Israeli strikes in northern Lebanon and Gaza have killed dozens, officials said

Israeli strikes in northern Lebanon and Gaza have killed scores of people, including several children, rescuers and officials said.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said at least 23 people, including seven children, were killed on Sunday in Almat near Byblos, north of the capital Beirut.

In northern Gaza, the security forces said at least 30 people were killed in Israeli strikes on two houses in the besieged area.

The first strike on Sunday hit a house in Jabalia, killing “at least 25” people, including 13 children, and injuring more than 30, according to the agency.

Five other people were killed in the Sabra area of ​​Gaza City and others are still missing, the civil defense department said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hezbollah had stored weapons, and was working on them, at their destination in Lebanon.

It added that “a number of measures have been taken to reduce the risk of civilian casualties, including the use of aerial surveillance and precision intelligence”.

The IDF said it raided a site in Jabalia where “terrorists were operating” and that even in that strike, measures were taken to reduce casualties.

The details of both incidents are being reviewed, he said.

The Ministry of Health in Lebanon said rescuers are still searching for debris after the strike in Almat.

Israel has stepped up its campaign against the Iranian-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Its main target was southern Lebanon, aiming to weaken the group’s ability to launch rockets across the border. But in recent weeks, operations have targeted cities and towns across Lebanon.

In another incident in the south, three medical workers were killed when an Israeli strike attacked the building of the Islamic Health Authority in Adloun, the Ministry of Health said.

In another update, the Ministry of Health in Lebanon in a statement on Sunday said that 53 people were killed on Saturday, including 28 in the south and 17 in Baalbek.

The IDF said it intercepted Hezbollah rockets on Saturday after the militant group set off 70 bombs, according to the Israeli military.

Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated seven weeks ago, at least 3,189 people have been killed, 14,078 injured and more than 1.2 million displaced across Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.

In Gaza, aid groups say Jabalia and other parts of northern Gaza have been under siege since early October when Israel launched a renewed offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Dr. Fadel Naim, director of Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza City, told AP news that his center has received 17 bodies from Jabalia so far, including nine women, and the death toll is likely to rise.

Eyewitnesses described the Israeli strike as “an earthquake”.

“We were sitting in peace. These are innocent citizens who do not belong to a military organization or group,” eyewitness Hamza Alloush told Reuters.

The house was “bombed over the heads of the residents without warning, resulting in the killing of all the people inside. Those who were lucky enough to survive were thrown into the trees, over the neighbors, and the remains are still scattered under the rubble”, he said.

Videos and photos showed many bodies wrapped in blankets after the cars collapsed at the hospital.

Another strike in Gaza City killed an official of the social department and seven members of his family, including his wife and children, doctors and relatives.

Israel faces a US deadline that expires within days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face possible restrictions on military cooperation.

I The UN said earlier The “darkest moment” of the war in Gaza was ongoing in the northern part of the territory.

Meanwhile, the AFP news agency reported that the Syrian Ministry of Defense said that an Israeli air strike on a building south of the capital Damascus killed seven people on Sunday.

The dead included women and children, and 20 were injured, the ministry said in a statement sent to AFP.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the media that the attack was aimed at members of Hezbollah.

The UK-based monitoring group said the strike targeted “a building where Lebanese families and members of the organization live”.

There was no immediate comment from the IDF, AFP reported.

On Saturday, Israel rejected warnings of famine in northern Gaza from international food security experts, saying the group relied on “partial, biased information and superficial sources with ambitions”.

The Independent Famine Review Committee (FRC), an independent organization for analyzing famine, said that there are many chances of famine and that measures must be taken immediately to alleviate the dire situation.

Israel said it had stepped up aid efforts, including opening another crossing on Friday to get more aid into southern Gaza.

The IDF later said it delivered 11 trucks of food, water and medical aid to Jabalia and Beit Hanoun on Thursday.

Meanwhile, efforts to reach a ceasefire have stalled, with Qatar suspends its work as an arbitrator until Hamas and Israel “show their willingness” to negotiate.

Israel launched its current military offensive in Gaza after a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages back to Gaza.

The health department run by Hamas in Gaza, its statistics may The UN sees it as crediblereported a death toll of more than 43,600 since the war began. Many other bodies are believed to be still under the rubble of bombed buildings.

In Lebanon, Israel continued to attack Hezbollah after nearly a year of cross-border fighting sparked by the Gaza war.

Israeli airstrikes have eliminated most of the group’s leadership and caused heavy damage in southern and eastern Lebanon and areas south of Beirut – areas where Hezbollah is strong.

Israeli authorities say more than 70 people have been killed in Hezbollah attacks in Israel and the occupied Golan Heights last year.