black smoke billowed from between buildings in Haret Hreik after the strike, which followed Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee telling people to leave the area.
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4 hours ago
Israel orders more evacuations in south Beirut
The Israeli military on Wednesday ordered residents to leave part of southern Beirut, a warning which usually precedes strikes on the area pinpointed in the Lebanese capital.
“You are located near facilities and interests affiliated with Hezbollah, which the IDF (Israeli military) will work against in the near future” in the Haret Hreik area, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote in Arabic on X.
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4 hours ago
Yemen risks being dragged into spiraling Mideast conflict, UN says
UN special envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg told the UN Security Council that regrettably Yemen is part of the escalation — and he warned that repeated attacks on international shipping by its Houthi rebels “have significantly increased the risk of an environment disaster” in the Red Sea.
Both Grundberg and the UN’s acting humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya urged the Iranian-backed Houthis to halt their attacks on international shipping, which the rebel group began to support fellow Iranian-backed militant group Hamas after its Oct. 7 attack in Israel that sparked Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
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4 hours ago
50 projectiles fired from Lebanon, Israeli military says
The Israeli military said around 50 projectiles were fired from Lebanon at the country’s north early Wednesday, without any reports of casualties.
“Some of the projectiles were intercepted and fallen projectiles were identified in the area,” a military statement said, while Hezbollah said it launched “a large salvo of missiles” at the town of Safed.
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5 hours ago
Welcome to our live blog, where we post the latest news on the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. To read about yesterday’s key developments, click here.
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Yesterday’s key developments:
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that he would not agree to a ceasefire deal that failed to stop Hezbollah from rearming and regrouping.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Israel must take urgent steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza to avoid legal action involving US military aid, Axios reported on Tuesday.
Gaza appears to be facing the “worst restrictions on humanitarian aid” since the Israel-Hamas war began over a year ago, the spokesman for the UN children’s agency UNICEF, James Elder, said on Tuesday.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
