No letup in Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon

These air strikes on Beirut have been taking place on a nightly basis, especially since the escalation has heated up in the last couple of weeks.

We have seen a few in the past couple of hours hitting Dahiyeh and those southern suburbs of Beirut. We know that there’s an airport just adjacent and there’s one airline still operating: Middle East Airlines.

We’re seeing these flights going through these plumes of smoke. It is also very scary for people living there. On Sunday evening, we saw some of the heaviest bombardment in this area. Late into the evening, there was a massive explosion.

The suburbs have predominantly emptied of people but there will still be a few there. Paramedics cannot get in to see if there are any injuries or fatalities.

Explosion lights up Beirut’s skies after Israeli evacuation order


_{An explosion on Monday, October 7, lights up the sky over Beirut's southern suburbs.}

The skies of Beirut were lit up by an explosion on Monday evening (local time) amid nightly strikes that have targeted the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital city since September 27.

A CNN camera captured the explosion, which lit up the skies for less than a second but cast an orange light from the area that was targeted. CNN staff also heard several strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs during the day.

Approximately half an hour before the explosion was captured by CNN, Avichay Adraee, the Arabic spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), warned residents that the IDF was going to target two areas in the southern suburbs, Burj Al-Barajneh and Hadath, which he said were located near Hezbollah facilities and interests.

In a later statement, the IDF said the Israeli Air Force had conducted strikes on “terror targets belonging to Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters” on Monday night. The IDF said it had also struck alleged Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa area on Monday morning, including “weapons storage facilities, terror infrastructure sites, and a launcher.”

Large pro-Palestine protests expected in New York

Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of New York today. They’ve been showing up at different parks and locations around the city.

We’re seeing student groups, labour unions, Orthodox Jewish groups and Jewish Voices for Peace, a very young group that has been organising around the cause of Palestinians.

There is a huge police presence behind me as demonstrators are expected to arrive in the coming minutes.

They’ve been marching around the city. We know that in at least 10 universities today, student groups called for walkouts from their classes, and those university students gathered at one park to make their voices heard to call for an end to the genocide in Gaza and the ongoing hostilities in Lebanon.

This movement has been taking place since last year but only seems to be getting bigger, and it certainly has attracted a lot of attention on this momentous day.

US is not currently pushing to revive Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal, officials say

Two weeks after Israel upended a US-led ceasefire proposal with Hezbollah, the US is not actively trying to revive the deal and has resigned itself to trying to shape and limit Israeli operations in Lebanon and against Iran rather than halting hostilities, US officials told CNN.

The US’ inability to halt Israel’s intense bombing campaign and ground invasion of Lebanon, which has killed over 1,400 people in less than three weeks and displaced over 1 million more, has raised questions about whether Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is disregarding the Biden administration’s calls for more restraint like it did in Gaza, leaving the White House again looking feckless.

Concerns within the Biden administration are running high, officials say, that what Israel has promised would be a limited operation will soon grow into a larger-scale and prolonged conflict. US-led efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have also floundered.

As with Gaza, US officials say Israel was initially planning for a much larger ground incursion into Lebanon before the US convinced it to scale back. But they also acknowledge what they have learned over the last year, which is that the US’ influence is limited when it comes to Israel’s military operations.

State Department won't say if US views Israeli airstrikes as in compliance with international law

The United States continues to assess Israel’s ground operations in Lebanon to be “limited,” but a State Department spokesperson Monday would not say whether the US views the Israeli airstrikes in Beirut to also be “limited.”

Matthew Miller argued that the US supports strikes targeting Hezbollah, but expects them to be done “in a way that complies with international humanitarian law and minimizes civilian casualties.”

Similar calls from the US for Israel to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza have not yielded results.

Miller said Monday that he did not have a “sweeping characterization” of the Israeli military’s strikes on the Lebanese capital and would not say if the US assesses them to be in compliance with international humanitarian law. He also would not say if the US is carrying out its own assessments of the matter.

“I can’t give you a readout of what we’re doing with respect to strikes in Lebanon, but we take that obligation incredibly seriously,” he said at a press briefing.

US officials remark on Israel's future 1 year into the war in Gaza


_{White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during event at the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC marking the anniversary of October 7}

Israel needs to “turn tactical wins in battle into a strategy that secures Israel’s people and its future,” the White House national security adviser said at an event commemorating one year since the October 7 attacks.

“It takes foresight to match the conduct of war to a clear and sustainable set of objectives, and to turn tactical advantage into enduring, strategic gains,” Jake Sullivan said at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, referring to the war in Gaza. “That is never easy, but it’s imperative, and we are here to work with you on that.”

His forward-looking comments were echoed by State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller earlier Monday. He said at a press briefing that it’s “very difficult to answer” whether Israel is safer in the long-term after one year of the war in Gaza.

“Certainly, Israel is safer when it comes to the immediate threat that Hamas bears to the Israeli people. Hamas can, in no way, today launch an attack with the size, scale and scope of the attack it launched on October 7. So when it comes to dealing with the threat from Hamas, Israel is safer, at least in the short term,” Miller said.

However, “as long as Israel is mired in conflict in Gaza, as long as it is dealing with an unstable situation on its northern border, as long as it is dealing with unrest and insecurity in the West Bank, ultimately, its security is never going to be assured,” he added.

Miller said that there must be a path forward on “governance in Gaza by someone other than Hamas.”

Add occupation, apartheid and illegal settlements to the obstacles standing in the way of Israel's security.

From Bilbao to Baghdad, people show solidarity with Palestine, Lebanon


_{Iraqis participate in a rally in solidarity with Palestine in Baghdad, Iraq, October}

_{People carry signs and flags during a demonstration in support of Palestinians, organised by Palestinarekin Elkartasuna (Solidarity With Palestine), in Bilbao, Spain, October 5}

_{Participants attend the pro-Palestine demonstration in Piazza Castello, in Turin, Italy, October 7}

_{Palestinians living in Greece shout slogans during an antiwar protest outside the Israeli Embassy in Athens, October 7}

_{Turkish riot police block demonstrators as they walk to the Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Trade to protest against trade with Israel, in Istanbul, October 7}

Death toll from Israeli raids on central Gaza rises to 12

The Wafa news agency is reporting that Israeli air attacks on two separate locations in the Bureij refugee camp have killed at least 12 Palestinians and wounded 25 others.

Israel’s raid on a home in Block 3 of the camp killed nine Palestinians while an attack on tents sheltering displaced people killed another three, Wafa reported. Emergency workers were continuing search and rescue operations in the area, it said.

The agency also reported another death in southern Gaza. It said an Israeli attack on the Khirbet al-Adas area, north of the city of Rafah, killed one Palestinian and wounded several others.


The names of those killed in Israel’s genocide in Gaza

More than 41,900 people have been killed in a year of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has confirmed the identities of more than 34,000 of them.

It's an hour long and scrolls a bit too fast to read. The names are sorted on age, first over 700 0 years old, last one was 101 years old.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/rashida-tlaib-gaza-children


‘Gaza is being erased in front of our eyes’

Medical Aid for Palestinians, a UK-based relief group, is calling on the international community to take “meaningful action to enforce a ceasefire, uphold international law, and protect Palestinians from potential genocide”.

The group noted that Israeli forces have killed more than 41,000 people in Gaza, crippled the enclave’s healthcare system and strangled access to electricity, food, water, medicine and fuel.

“We have run out of words to describe the horrors our teams are witnessing and experiencing in Gaza,” said Fikr Shalltoot, MAP’s Gaza Director.

“Frequent mass killings of civilians, the use of starvation as a weapon of war, and the systematic destruction of healthcare are an existential threat to people. Gaza is being erased in front of our eyes.”

108 Palestinian journalists detained since October 7

A Palestinian rights group says Israeli forces have detained a total of 108 journalists from Gaza and the occupied West Bank since launching their war on Gaza a year ago.

The Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, which is also known as Addameer, said that at least 58 journalists remain in Israeli custody, including six female journalists and 22 journalists from Gaza whose identities have been confirmed.

Addameer said at least 16 of the journalists are being held under administrative detention.

In all, more than 9,000 orders of administrative detention have been issued since October 7 of last year, ranging between new orders and renewals, including orders against children and women, it added.

UN experts call for accountability, end to violence after a year of war

A group of UN human rights experts have reiterated their call on all warring parties in the Middle East to “immediately cease hostilities” in a statement marking one year since Hamas’s October 7 attacks and Israel’s war on Gaza.

“The past year has seen a devastating escalation in human suffering, with severe consequences for the Palestinian people, Israelis and the entire Middle East region,” the experts said.

“We express today, our heartfelt compassion to all victims and their families, especially the children, who should have been spared the scourge of war, and recall the heavy human cost of this conflict and immediate need for peace and accountability,” they said.

The group said Hamas’s attacks on Israel and Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza constitute war crimes and called on the international community to investigate “these grave violations” and ensure full reparation for victims and their families.

They also called for an arms embargo on Israel and expressed alarm at the expansion of the violence, particularly in Lebanon.

_{A plane takes off from Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, as smoke from Israeli strikes billows over southern suburbs in Beirut, Lebanon, October 5}

Hezbollah claims more attacks on Israeli military positions

The Lebanese armed group said it fired volleys of rockets and missiles at Israeli troops in Shlomi, Hanita and Marj in northern Israel. The barrage set off sirens in the region, according to Israeli media. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The launches came shortly after Hezbollah claimed a missile attack on Israel’s Glilot base near the central city of Tel Aviv, which is home to the intelligence unit 8200.

Quiet in Beirut after Israel claims attack on key Hezbollah site

At the moment, it is eerily quiet in Beirut. We have not seen anything like this for days.

But five hours ago, the Israelis did issue a warning on social media to evacuate two buildings in Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut. They then said that they bombed a couple of buildings and that they had gotten the intelligence headquarters of Hezbollah.

Further south, the Israelis also issued a warning for people to leave all beaches and all areas near the Awali River, from the mouth of the river all the way to the south at the border with Israel. This essentially cuts off about a quarter of the Lebanese coastline affecting more than a million people.

Protesters ‘flood’ New York for Palestine

Throngs of protesters rallied in New York, joining the “Flood NYC for Palestine” event organised by activist groups.

Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, pounded drums and shouted slogans against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The rally came a year after the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that unleashed the brutal war on the enclave.

Arrests in New York as protesters mark October 7 anniversary

Police in New York have arrested several people, according to local media, as thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through the streets of Manhattan calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The New York Post said six people were arrested and that protesters clashed with police outside the New York Public Library and at the Times Square. Videos posted online also showed police pushing back crowds at Times Square.

The march came as hundreds of people gathered for a vigil at New York’s Central Park to remember the victims of Hamas’s October 7 attacks. Attendees included Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged a walkout at Columbia University to protest the war in Gaza. The demonstrators also read the names of more than 50,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since October 7, 2023.

_{A pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a sign that reads, ‘Palestine will live forever’, on the campus of Columbia University, on the one-year anniversary of the war on Gaza}

IFRC calls for humanity to prevail after a year of war

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has expressed solidarity with all victims of the conflict in Israel and Palestine after a year of suffering, saying that “humanity must prevail”.

“The urgent need for peace and stability has never been clearer,” the IFRC’s President Kate Forbes and Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain said in a statement. “However, political and diplomatic efforts have yet to achieve this. Humanitarian assistance cannot replace political will,” they said.

Twelve months since Israel’s war on Gaza, the situation is still dire and its impact is spreading, they said, with millions desperate for humanitarian assistance and an alarming escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, too.

“The world remains on edge. Hostages must come home. Bombs must stop falling. Aid must be allowed to get to where it’s needed most,” they said.

Hezbollah claims three more attacks on Israeli positions

The Lebanese armed group said it launched rockets and missiles at Israeli artillery positions in Dishon and Dalton in northern Israel. The group also claimed a missile attack on Israeli troops in the vicinity of Yaroun, a Lebanese village along the border with Israel.

Earlier, an Al Jazeera correspondent reported that rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards Israeli sites in the Upper Galilee.

Israel says it killed senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut

The Israeli military has said it killed Suhail Hussein Husseini, the commander of Hezbollah’s headquarters, in an attack on Beirut on Monday. It said Husseini was responsible for transferring weapons from Iran and distributing the arms to Hezbollah’s various units.

Husseini was also “involved in the budgeting and logical management of the most sensitive projects of the organisation, including the operational plan for war,” it added.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.

New Israeli drone strikes on Beirut’s Dahiyeh

We are hearing reports of new drone strikes launched by Israel targeting the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh.

There was a barrage of Israeli air strikes overnight. The Israelis said they were targeting a Hezbollah commander. Once again, the Israelis are keeping up with the intense pressure in one of the most densely populated parts of the country.

It is also worth pointing out while a lot of people have left Dahiyeh, there are a lot more who simply stayed because they do not have the resources to be able to move.

In southern Lebanon, about 130 towns and villages have been ordered to evacuate by the Israeli military. It’s got people worried because they’re wondering what the definition of Israel’s “limited” ground offensive is.

They’re hearing about the mass staging of troops on the Israeli side of the border, reserves being brought up. And just in the last few hours, Hezbollah says it’s hit Israeli soldiers.

_{Flames and smoke rise from an Israeli air strike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday, October 7}

Turkey to evacuate citizens from Lebanon

Turks who applied to leave Lebanon by sea will be evacuated on Wednesday. According to a Foreign Ministry statement, two Turkish navy ships with a total capacity of 2,000 passengers are expected to set off for Beirut on Tuesday.

The evacuation process will continue in the following days if necessary, it added.

Many nations are ramping up efforts to get their citizens out of Lebanon amid intensified fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel says it deployed ‘reserve division’ into southwestern Lebanon

According to the Israeli military, a “reserve division” started “limited, localised and targeted operations” against Hezbollah a day earlier in southwestern Lebanon.

“The 146th Division is the first reserve division to operate in southern Lebanon as part of the ongoing operations against Hezbollah,” a statement on Telegram said. “The soldiers are operating alongside the 213th Artillery Brigade and additional forces in order to expose and dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the area.”

According to the Times of Israel, the reserve division “joins three standing army divisions – the 98th, 36th, and 91st – already operating” in southern Lebanon.

The newspaper said the move adds thousands of troops to Israel’s ground offensive, with the total number of soldiers deployed inside Lebanon now likely over 15,000.

Israel announced last week its forces began ground incursions and the military has continued to launch attacks on towns and villages across the border, as well as on the densely populated southern Beirut suburbs.

_{Israeli troops in the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel in September}

UN officials in Lebanon call for ceasefire – now

The UN special coordinator for Lebanon and the head of the peacekeeping force along the border with Israel say a negotiated solution is the only way to restore stability in the region – and the time to act is now.

A statement by Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and Lieutenant General Aroldo Lazaro from UNIFIL comes as Israeli troops probe the border of southern Lebanon in its fight with Hezbollah.

“Too many lives have been lost, uprooted, and devastated while civilians on both sides of the Blue Line are left wanting for security and stability,” the statement said, referring to the UN’s temporary demarcation.

“Today, one year later, the near-daily exchanges of fire have escalated into a relentless military campaign whose humanitarian impact is nothing short of catastrophic.”