October 19th 2024.
The Israeli government released a statement on Saturday revealing that a drone had targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home. Thankfully, there were no casualties reported. However, the ongoing conflicts with Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, and Hamas, based in Gaza, continued to rage on after the recent killing of the mastermind behind the deadly October 7 attack.
According to Israel's military, dozens of projectiles were launched from Lebanon, causing sirens to wail throughout the country. In a separate statement, Netanyahu's office confirmed that the drone had indeed targeted his house in the coastal town of Caesarea. Fortunately, neither he nor his wife were present at the time of the attack.
While Hezbollah did not claim responsibility for the drone strike, they did claim to have launched several rocket attacks on northern and central Israel. This comes as Israel prepares to respond to an Iranian attack that occurred earlier this month. In retaliation, Israel carried out three airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, which are known as Dahiyeh and are home to Hezbollah's offices. However, Israel's military has not yet confirmed these strikes.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israeli forces fired at hospitals in the already devastated northern part of the Palestinian enclave. As a result, more than 50 people, including children, were killed in less than 24 hours. The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, expressed his concern over the possibility of a full-scale war in the region during a visit to Turkey.
The conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, who is an ally of Hamas and backed by Iran, has only intensified. Just yesterday, Hezbollah announced their plans to escalate the fighting even further by sending more guided missiles and exploding drones into Israel. This militant group has been led by Hassan Nasrallah for many years, but he was killed in a recent Israeli airstrike. In response, Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon earlier this month.
Israel's military reported that about 180 projectiles were fired from Lebanon on Saturday. Tragically, a 50-year-old man was killed by shrapnel while sitting in his car in northern Israel, and four others were injured. In the city of Kiryat Ata, a rocket landed and caused damage to buildings and cars. The Haifa area commander, Itzik Billet, confirmed that nine people sustained minor injuries. Additionally, the Israeli fire service has been battling several fires caused by missile strikes in the Shlomi area near the Lebanese border.
According to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Baaloul village killed five people, including the mayor of a nearby village. Israel's military is currently investigating reports of this strike, as well as another one in the eastern Bekaa valley. Meanwhile, Lebanon's health ministry reported that a vehicle was hit by an Israeli airstrike on a highway north of Beirut, resulting in two deaths.
Amidst all of this violence, Israel has repeatedly issued warnings for people to evacuate buildings and villages in certain areas of Lebanon. This ongoing conflict has already displaced over one million people, including 400,000 children. On Saturday, Israel claimed to have killed Hezbollah's deputy commander in the southern town of Bint Jbeil. According to the army, Nasser Rashid was responsible for organizing attacks against Israel.
Both Israel and Hamas have shown no signs of backing down in the war in Gaza, even after the recent death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. He was the mastermind behind a raid on Israel last year that resulted in the deaths of about 1200 people, most of whom were civilians. On Friday, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expressed his condolences for Sinwar's death and declared that Hamas will continue to fight.
Hamas has made it clear that they will not release the hostages taken from Israel until there is a cease-fire and Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. On the other hand, Netanyahu has stated that Israel's military will keep fighting until the hostages are freed. Furthermore, they plan to remain in Gaza to prevent Hamas from rearming and posing a threat in the future.
On Saturday, more strikes pounded Gaza, causing internet networks to go down in the northern part of the territory. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that Israeli strikes hit the upper floors of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, causing panic among staff and patients. In another strike at Al-Awda hospital in Jabaliya, several staff members were injured.
Sadly, overnight on Friday, three houses in Jabaliya were struck, resulting in the deaths of at least 30 people, including women and children. The head of the health ministry's ambulance and emergency service, Fares Abu Hamza, confirmed that at least 80 people were injured in these strikes. In central Gaza, a house in the town of Zawayda was hit, killing at least 10 people, including two children. Another strike in the Maghazi refugee camp killed 11 members of the same family. Associated Press journalists on the scene counted the bodies from both of these strikes.
Even a United Nations school in Gaza City, which was being used as a shelter for displaced people, was hit by Israeli strikes, killing several people. This has only added to the destruction and devastation in Gaza, which has already displaced 90% of its population of 2.3 million people. Many are struggling to find basic necessities such as food, water, medicine, and fuel.
The death of Yahya Sinwar could potentially change the course of this war in Gaza, but Israel continues to press on with their offensive against Hezbollah. Allies of Israel and exhausted residents of Gaza are hopeful that this could lead to an end to the fighting. In Israel, families of hostages still being held in Gaza are urging the government to use Sinwar's death as an opportunity to restart negotiations for their release. However, Netanyahu made it clear that their ultimate goal is to destroy Hamas in Gaza politically, and this war is far from over.
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