• Israeli strikes on a densely populated Beirut neighborhood killed at least 22 people and injured dozens, Lebanese authorities said. A senior Hezbollah official survived the attack, according to a source in the militant group.
• Two UN peacekeepers in Lebanon were injured in Israeli tank fire, the organization said. Italy summoned the Israeli ambassador, saying Italian bases were hit and calling Israel’s actions “unacceptable.”
• In Gaza, an Israeli strike killed at least 28 people at a school, the Red Crescent said. The Israeli military said it was targeting “terrorists” operating inside the building.
Indonesia condemns Israel for attack injuring 2 of its UN peacekeepers in Lebanon
From CNN's Edward Szekeres and Isaac Yee
Indonesia blasted Israel on Friday for what it called “deliberate attacks” that injured two of its UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.
Israel’s actions “represent a blatant attempt to spread terror on the ground to intimidate both the peacekeeping mission and international community,” Indonesia’s mission to the United Nations said in a post on X after the peacekeepers from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were wounded Thursday by Israeli tank fire in the southern city of Naqoura.
Addressing the UN Security Council on Thursday, Indonesia’s UN ambassador Hari Prabowo said Israel’s actions were unacceptable.
The Israel Defense Forces earlier said its troops were operating “in the area of Naqoura, next to a UNIFIL base” and that “the IDF instructed the UN forces in the area to remain in protected spaces, following which the forces opened fire in the area.” The Israeli military has also accused Hezbollah of operating near UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon.
Indonesia’s criticism follows international condemnation of Israel over several recent attacks on UN peacekeeping positions, including heavy criticism from France, Ireland and Italy, which have contingents from their national armies in the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
On Thursday, the UN peacekeeping chief said the situation in southern Lebanon is “increasingly alarming,” with peacekeepers “at serious risk.”
What is UNIFIL? The UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon was established by the UN Security Council in 1978, following the Israeli invasion of the country’s south. The agency established the Blue Line – an area spanning 120 kilometers along southern Lebanon – in 2000, to ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.
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What to know about the deadly Israeli strikes in central Beirut
From CNN staff
Lebanese civil defense and emergency teams conduct a search and rescue operation following the Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Thursday, October 10.
Murat Sengul/Anadolu/Getty Images
An entire residential building was leveled in a deadly Israeli strike on central Beirut Thursday, a Lebanese security source told CNN, as Israel reportedly targeted a senior Hezbollah official in a densely populated neighborhood.
At least 22 people were killed and at least 117 wounded in Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital Thursday night, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Israel has not publicly claimed Thursday’s strikes or confirmed any targets.
Here’s what we know:
Residential building hit: The strikes Thursday targeted parts of central Beirut far from Hezbollah’s stronghold in the city’s southern suburbs. In the upper Basta neighborhood, a multi-story building packed with residents and recently displaced people was struck, according to witnesses and a Lebanese security source. Two witnesses told CNN they saw the building collapse after it was hit. “The bomb hit. And the entire building fell down,” Hassan, one of the witnesses, told CNN. “There were so many people in the building.”
The reported target: A senior Hezbollah official was the target of the strikes, according to a source in the militant group, and Israeli media reports. Wafiq Safa, the leader of Hezbollah’s liaison unit, survived the assassination attempt, the Hezbollah source told CNN.
Separate strike:Another strike Thursday hit the third floor of a building in Beirut’s Al Nuwairi neighborhood. Firetrucks and ambulances were seen near the building, while women carrying bags fled the area. It is unclear if any casualties resulted from that attack.
Civilians devastated: People overwhelmed with grief gathered outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center, where some of the casualties of Thursday night’s strikes were being treated. Outside the emergency ward,an elderly woman rocked back and forth with a dazed look in her eyes. A man came to her with terrible news: “Abbas’ son and daughter are martyrs,” he said, his hand on her shoulder. A few moments later, the woman burst into tears.
US reaction: The United States supports its ally Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, but “how it does so matters,” the State Department said. “We continue to press Israel to take all feasible steps to protect civilians throughout its operations, in particular in the densely populated areas of Beirut,” a spokesperson added.
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US urges Israel to protect civilians after deadly Beirut strikes
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
Israel should take “all feasible steps” to protect civilians during its military operations, a US State Department spokesperson said, after deadly Israeli strikes hit the Lebanese capital on Thursday.
The United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran-backed Hezbollah, but “how it does so matters,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The death toll from the Israeli strikes in central Beirut has risen to at least 22, with at least 117 people wounded, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.
A senior Hezbollah official was the target, according to a source in the militant group and Israeli media reports. Wafiq Safa, leader of Hezbollah’s liaison unit, survived the assassination attempt, the Hezbollah source told CNN. Israel has not publicly claimed Thursday’s strikes or confirmed any targets.
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Beirut residents grieve outside hospital following deadly strikes
From CNN’s Tamara Qiblawi and Charbel Mallo
People could be seen overwhelmed with grief outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center, where some of the casualties of Thursday night’s strikes on the city center are being treated.
Outside the emergency ward,an elderly woman rocked back and forth with a dazed look in her eyes.
A man came to her with terrible news: “Abbas’s son and daughter are martyrs,” he said, his hand on her shoulder. “Thank God for everything. Don’t forget to say thank God for everything.”
A few moments later, the woman burst into tears.
At least 22 people were killed in an Israeli attack on Thursday night local time, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health. More than a hundred others were injured.
Asked for comment on the strikes, the Israeli military said it was looking into reports.
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Safety of peacekeepers in Lebanon "increasingly in jeopardy," UN official warns
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy, Lauren Izso and Saskya Vandoorne
UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix speaks during a Un Security Council meeting on Thursday, October 10.
UNTV
Concerns are mounting for the safety of peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, a senior United Nations official warned on Thursday, after the UN accused Israeli troops of injuring two UNIFIL personnel.
Briefing the UN Security Council, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix described the situation in southern Lebanon as an “increasingly alarming” one which is putting UN “peacekeepers at serious risk.”
The IDF has said its troops were operating “in the area of Naqoura, next to a UNIFIL base” and that “the IDF instructed the UN forces in the area to remain in protected spaces, following which the forces opened fire in the area.”
The Israeli military has also accused Hezbollah of operating near UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said the two peacekeepers, both from Indonesia, remain hospitalized, but their injuries are not serious.
The incident drew condemnation from several countries including France and Ireland, both of whom have military contingents in the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
France expressed its “deep concern” after the attack, saying it was “awaiting explanations from the Israeli authorities.”
Irish foreign minister, Micheál Martin described the IDF’s “targeting & firing on UNIFIL positions” as “reprehensible” and “unacceptable.”
What is UNIFIL? The UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon was established by the UN Security Council in 1978, following the Israeli invasion of the country’s south. The agency established the Blue Line – an area spanning 120 kilometers along southern Lebanon – in 2000, in order to ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.
On Wednesday, a UNIFIL spokesperson told CNN that Israeli invasions were ongoing “a bit everywhere in the proximity” of the Blue Line, as the Israeli military expands operations across southern Lebanon.
This post has been updated with additional information.
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Hezbollah senior official survives Israeli attack in Beirut, source tells CNN
By CNN’s Tamara Qiblawi in Beirut
Senior Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa survived Thursday night’s strikes in central Beirut, a source in the militant group told CNN.
Safa was the target of the Israeli attack in the Lebanese capital, according to the Hezbollah source and reports in Israeli media.
Safa is a political official who leads Hezbollah’s liaison unit, charged with managing the Iran-backed group’s domestic and international affairs.
Israel has not publicly claimed Thursday’s strikes or confirmed any targets.
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Building full of people collapsed in Beirut strike, witnesses tell CNN
From CNN’s Tamara Qiblawi and Charbel Mallo
Flames and smoke rise at the scene of destroyed buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday, October 10.
Bilal Hussein/AP
Two witnesses told CNN they saw an entire building collapse from one of tonight’s strikes in central Beirut, saying the structure was full of recently displaced people and residents.
A Lebanese security source had earlier told CNN an Israeli strike collapsed a four-story building in Upper Basta.
“Im waiting for my brother and sister,” Partim, a migrant worker from Bangladesh, told CNN outside the hospital where people had gathered to hear news of their loved ones.
“They were the concierges of the building. I’m sure they’re ok,” he said.
Another man was being comforted by a group of his friends. “Don’t worry,” one friend tells him. “I’m sure we’ll hear from her very soon.”
At Beirut’s Al Nuwairi neighborhood, the site of another strike, a building’s third floor was hit. Firetrucks and ambulances were seen near the building, while women carrying bags fled the area.
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At least 22 killed, 117 injured in Beirut strikes, says Lebanese health ministry
From CNN’s Tamara Qiblawi and Hamdi Alkhshali
The death toll from strikes in central Beirut has risen to at least 22, with at least 117 people wounded, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.
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At least 18 killed, 92 injured in Beirut strikes, says Lebanese health ministry
From CNN’s Tamara Qiblawi in Beirut
The death toll from Thursday’s strikes in Lebanon’s capital city has risen to 18, according to the Ministry of Health. At least 92 people are wounded, the ministry said.
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At least 11 people killed following Israeli attack in Beirut, says Lebanese ministry
From CNN’s Tamara Qiblawi and Hamdi Alkhshali
Members of the Red Cross work at the site of an Israeli air strike in Ras Al- Nabaa, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday, October 10.
Louisa Gouliamaki/Reutrs
At least 11 people were killed and 48 injured following an Israeli attack in Beirut on Thursday evening, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
It said the figures were an initial toll and called on “the media and social media to stop issuing calls to go to hospitals to donate blood because they would confuse rescue and emergency work.”
A Lebanese security source told CNN that two Israeli airstrikes hit central Beirut on Thursday evening, in an attack which it said had leveled one residential building.
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Fears of mass casualty event following central Beirut strikes
From CNN’s Tamara Qiblawi in Beirut
People gathered in front a destroyed building hit by an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, on Thursday.
Bilal Hussein/AP
Two Israeli airstrikes hit central Beirut on Thursday evening, in an attack which leveled an entire residential building, a Lebanese security source told CNN.
According to the source, there are fears of a mass casualty event.
The upper Basta neighborhood where the multi-story building was hit is a densely populated neighborhood where hundreds of people have fled to after the intensive Israeli strikes in southern Beirut and other parts of Lebanon in recent weeks.
When asked for comment, the IDF said it was looking into reports.
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Strikes hit central Beirut: CNN team on the ground
From CNN's Tamara Qiblawi
Smoke and fire rise over Beirut, after Israeli air strikes on Thursday.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
Thick plumes of black smoke rose into the sky after strikes hit central Beirut Thursday evening.
A CNN team on the ground heard a loud explosion as the strike hit the Ras el Nabaa and Nowayreh areas of Beirut.
The sirens of ambulances and gunshots were also heard.
When asked for comment, the IDF said it was looking into reports.
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Iran says it will keep supporting proxies in the region
From CNN's Mostafa Salem
Iran will support its proxy groups “however necessary” and will stand “strongly by the resistance,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera in an on-camera interview aired on Thursday.
Iran backs the two main groups fighting Israel: Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on Beirut, two months after killing Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Over the past weeks, Iranian officials have shuttled between neighboring Arab countries for consultations in anticipation of an Israeli attack. Araghchi met Qatari officials in Doha on Thursday, a day after meeting Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh.
Araghchi told Al Jazeera that communication channels with the United States remain open through third parties.
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Amnesty International criticizes Israel’s evacuation warnings for Lebanon as “misleading and inadequate”
From CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali
A man looks at destroyed buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, on October 7.
Hussein Malla/AP
Amnesty International has called Israel’s evacuation warnings for civilians in Lebanon “misleading and inadequate.”
The warnings fail to provide civilians with safe, practical options for evacuation, leaving them at heightened risk of harm during ongoing military operations, Amnesty said in a statement on Thursday.
According to Amnesty’s investigation, Israel has urged residents in certain areas of Beirut’s southern suburbs and south Lebanon to flee their homes but has not provided crucial information such as safe evacuation routes or locations where civilians can seek refuge. These gaps, Amnesty argues, make it impossible for many civilians — particularly those who are elderly, disabled, or caring for young children — to evacuate safely.
CNN conducted an analysis of Israeli military evacuation orders and found that at least seven hospitals are in the no-go zones imposed by the Israeli military in Beirut’s southern suburbs. CNN also previously reported that many evacuation orders were issued just minutes before strikes were conducted and, in some cases, not at all before strikes were conducted.
CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on Amnesty’s report.
CNN’sAllegra Goodwin and Alex Stambaugh contributed to this post.
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No one should win tomorrow's Nobel Peace Prize, SIPRI director says
From CNN's Christian Edwards
A woman opens the door to enter the Swedish Academy ahead of the announcement of the laureate of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 10.
Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images
When the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is announced in Sweden on Friday, Israel and Lebanon will be among more than 50 countries experiencing armed conflict.
For that reason – and to send a message that “the institutions of world order seem incapable” of reducing conflict – the Nobel Committee should withhold this year’s peace prize, Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told CNN.
As well as war in the Middle East, conflict is raging in Ukraine, Sudan, West Africa, Haiti, Myanmar and elsewhere, said Smith, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the peace prize.
“There is fighting and killing going on at a scale that we have not experienced since before the end of the Cold War,” he said. “Somehow we need to get more energy and attention focused on that.”
His “modest suggestion” is that the committee withhold the honor this year to highlight “the deficiency in world politics at the moment.”
The Nobel Peace Prize has been withheld on 19 previous occasions, including during World War I and II, but has been awarded each year since 1972.
While there are many worthy potential winners, not giving out the prize would “send a very powerful message,” said Smith.
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Italy summons Israeli ambassador over “unacceptable” actions in southern Lebanon
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Sharon Braithwaite
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in New York in September.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni summoned the Israeli ambassador in Rome on Thursday after what she described as the “unacceptable” behavior of Israeli forces who reportedly fired on bases manned by Italian peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
After the headquarters and two Italian bases of UNIFIL - UN peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon- were “hit by gunfire from the Israeli army” on Thursday, Meloni spoke to the Commander of the Western Sector of the UNIFIL mission, Gen. Stefano Messina, for an update on the safety of the Italian troops, her office said.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.
The Italian leader also contacted Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant to “firmly remind” him that “what is happening near the Italian UNIFIL bases in southern Lebanon” is “unacceptable,” according to an Italian government statement.
Meanwhile the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, condemned the shelling of UN peacekeepers by Israeli forces in a post on X Thursday, writing that “another line has been dangerously crossed in Lebanon.”
Remember: This is not the first time Israel has faced rebuke for the actions of its troops towards UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. Earlier this week, Israeli tanks stationed themselves close to an UN outpost manned by Irish peacekeepers, sparking concern from the Irish prime minister.
The Israeli troops left the area on Tuesday after interventions were made by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres who said the UN has been “very concerned” by the Israeli encroachment.
CNN’s Sophie Tanno contributed to this post.
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Second round of the UN's polio vaccination campaign in Gaza to begin next week
From CNN’s Hira Humayun
Palestinians leave with their children after vaccination during an inoculation drive at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10.
Omar Al-qattaa/AFP/Getty Images
The second stage of the UN-led polio vaccination campaign in Gaza is set to begin on Monday, October 14, according to UNICEF chief Catherine Russell.
Posting to X on Thursday, Russell said this round will aim to vaccinate around 590,000 children under the age of 10.
She added: “With the additional vaccine equipment & cold boxes that arrived yesterday, UNICEF is ready to deliver & vaccinate children to stop the transmission of polio. The success of the first round shows that when agreements are respected, we can get the job done.”
Remember: The first round of the campaign vaccinated more than 560,000 children under age 10 in Gaza last month, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The UN’s agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said aid workers reached more than 90% of the targeted vaccine coverage in the initial phase.
Relief workers had described repeated challenges to the campaign rollout – especially in northern Gaza – citing Israeli evacuation orders, roads damaged by bombardment, increased hostilities and scant fuel supplies.
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“Never threaten an Iranian:” Defiance in Tehran’s streets as Israeli attack looms
From CNN’s Fred Pleitgen in Tehran
People holding banners and flags gather to stage a demonstration against Israeli attacks in Lebanon and Gaza, in Tehran, Iran, on October 8.
Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu/Getty Images
Iranians in Tehran appeared calm and defiant as their country braces for what Israel promises will be a severe response to a missile attack at the Jewish state last week.
Hamid Ashuri said US support for Israel has only emboldened the Jewish state. “In this case, we are not against just Israel. It is against the West,” Ashuri said. “If the US didn’t support Israel, they wouldn’t dare to do anything.”
In the market in northern Tehran, Mohadesse Naderi, a young woman, emphasized that she wants good relations with American people, but insisted that change has to come from US politicians, not Iran.
But Ali Mousavi, speaking loudly, said Iran would stand firm against the US.
Remember: Israel’s security cabinet is set to vote Thursday on a response to Iran’s missile attack on October 1, an Israeli official told CNN.
Iran has vowed a strong response, should Israel strike Iranian territory and has urged the US not to get involved in its standoff with Israel.
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Israeli cabinet to vote on Iran response as deadly airstrike hits school in central Gaza. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
Palestinians react after an Israeli strike hit the Rafida school housing displaced people in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on October 10, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images
Israel’s security cabinet is set to vote on a response to Iran’s missile attack, a source told CNN. Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1, an attack it said was in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Elsewhere, an Israeli strike has killed at least 28 people in a school in central Gaza. The overall death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is now over 42,000, according to the Ministry of Health in the enclave.
Below are the latest updates:
School strike: An Israeli airstrike has killed at least 28 Palestinians and wounded dozens more people at the Rafidah school in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. The Israeli military said it struck “terrorists who were operating inside a command-and-control center” at the school compound - a statement CNN cannot independently verify. Gaza’s Ministry of Health says the total number of Palestinians killed in the enclave since Israel launched its war now sits at 42,065, with a further 97,886 injured.
Peacekeepers injured: Two United Nations peacekeepers were injured in Lebanon Thursday after an Israeli tank fired toward an observation tower at the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in the southern Lebanese city Naqoura, UNIFIL said. Israeli soldiers fired at another UN position in Ras Naqoura, hitting the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, damaging vehicles and a communications system, UNIFIL said.
Warning from US: The US envoy to the United Nations gave Israel a clear warning on Wednesday, saying that Israel must urgently address the “catastrophic conditions” in Gaza. US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield stressed to the UN Security Council that “actions by the Israeli government to limit the delivery of aid” would intensify suffering. Thomas-Greenfield also said the US is “deeply concerned” by draft Israeli legislation that would declare the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the main UN agency in Gaza, a “terrorist” organization and bar it from operating in Israel.
Lebanon evacuation orders: A quarter of Lebanese territory is now under Israeli evacuation orders, according to the UN, a sign of the growing scale of the humanitarian crisis and expansion of Israel’s war against Hezbollah. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Lebanon’s “humanitarian crisis is deteriorating at an alarming rate.” The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued new orders on Wednesday, for specific buildings in the southern Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut.
Thwarted terror plot: Israeli security services thwarted a planned bomb attack on the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv by a group believed to be linked to ISIS, they said Thursday. Israel Police and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) said in a joint statement that five residents of the city of Tayibe, north of Tel Aviv and close to the West Bank, had been plotting the attack for weeks. Israeli police said that during the investigation, authorities discovered that the suspects had been watching videos of bombings in Syria and discussing the amount of explosive material required to destroy the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv. Police added they intervened and arrested the group before their plans could materialize.
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Israel says it thwarted ISIS bomb plot targeting Tel Aviv mall
From CNN's Dana Karni and Eyad Kourdi
Israeli security services thwarted a planned bomb attack on the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv by a group believed to be linked to ISIS, they said on Thursday.
Israel Police and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) said in a joint statement that five residents of the city of Tayibe, north of Tel Aviv and close to the West Bank, had been plotting the attack for weeks.
A month-long covert investigation led to the arrest of the cell’s two leaders, both of whom have ties to ISIS, the police and ISA said in their statement.
Israel Police reported that the suspects had been planning to travel to ISIS combat zones abroad, establish connections with foreign operatives, and that they had already recruited three additional Israeli residents.
Additionally, Israeli police said that during the investigation, authorities discovered that the suspects had been watching videos of bombings in Syria and discussing the amount of explosive material required to destroy the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv.
The Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv with the Israeli defence ministry in the foreground.
Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
Police added they intervened and arrested the group before their plans could materialize.
A video shared by Israel Police of the arrest operation showed soldiers storming a house and arresting three people. At the end of the video, a still photo shows an Uzi machine gun in a plastic bag.
ISIS is not known to have claimed responsibility for the plot.
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Lebanese rescuer was about to evacuate his family before he was killed in Israeli strike, mayor says
From Sarah El Sirgany in Tyre
“I’m in disbelief,” the mayor of Dardghaya Edmond Ellie told CNN.
“I was just on the phone with Joseph Badawi yesterday. He was a local policeman and a volunteer at the civil defense. He was supposed to evacuate his family from the area.”
Badawi is one of five civil defense volunteers killed in an Israeli airstrike that destroyed the Civil Defense building in the Christian village of Dardghaya on the outskirts of the southern city of Tyre, the rescue group said. The volunteers were on duty to receive SOS calls to help those who had come under fire in the area, the statement said.
Israeli strikes also severely damaged a church hall in the village on the same night, according to the mayor. It was unclear if it was hit in the same strike that destroyed the Civil Defense center.
The mayor, who spoke to CNN from Beirut, verified social media picture of the destroyed church hall, saying the two-floor building was destroyed.
A local official shared a video of the aftermath filmed Thursday morning. “This is where the Civil Defense building was. Nothing is left of it,” said the official, who didn’t want to be named for security reasons.
Video showed the building reduced to a mound of rubble.
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‘Am I going to die?’ Video shows children among those wounded by Israeli strike on Gaza school
From Mohammad al-Sawalihi in Gaza and CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim
Dozens of Palestinians, including children, with severe injuries and burns were transferred to nearby hospitals after an Israeli airstrike on the Rafidah school-turned-shelter in central Gaza killed at least 28 people Thursday, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
CNN footage showed children being carried into ambulances, their faces covered with blood, and many of them screaming and crying. One girl lay on the hospital floor, wearing only underpants, shaking and covered in blood, with severe burns on her body.
The Israeli military told CNN it struck “terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center” at the school compound. CNN cannot independently verify the statement.
The strike tore down the walls of the school, covering its rooms with blackened debris. Responders and survivors dug through the wreckage trying to recover bodies.
Ayman Abou Khousa, a displaced Palestinian who was sheltering at the school, said the attack came “by surprise.”
“We are dying every day,” he told CNN. “The world has sold us out… every day you (journalists) come here and film us. You’ve been filming us for a year.”
Another man said that survivors are looking for their relatives “in pieces.”
“Why are they hitting the school? It is all displaced people, mostly women,” Iftekhar Hammouda, another woman who was sheltering at the school, said, adding that “there is no Hamas” there.
“Where can people go? Where do they flee? They hit us at our homes, at our tents, on the streets and at the schools.”
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As many as 51,000 children may be unaccompanied in Gaza, human rights agency says
From CNN’s Kathy Rose O’Brien
A child reacts as people salvage belongings amid the rubble of a damaged building following strikes on Rafah, Gaza, on November 12.
Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
The number of unaccompanied or separated children in Gaza since Israel’s war began could be as many as 51,000, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
Around 17,000 children were estimated to be unaccompanied or separated from their parents according to the charity in June, but new IRC research published on Wednesday has suggested that this figure could now be three times higher.
The IRC said the risk of family separation has increased dramatically in recent months due to multiple rounds of displacements, arrests, evacuation orders and fatalities, with children found living alone in hospitals – raising concerns about the high risks of child exploitation, neglect, starvation and mental health impacts.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks has spawned a humanitarian crisis of severe hunger, disease and mass displacement. At least 11,355 children have been killed, the UN has estimated. Doctors previously told CNN they use the term “wounded child no surviving family,” to describe Palestinian children who have been orphaned by the war.
Bart Witteveen, the IRC country director for the occupied Palestinian territory, said the international community “must act immediately to safeguard children… not just in the immediate term, but also taking into account their long-term health needs, whether related to mental health, healthcare or education.”
CNN’s Sana Noor Haq and Nadeen Ebrahim contributed reporting.
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UN says two peacekeepers injured by Israeli tank fire in Lebanon
From CNN’s Mostafa Salem
Two UN peacekeepers were injured in Lebanon on Thursday after an Israeli tank fired toward an observation tower at the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the southern Lebanese city Naqoura, according to the mission.
“This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Merkava tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall. The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital,” UNFIL said, adding that its headquarters and nearby positions “have been repeatedly hit.”
Israeli soldiers also fired at another UN position in Ras Naqoura hitting the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering damaging vehicles and a communications system, the mission added.
What is UNIFIL? The UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon was established by the UN Security Council in 1978, following the Israeli invasion of the country’s south. The agency established the Blue Line – an area spanning 120 kilometers along southern Lebanon – in 2000, in order to ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.
On Wednesday, a UNIFIL spokesperson told CNN that Israeli invasions were ongoing “a bit everywhere in the proximity” of the Blue Line, as the Israeli military expands operations across southern Lebanon.
CNN’s Sana Noor Haq contributed reporting.
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Man injured by stabbing attack in Israel has died, according to hospital spokesperson
From CNN’s Dana Karni and Annoa Abekah-Mensah
Israeli police officers surround an ambulance transporting an injured man after a stabbing attack on October 9, in Hadera, Israel.
Amir Levy/Getty Images
A man has died after he was wounded in a stabbing attack in the city of Hadera, in northern Israel, on Wednesday, according to a hospital official.
“Unfortunately, despite the extensive efforts of the medical staff, the death of the critically injured patient has been confirmed, we share in the family’s sorrow,” a Hillel Yaffe Medical Center spokesperson told CNN on Thursday
The man was one of five people who had been targeted on Wednesday during a “terror attack” in the Haifa district, Israeli police said, adding that the suspect was “neutralized by an armed citizen” at the scene.
The man, 35, is a father of six, according to Israeli media. At least two other victims, aged 50 and 70, remained in serious condition, Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency service, reported.
Israel’s minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir offered “a prayer for the healing of the wounded” after the attack.
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Lebanon says efforts intensify to reach ceasefire in the country
From CNN’s Mostafa Salem
Efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Lebanon have intensified over the past few hours, according to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s office, adding that contact between the United States and France is ongoing to revive a ceasefire proposal between Hezbollah and Israel.
US President Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron proposed a 21-day ceasefire during the UN General Assembly last month. Israel assassinated Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah three days after the proposal and launched intensive attacks on the group, derailing the talks.
Netanyahu publicly rejected a ceasefire ahead of the assassination. Prospects for a truce diminished further after Iran, who backs Hezbollah, fired a barrage of missiles on Israel last week.
“There are contacts taking place between the United States and France…with the aim of reviving the declaration of a ceasefire for a specific period in order to resume the search for political solutions,” Mikati’s office said on X, citing the prime minister.
Mikati said his government is ready to implement the 2006 Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for a permanent ceasefire and end to hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. The resolution also stipulates that Hezbollah forces must withdraw north of the Litani River in Lebanon, and that only the Lebanese military should hold positions in the border area.
Hezbollah’s top official Naim Qassem said Tuesday that his group backs ceasefire efforts spearheaded by Shia allies inside Lebanon. This was the first time the group publicly endorsed a truce and didn’t condition it on stopping the war in Gaza.
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More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, health ministry says
From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman and Sana Noor Haq
Palestinian women mourn a relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, on August 22.
Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
At least 42,065 Palestinians have been killed and another 97,886 injured since Israel launched its war in Gaza on October 7, according to the Ministry of Health in the enclave.
In the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes in the strip killed at least 55 Palestinians and wounded 166 people, the ministry reported on Thursday.
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Israeli strike kills at least 28 Palestinians at school in central Gaza, Red Crescent says
From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman, Abeer Salman and Sana Noor Haq
A wounded Palestinian is carried to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza, on October 10.
Ramadan Abed/Reuters
An Israeli airstrike killed at least 28 Palestinians and wounded dozens more people at a school in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Thursday, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
The attack on the Rafida school injured at least 54 Palestinians, according to the Red Crescent.
Hospital officials earlier put the toll at 16, saying it hit people sheltering at the site.
The Israeli military said it struck “terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center” at the school compound. CNN cannot independently verify the statement.
This post has been updated. CNN’s Dana Karni contributed reporting.
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"Save our children": Director of northern Gaza hospital appeals against Israeli evacuation orders
From CNN's Abeer Salman and Eyad Kourdi
The director of one of the last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza has issued a desperate plea against an Israeli military order to evacuate, warning that it puts children’s lives at severe risk.
In a video message shared with CNN, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the facility’s intensive care unit is already treating more children than it was designed for and that the severity of the conditions means nowhere could accommodate them if they were to evacuate.
Since Sunday, the Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for large areas in northern Gaza — including Beit Hanoun, Jabalya, and Beit Lahia — saying it launched a new ground offensive there to combat efforts by Hamas to rebuild its capabilities in the area.
Kamal Adwan, Al-Awda and the Indonesian Hospital, each already only partially functioning, have been ordered to evacuate by the Israeli military, according to both Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians and injured more than 97,000, according to the health ministry in the enclave, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. CNN cannot independently confirm the figures.
According to the United Nations, an estimated 11,355 children are among those killed, with the health ministry in Gaza saying previously that many of the dead are women and children.
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US urges Israel to address “catastrophic conditions” in Gaza
From CNN's Alex Stambaugh
Palestinians walk past the rubble of houses destroyed in Israel's military offensive in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 7.
Mohammed Salem/Reuters
Israel must urgently address the “catastrophic conditions” in Gaza, the US envoy to the United Nations said Wednesday, as she warned that “actions by the Israeli government to limit the delivery of aid” would intensify suffering.
Though predicted months ago, the dire conditions in the enclave had yet to be addressed, US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council.
“Conditions are catastrophic and will further deteriorate if additional steps are not taken,” Thomas-Greenfield said, according to remarks released by her office.
More than 41,000 people have been killed in Israel’s year-long bombardment of Gaza, which has decimated the health care system and spawned a humanitarian crisis for 1.9 million displaced Palestinians.
Thomas-Greenfield also said the US is “deeply concerned” by draft Israeli legislation that would declare the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the main UN agency in Gaza, a “terrorist” organization and bar it from operating in Israel.
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Israel’s security cabinet to vote on Iran response, source says
From CNN’s Dana Karni
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets after Iran launched ballistic missiles, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on October 1.
Amir Cohen/Reuters
Israel’s security cabinet will convene on Thursday to vote on the country’s response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack, an Israeli official told CNN.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel’s response to Iran would be “powerful, precise, and above all – surprising.”
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Israel launches new strikes on Lebanon
From CNN’s Dana Karni and Alex Stambaugh
Israel’s military said it launched new strikes on Lebanon overnight, targeting what it said were Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the capital’s southern suburbs and the south of the country.
Two Hezbollah commanders responsible for missile attacks on northern Israel were also “eliminated” in the strikes, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
Hezbollah is yet to comment, and the extent of the damage remains unclear.
In its statement, the Israeli military said it gave advance warning to civilians prior to the strikes on Dahiyeh, southern Beirut. The IDF issued evacuation orders for specific buildings in the Haret Hreik and Hadath areas of the Hezbollah stronghold on Wednesday, saying it would soon target those sites.
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More than 1,500 killed in Lebanon in recent weeks, health ministry says
From CNN’s Eyad Kourdi
Rescue workers search for victims on a destroyed hotel-turned-shelter for displaced people hit by an Israeli airstrike, in Wardaniyeh, south Lebanon, on October 9.
Mohammad Zaatari/AP
More than 1,500 people in Lebanon have been killed and over 8,000 injured since Israel escalated its war on Hezbollah last month, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Some 1.2 million people have been displaced in the country since fighting escalated last month, Lebanese authorities have previously said, as the humanitarian crisis grows and Israel expands its military operations.
A quarter of Lebanon is now under Israeli military displacement orders, according to the United Nations.
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Israel strikes Syria’s Homs province, state media reports
From CNN’s Eyad Kourdi and Alex Stambaugh
An Israeli strike hit an industrial area south of the Syrian city of Homs, according to Syria’s state-run news agency.
SANA reported that the strike on Thursday hit the city of Hassia, around 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Homs and near the border with Lebanon.
The agency, citing a military source, said the attack was launched around 1 a.m. local time from the direction of northern Lebanon and targeted a car factory.
“Losses from the attack were limited to material damage only,” the agency said, citing the source.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.
Some context: Israel has carried out numerous attacks on Syria in recent weeks, targeting what it says are Hezbollah figures and infrastructure used to smuggle weapons into Lebanon.
On Tuesday, at least seven people were killed and 11 wounded by an Israeli attack on a residential building in Syria’s capital Damascus, according to SANA. CNN geolocated the building and found it is near many diplomatic facilities. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declined to comment.
Last Friday, the Israeli military said it struck an underground tunnel crossing the Lebanese border into Syria that was used by Hezbollah to transport weapons “from Iran and its proxies to Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
Hezbollah is part of an Iran-led alliance spanning Yemen, Syria, Gaza and Iraq that has attacked Israel and its allies since Israel’s war with Hamas began a year ago.
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Israel vows "surprising" response to Iran as Biden talks to Netanyahu. Catch up here
From CNN staff
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Reuters
As the Middle East braces for Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the strike would be “powerful, precise, and above all – surprising.”
His remarks come as the White House said US President Joe Biden held a “direct,” 30-minute phone call with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu — their first conversation in almost two months, a sign of how fraught relations have become and how distant the two leaders are in their objectives for the region.
The White House characterized the conversation as an extension of discussions between US and Israeli officials about Israel’s response to Iran. It did not provide any further details about Israel’s planned retaliation, which Biden has said should be “proportional.”
Here’s what else you need to know:
Lebanon escalation: A quarter of Lebanese territory is now under Israeli military displacement orders, according to the UN, a sign of the growing scale of the humanitarian crisis and expansion of Israel’s war against Hezbollah. More than 1,400 people have been killed and 1.2 million displaced in Lebanon since Israel launched its ground incursion and intensified airstrikes earlier this month, according to Lebanese officials.
Ground war: Israel will continue to “strike Hezbollah with intensity, without allowing them any respite or recovery,” the head of the Israeli military said. His remarks come as Israel’s energy minister said Israeli soldiers had “occupied” a southern Lebanese village, sharing an image of the Israeli flag raised there. Israel has expanded its ground operations into southwest Lebanon, after previously focusing on the eastern part of the border area, but has insisted its ground incursions are “limited.”
No sign of ceasefire: Biden stressed to Netanyahu the need for a “diplomatic arrangement” that would allow displaced Israelis and Lebanese to return to their homes, the White House said, in phrasing that appeared to intentionally stop short of calling for a ceasefire along the border. It comes after Hezbollah said it supports efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Lebanon, marking the first time the group has publicly endorsed a truce and not conditioned it on stopping the war in Gaza.
In Gaza: Medical responders and the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news network accused the Israeli military of firing at a group of journalists in the Palestinian enclave, killing one person and injuring others. The Israel Defense Forces told CNN it was “not aware of IDF troops in the specified area” at that time.
UN warning: The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has warned that its humanitarian response in Gaza “may disintegrate” if an Israeli move to ban the agency from its territory is passed into law. “If the bills are adopted, the consequences will be severe,” Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, told the UN Security Council.
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A quarter of Lebanon is now under Israeli displacement orders, UN says
From CNN’s Alex Stambaugh
Flames and smoke rise from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, on October 7.
Bilal Hussein/AP
A quarter of Lebanese territory is now under Israeli military displacement orders, according to the United Nations, a sign of the growing scale of the humanitarian crisis and expansion of Israel’s war against Hezbollah.
On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued new evacuation orders for specific buildings in the Haret Hreik and Hadath areas of Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut and Hezbollah stronghold, saying it would soon target those sites.
More context: Israel has carried out more than 1,100 airstrikes on southern Lebanon since its ground operations began earlier this month, the IDF said Wednesday.
CNN teams in Beirut reported earlier that many Israeli strikes have hit without warning and that Israel sends evacuation orders by text in the middle of the night, when most people are asleep.
More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel escalated its war on Hezbollah, according to the Lebanese health ministry. More than 1.2 million people have been displaced since fighting escalated last month, Lebanese authorities have said.
The country’s health sector has been put under “immense pressure of relentless attacks” on health facilities and personnel and its education sector faces “enormous challenges,” the OCHA report said, with most schools having been repurposed into shelters.
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UNRWA chief warns of "severe consequences" for Gaza as Israel moves to ban UN agency
From CNN’s Mia Alberti
Philippe Lazzarini speaks during an interview in New York on September 24.
Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
A United Nations official warned that its humanitarian response in Gaza “may disintegrate” if the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were to be banned from Israeli territory, citing legislation moving through the Israeli parliament (Knesset).
“Operationally, the entire humanitarian response in Gaza – which rests on UNRWA’s infrastructure – may disintegrate,” he said, adding that “senior Israeli officials have described destroying UNRWA as a war goal.”
What’s happening: On Sunday, the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee moved forward a group of bills which seek to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating in Israeli territory and to forbid any state authority from having any contact with the agency, according to a Knesset statement on X.
“Politically, the anti-UNRWA legislation, which is part of a broader campaign to dismantle the agency, seeks to strip Palestinians from their refugee status, and change – unilaterally – the parameters for a future political solution,” Lazzarini said.
Remember: The Israeli government in January accused some UNRWA staff members of involvement in the October 7 attacks on Israel. The Israeli government did not make their evidence public, nor – according to UNRWA – did they share it with the agency. UNWRA in January said it had terminated the accused employees’ contracts.
Added context: Israel’s relations with the UN have sunk to historic lows in the past year, with senior UN officials highly critical of Israel’s war conduct in Gaza. Israeli officials have long criticized UNRWA, which plays a central role in feeding and sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees.
In the past 12 months, 226 UNRWA personnel have been killed in Gaza and two-thirds of its buildings have been damaged or destroyed, Lazzarini said.
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Israel has carried out more than 1,100 airstrikes on southern Lebanon since ground war began
From CNN's Lauren Izso and Catherine Nicholls
A destroyed hotel-turned-shelter for displaced people hit by an Israeli airstrike is seen through a broken window, in Wardaniyeh, south Lebanon, on October 9.
Mohammad Zaatari/AP
Israel has carried out more than 1,100 airstrikes on southern Lebanon since its ground war began earlier this month, its military announced on Wednesday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement it had attacked “munitions warehouses, launchers, tunnel shafts and observation and sniping positions” in the airstrikes.
IDF aircraft and ground forces are working closely together to multiply force and help “neutralize threats,” it continued.
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Three quarters of Lebanon’s public schools have been converted into shelters, UN says
From CNN's Tara John in New York
Imran Riza attends an interview in Beirut, Lebanon on October 3.
Ahmad Al-Kerdi/Reuters
The start of Lebanon’s new school year has been postponed to November 4 “as 75% of the country’s public schools have been converted into shelters,” a United Nations official said Wednesday as he spoke about the impact Israel’s escalating offensive against Hezbollah is having on the country.
“More than 600,000 people” are internally displaced across the country, over half of them women and girls, he said.
Of that figure, “at least 350,000” are children, he said of the evolving humanitarian crisis in which more than 300,000 people have fled to neighboring countries, “crossing over to Syria, and many of them moving on to Iraq or Turkey as well.”
Meanwhile, 185,000 people are seeking refuge in 1,000 shelters, “80% of which are already fully at capacity,” Riza said.
Riza said thousands of others are being displaced “by orders issued with little notice and often past midnight, are left to sleep on the streets or (do) not really know where to go.”
Remember: CNN teams in Beirut have reported that many Israeli strikes happened without warning. Israel also sends evacuation orders by text in the middle of the night, when most people are sleeping.
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Biden talks with Netanyahu for first time in weeks as Israel weighs response to Iran attack
From CNN’s Kevin Liptak
Joe Biden delivers remarks at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 9.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
US President Joe Biden held a “direct,” 30-minute phone call with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, their first conversation in almost two months and a chance to confer over Israel’s planned response to an Iranian ballistic missile attack.
Yet neither she nor a short White House description of the call, sent a few hours afterward, provided any further details about Israel’s planned retaliation for last week’s missile barrage.
A White House readout described Biden condemning “unequivocally” the Iranian missile attack, without expanding any further on the two leaders’ discussion of Israel’s response, which was the reason for the call and which Biden has said should not include an attack on Iranian nuclear sites.
That the two leaders went 49 days without speaking amid rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East was a sign of how fraught the relationship has become, and how distant the two leaders have become in their objectives for the region.
Biden has grown frustrated that Netanyahu appears to brush off his advice and recommendations, and to publicly reject his attempts at lowering regional temperatures. Some American officials have privately speculated the Israeli leader is looking to boost Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the weeks ahead of November’s election.
Israel vows no respite for Hezbollah as defense minister pledges "surprising" response to Iran
From CNN’s Lauren Izso and Mia Alberti
Israel will continue to “strike Hezbollah with intensity, without allowing them any respite or recovery,” according to the head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Herzi Halevi said Wednesday that Hezbollah had been weakened and was “making efforts to conceal the significant damage” it had suffered.
The Israeli military announced earlier Wednesday that Israel has carried out more than 1,100 airstrikes on southern Lebanon since its ground operations began earlier this month.
Also speaking on Wednesday, Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said the recent Iranian attacks on Israel had been “aggressive” but ultimately “failed” since no military assets were damaged.
