Israel-Gaza-Lebanon updates: 87 killed in Israeli strikes on Beit Lahia

Hezbollah in Lebanon launches rocket attacks on Israel, IDF says.

Last Updated: October 20, 2024, 3:20 PM EDT

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, was killed this week in a firefight with Israeli forces, officials said.

The development comes as Israel continues intense air and ground campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The uptick in offensive operations came as Israeli leaders planned their response to Iran's latest ballistic missile attack.

Oct 14, 2024, 1:06 PM EDT

Netanyahu: 'We will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel "will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon" while visiting the Golani camp, which was hit by a Hezbollah drone Sunday evening, killing four IDF soldiers and injuring dozens.

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.
Pamela Smith/AP, FILE

"I want to make it clear: We will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon -- also in Beirut, all according to operational considerations. We have proven this in recent times, and we will continue to prove it in the coming days as well," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu extended his condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and said he would visit the injured later on Monday.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Oct 14, 2024, 11:59 AM EDT

Doctors Without Borders staffer killed in northern Gaza

A Doctors Without Borders staffer has been killed in northern Gaza, the organization announced Monday.

Nasser Hamdi Abdelatif Al Shalfouh, 31, was struck by shrapnel Tuesday and died of injuries to his legs and chest two days later, according to the organization.

He is survived by his wife and two children.

In a statement, Doctors Without Borders condemned Israeli forces for having "systematically dismantled the health system in Gaza, impeding access to life-saving care for people."

"He was unable to receive the necessary level of care due to the hospital’s lack of capacity and an overwhelming number of patients in the facility," the organization said of Al Shalfouh.

Al Shalfouh joined Doctors Without Borders as a driver in March 2023, but had not been able to work for them recently as operations have been impacted by the war, the group said.

He is the seventh Doctors Without Borders staffer to be killed in Gaza since the war began, the organization added.

"We are horrified by the killing of our colleague which we strongly condemn and call yet again for the respect and protection of civilians,” the NGO said. “In this tragic moment, our thoughts are with his family and all colleagues mourning his death."

Oct 14, 2024, 10:42 AM EDT

Americans in Lebanon should 'depart now,' embassy says

American citizens in Lebanon "are strongly encouraged to depart now," the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said in a new alert Monday.

The embassy has been urging Americans to depart Lebanon via commercial flights in recent weeks. Monday's warning was the starkest yet.

A commercial plane takes off from Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport as smoke rises from a nearby Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, on Oct. 10, 2024.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

The embassy noted it had helped add thousands of extra seats to commercial flights to help Americans leave amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

"Much of this capacity has gone unused," Monday's alert said. "Please understand that these additional flights will not continue indefinitely."

"U.S. citizens who choose not to depart at this time should prepare contingency plans should the situation deteriorate further," the embassy said.

"These alternative plans should not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation," the notice read.

The embassy has been warning citizens not to travel to Lebanon since July.

Oct 14, 2024, 8:58 AM EDT

Airstrike kills 18 in north Lebanon, Red Cross says

Eighteen people were killed and four wounded in an airstrike in the town of Aitou in northern Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Red Cross wrote on X.Seven Red Cross teams were dispatched to the area in the Zgharta district, the organization said. "Our teams are working to provide first aid and evacuate the wounded," it added.

A Lebanese army soldier directs an ambulance at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the northern Lebanese village of Aito on Oct. 14, 2024.
Fathi Al-Masri/AFP via Getty Images
Paramedics with the Lebanese Red Cross search through the rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the northern Lebanese village of Aito on Oct. 14, 2024.
Fathi Al-Masri/AFP via Getty Images

-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz and Guy Davies

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