Israeli emergency response teams reported that around 40 individuals were injured during a drone attack in the central metropolis of Binyamina this past Sunday, three of whom are critically injured. Such an event was considered one of the most severe to occur in Israel during a year of conflict, with Hizbullah, a Lebanon-based group, asserting responsibility.
Given Israel’s superior air defence systems, it is unusual for a significant number of individuals to suffer injuries due to drone or missile attacks. It’s reported by Israeli media outlets that Lebanon launched two drones, with Israeli military successfully intercepting one. Information regarding the identity of the injured party, military personnel or civilians, and the impact area was unclear.
A statement from Hizbullah stated their drone targeted an Israeli military practice base, in vengeance for two assaults in Beirut perpetrated by Israelis on the preceding Thursday, which resulted in 22 fatalities.
This marks the second occurrence within a two-day span wherein a drone attack happened inside Israel. During Yom Kippur, an Israeli holy day, a drone hit a suburb of Tel Aviv, leaving physical damage in its wake though causing no injuries.
The most recent assault happened concurrently with an announcement from America that they’re set to provide a updated air defence system to bolster Israel’s protection against missile attacks.
Israel is currently engaged in wars with both Hamas in Gaza and Hizbullah in Lebanon, both militant factions supported by Iran, and anticipated to retaliate against Iran for a prior month’s missile strike, though the details remain undetermined. Iran’s response to any Israeli attack is allegedly predetermined.
After a year in conflict with Hamas, Israel continues to target what they define as extremist regions within Gaza almost daily. One such assault on Saturday resulted in a home within the Nuseirat refugee camp being devastated killing a family of two parents and their six children, aged between eight to 23, according to reports from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where the deceased were taken. The man’s brother, Mohammad Abu Ghali, said, “They were safe, while he slept, and he and all his children were killed”.
The armed forces assert that they strive to safeguard civilians, attributing any casualties to the tactics of Hamas and other militant groups operating within crowded regions. There have been numerous instances of strikes on schools used as refuges by displaced citizens, as it is alleged that combatants seek shelter among them.
In the north of Gaza, Jabaliya has been a primary target for Israeli air and ground offensives, where the military claim insurgents have found refuge. Israeli troops have regularly revisited the densely populated refugee camp and surrounding areas over the last twelve months. There has been an enforced mass evacuation of northern Gaza, inclusive of Gaza City, with approximately 400,000 individuals remaining in the north following the departure orders given at the onset of the conflict.
Concerns among Palestinians grow regarding Israel’s intention to permanently clear the northern area in order to develop military bases or Jewish settlements. According to UN reports, food supplies have not made their way into northern Gaza since the 1st of October.
Acknowledging its inclusion of hospitals in evacuation orders, the Israeli military reassured that a specific timeframe hasn’t been established, and it is cooperating with local authorities to organise the transfer of patients.
Dr Mohamed Salha, director of the Awda hospital, confirmed the receipt of limited fuel quantities which would soon deplete, at three northern hospitals including Kamal Adwan. He highlighted their dire requirement of not just fuel, but medication and medical supplies as well, and informed of the daily 12-15 operations being performed at his hospital given the constant flow of casualties.
According to Fares Abu Hamza from Gaza’s health ministry’s emergency service, there is a significant number of lives lost still yet to be recovered from beneath the rubble and from the streets, who they’re unable to reach.
The conflict commenced with a militant incursion into southern Israel, led by Hamas on 7th October 2023, claiming the lives of around 1,200 individuals, primarily civilians, and resulted in the abduction of approximately 250, a third of whom are feared dead with a hundred still held captive within Gaza.
As per Gaza’s health ministry’s reports, Israel’s relentless air raids and land invasions of Gaza have resulted in an excess of 42,000 Palestinian casualties and widespread destruction.
Although Palestinian healthcare officials have not clarified whether those killed were combatants or civilians, they do confirm that more than half of these casualties were women and children. Israel reports that they have killed upwards of 17,000 militants, however, they haven’t provided substantial proof to support their claim.
In a deadly night-time assault, Israeli air attacks demolished an historical Ottoman-era marketplace in Nabatiyeh, a southern city in Lebanon, resulting in a fatality and injuries to four people. Fires engulfed 12 residential buildings and 40 shops within the market, a fixture since 1910, according to Lebanon’s Civil Defence. Ahmad Fakih, whose shop was obliterated in the attack, lamented the loss of their means of survival.
The Israeli army confirmed hitting Hizbullah locations in the city, but refrained from providing additional details. As Israeli drones hovered overhead on Sunday morning, rescue attempts to locate possible survivors and recover remains from the devastated buildings were underway.
Nabatiyeh became one among many southern Lebanese locales receiving Israel’s evacuation warning; ironically, the town is sheltering individuals previously displaced. Hizbullah initiated rocket attacks on Israel on the 8th of October, 2023, provoking return air strikes. An upsurge in violent confrontation occurred in September with a succession of Israeli assaults eliminating Hizbullah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, along with the majority of his high-ranking officials. Israel initiated a land incursion into southern Lebanon earlier this month.
In a disconnected episode, an Israeli air raid on a residence in southern Lebanon on a Sunday led to a search for victims among the debris by the Lebanese Red Cross. A subsequent strike resulted in concussions for four paramedics and two damaged ambulances. The United Nations peacekeepers had forewarned the Israeli side about the rescue mission, as the Red Cross reported.
Israel’s military alleges that Hizbullah exploits ambulances for the conveyance of soldiers and armaments and station near the peacekeepers, although no supporting evidence was shared.
Israel’s premier, Binyamin Netanyahu, urged the UN peacekeeping forces to comply with Israel’s evacuation warnings on a Sunday. He accused them of acting as Hizbullah’s “human shield” following Israeli attacks injuring five peacekeepers in recent times. “We bemoan the harm to Unifil soldiers, and we are making maximum efforts to forestall this injury. The evident and straightforward way to guarantee this is undeniably to remove them from the danger area”, he said in a addressed video communication to the UN secretary general who Israel has barred entry.