At least 19 people including six soldiers were wounded in northern Israel on Tuesday after Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants launched drone attacks, emergency officials said, as world leaders try to stop tensions in the Middle East from boiling over into a regional war. Most of the people were hurt by an Israeli interceptor rocket that missed and hit the ground. Local authorities issued sweeping new guidelines in northern Israel for all residents to “avoid all non-vital activity and to stay near a safe area” until further notice. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months during the war in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli fire during military raids killed 10 Palestinians, including four teenagers, and wounded another 10, Palestinian officials said.
Quick Read
- At least 19 people, including six soldiers, were wounded in northern Israel after Hezbollah militants from Lebanon launched drone attacks.
- Most injuries were caused by an Israeli interceptor rocket that missed its target and hit the ground.
- Residents in northern Israel have been advised to avoid non-essential activities and stay near safe areas amid ongoing tensions.
- In the occupied West Bank, Israeli military raids resulted in the deaths of 10 Palestinians, including four teenagers, and wounded another 10.
- Efforts to prevent a wider regional conflict continue after recent killings of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and a top Hamas political leader in Iran.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel is in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies.
- Inside Gaza, the humanitarian situation remains dire, with severe shortages of food and clean water as the death toll nears 40,000.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israeli civilians wounded by Hezbollah strikes as wider war feared
Newslooks- NAHARIYA, Israel — (AP)
At least 19 people including six soldiers were wounded in northern Israel on Tuesday after Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants launched drone attacks, emergency officials said, as world leaders try to stop tensions in the Middle East from boiling over into a regional war.
Most of the people were hurt by an Israeli interceptor rocket that missed and hit the ground. Local authorities issued sweeping new guidelines in northern Israel for all residents to “avoid all non-vital activity and to stay near a safe area” until further notice. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months during the war in Gaza.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli fire during military raids killed 10 Palestinians, including four teenagers, and wounded another 10, Palestinian officials said.
Efforts continue around the region to prevent the war from becoming a wider conflict after the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet over the weekend that Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies.
Inside Gaza, the only corridor for humanitarian aid to enter the south has been shut down because of fighting in the area. The Palestinian territory faces a severe humanitarian crisis as its Health Ministry says the death toll in the war approaches 40,000.
Here’s the latest:
At least 19 hurt in northern Israel after Hezbollah launches drone strikes
NAHARIYA, Israel — At least 19 people including six soldiers have been wounded in northern Israel after Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants launched drone attacks, emergency officials said. Most were hurt by an Israeli interceptor rocket that missed and hit the ground.
The attack did not appear to be linked to Hezbollah’s vow to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last week, which has raised fears of an all-out war. Still, local authorities issued sweeping new guidelines in northern Israel for all residents to “avoid all non-vital activity and to stay near a safe area” until further notice.
Tuesday’s strikes appeared to be part of the near-daily exchanges of fire across the Israeli-Lebanon border. Hezbollah says its rocket and drone barrages since the start of the war in Gaza are an act of solidarity with the Palestinians.
An Israeli airstrike earlier Tuesday killed four people in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.
Hezbollah’s drones targeted sites near the coastal town of Nahariya, the military said. It said an interceptor missed its target in one case, falling and injuring a number of people. The Nahariya Medical Center said 12 people were hurt in that incident, including one seriously. Seven others were injured in another drone strike, the center said.
Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli army bases after an Israeli strike Monday killed a lower-level commander in southern Lebanon.
Palestinians in Gaza still struggling to get food and clean water
KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA — Palestinians in Gaza are still struggling to secure food and clean water for their families as Israel continues to restrict the entry of life-saving aid.
Children in Khan Younis have to line up for a long time to get food at charity kitchens and fill up 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of water in plastic containers — hardly enough for large families. Water has become severely scarce in Gaza after water wells across the enclave were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes.
“Life here is unbearable,” Ghalia Hamouda, a woman displaced from Beit Lahiya, told The Associated Press. “There is no water. We don’t have charity kitchens. Our children have been sick all day … and stomach cramps never go away.”
A woman from a displaced family cooked white beans in thin tomato sauce over a basic stove as seven relatives gathered around to eat two plates of the beans with pieces of bread.
“My son is young. He runs a distance of around 2 kilometers to reach a charity kitchen to get food and sometimes he comes back with only his tears and he’s empty-handed because he couldn’t get his turn in line to get food,” Rafat Abed Al-Dayem said.
Al-Dayem said his family gets around 20 liters to 40 liters (5.3 to 10.5 gallons) of “not drinkable” water: “We only drink it because we are thirsty.”
Last month, UN experts declared that famine has spread throughout the Gaza Strip as they reported cases of malnutrition and dehydration.
“We’re deprived from everything, including aid which we don’t see. Where is the humanitarian aid?” said Rahaf Al-Refi, a woman displaced from Gaza City.
Hezbollah vows to retaliate against Israel for Beirut airstrike
BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group vowed to retaliate against Israel for its recent airstrike in Beirut that killed a top commander, “no matter what the consequences are.”
Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah could either act unilaterally or in unity with its allies in the so-called “axis of resistance” that includes Iran and its proxies in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.
Tension has been rising in the Middle East since last week’s attacks in which a top military commander Fouad Shukur was killed in Beirut and a Hamas political leader was killed in Iran.
Israel said it killed Shukur but did not claim or deny the rocket attack that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was visiting Tehran.
“The Israelis chose escalation by carrying out assassinations,” Nasrallah said. He said Hezbollah will not be silent regarding the Beirut airstrike.
He added that Israel has been on high alert since last week while waiting for Hezbollah’s retaliation, adding that making them wait “is part of the punishment.”
Shortly before Nasrallah gave his speech, Israeli warplanes flew over Beirut twice Tuesday afternoon, shaking buildings and increasing anxiety among the capital’s residents. It came two days after the Lebanese marked the fourth anniversary of the massive port blast in Beirut that killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and caused wide destruction.
Ultra-Orthodox protesters enter Israeli military base, objecting to draft order
JERUSALEM — Ultra-Orthodox protesters have jumped barriers and broken through fences to storm an Israeli military recruitment base in another demonstration against their impending enlistment.
A landmark Supreme Court order said young religious men must begin enlisting for military service. Under long-standing political arrangements, ultra-Orthodox men had been exempt from the draft that is compulsory for most Jewish men.
In videos aired on Hebrew media, at least a dozen men could be seen wandering through the woods at the base. Others could be seen scuffling with police on horseback. Israeli police said 21 people were arrested and three policemen were injured. The military condemned the violent behavior and called the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox “an operational necessity.”
Hezbollah launches drone attack in northern Israel, wounding at least 7
NAHARIYA, Israel — Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched a drone attack Tuesday on northern Israel, wounding at least seven people, in response to the killing of one of its fighters in an Israeli airstrike.
The attack did not appear to be linked to Hezbollah’s vow to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous week, which has raised fears of an all-out war.
Hezbollah has launched near-daily drone and rocket attacks since the start of the Gaza war in what it says is an act of solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel has responded with airstrikes, one of which killed four people in southern Lebanon earlier Tuesday, according to Lebanese authorities.
Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack targeting army bases in northern Israel in retaliation for the killing of a lower-level commander in a strike late Monday.
Gal Zaid, spokesperson for Galilee Medical Center, said it was treating one severely wounded person and four others with mild injuries. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating seven wounded in three locations in Western Galilee.
The Israeli military said “a number” of drones entered from Lebanon, one of which was intercepted. It said several civilians were wounded near the coastal town of Nahariya, some 6 kilometers (4 miles) south of the border, without giving a precise number.
