Jerusalem: An Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more, Lebanese health officials said. It was the first such Israeli attack on Lebanon’s capital in months and came shortly after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets.
In Gaza, Palestinian authorities said 15 people were killed overnight in Israeli attacks.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children.
Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Here’s the latest:
Weaponising ordinary devices violates international law, United Nations rights chief says
Weaponising ordinary communication devices represents a new development in warfare, and targeting thousands of Lebanese people using pagers, two-way radios and electronic equipment without their knowledge is a violation of international human rights law, the United Nations human rights chief said Friday.
Volker Türk told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council there must be an independent and transparent investigation of the two attacks in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday where these devices exploded, reportedly killing 37 people and injuring more than 3,400 others.
“Those who ordered and carried out these attacks must be held to account,” he said.
Lebanon has blamed Israel for the attacks, which appeared to target Hezbollah militants but also saw many civilian casualties, including children. Hezbollah has fought many conflicts with Israel, including a war in 2006, and it has conducted near-daily strikes against Israel to support Hamas militants who attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
When reporters asked Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon about speculation Israel was behind the two explosions, he said: “We are not commenting.”
Lebanon’s foreign minister urges United Nations Security Council to condemn deadly explosions
Lebanon’s foreign minister is warning the U.N. Security Council that if it doesn’t condemn this week’s deadly explosions and name Israel as the perpetrator a “Pandora’s Box” will be opened, and governments and extremists will target and kill civilians with similar communications devices.
Abdallah Bouhabib accused Israel on Friday of terrorizing the entire Lebanese population on streets, in markets and in their homes where exploding pagers, two-way radios and other electronic devices reportedly killed 37 people and injured more than 3,400 others.
He held up a photo of a mangled and bloodied hand, telling ambassadors from the 15 council nations: “Look at the ugliness of what has happened in this picture.”
Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon criticized the Lebanese minister for not mentioning Hezbollah, which started launching near-daily attacks against Israel from Lebanon the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel. Many victims of the explosions were its supporters.
The Lebanese people are “trapped in the grip of this terrorist organization,” Danon said.
Before the council meeting, he was asked by reporters about speculation Israel was behind the explosions. “We are not commenting on the specific attacks you mentioned, but I can tell you that we will do everything we will do everything we can to target those terrorists to minimize casualties for civilians,” he replied.
Bouhabib warned that without condemnation of Israel, other countries and extremists will use similar ordinary devices on trains, planes and elsewhere to terrorize civilians.
Hezbollah confirms top military official was killed in Friday’s airstrike
Hezbollah announced the death of a top military official in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut Friday.
Israeli officials had earlier said the rare strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Ibrahim Akil, a commander of the Lebanese militant group’s elite Radwan Force. The strike killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
In a statement, Hezbollah described Akil as “a great jihadist leader” and said he had “joined the procession of his brothers, the great martyr leaders, after a blessed life full of jihad, work, wounds, sacrifices, dangers, challenges, achievements, and victories.”
United Nations humanitarian chief calls for investigation into device explosions
The UN humanitarian chief told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that weaponising communications devices represents a new development in warfare and said targeting thousands of Lebanese people using them without their knowledge is a violation of international human rights law.
Volker Turk called for an independent investigation of this week’s mass explosions of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies that killed at least 37 people and wounding about 3,000 others. The attacks have widely been attributed to Israel.
“Those who ordered and carried out these attacks must be held to account,” he told council members Friday.
Turk said the explosions also appear to violate international humanitarian law’s key principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack. He said international law also prohibits the use of booby-trapped devices that look harmless.
“It is a war crime to commit violence intended to spread terror among civilians,” he added.
14 killed in Israeli airstrike on Beirut
Lebanon’s Health Ministry has raised the death toll from Friday’s Israeli airstrike on Beirut to 14. Dozens more were wounded.
The Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital flattened two apartment buildings.
The Israeli military said the strike killed Ibrahim Akil, a senior Hezbollah military official. There was no immediate confirmation of his death from Hezbollah.
Biden says he still has hope for cease-fire, hostage deal between Israel and Hamas
US President Joe Biden said Friday that his administration must keep working at trying to win a cease-fire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas as tensions rise along the Israel-Lebanon border.
The president’s comments came hours after Israel carried out what it called targeted strikes near Beirut. The action is raising concerns that the nearly yearlong Gaza war could spread into a larger regional war.
“We are continuing to try to do what we tried, in the beginning, to make sure that both the people of northern Israel, as well as southern Lebanon, are able to get back to their homes and go back safely,” Biden said in an exchange with reporters at the start of a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
Asked if getting an agreement may be slipping out of reach in the final months of his presidency, Biden said he still had hope and that his national security team continues to work.
“If I ever said it wasn’t realistic, we might as well leave,” Biden said. “A lot of things don’t look realistic until we get them done. We have to keep at it.”
Israel says its airstrike killed senior Hezbollah military official
The Israeli military announced that its airstrike Friday on a neighbourhood of Beirut killed Ibrahim Akil, a senior Hezbollah military official. There was no immediate confirmation of his death from Hezbollah.
The Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital killed at least nine people and wounded nearly 60 others, according to Lebanese health officials, and flattened two apartment buildings. The Israeli military also claimed that its strike killed other “top operatives” of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, without elaborating.
A Hezbollah official has confirmed that Akil was supposed to be in the building in the Dahiya district that was hit.
Akil has served on Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council, and has been sanctioned by the United States for being involved in two terrorist attacks in 1983 that killed more than 300 people at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and the US Marine Corps barracks.
Netanyahu shortens planned US trip
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shortened a planned trip to the U.S. because of rising tensions with Hezbollah, according to an Israeli official.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media on the matter. Netanyahu is supposed to travel to the U.S. ahead of a planned speech at the U.N. General Assembly Thursday.
The decision to shorten the trip comes as tensions with Hezbollah threaten to spiral into an all-out war, following an Israeli strike targeting a senior Hezbollah leader in a southern suburb of Beirut.
AP