Israel pounds Lebanon and Gaza with 160 strikes
- Israeli air strikes hit the Dahiyeh, Haret Hreik, and Chiyah areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut in the fifth consecutive day of heavy bombardment of Lebanon’s capital.
- An Israeli drone kills two more paramedics in Lebanon’s southern Nabatieh governorate as outrage pours in after at least 12 rescuers died in an air attack on a civil defence centre.
Hundreds of Israelis demonstrating for a prisoner exchange deal in Gaza
Hundreds of Israelis, including families of Israeli captives in Gaza, are demonstrating at the Karkur Junction north of the country, videos taken by activists and verified by Al Jazeera show.
The protesters were calling on Netanyahu’s government to secure a captives-prisoner exchange deal.
Several dozen protesters waved Israeli and yellow captive solidarity flags, while others stressed the need to make every effort to bring them back safely.
In Lebanon, Halevi says Israeli forces will continue to fight Hezbollah
Israeli army’s chief of staff Herzi Halevi said that the military will continue to strike Lebanon until displaced Israelis from the north can return.
“Hezbollah has paid a high price, its chain of command has collapsed, many of its operatives have been killed, and extensive infrastructure dismantled,” Halevi said in a statement released by the Israeli army.
“This organisation will continue to shoot, we will continue to fight, to implement plans, go further, conduct deep strikes, and hit Hezbollah very hard.
“We will stop when we know that we are bringing the residents [of northern Israel back] safely.”
Israeli forces kill nearly 40 Palestinians in Gaza
At least 36 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since dawn, medical sources told Al Jazeera.
As we reported earlier, those killed include 10 killed at the UN-operated Abu Assi School in the Shati refugee camp in central Gaza City. At least 20 others were wounded at the facility that acted as a shelter for war-displaced people.
Rescue teams are still searching for survivors and victims in the concrete debris. The school had previously been struck multiple times by Israeli strikes.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed at least 43,799 Palestinians and wounded 103,601 since October 7, 2023.
‘The children of Gaza are very tired’
In advance of World Children Day on November 20, UNICEF says there is little to celebrate in the besieged coastal enclave.
In a post on X, the UN agency for children released a video of a Palestinian girl in Gaza who says children there “are simply asking for the end of their suffering, for the end of this war”.
“The bloodshed in Gaza must end. The children of Gaza are very tired,” Majda, an 11-year-old girl from Gaza, said. “Our life used to be beautiful. I hope to return to my normal life.”
Israeli forces retreat after pushing deep into Lebanon
Israeli soldiers reached their deepest point in Lebanon since they invaded six weeks ago before pulling back after fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters.
Troops captured a strategic hill in the southern Lebanese village of Chamaa, five kilometres (three miles) from the Israeli border early Saturday, the state-run National News Agency reports, adding Israeli soldiers were later pushed back from the position.
Israeli forces blew up the Shrine of Shimon the Prophet in Chamaa, as well as several homes, before they withdrew, the news report said.
Israel’s military said in a statement that its troops “continue their limited, localized, and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon”.
The push on the ground came as Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs as well as several other areas in southern Lebanon, including the port city of Tyre.
Israeli forces continue to strike Beirut’s southern suburbs
There doesn’t seem to be any letup whatsoever in the targeting of Beirut’s southern suburbs called Dahiyeh. It is described as a Hezbollah stronghold which once had a population of around one million.
There is virtually nobody there now.
People used to go back and check on their homes, their belongings and their businesses during the day but that has now become increasingly difficult.
Today, the initial strikes happened in the relatively early hours of the morning – around 9am (06:00 GMT). Following evacuation threats, there was another round of strikes in the afternoon.
That is not the only area in the southern suburbs of Beirut that Israel has been hitting today. There was another massive wave of strikes on the southern city of Tyre, and as we understand, around the surrounding villages, too.
The Israeli military put out evacuation threats for at least 15 villages in southern Lebanon so far today.
