Deadly attacks on Gaza and Lebanon as Israel’s aid deadline approaches

Israel launched deadly attacks in Gaza and Lebanon on Sunday, rescuers and officials said, ahead of a U.S. deadline for better delivery of aid to the Palestinian territories.

On Sunday, rescue teams in Gaza said 30 people, including 13 children, were killed in Israeli attacks in the northern part of the region.

Gaza’s civil defense agency said a house in Jabaliyah was hit in the first attack early Sunday, killing “at least 25” people, including 13 children, and wounding more than 30.

Vowing to stop Hamas militants from regrouping in northern Gaza, Israel launched a major air and ground offensive on October 6.

The United Nations has described the region as under “siege” and Washington has set a deadline of next week for Israel to receive more aid or face possible cuts in military aid.

Civil defense said five people were killed in another attack on Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, while others were still missing.

“Many civilians are still under the rubble,” the statement said.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army said it was “reviewing reports” about the attacks.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese health ministry said that 20 people, including three children, died in Israel’s attack on the village of Almat, north of Beirut, on Sunday.

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The ministry also stated that three Hezbollah rescue workers were killed in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.

The war in Gaza broke out with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign killed 43,603 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run region’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

Since late September, Israel has been engaged in a two-front war with Iran-backed Hezbollah, turning its focus north to Lebanon, increasing airstrikes and sending in ground troops after almost a year of tit-for-tat clashes.

The Lebanese group said it was acting in support of Hamas.

The United States, Israel’s main military backer, warned on October 15 that it could withhold some billions of dollars in military aid if Israel did not improve aid delivery to the Gaza Strip within 30 days, a deadline that ends on Wednesday.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at the time that senior US officials had made it “clear” to the Israeli government that changes needed to be made “to see the level of aid to Gaza come back from very, very low levels.” today”.

The request comes ahead of the election Tuesday of President Donald Trump, who has vowed to make Israel freer.

A UN-backed assessment on Saturday warned of looming famine in northern Gaza.

Aid shipments allowed into Gaza were at the lowest level since October 2023, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report.

The warning issued by the Famine Review Committee warned of “the possibility of an imminent and significant famine occurring due to the rapidly deteriorating situation”.

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The Israeli military questioned the reliability of the report.

“All assessments made by the IPC have proven to be incorrect and inconsistent with the situation on the ground,” a military statement said. He condemned “partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests.”

The IPC says its process is “evidence-based” and provides “rigorous, impartial analysis.”

The heads of UN agencies described northern Gaza as “under siege” in early November and denied “essential aid and life-saving supplies”.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hopes to use the remaining weeks of his term to press for an end to the Gaza and Lebanon wars, a spokesman said Thursday. to agree.

“Qatar will continue these efforts when the parties show their willingness and seriousness,” Doha foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said in a statement.