Israel’s war on Gaza live: 22 killed in attack on school shelter
- At least 22 Palestinians have been killed by an Israeli strike that hit a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City.
- Israeli forces and Hezbollah carry out new attacks along the Lebanon-Israel border.
White House calls reported killing of Hezbollah’s Aqil ‘a good outcome’
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says Aqil has “American blood on his hands and has a rewards for justice price on his head”.
Aqil had been wanted by the US for years for his alleged role in the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut and in taking American and German captive in Lebanon in the 1980s.
He was under US sanctions and in 2023, the US State Department announced a reward of up to $7m for information leading to his “identification, location, arrest, and/or conviction”.
“He is somebody who the United States promised long ago we would do everything we could to see brought to justice,” Sullivan said.
“You know, 1983 seems like a long time ago,” he said. “But for a lot of families and a lot of people, they’re still living with it every day.”
Israel says 180 targets ‘dismantled’ in southern Lebanon
The Israeli army says it “dismantled approximately 180 targets and thousands of launcher barrels” in southern Lebanon in the past hours, amid reports of the heaviest crossfire since Israel and Hezbollah began confrontations on October 8 last year.
Additionally, it said “approximately 90 projectile launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory”.
“The [Israeli military] will continue operating to dismantle and degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and terror infrastructure,” it added in a statement.
‘We’re dealing with criminal wars’
Israel has committed a war crime when it blew up thousands of communication devices in Lebanon, says Geoffrey Nice, a British human rights lawyer who led the prosecution of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in The Hague.
“The pagers and walkie-talkies were of unknown position and destination when they were activated, therefore, it was impossible for Israel to contemplate whether the outcome would be proportionate,” Nice told Al Jazeera, speaking from Canterbury in the UK.
“The international community needs to confront that we’re dealing with criminal wars. And the only value the law can provide is to be encouraged to investigate,” he said.
Protesters march in Liverpool to push for UK arms embargo on Israel
Protesters in the British city of Liverpool are marching to express their frustration with the government of Keir Starmer, which has so far been 77 days in office.
Many on the left of the Labour movement feel let down by Starmer, as they say it has failed to condemn Israel and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
They are calling now for an arms embargo and for a total ban on arms production to and for Israel.
Israel ‘salting Hezbollah’s wounds’
Israel released a statement that can only be described as salting Hezbollah’s wounds. This is nearly 24 hours since carrying out their latest assassination attack against Hezbollah in Beirut. They made public specifics about the operation on their social media. The Israeli army says it used precise strikes – that the Israeli jets were guided by the Intelligence Directorate.
The breadth and length, the specific names provided here, the structure of the command and control of the Radwan Force that they targeted – all of these details really do illustrate that Israel is sending out a very clear signal – it has a strong intelligence apparatus, not just in Israel but on the ground; it has that human intelligence asset readily available.
What they are trying to do – emboldened by the attacks they carried out – and they want to use overwhelming force and carry out episodic attacks against multiple fronts to try to force groups like Hezbollah and Hamas to make a tactical retreat, to come to the table, and to accept terms at the end of a very big stake.
Attacks on evacuation centres have been intensifying in Gaza
Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, where a UN school sheltering displace families was hit earlier today, has been under heavy bombardment.
We have been observing an increase in attacks on shelters, with at least six evacuation centres being hit this month alone, killing more than 60 Palestinians.
In Rafah, at least five Palestinians were killed in an attack on a medical warehouse and civil defence teams have been struggling to reach the site due to fires.
In the central area of Gaza, where we are, we continue to hear loud explosions take place near the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Israel, Lebanon exchange most intense cross-border fire since October
Israeli officials say they have launched at least 80 raids on weapons installations belonging to Hezbollah and in turn, Hezbollah launched at least 45 rockets on norther Israel.
This exchange is the most intense since the two sides started engaging in cross-border fire on October 8, a day after Israel began its latest war on Gaza.
Death toll in Beirut attack rises to 37: Ministry
Lebanon’s health ministry says the death toll from yesterday’s air attack on Beirut’s southern suburb has reached 37 people.
It added that rescue efforts were still continuing as more remained trapped under the rubble.
