Dozens of people were killed in Lebanon and Gaza in Israeli air strikes on Sunday, rescue workers and officials said, ahead of a US deadline for better aid delivery to the Palestinian territory.
Another attack south of the Syrian capital, Damascus, killed nine people, including a Hezbollah commander, a war monitor said.
Rescue workers in the Gaza Strip said 13 children were among 30 people killed in Israeli strikes in the north of the territory.
Gaza’s civil defense agency said a house in Jabaliya was first struck, killing at least 25 people, including 13 children, and wounding more than 30.
At around 6:00 a.m., “a huge explosion occurred” at the Alloush family home, relative Abdullah al-Najjar said.
“When we reached here, all the bodies were cut into pieces.”
Israel launched a major air and ground offensive on October 6, vowing to prevent Hamas militants from regrouping in already devastated northern Gaza.
The United Nations has described the area as “under siege”, and Washington has set a deadline of this coming week for Israel to receive more aid or face possible cuts in military aid.
Following the Jabaliya attack, Israel’s military said it attacked “infrastructure” in which militants were operating and “posed a threat” to troops.
The Civil Defense Agency said five people were killed in another attack in the Sabra area of Gaza City.
– Israel claims pager blasts –
In Lebanon, the health ministry said 23 people, including seven children, were killed in an Israeli attack on the village of Almat, north of Beirut.
“There are only children, elderly men and women under the debris,” said Hezbollah MP Raed Berro. He denied Israeli allegations that Hezbollah and weapons were hidden among civilians.
The ministry said at least 15 other people were killed in attacks in the east, as well as three rescue workers linked to Hezbollah in the south, both areas where the Iran-backed group has a strong presence.
War monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nine people, including a Hezbollah commander, were killed in an Israeli strike on a Hezbollah apartment south of Damascus.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, calling for an “arms embargo” on Israel and “expulsion from the United Nations”.
Israel has been engaged in a two-front war since late September after turning its attention north to Lebanon.
Israel admitted for the first time on Sunday that it was behind deadly attacks on Hezbollah communications equipment in September.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “gave the green light to the pager operation in Lebanon” in which hundreds of devices were detonated, killing about 40 and injuring about 3,000, his spokesman said.
The operation came ahead of Israel’s ongoing air and ground campaign in Lebanon, following nearly a year of bitter standoff with Hezbollah, which it said was acting in support of Hamas.
The war in Gaza began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s counter-offensive has killed 43,603 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.
On Sunday, Israel’s military said it intercepted two drones coming from the east. Pro-Iran groups in Iraq have previously said they have launched attack drones on Israel.
– Aid increase ‘must happen’ –
The United States, Israel’s main military supporter, warned on October 15 that it could withhold billions of dollars of aid if Israel did not improve aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip within 30 days – a deadline that expired on Wednesday. Has been.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at the time that top US officials had “made clear” to Israel’s government that changes needed to be made “to see that the level of aid to Gaza is brought back up from very low levels.” ” Today itself”.
The demand comes ahead of Tuesday’s vote for President-elect Donald Trump, who has suggested he would give Israel free rein.
A UN-backed assessment on Saturday warned that famine was imminent in northern Gaza.
Fewer aid shipments were allowed into Gaza than at any time since October 2023, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report.
The Famine Review Committee’s alert warned of “an imminent and substantial possibility of famine due to the rapidly deteriorating situation”.
Israel’s military questioned the credibility of the report, condemning “partial, biased data and superficial sources for vested interests”.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that “humanitarian access must be provided at all times and must never become an instrument of war”.
He said that “repeatedly” promises of aid were not fulfilled, and Israeli pledges to flood Gaza with aid “must be fulfilled without excuse”.
In early November the heads of UN agencies described northern Gaza as “under siege” and denied “basic aid and life-saving supplies”.
Arab and Muslim leaders are gathering in Saudi Arabia on Monday for a summit that will focus on the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
On Saturday, Gaza mediator Qatar said it had suspended its role in trying to broker a deal.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
