An Israeli drone strike hit a car Tuesday morning in southern Lebanon, killing three people inside it, security officials in the area and the state news agency said. The strike on Ghandouriyeh, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Israel, came a day after a similar attack killed a commander with the militant Hezbollah group. On an urgent mission aimed primarily at preventing the Israel-Hamas conflict from spreading into a regional war, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey would consider participating in post-conflict reconstruction and governance of Gaza, which has been decimated by three months of Israeli bombardment. The United Nations humanitarian office says the intensifying Israeli offensive in central and southern Gaza has had “devastating consequences,” driving up civilian casualties, severely curtailing aid operations in the central region and risking the closure of three major hospitals. Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack from Gaza into southern Israel triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people, and militants took some 250 others hostage. Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Here’s what’s happening in the war:
Quick Read
- Israeli Drone Strike in Lebanon: Killed three people in a car in southern Lebanon.
- Previous Strike: Follows an attack that killed a Hezbollah commander.
- Blinken’s Urgent Mission: Aims to prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from escalating into a regional war.
- Arab Nations and Turkey’s Involvement: Proposed participation in Gaza’s post-conflict reconstruction.
- UN on Israeli Offensive in Gaza: Reports devastating consequences and high civilian casualties.
- Hamas Attack Triggered War: Their initial attack killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel.
- Casualty Count in Gaza: Over 23,000 people killed, predominantly women and children.
- WHO Official’s Observation in Gaza: No decrease in conflict intensity; severe food shortages and trauma cases.
- Projectile at Israeli Army Base: Launched by Hezbollah, fell at a northern Israel base without causing damage.
- Hezbollah-Israel Exchanges: Continuation of hostilities along the Lebanon-Israel border.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israeli strike kills 3 in Lebanon. UN: More than 23,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza
Newslooks- (AP)
MORE THAN 23,000 HAVE NOW BEEN KILLED IN GAZA, UN AGENCY SAYS
A top World Health Organization official in Gaza says he’s seeing no letup in the intensity of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The U.N. health agency, citing the latest figures from the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, also says the conflict that erupted Oct. 7 has now killed more than 23,000 people in the enclave.
Sean Casey, WHO’s emergency medical teams coordinator based in southern Rafah, decried dire food shortages in the north. He said some health workers are now fleeing out of fear for their own lives — after sticking it out for months to treat patients.
“I’ve been in Gaza for five weeks. I have not seen a lowering of the intensity of the conflict,” Casey told a U.N. briefing in Geneva by video from the southern Gaza city of Rafah. “I went to Nasser Medical Complex just a few days ago and saw multiple explosions just in the few minutes that I was driving down the roads.”
Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, said from Jerusalem that in addition to the more than 23,000 people killed, nearly 59,000 people had been injured.
He cited multiple trauma cases: “spinal trauma, crush injuries, severe burns, amputees — I’ve never seen so many amputees in my life, including among children.”
“This will have such a long-term impact for everything,” he said.
A PROJECTILE FALLS AT AN ARMY BASE IN NORTHERN ISRAEL, MILITARY SAYS
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military says a projectile fell at an army base in northern Israel after Hezbollah said it launched an exploding drone toward the area.
The military said its air defense system was activated to try to intercept a “hostile aircraft,” and that the aircraft fell at the base.
The military said no damage was caused to the base Tuesday. It did not specify where exactly the base was located but Hezbollah said it targeted Safed, a city farther away from where the daily Israel-Hezbollah skirmishes have been taking place.
AN ISRAELI DRONE STRIKE HITS A CAR IN LEBANON, KILLING 3, OFFICIALS SAY
BEIRUT — An Israeli drone strike hit a car Tuesday morning in southern Lebanon, killing three people inside it, security officials in the area and the state news agency said.
There was no immediate word on the identities of the three. The strike on the village of Ghandouriyeh came a day after a similar attack killed a commander with the militant Hezbollah group. Ghandouriyeh is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Israel.
Two security officials said Israeli drones carried out three strikes in the area including one that hit the car killing the three instantly. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to briefing regulations.
The state-run National News Agency said the strike in Ghandouriyeh inflicted casualties without giving further details. Hezbollah officials did not immediately respond to calls for comment.
Tuesday’s strike is the latest along the Lebanon-Israel border since Hezbollah started attacking Israeli military posts following the deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas. Since then, Hezbollah has lost 150 fighters in the near-daily exchanges of fire.
Currently:
— Israeli strike kills an elite Hezbollah commander in the latest escalation linked to the war in Gaza.
— The U.S. secretary of state rallies Mideast leaders to prepare for Gaza’s post-war future.
— Gaza cease-fire protests block New York City bridges. Over 300 people are arrested.
— San Francisco supervisors will take up resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
