Lebanon accuses Israel of rejecting truce after Beirut strikes

Lebanon accuses Israel of rejecting truce after Beirut strikes

A building lies in ruins following Israeli strikes on the south Beirut neighbourhood of Haret Hreik

Lebanon's prime minister accused Israel on Friday of rejecting a ceasefire after the Israeli military bombed Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold for the first time this week.

In Gaza, where Israel has been engaged in a major offensive in the north for nearly a month, a Hamas official said the Palestinian militant group had rejected a proposal for a short-term truce.

United Nations chiefs called the situation in northern Gaza "apocalyptic" and warned the entire population there was at risk of death.

Since late September Israel has been fighting a two-front war, against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas, which triggered the Gaza war by attacking Israel on October 7 last year.

At least 10 strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs before dawn after Israel issued evacuation warnings. AFPTV footage showed explosions and clouds of smoke.

"The raids left massive destruction in the targeted areas, as dozens of buildings were levelled," Lebanon's official National News Agency reported.

The news agency also reported strikes on Bint Jbeil, Tyre and Nabatieh in the south.

The Israeli military said it was continuing operations against both Hezbollah and Hamas.

The Lebanon strikes came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US officials to discuss a possible deal to end the war against Hezbollah, ahead of Tuesday's US presidential election.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the Israeli attacks.

He said the renewed bombing of Beirut's southern suburbs and strikes on other areas "confirm the Israeli enemy's rejection of all efforts being made to secure a ceasefire." 

Israeli warplanes again hit the eastern city of Baalbek, after strikes there killed six people on Thursday.

Smoke rose from the remains of house in the city's Douris neighbourhood.

"The place that was bombed is a residential area. Our neighbour is a woman with a disability. She was injured while at home," said Jaafar Durra, pointing to a pancaked building.

Baalbek boasts Roman temples that UNESCO has designated as World Heritage site and the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, warned the war was put the country's cultural heritage site in "deep peril".

- Thais killed -

On Thursday, Netanyahu told US envoys Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk that any ceasefire deal with Hezbollah must guarantee Israel's long-term security. Both have since left for Washington, a source familiar with the matter said.

A US-brokered plan reportedly under consideration would see Hezbollah pull back 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, north of the Litani River, with Israeli forces withdrawing and the Lebanese army patrolling the border alongside UN peacekeepers.

Thailand's foreign minister said four farm workers killed by rocket fire on northern Israel on Thursday were Thais. They were among a total of seven people who were killed by two separate barrages, a local official and medics said.

Since fighting in Lebanon escalated on September 23, after nearly a year of tit-for-tat exchanges which Hezbollah said were in support of Hamas, the war has killed at least 1,829 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures.

Israel's military says 37 soldiers have been killed in Lebanon since ground operations began on September 30.

The World Health Organization expressed deep concern about Israeli attacks on health care workers and facilities in Lebanon, stressing they are "not a target".

The war has drawn in Iran-backed groups around the Middle East, and has seen Israel and Iran attack each other.

Late Friday the Israeli military said it had intercepted seven drones launched the previous night from "several fronts", without specifying where they came from.

On October 26, Israel bombed military targets in Iran, killing four servicemen, in retaliation for the Islamic republic's barrage of around 200 missiles against Israel on October 1.

Analysts say Israel inflicted severe damage on Iranian air defences and missile capacities and could yet launch more widescale action against Iran.

- 'Under siege' -

In north Gaza, the Israeli military said it "eliminated" dozens of militants in Jabalia.

Gaza's health ministry reported at least nine dead in overnight strikes on Jabalia as well as the central Gaza area of Nuseirat.

"The situation unfolding in north Gaza is apocalyptic," said a joint statement by the heads of UN agencies.

"The area has been under siege for almost a month, denied basic aid and life-saving supplies while bombardment and other attacks continue."

Separately, the WHO said a second round of child polio vaccinations would begin in north Gaza on Saturday, after Israeli bombing halted the drive.

US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators have trying for month to broker a truce and hostages for prisoners exchange for Gaza.

A member of Hamas's political bureau told AFP that the group has received a proposal from Egypt and Qatar for a short-term truce and rejected it for not including a lasting ceasefire.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed 43,259 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.

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Originally published as Lebanon accuses Israel of rejecting truce after Beirut strikes