US says concerned by ‘horrifying’ Israeli strike that killed at least 93 in northern Gaza

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30/10/2024 - 00:05

UN says Israel must step in if it bans UNRWA

The United Nations stressed Tuesday that if Israel puts in place new laws cutting ties with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the Israeli government will have to meet their needs under international law.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says there is no other U.N. alternative to the agency, known as UNRWA. It has been a lifeline during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and the Israeli legislation “will have a devastating impact on the humanitarian situation” in the Palestinian territories, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

The United Nations is heartened by statements of support for UNRWA from all quarters and countries that often disagree with one another, Dujarric said, and “we would very much appreciate efforts by any member state to help us get over this hurdle.”

29/10/2024 - 22:02

Lebanon says at least eight killed in Israeli strike on southern city of Sarafand

Lebanon's health ministry said at least eight people were killed on Tuesday in an Israeli strike on the southern coastal city of Sarafand.

"The Israeli enemy raid on Sarafand this evening has, according to a provisional toll, left eight dead and 21 wounded," a ministry statement said, adding that rescue workers were searching for survivors.

An earlier strike further north near Sidon left six dead and 37 wounded, according to a new toll from the ministry.

29/10/2024 - 21:52

Dozens killed in Israeli strike on Gaza: 'Civilians pay the price'

Dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli strike on the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya Tuesday.

While some of the dead may have been Hamas fighters that Israel said was targeting, many were civilians who stayed in the area, FRANCE 24's Irris Makler said, reporting from Jerusalem.

"The civilians, as always in war, but particularly this war, are the ones who pay the price," she added. 

29/10/2024 - 21:35

Israeli tanks enter Khiam outskirts in deep south Lebanon incursion, state media reports

Lebanese state media said Tuesday that Israeli tanks entered the outskirts of the village of Khiam, their deepest incursion yet into south Lebanon in a ground operation launched last month.

The official National News Agency reported the entry of "a large number of tanks belonging to the Israeli occupation army" into the eastern outskirts of Khiam, some six kilometres (nearly four miles) from the border with Israel.

Hezbollah said it destroyed two tanks using guided missiles and targeted Israeli troops south and southwest of Khiam with rockets and artillery.

Lebanon's National News Agency said Israeli forces carried out a series of air attacks on Khiam later on Tuesday and launched a large-scale sweep "using heavy and medium weaponry". 

29/10/2024 - 21:03

Israel's military says four soldiers killed in northern Gaza fighting

Israel's military confirmed on Tuesday that four of its soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza, with one officer severely injured, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since October 2023 to 776.

29/10/2024 - 19:41

Iran's president says Hezbollah's new chief will 'strengthen' resistance

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday the appointment of Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as Hezbollah chief would "strengthen" the resistance.

Pezeshkian expressed confidence that Qassem's appointment "will strengthen the will of the resistance", while hoping for "the cessation of aggression by the illegal Zionist regime (Israel) and the establishment of peace, tranquillity and security in Gaza, Lebanon, and the entire region," according to his website.

29/10/2024 - 19:14

Death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon hits 2,787, health ministry says

The death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon has risen to 2,787, with 12,772 others wounded since October 2023, Lebanon's health ministry reported on Tuesday.

In the last 24 hours, the death toll reached 77, with 180 others wounded, the health ministry report added.

29/10/2024 - 19:09

Lebanon says Israeli strike kills five near Sidon

Lebanon's health ministry said at least five people were killed and another 33 injured on Tuesday in an Israeli strike on a town near the main southern city of Sidon.

"An Israeli enemy strike on Haret Saida this evening killed five people and injured 33 others in a preliminary toll," the ministry said in a statement -- the second deadly strike on the town since Sunday. Rescuers were still looking for survivors under the rubble, it added.

29/10/2024 - 18:55

UN chief writes letter to Israeli PM protesting UNRWA ban, spokesperson says

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres sent a letter Tuesday to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu protesting a new law that could effectively cripple the UN agency responsible for aiding Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), his spokesman said.

Guterres outlined in his letter "the issues of international law that have been raised by this law," Stephane Dujarric said, adding that it would have a "devastating impact on the humanitarian situation of Palestinians in the occupied territory" if implemented.

29/10/2024 - 18:54

US voices concern on 'horrifying' Israeli strike in Gaza that killed children

The United States on Tuesday voiced concern about a "horrifying" Israeli strike in Gaza that killed a large number of children and said it was asking its ally for answers.

"We are deeply concerned by the loss of civilian life in this incident. This was a horrifying incident with a horrifying result," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, pointing to "reports of two dozen children killed" in the bombing that destroyed the five-story block in Beit Lahia.

29/10/2024 - 18:53

Israeli strike in northern Gaza kills at least 60, officials say

An Israeli strike on a five-story building sheltering displaced Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 60 people on Tuesday, more than half of them women and children, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.

Israel has carried out more airstrikes and waged a bigger ground operation in northern Gaza in recent weeks, saying it is focused on rooting out pockets of Hamas militants that have regrouped there after more than a year of war. But the intense fighting is raising alarm about the worsening humanitarian conditions for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still in northern Gaza.

29/10/2024 - 09:27

Hezbollah names deputy head Naim Qassem as successor to slain chief Nasrallah

Lebanon's Hezbollah movement announced Tuesday it has chosen deputy head Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as leader after his death in an Israeli strike on south Beirut last month.

"Hezbollah's (governing) Shura Council agreed to elect ... Sheikh Naim Qassem as secretary general of Hezbollah," the Iran-backed group said in a statement, more than a month after Nasrallah's killing. 

29/10/2024 - 18:20

US surgeon claims Israel targets Gaza children: 'No child gets shot twice by mistake'

In an interview with FRANCE 24, US surgeon Mark Perlmutter claimed that Israeli snipers are deliberately targeting children in Gaza.

Perlmutter said that while he was volunteering at the European hospital of Khan Younis in southern Gaza earlier this year, he "saw two children that were shot twice".

He added: "No child gets shot twice by mistake."

29/10/2024 - 18:19

Who is new Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem?

Lebanon's Hezbollah movement announced Tuesday it has chosen deputy head Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as leader after his death in an Israeli strike on south Beirut last month.

Qassem, 71, was one of Hezbollah's founders in 1982 and had been the party's deputy secretary general since 1991, the year before Nasrallah took the helm.

FRANCE 24's Rawad Taha takes a look at what kind of leader he is likely to be.

29/10/2024 - 18:01

Norway asks ICJ to clarify Israel's aid obligations to Palestinians, PM says

Norway said Tuesday it would ask the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) to clarify Israel's aid obligations to Palestinians, a day after Israel banned the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

The Scandinavian country is "requesting that the ICJ pronounces on Israel's obligations to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population, delivered by international organisations, including the UN, and states," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a statement.

29/10/2024 - 17:38

What does UNRWA do and why does Israel want to shut it down?

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, whose operations in Israel were banned by the Israeli parliament on Monday, is seen by some as an "irreplaceable" humanitarian lifeline in Gaza, but as an accomplice of Hamas by others.

FRANCE 24 takes a look at what the organisation's role is in Gaza and why Israel is so eager to shut it down.

29/10/2024 - 15:53

UNIFIL says Hezbollah likely responsible for rocket attack on peacekeepers

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Tuesday said Hezbollah is likely behind the rocket strike that wounded several peacekeepers at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Lebanon. 

"This afternoon a rocket hit UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, setting a vehicle workshop on fire. Peacekeepers were not in bunkers at the time. While some peacekeepers suffered minor injuries, fortunately no one was seriously injured," UNIFIL said in a tweet on X.

"The rocket was fired from north of UNIFIL's headquarters, likely by Hezbullah or an affiliated group. We have opened an investigation into the incident," it said.

29/10/2024 - 14:58

Austria says eight of its UNIFIL troops in Lebanon wounded in rocket attack

Eight Austrian soldiers belonging to the UN peace-keeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) sustained slight and superficial injuries in a rocket strike on Camp Naqoura near the Israeli border, Austria's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

"We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and demand that it be investigated immediately," the ministry said in a statement, adding that it was not clear where the attack came from and none of the soldiers needed urgent medical care.

29/10/2024 - 14:48

Israel defence minister vows new Hezbollah leader won't last 'long'

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned Hezbollah's new leader, Naim Qassem, on Tuesday that his appointment was "not for long".

"Temporary appointment. Not for long," Gallant wrote in a post on X alongside a photograph of Qassem, whom Hezbollah had earlier named as assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah's successor. In a separate post in Hebrew, Gallant wrote that the "countdown has begun".  

29/10/2024 - 14:02

Israel's defence minister says new Hezbollah chief is 'temporary appointment'

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday the election of Naim Qassem as the new chief of Lebanon's Hezbollah is "temporary".

"Temporary appointment. Not for long," Gallant wrote in a post on X alongside a photograph of Qassem, whom Hezbollah had earlier named as assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah's successor. In a separate post in Hebrew, Gallant wrote that the "countdown has begun".  

Yesterday's key developments:

• Lebanon's health ministry said at least 60 people were killed in Israeli raids on several areas in the eastern Bekaa Valley, most of them in the Baalbek region.
• The US warned Iran of ‘severe consequences’ if it attacks Israel again.
• Israeli lawmakers passed two laws that could threaten the work of UNRWA providing aid to people in Gaza by barring it from operating on Israeli soil, severing ties with it and deeming it a terror organisation.
• Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that Israel did not receive a proposal that would include the release of four hostages in return for a 48-hour ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)