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.
Israel Defense Forces attacks in different areas of Gaza overnight and into Sunday morning killed 96 Palestinians and wounded 60 more, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said Sunday.
People check the rubble of a building hit in an overnight Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 17, 2024.
-/AFP via Getty Images
Gaza authorities reported Israeli strikes in Beit Lahiya, Nuseirat and Bureij in the north of the strip, as well as other attacks in the central portion of the territory.
The targets of the strikes are not yet clear and the IDF is yet to comment.
At least 72 of those killed were displaced people sheltering in houses in Beit Lahiya, officials said.
The Gaza government media office alleged that the IDF knew the targeted residential buildings were housing dozens of displaced civilians, and that the majority of them were children and women forced to flee civilian residential neighborhoods.
-ABC News' Samy Zyara and Somayeh Malekian
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.
