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Attack on central Beirut: No Hezbollah operatives were there, authorities say

Attack on central Beirut: No Hezbollah operatives were there, authorities say
By Alastair McCready, Royce Kurmelovs, Urooba Jamal, Stephen Quillen, Maziar Motamedi and Usaid Siddiqui
Published On 23 Nov 2024

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23 Nov 2024 - 23:59
 (23:59 GMT)

Thank you for joining us

For more on the Israeli attacks across Gaza killing more than 100 Palestinians in 48 hours, check out our story here.

You can read our feature on the creation of the anti-genocide “Gaza Cola” soda brand, here.

To read our opinion piece on the ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders for their roles in the war on Gaza, go here.

23 Nov 2024 - 23:55
 (23:55 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

We will be closing this live page soon. Here is a recap of today’s developments:

  • At least 38 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since dawn, medical sources told Al Jazeera.
  • Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, said an Israeli woman held captive was killed and another was critically wounded in northern Gaza as a result of Israeli attacks.
  • About 80 percent of those verified dead in Gaza have been killed in residential buildings, according to the United Nations.
  • At least two people were killed in Israeli strikes on Kamal Adwan Hospital, which has been attacked repeatedly in besieged northern Gaza. Its hospital director was reportedly wounded.
  • Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least 20 people are confirmed dead and 66 wounded in an Israeli attack on central Beirut’s Basta al-Fawqa neighbourhood.
  • In Syria, Israeli forces targeted the Jusiyah crossing in Al Qusayr in the Homs governorate, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
23 Nov 2024 - 23:45
 (23:45 GMT)

Gaza hospital director said Israel targeted staff, before he was injured

Earlier, we reported that the hospital director of northern Gaza’s besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital was wounded in an Israeli attack, with his condition unknown.

Dr Hussam Abu Safia said earlier that ongoing Israeli bombardment appears aimed at forcing hospital staff to evacuate – something they’ve refused to do since the Israeli incursion began six weeks ago.

“From the afternoon until midnight, the bombardment directly targeted the entrance to the emergency and reception area several times,” Abu Safia said in a statement, adding that 12 staff members, including doctors and nurses, were injured.

The strike also caused significant damage that disrupted the electrical generator, oxygen supply network and water supply, he added.

Asked to comment on Abu Safia’s statement, the Israeli military said that following an initial review, it is “not aware of a strike in the area of the Kamal Adwan Hospital”. It added that it does everything possible to avoid harming civilians.

23 Nov 2024 - 23:37
 (23:37 GMT)
Opinion

ICC arrest warrants: Netanyahu is certainly a criminal but…

By Belén Fernández

Any and all international recognition of Israel’s criminal behaviour is morally significant given the country’s modus operandi, according to which international law is made to be broken – but only by Israel itself.

It’s no accident that Israel and the United States, Israel’s primary backer and current accomplice to genocide, are not parties to the International Criminal Court.

At the end of the day, the state of Israel as a whole bears “criminal responsibility” for usurping Palestinian land and engaging in 76.5 years (and counting) of ethnic cleansing.

Read the full opinion here.

23 Nov 2024 - 23:30
 (23:30 GMT)

Women, children among dead in Gaza’s Khan Younis

Three Palestinian children and two women are among at least seven people killed in the southern city of Khan Younis by Israeli bombardment, according to staff at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital.

“Suddenly, we woke up to dust, smoke and a fire,” said grieving father Ahmad Ghassan whose son was killed. “We found him dead and his brother injured.”

Another father wept as he carried his child’s body in a bloodstained sheet.

Umm Muhammad Abu Sabla, a sister of one of the victims, said she rushed to the scene to find “people carrying body parts from under the rubble”.

The Palestinian death toll from the 13-month-long war has surpassed 44,176, with about 70 percent of the dead being women and children.

A man carries the body of a boy killed in an Israeli strike at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Saturday [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]
23 Nov 2024 - 23:15
 (23:15 GMT)

Heavy fighting ongoing for strategic Lebanese town

Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops are engaged in running gun battles in the southern Lebanon town of Khiam. The National News Agency (NNA) reports intense air and artillery bombardment of Khiam, 6km (4 miles) from the border.

Israel is “attempting to control the town” as it’s “a strategic gateway for a rapid ground incursion”, the NNA said. Israeli troops dynamited houses and are “trying to surround [Khiam] from all sides using extensive air and ground cover”.

Over the past two days, Hezbollah said its fighters attacked Israeli soldiers about 20 times in and around the large town. Israeli tanks have been operating east of Khiam for more than three weeks.

Khiam has symbolic significance. It was the site of a notorious prison run by the South Lebanon Army, an Israeli proxy militia, during its 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon. Israeli forces withdrew from the region in 2000.

The NNA said that, on the south coast, “the areas of al-Bayyaada and Wadi Hamool are witnessing violent clashes”.

Hezbollah fighters in Aaramta bordering Israel in 2023 [Anwar Amro/AFP]
23 Nov 2024 - 23:08
 (23:08 GMT)

LISTEN: How will European nations respond to ICC arrest warrants?

Israel and its biggest ally, the United States, furiously attacked the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.

Most European nations say they’ll execute the warrants if either man steps on their soil. So what might happen next?

23 Nov 2024 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)

Gaza hospital patients describe deadly Israeli attack

Tawfiq Murjan, a Gaza resident at Kamal Adwan Hospital, says an Israeli quadcopter shot and killed two Palestinians at the facility’s entrance in the besieged north.

“This is not the first time and it will not be the last. The Israelis have done this before four times. Today, they targeted two young men at the entrance of the hospital,” he said.

Haithem Abu Ghboid, a man with an amputated leg receiving treatment, described his ordeal after being caught in an Israeli attack.

“I am not getting proper treatment. The pain is very severe and the rare painkillers do nothing to relieve it. When I first arrived here, my foot needed a platinum plate, but because there were no doctors, it got gangrene and had to be amputated,” Abu Ghboid told Al Jazeera.

Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya city in northern Gaza [Khalil Ramzi Alkahlut/Anadolu Agency]
23 Nov 2024 - 22:45
 (22:45 GMT)

Israelis protest against government in Tel Aviv

A police officer argues with protesters as Israelis show support for captives held in Gaza [Thomas Peter/Reuters]
A woman looks on during the protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday [Thomas Peter/Reuters]
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023 [Thomas Peter/Reuters]

23 Nov 2024 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)

WATCH: Israel kills fishermen on a beach in Tyre

In southern Lebanon, Israeli air strikes killed two fishermen near the city of Tyre. The ground offensive by Israeli troops, meanwhile, is facing intense resistance from Hezbollah fighters.

Watch the video below:

23 Nov 2024 - 22:15
 (22:15 GMT)

Three killed after Israel attacks Palestinians at southern Gaza hospital

The Palestine Red Crescent Society says at least three people have been killed after Israeli forces targeted a gathering of citizens near the al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.

The group also said 16 people were injured near the gate of the hospital.

23 Nov 2024 - 22:05
 (22:05 GMT)

Northern Gaza hospital director wounded in attack

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report that the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hussam Abu Safia, has been injured in northern Gaza, without providing any details.

Earlier, we reported that two people had been killed in Israeli strikes on the hospital, which has been repeatedly attacked by Israeli forces since their ground invasion of the area began six weeks ago.

In northern Gaza, the Health Ministry said at least 80 people were killed between Thursday and Friday, including near the Kamal Adwan and al-Ahli hospitals. It said dozens of people were trapped under the rubble.

23 Nov 2024 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

US senator threatens to sanction allies enforcing ICC warrants

US Senator Lindsey Graham threatened to sanction any US allies that try to enforce International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

“To any ally – Canada, Britain, Germany, France – if you try to help the ICC, we’re going to sanction you,” Graham told Fox News in an interview.

“If you are going to help the ICC as a nation and force the arrest warrant against Bibi [Netanyahu] and Gallant, the former defence minister, I will put sanctions on you as a nation,” he added.

“You’re going to have to pick the rogue ICC versus America… If you help the ICC, we’re going to crush your economy.”

The ICC announced in a landmark move on Thursday that it was issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

US Senator Lindsey Graham [File: Sam Wolfe/Reuters]
23 Nov 2024 - 21:50
 (21:50 GMT)

Israel investigating Hamas claims on captive’s death

The Israeli army says it’s reviewing the information after Hamas “released footage allegedly showing a hostage who had been killed”.

“At this stage we cannot confirm or refute it. [Army] representatives are in contact with her family and are keeping them updated with all available information,” a military statement said.

Hamas military spokesman Abu Obeida said contact had been restored with the woman’s captors after a break of several weeks, and it was established she was killed in an area of northern Gaza where the Israeli army has been relentlessly attacking for weeks.

Abu Obeida’s statement did not further identify the captive or say how or when she was killed.

“Hamas continues to engage in psychological terror and act with extreme brutality. Please refrain from spreading rumours and information that may harm the families of the hostages,” the army statement added.

23 Nov 2024 - 21:35
 (21:35 GMT)

Israel issues travel warning for UAE after soldier-rabbi goes missing

Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed – on behalf of the spy agency Mossad and National Security Council – that Israeli-Moldovan citizen Zvi Kogan has been missing in the United Arab Emirates since Thursday.

He was identified as a Chabad rabbi to the Gulf Arab nation, but there was no mention of his military background.

“Since his disappearance, and given information indicating that this is a terrorist incident, an active investigation has been going on in the country. Israeli security and intelligence orgs, concerned for Kogan’s safety and wellbeing, have been working tirelessly on this case,” the office said.

Israel also issued a level three or moderate travel warning for the UAE, with a recommendation to avoid any non-essential travel, and for those in the country to take extra precautions.

23 Nov 2024 - 21:20
 (21:20 GMT)
Analysis

WATCH: Netanyahu eyes end to Lebanon war to shift global narrative

Israeli political analyst Akiva Eldar suggests that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to wrap up the war in Lebanon.

Watch the video below:

23 Nov 2024 - 21:10
 (21:10 GMT)

Hezbollah says Israeli tank destroyed in southern Lebanon

Hezbollah reports that intense fighting continues to rage with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon near the city of Tyre.

The Lebanese group said its fighters directly hit an Israeli Merkava tank with an antitank guided missile near a school in the town of Al Jabin, destroying it and inflicting casualties on the crew.

Hezbollah also said it launched a squadron of attack drones towards the headquarters of the Golani Brigade Command, north of Acre, for the second time, and “hit their targets accurately”.

Translation: Hezbollah: Targeting the Israeli Shraga base located between Nahariya and Acre with missiles and drones.

23 Nov 2024 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

CENTCOM commander, Israeli army chief discuss Lebanon war

US Central Command chief General Michael Erik Kurilla discussed the situation in Lebanon with Israeli army head Herzi Halevi.

The two conducted a “situational assessment” with members of the Northern Command, which “focused on security and strategic issues with an emphasis on Lebanon”.

In recent months, Kurilla has visited Israel multiple times.

23 Nov 2024 - 20:50
 (20:50 GMT)

Death toll in central Beirut from Israeli attack rises to 20

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least 20 people have been confirmed killed and 66 injured in the Israeli attack on the Basta Al Fawqa neighbourhood.

“The rubble removal work is still ongoing,” it added.

The predawn dawn attack was unleashed without any advance warning from the Israeli military, Lebanon’s National News Agency reports.

An Israeli F-16 fighter jet seen from Ashkelon, Israel, last December [File: Amir Cohen/Reuters]
23 Nov 2024 - 20:40
 (20:40 GMT)

Israeli forces set up new checkpoints in West Bank, fire tear gas in Hebron

Israeli soldiers established a series of new checkpoints across multiple areas in the occupied West Bank, checking the identification of Palestinians and their vehicles and causing traffic jams with prolonged delays.

Checkpoints were established at the northern entrance of Hebron City as well as the towns of Sa’ir, Yatta, Dora and Halhul, along with the Fawwar and Arroub refugee camps, according to the Wafa news agency.

Israeli forces reportedly erected a checkpoint at the main entrance of Aqbat al-Hasna, which links a series of villages in the western rural Bethlehem governorate to Bethlehem city.

At a checkpoint in Hebron, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas canisters and concussion bombs at Palestinians, causing multiple people to experience difficulty breathing.

A Palestinian woman reacts at an Israeli checkpoint in Qalandiya [File: Alaa Badarneh/EPA-EFE]