Hopes for a ceasefire between Israel and its adversaries, Hamas and Hezbollah, evaporated as Israeli airstrikes killed more than 68 people in the Gaza Strip and bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday, Reuters reported.
The Israeli military said it killed senior Hamas official Izz al-Din Kassab following an extensive airstrike campaign in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.
Despite pressure from U.S. envoys attempting to broker peace ahead of the U.S. presidential election next Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated he would continue to “enforce security despite any pressure or constraints.” His message was relayed to U.S. envoys Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk, who are currently stationed in Israel, on Thursday, according to his office.
Meanwhile, Israel’s army bombed several cities and camps across Gaza, including Deir al-Balah, the Nuseirat camp, and Al-Zawayda, killing 68 people. In line with previous attacks since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces targeted a school-turned to shelter in Nuseirat, killing 14 people, according to medics at Al-Awda Hospital in the camp. Another 10 people were killed in a car in Khan Younis, medics reported.
Following the strikes, residents said Israeli tanks rolled into the northern and eastern sides of Nuseirat, killing four people, three of whom were children. The Israeli military did not comment on the reported school strikes, stating it had targeted “armed terrorists” in central Gaza.
Israel has displaced 1.8 million Gazans and 1.4 million Lebanese since the start of the war, which began in Gaza and spread to the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, and Iran.
The population of Palestine faces “apocalyptic” conditions as temperatures fall and the risk of disease and famine rises to an all-time high, according to the heads of United Nations humanitarian agencies.
Reuters reported at least ten strikes across southern Beirut, Lebanon’s densely populated capital. The strikes followed an evacuation order ten neighborhoods in the city’s southern suburbs. Lebanon’s health ministry said the Israeli strikes killed 52 people on Friday in the towns located in the Baalbek region, which is home to several UNESCO-listed Roman ruins.