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 12, 2024, 6:50 AM EST

Airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs

Several large airstrikes rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday morning, shortly after the Israel Defense Forces issued new evacuation orders for people living in the southern suburbs of Dahiya.

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiya in southern Beirut, Lebanon, on Nov. 12, 2024.
Bilal Hussein/AP

Dahiya -- known as a Hezbollah stronghold -- has borne the brunt of Israeli airstrikes on the capital. It was here that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by a massive Israeli attack in September.

The IDF has said it is targeting Hezbollah operatives, weapons manufacturing facilities and arms storage sites in the area.

Lebanese authorities say 3,200 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since cross-border fighting with Hezbollah flared again on Oct. 8, 2023.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

Nov 12, 2024, 5:54 AM EST

New Gaza aid crossing opens, Israel says

The Israel Defense Forces and the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories agency announced Tuesday the opening of a new humanitarian aid crossing into the Gaza Strip, on the same day a U.S. deadline to improve the flow of aid expired.

"In accordance with directives from the political echelon, and as part of the effort and commitment to increase the volume and routes of aid to the Gaza Strip, the 'Kisufim' crossing was opened" for "the transfer of humanitarian aid trucks," the statement said.

The deliveries will include "food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment to central and southern Gaza," the statement said. The supplies underwent "strict security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing" before being sent into the strip, the IDF and COGAT said.

An Oct. 13 letter signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that continued failure to allow adequate aid into Gaza may trigger U.S. laws restricting military support for Israel.

Among the letter's demands were that Israel allow a minimum of 350 truckloads of goods to enter Gaza each day, that it open a fifth crossing into the besieged territory, that it allow people in Israeli-imposed coastal tent camps to move inland before the winter and that it ensure access for aid groups to hard-hit northern Gaza.

The letter also called on Israel to halt legislation -- since passed -- that would hinder the operations of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

Nov 12, 2024, 5:19 AM EST

Israel fails to meet US aid demands in Gaza, NGOs say

A group of eight aid agencies published a joint statement Tuesday alleging that Israel has failed to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza in the 30-day window set by the U.S.

The U.S. deadline for Israel to "surge" food and other humanitarian aid into the devastated territory expires Tuesday.

Palestinians gather to receive meals cooked by a charity kitchen in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Nov. 10, 2024.
Ramadan Abed/Reuters

Officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned last month that Israel's failure to deliver may trigger laws requiring the U.S. to restrict military aid to Israel.

The eight NGOs -- among them Oxfam America, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Save the Children -- awarded Israel a "failing grade" in meeting U.S. demands.

"The facts are clear: the humanitarian situation in Gaza is now at its worst point since the war began in October 2023," the statement said.

"This new analysis clearly demonstrates that the Israeli government is violating its obligations under U.S. and international law to facilitate humanitarian relief for suffering Palestinians in Gaza," Refugees International President -- and former senior USAID official -- Jeremy Konyndyk said.

"With experts again projecting imminent famine in north Gaza, there is no time to lose. The United States must impose immediate restrictions on security cooperation with Israel," he added.

-ABC News' Guy Davies

Nov 12, 2024, 4:34 AM EST

US strikes Iran-backed groups in Syria

U.S. Central Command announced late Monday that American forces struck nine targets in two locations "associated with Iranian groups in Syria" in response to attacks on U.S. personnel in the country.

"These strikes will degrade the Iranian backed groups' ability to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and coalition forces" deployed to the region for operations against Islamic State militants, CENTCOM said.

"Attacks against U.S. and coalition partners in the region will not be tolerated," CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement.

"We will continue to take every step necessary to protect our personnel and coalition partners and respond to reckless attacks," he added.

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