Death toll in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon rises

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says the Israeli air strikes in Dheira killed four people and wounded two.

Two bombs hit the southern Lebanese village, three medics were also wounded and there was “significant damage” to the ambulance they were in when an Israeli air raid hit the Wadi Hamool area, according to the National News Agency.

The state-run agency also reported that Israeli jets carried out “three consecutive raids” close to midnight on the town of Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon.

It said an Israeli drone launched an attack in the town of Hula and the Israeli military fired artillery shells at two more towns in southern Lebanon.

Videos shared online also show a large explosion after an attack in Baalbek, deep inside Lebanon.

Reports indicate explosions in the village of Nabi Chit, in the Baalbek district.

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) August 20, 2024

Hezbollah confirms four fighters killed in Israeli air strikes

Hezbollah says on its Telegram channel that four of its fighters, all from southern Lebanon, have been killed in Israeli attacks. As we reported earlier, Israeli warplanes attacked the village of Dheira with two bombs, with Lebanon’s Health Ministry also confirming four deaths.

Hezbollah claimed 12 attacks on Israeli positions today, which included multiple volleys of rockets and several drones.

The armed Lebanese group also said it fired a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli military jet that had violated Lebanese airspace, forcing it to return.

One killed, 20 wounded in Israeli attack on Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least one person has been killed and 20 others wounded in an Israeli attack on the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon at about midnight

The ministry said one person was in critical condition while “eight children and a pregnant woman were moderately wounded”.

A source from a local hospital told the AFP news agency that five children, no older than 10, all from the same family, were among the wounded. The attack came hours after another Israeli strike killed four Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah said it launched “explosive-laden drones” and “intense rocket barrages” at several Israeli positions in the occupied Golan Heights in response to Monday night’s strikes on the Bekaa Valley.

_{Fire after Israeli attacks on the Lebanese village of Byout El Saiyad in southern Lebanon on Monday}

Canada refuses to comment on US sale of Canadian-made weapons to Israel

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/20/canada-refuses-to-comment-on-us-sale-of-canadian-made-weapons-to-israel

Canada has refused to comment on a planned US sale of Canadian-made weapons to Israel, after news of the deal drew rebuke from rights advocates who argue the arms will help fuel Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians.

Canada announced earlier this year that it would not authorise new export permits for weapons to Israel amid mass protests over the country’s war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians over nearly 11 months.

But rights advocates quickly noted that Canada has not revoked existing arms export permits, nor would the prohibition affect Canadian weapons and components that first go to the US before they are shipped to Israel.

Truce deal elusive as Blinken wraps up Middle East trip

In his ninth visit to the region since Israel’s war on Gaza began, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a last-ditch effort to secure a ceasefire.

On Tuesday, he landed in Egypt, where he sat down with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The Egyptian leader warned of the growing danger of a wider regional conflict. And finally, to the Qatari capital, to consult with officials there.

Before leaving Doha, Blinken once again stressed the importance of getting a deal over the line, stating that “time is of the essence” not just for the Israeli captives and Palestinian civilians, but also to prevent a regional escalation.

Earlier, during his trip to Israel, Blinken said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the so-called bridging proposal presented by mediators last week, a proposal Hamas said has added conditions.

The Israeli premier has also since told family members of Israeli captives held in Gaza that he is still not sure about the possibility of a deal.

Meanwhile, Hamas says the latest proposal is a reversal from the original framework outlined by US President Joe Biden back in May, and as Blinken wraps up his latest round of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, more talks are expected in Cairo later in the week.

But a ceasefire deal is still nowhere in sight.

Casualties as Israeli forces attack Jabalia, Deir el-Balah, Rafah and Khan Younis

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that several people were killed and wounded after Israeli forces bombed a residential building in the Tall az-Zaatar area of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

AJA also reported that Israeli forces blew up buildings in the southern city of Rafah and the Hamad neighbourhood in nearby Khan Younis.

It also said Israeli forces were shelling eastern parts of central Deir el-Balah.

Farmers killed by Israeli tanks near Rafah

Since the early hours of this morning, we have heard loud explosions in central Gaza, especially Deir el-Balah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are seeking refuge.

Right now, the army is operating just a few kilometres from where we are. Explosions have been hitting houses and civil infrastructure in the eastern part of the city. Operations are also going on in Khan Younis city and show no sign of ending.

In Rafah, a civil defence crew recovered the bodies of four Palestinians. They were farmers working near al-Mawasi who were killed by Israeli tanks, which opened fire on them without warning.

The casualties come after our earlier reports of Israeli attacks on buildings in Rafah and Khan Younis’s nearby Hamad neighbourhood.

Civilians come under heavy Israeli gunfire in Khan Younis

Video posted on Instagram, and verified by Al Jazeera, shows the moment a gathering of civilians came under attack by what they described as an Israeli army drone, a quadcopter.

The harrowing scenes show people fleeing by car, bicycle and donkey cart as the loud sounds of gunfire can be heard in the background. Our correspondents on the ground have been reporting heavy clashes in southern Gaza City all day.

Gaza Media Office says another journalist killed by Israeli attacks

The office has decried in a statement the killing of Hamza Abdul Rahman Murtaja by the Israeli army today.

It said that Murtaja worked as a photographer and reported for several different media outlets, and called on “the international community and international organizations and those related to journalistic work in the world to deter the [Israeli] occupation and prosecute it in international courts” for the killing of journalists in Gaza.

The office added that Murtaja’s death brings the number of journalists killed by the Israeli army in Gaza since October 7 to 170.

Palestinian man wounded as Israeli forces raid West Bank cities, towns

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that Israeli forces have shot and wounded a young Palestinian man during a raid on the old city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank this morning.

AJA cited medics at the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The Wafa news agency also reported several Israeli raids across the occupied West Bank, including:

_{Palestinians inspect damage at a store on Tuesday after an Israeli raid that injured two people in Tammun village, near the occupied West Bank city of Tubas}

Palestinians in West Bank rally in solidarity with detainees in Israeli prisons

_{Palestinians held a protest to show solidarity with Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, in Ramallah city in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday}

_{Since October 7, Israeli forces have made some 10,200 arrests during daily raids on the occupied West Bank}

_{At least 3,660 Palestinians are being held in Israel under administrative detention, meaning they are imprisoned without charge or trial}

Israeli banks rejecting shekel transfers from Palestinian banks

Israeli banks have stopped accepting shekel cash transfers from Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank, say Palestinian officials, a policy that could block Palestinians from paying for crucial goods and services.

“In the next few days, banks in Palestine will be unable to finance trade operations between Palestinian and Israeli merchants, as their ability to make financial transfers is directly connected to shipping the accumulated shekel banknotes to their Israeli counterparts,” warned the Palestine Monetary Authority.

The office of Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who in June renewed a waiver enabling Israeli banks to work with their Palestinian counterparts in the West Bank, has not commented on the matter.

Smotrich, who leads a pro-settler party, has frequently utilised his ministry to apply financial pressure on Palestinians, including by signing an order in June to withhold tens of millions in tax funds owed to the Palestinian Authority.

Jordan warns of ‘dangerous deterioration’ in occupied West Bank

In a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi says there is a need for “effective, practical steps” to stop Israeli violations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Safadi also stressed the need to stop all illegal Israeli measures in the West Bank and Israeli violations of the historical and legal status quo at Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.

He stressed that Jordan would take all necessary measures to stop attacks on holy sites and is preparing to take the necessary legal measures in international courts against these attacks, “which constitute a clear violation of international law and a dangerous escalation that Jordan will confront by all possible means”.

Blinken stressed the US position on the necessity of respecting the historical status quo for the holy sites.

Hezbollah claims attack on northern Israel

The Lebanese armed group said it fired artillery shells at Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Zar’it military barracks in northern Israel. The claim came as Israel’s YNet News reported rocket warning sirens in Zar’it.

Earlier, YNet said Hezbollah had fired some 135 rockets at Israel on Tuesday.

Israel confirms attacks on Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley

The Israeli military says its fighter jets carried out attacks on Hezbollah’s ammunition depots and an air defence system in the Bekaa Valley, deep inside Lebanon. “Following the strikes, secondary explosions were identified, indicating the presence of large amounts of weapons in the facilities that were struck,” it said.

The military also claimed attacks on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, including Abu Sash, Wadi Hamool, Aita al-Shaab, Ramiya and Talousa.

Earlier, we reported that Israeli attacks on Bekaa killed at least one person and wounded 20 others. Videos posted online, verified by Al Jazeera, showed the moment Israeli jets attacked Bekaa.

US, UK ‘working in lockstep’ for a Gaza ceasefire

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he spoke with Blinken to discuss ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza and said that the US and UK are “working in lockstep to bring all parties to an agreement”.

“An immediate end to the fighting in Gaza and the release of all hostages is vital,” he added in a post on X.

Bernie Sanders calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ in DNC speech

The progressive US legislator received applause and cheers from the audience as he briefly addressed the war in Gaza during a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

“We must end this horrific war in Gaza,” Sanders said on the second night of the convention. “Bring home the hostages and demand an immediate ceasefire,” he added.

Too bad Bernie can't do anything.

Ultra-Orthodox protest at military recruitment office

A group of ultra-Orthodox Israelis have staged a protest outside a military recruitment office in Jerusalem where they have been summoned, according to Israeli media reports.

Footage verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency shows dozens of protesters shouting angrily, as several clash with police.

Demonstrators yelled phrases such as “We will die and not enlist,” “Nazis” and “To prison and not to the army”, according to The Times of Israel.

In late June, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men, upending a longstanding arrangement under which they were exempt from compulsory military service.

The decision has antagonised many in the community who oppose conscription, which they believe goes against their way of life.