IDF bombs Beirut for 6th consecutive day

Israeli warplanes targeted what the IDF said were Hezbollah targets.

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 3:56 AM EST

The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza -- particularly in the north of the strip -- and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut. The strikes form the backdrop for a fresh diplomatic push by the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office in January.

Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called "precise strikes on military targets" in several locations in Iran following Tehran's Oct. 1 missile barrage.

Nov 17, 2024, 4:06 AM EST

Flares fired at Netanyahu's home crosses 'red lines,' defense minister says

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday condemned the overnight firing of flares at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in the coastal city of Caesarea.

Israeli media reported that three people were arrested in connection with the incident, in which authorities said two flares were fired at Netanyahu's residence. The prime minister and his family were not at home at the time and there were no injuries, authorities said.

Katz said on X that taking such actions "is crossing all red lines."

"It is not possible for the prime minister of Israel, who is threatened by Iran and its proxies who are trying to assassinate him, to be subject to the same threats from home," Katz said.

People shout slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Nov. 16, 2024.
Francisco Seco/AP

President Isaac Herzog, meanwhile, condemned the incident and warned against "an escalation of the violence in the public sphere."

A drone launched by Hezbollah struck Netanyahu's residence last month. The prime minister and his family were not present at the time, but the drone caused damage to the building.

Netanyahu and his government have been under intense public pressure to conclude a cease-fire and hostage deal with Hamas in Gaza to secure the release of dozens of hostages still held by militants. The captives were taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.

Nov 16, 2024, 4:20 PM EST

10 killed in IDF strike on Gaza school

Ten people were killed and 20 others were injured in an Israeli airstrike on a school in Al Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City Saturday afternoon, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The IDF said a strike was carried out against the school because it was being used "by the terrorists to plan imminent attacks against IDF troops," according to a statement.

A video reviewed by ABC News appears to show injured people in the courtyard of the school, the middle floor burned and the walls blown out. As people move debris on the ground, a woman looks on holding a toddler in a Mickey Mouse patterned coat, according to Reuters.

Nov 16, 2024, 8:59 AM EST

Israel strikes Beirut's southern suburbs for 5th straight day, while offensive continues across Gaza

Israel launched airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Saturday morning in a fifth consecutive day of intense attacks.

Several strikes reportedly hit the Haret Hreik area. The Israel Defense Forces warned residents of the Haret Hreik, Al-Ghobeiry and Burj Al-Barajneh that it will attack “in the near future.”

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Saturday morning that Israeli attacks have killed at least 59 people and wounded another 182 across the country in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, approximately 35 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israel’s western Galilee area on Saturday morning, all of them falling into open areas, according to the IDF, which said there were no reported injuries.

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, Nov. 16, 2024.
Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters

The IDF said Saturday morning that its ground troops are continuing “their limited, localized, and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon.” Simultaneously, ground troops are continuing “their operational activity” in parts of the Gaza Strip, including Jabalia and Beit Lahia in the north as well as Rafah in the south, according to the IDF.

Over the past day, Israeli warplanes have struck more than “160 terror targets belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip,” according to the IDF.

Israeli attacks have killed at least 35 people and wounded 111 others across the territory during the past 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health. This brings the toll to 43,799 dead and 103,601 injured since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023.

Nov 14, 2024, 3:16 PM EST

Israel has caused 'massive, deliberate forced displacement' of Palestinians in Gaza: Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch released a report documenting evidence of Israeli authorities causing "massive, deliberate forced displacement of Palestinian civilians in Gaza" since October 2023, the organization said Thursday. The group also accused Israeli officials of "war crimes and crimes against humanity."

"Israeli forces have carried out deliberate, controlled demolitions of homes and civilian infrastructure, including in areas where they have apparent aims of creating 'buffer zones' and security 'corridors,' from which Palestinians are likely to be permanently displaced. Contrary to claims by Israeli officials, their actions do not comply with the laws of war," Human Rights Watch said, in a statement about the report.

Palestinians inspect the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, after it was hit by an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, Nov. 14, 2024.
Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

Human Rights Watch interviewed displaced Palestinians in Gaza and analyzed Israel's evacuation system, "including 184 evacuation orders and satellite imagery confirming the widespread destruction," the organization said.

"There is no plausible imperative military reason to justify Israel’s mass displacement of nearly all of Gaza’s population, often multiple times. Rather than ensuring civilians’ security, military 'evacuation orders' have caused grave harm," the group said.

The Israel Defense Forces have not commented on the report.

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman

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