Solar Energy News
WAR REPORT
Israel pummels south Beirut as Hezbollah targets Haifa area
Israel pummels south Beirut as Hezbollah targets Haifa area
By Lisa Golden with Raziye Akkoc in Jerusalem
Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) Nov 16, 2024

Israel launched a wave of air strikes on Hezbollah bastions in Beirut and south Lebanon on Saturday, as the Iran-backed militants said they fired on several Israeli military bases around the coastal city of Haifa.

Israel's military reported a "heavy rocket barrage" on Haifa and said a synagogue was hit, wounding two civilians.

A military statement shortly before midnight said Hezbollah had fired around 80 projectiles at the country Saturday.

Israel has escalated its bombing of Lebanon since September 23 and has since sent in ground troops, following almost a year of limited, cross-border exchanges of fire begun by Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in support of Hamas in Gaza.

In the Palestinian territory, where Hamas's attack on Israel triggered the war, the civil defence agency reported 24 people killed in strikes Saturday.

Security services in Israel said two flares landed near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in the town of Caesarea, south of Haifa, but he was not home.

The incident comes about a month after a drone targeted the same residence, which Hezbollah claimed.

Israel's military chief said Saturday Hezbollah had already "paid a big price" but Israel will keep fighting until tens of thousands of its residents displaced from the north can return safely.

AFPTV footage showed fresh strikes Saturday on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, after Israel's military told residents to leave.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported a series of strikes.

The Israeli military said aircraft had targeted "a weapons storage facility" and a Hezbollah "command centre".

- Lebanon rescuers mourned -

The NNA also reported strikes on the southern city of Tyre, including in a neighbourhood near UNESCO-listed ancient ruins. Israel's military late Saturday said it had hit Hezbollah facilities in the Tyre area.

In Lebanon's east, the health ministry said an Israeli strike in the Bekaa Valley had killed six people including three children.

Hezbollah said it fired a guided missile that set an Israeli tank ablaze in the southwest Lebanon village of Shamaa, about five kilometres (three miles) from the border.

Late Saturday, Hezbollah said it had targeted five military bases including the Stella Maris naval base.

In eastern Lebanon, funerals were held for 14 civil defence staff killed in an Israeli strike on Thursday.

"They weren't involved with any (armed) party... they were just waiting to answer calls for help," said Ali al-Zein, a relative of one of the dead.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,452 people have been killed since October last year, with most casualties recorded since September.

Israel announced the death of a soldier in southern Lebanon, bringing to 48 the number killed fighting Hezbollah.

In Hamas-run Gaza, the Israeli military said it had continued operations in the northern areas of Jabalia and Beit Lahia, the targets of an intense offensive since early October.

- North Gaza -

Israel said its renewed operations were aimed at stopping Hamas from regrouping.

A UN-backed assessment on November 9 warned famine was imminent in northern Gaza, amid the increased hostilities and a near-halt in food aid.

Israel has pushed back against a 172-page Human Rights Watch report this week that said its mass displacement of Gazans amounts to a "crime against humanity", as well as findings from a UN Special Committee pointing warfare practices "consistent with the characteristics of genocide".

A foreign ministry spokesman dismissed the HRW report as "completely false", while the United States -- Israel's main military supplier -- said accusations of genocide "are certainly unfounded".

The Gaza health ministry on Saturday said the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war had reached 43,799.

The majority of the dead are civilians, according to ministry figures, which the United Nations considers reliable.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

- Tel Aviv protest -

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv on Saturday reiterated demands that the government reach a deal to free dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.

The protest came a week after mediator Qatar suspended its role until Hamas and Israel show "seriousness" in truce and hostage-release talks.

In a rare claim of responsibility for a strike on Syria, Israel said it had targeted the Islamic Jihad group on Thursday.

A statement from the group on Saturday confirmed that "prominent leader" Abdel Aziz Minawi and external relations chief Rasmi Yusuf Abu Issa had been killed in the air raid on Qudsaya, in the Damascus area.

Islamic Jihad still holds several Israeli hostages taken during the October 7 attack.

Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad are all backed by Israel's arch-enemy Iran, which said Friday it supported a swift end to the nearly two-month war in Lebanon.

With diplomacy aimed at ending the Gaza war stalled, a top government official in Beirut said Friday that US ambassador Lisa Johnson had presented a 13-point proposal to halt the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

It includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would deploy troops to the border. Israel has yet to respond to the plan, the official added.

burs-jj/rsc

Related Links
Space War News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WAR REPORT
Strike hits south Beirut after evacuation warning; 20 militants killed in Israel strikes on Syria
Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) Nov 14, 2024
Air strikes hit the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Thursday after an Israeli warning to evacuate parts of the Hezbollah bastion, AFPTV images showed. A plume of grey smoke rose over the area after the latest strike since Israel sharply intensified its campaign against the Iran-backed militant group in September. Shortly before the strike, Israel had issued a warning to residents to evacuate their homes. "You are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests against which the (Isr ... read more

WAR REPORT
Turning automotive engines into modular chemical plants to make green fuels

Sacred cow: coal-hungry India eyes bioenergy to cut carbon

Waste heat from London sewers eyed to warm UK parliament

Bio-based fibers may have greater environmental impact than traditional plastics

WAR REPORT
Invisible touch Stevens team empowers AI to sense and evaluate surfaces

Can robots learn from machine dreams?

Workshop emphasizes role of AI in advancing space exploration

Understanding the sense of self through robotics

WAR REPORT
Sweden blocks 13 offshore wind farms over defence concerns

Sweden's defence concerned by planned offshore wind power

On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument

Renewables revolt in Sardinia, Italy's coal-fired island

WAR REPORT
China's Xiaomi posts sales bump as EV deliveries speed up

China expanding advanced EV charging stations to meet growing demand

Bentley pushes back target of all-electric luxury cars to 2035

BMW's profits plunge as China sales slump

WAR REPORT
RTX's Raytheon secures U.S. Army contract for wireless power beaming

Spinning fusion fuel for efficiency

Tackling the energy revolution, one sector at a time

NASA opens Power Systems essay contest for K12 students

WAR REPORT
Framatome's PROtect fuel achieves key milestone at Gosgen Nuclear Plant in Switzerland

Framatome and Nuclearelectrica partner to produce Lutetium-177 in Romania

Vietnam looks to restart nuclear power projects

US touts Trump-proof nuclear expansion plans at COP29

WAR REPORT
Climate finance can be hard sell, says aide to banks and PMs

'Vague' net zero rules threaten climate targets, scientists warn

US says its climate financing reached $11 bn this year

Trump picks Doug Burgum as energy czar in new administration

WAR REPORT
How forest density affects tree movement and resilience

Biden touts climate legacy in landmark Amazon visit

Biden in historic Amazon trip as Trump return sparks climate fears

EU deforestation ban in chaos as parliament loosens rules

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.