Strikes hit south Beirut after Israel’s evacuation calls

New strikes hit Hezbollah’s stronghold south of Beirut on Thursday, AFPTV images showed, after the Israeli army warned the population to evacuate the area.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported “three violent strikes in the Haret Hreik neighborhood”, a few hours after three strikes in the same area at dawn.

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Israeli strike kills 71 pro-Iranian fighters in Palmyra, Syrian war monitor says

Israeli strikes killed 71 pro-Iranian militants in the Syrian city of Palmyra, more than a third of whom were identified as fighters from Iraq and Lebanon, an NGO said Thursday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said victims of Wednesday’s strikes included 45 fighters from pro-Iranian Syrian groups, 26 foreign fighters, mostly from the Iraqi Al-Nujaba movement, and four from Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

The strikes targeted three sites in the city renowned for their ancient ruins, including one that hit a meeting of pro-Iran groups with leaders of Al-Nujaba and Hezbollah.

The Observatory, based in Britain and drawing on a network of sources on the ground across Syria, had previously estimated the death toll from Israeli strikes on Palmyra at 61 dead.

US envoy Amos Hochstein, who is seeking to broker a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, the prime minister’s office said.

The announcement by spokesman Omer Dostri comes after Israeli media reported that Hochstein arrived in Israel on Wednesday evening and held talks with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

US envoy Amos Hochstein will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in a bid to reach a ceasefire agreement in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the prime minister’s office said.

Jerusalem, November 21, 2024 (AFP) – US envoy Amos Hochstein, who seeks to negotiate a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, his office announced.

The announcement by spokesman Omer Dostri comes after Israeli media reported that Hochstein arrived in Israel on Wednesday evening and held talks with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

68 pro-Iran fighters killed in Israeli strikes on Syria’s Palmyra, Syrian war monitor says

Sixty-eight pro-Iran activists were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian city of Palmyra, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday.

Among those killed in Wednesday’s strikes were 42 fighters from pro-Iranian Syrian groups, 26 foreign fighters, mostly from the Iraqi Al-Nujaba movement, and four from the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, the monitor said.

US envoy to meet Netanyahu on Thursday, spokesperson says

US envoy Amos Hochstein, who is seeking to broker a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday, the prime minister’s office said.

The announcement by spokesman Omer Dostri comes after Israeli media reported that Hochstein arrived in Israel on Wednesday evening and held talks with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

Gaza civil defense announces 22 dead in Israeli strike

Gaza’s civil defense agency said Thursday that 22 people were killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza City, while medical sources reported dozens of deaths in another overnight air raid.

“We can confirm that 22 martyrs were transferred (to hospital) after a strike targeting a house (…) in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood” of Gaza City, said civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal.

Dozens more were killed in another strike around midnight in northern Gaza, medical sources said. Civil defense has not yet announced the death toll from this strike.

Dozens killed and injured in Israeli strikes in northern Gaza, doctors say

Dozens of people were killed and injured in Israeli airstrikes on several homes in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, doctors told Reuters on Thursday.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday that at least 43,985 people had been killed and 104,092 injured in more than 13 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.

US Senate rejects proposal to halt some military sales to Israel

The US Senate on Wednesday blocked legislation that would have halted the sale of some US weapons to Israel, which was introduced due to concern over the human rights catastrophe facing Palestinians in Gaza.

Seventy-nine of 100 senators opposed a resolution that would have blocked sales of tank rounds to Israel, while 18 approved it and one voted present. Seventy-eight opposed a second measure, which would have stopped the sending of mortar fire, while 19 supported it and one voted present. The Senate was expected to vote later Wednesday on a third resolution that would halt shipments of a GPS guidance system for bombs.

All votes in favor of the measures came from the Democratic caucus, while “no” votes came from both Democrats and Republicans. The “resolutions of disapproval” were filed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, and co-sponsored by a handful of Democrats.

Strong bipartisan support for Israel in Congress meant the resolutions would likely never have passed, but supporters hoped that significant support in the Senate would encourage the Israeli government and President Joe Biden’s administration to do more to protect civilians in Gaza.