Live Updates: Israeli army orders new evacuations in southern Beirut

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

0923 GMT — The Israeli army has ordered residents of three neighbourhoods in southern Beirut to leave their areas ahead of air strikes.

A military statement ordered residents to stay 500 metres away from several buildings in the neighbourhoods of Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry and Al-Leik in Beirut's southern suburb.

It attached a map of the targeted buildings, saying it will "act forcefully" against what it called Hezbollah assets and interests in the area.

The Israeli army has repeatedly issued evacuation orders for civilians in several areas across Lebanon since the start of its air raids on the country in late September.

0923 GMT — Israel fails to meet US aid demands to ease Gaza catastrophe, aid groups say

International aid groups said that Israel had failed to meet a series of US demands intended to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by a Tuesday deadline.

The United States told its ally Israel in a letter on October 13 that it must take steps to improve the aid situation within 30 days. If not, it could face potential restrictions on US military aid.

"Israel not only failed to meet the US criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in northern Gaza," a group of eight aid groups including Oxfam, Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council said in 19-page report.

0912 GMT — No repeat of East Jerusalem incident will be accepted, France says

A repeat of an incident in occupied East Jerusalem that saw armed Israeli security forces entering a property administered by France must never happen again, France's foreign minister said ahead of summoning Israel's envoy.

Two French security officials with diplomatic status were briefly detained on November 7 after Jean-Noel Barrot was due to visit the compound of The Church of the Pater Noster on the Mount of Olives.

The site, one of four administered by France in the occupied East Jerusalem, is under Paris' responsibility and it not the first time that problems have arisen over France's historic holdings in the city.

0844 GMT — Israel denied 85 percent of its attempts to coordinate aid convoys to Gaza: UN

The United Nations said 85 percent of its attempts to coordinate aid convoys and humanitarian visits to northern Gaza were denied or obstructed by Israeli authorities last month.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it had submitted 98 requests to the Israeli authorities for permission to cross the checkpoint along the Gaza Valley, but only 15 were granted, according to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Dujarric said OCHA was "concerned about the fate of Palestinians remaining in northern Gaza as the blockade continues and urgently calls on Israel to open the area to humanitarian operations to the extent necessary given the massive needs".

He pointed out that "over the past three days, teams from OCHA, UN human rights agencies, demining and other humanitarian groups have visited nine locations in Gaza City to assess the needs of hundreds of displaced families, many of whom are returning to northern Gaza".

0821 GMT — Iranian capital builds 'defensive tunnel' after Israeli strikes

Iran is building a "defensive tunnel" in the capital Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, following strikes by Israel on targets in the country.

The tunnel, located near the city centre, will link a station on the Tehran metro to the Imam Khomeini hospital, thus allowing direct underground access to the medical facility.

"For the first time in the country, a tunnel with defensive applications is being built in Tehran," the head of transport for Tehran City Council told Tasnim.

2034 GMT — Israel kills 10 people in designated 'safe zone' in Gaza

An Israeli air strike killed at least 10 Palestinians and injured several others in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, targeting a rest area near tents housing displaced civilians.

The Israeli military had previously designated the area, located in the Al Mawasi neighbourhood, as a "safe zone."

The strike hit a rest stop located outside the southern gate of Asdaa Resort, where many displaced families had sought shelter, a medical source told Anadolu Agency.

Witnesses reported that the "Happy Time" rest area, situated on a main street north of Route 5 in Al Mawasi, is frequented by displaced residents for internet access.

2236 GMT — Palestine, Jordan condemn minister's call to impose Israeli sovereignty over occupied West Bank

Palestine and Jordan have condemned remarks by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that he would urge his government to engage with the incoming Trump administration in the US to gain its support for Israel's illegal extension of its sovereignty to the occupied West Bank in 2025.

The two countries warned that such plans could lead to a "total regional explosion" and exacerbate displacement and conflict.

Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh and the Palestinian Foreign Ministry issued the statement, which was echoed by Hamas and the Jordanian Foreign Ministry.

Abu Rudeineh said Smotrich's statements reveal Israel's intent to "complete its control over the West Bank by 2025," according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

He said the remarks openly defy a UN General Assembly resolution for implementing an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, WAFA reported.

1930 GMT — UN 'urgently calls on Israel to open up' North Gaza to humanitarian operations

The UN issued an urgent call to Israel to allow humanitarian access to North Gaza, highlighting the "massive needs."

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference that "access to North Gaza governorate is still extremely limited. Over the weekend, the UN was unable to access the area."

Expressing worry over the "fate of Palestinians remaining in North Gaza," the spokesman reiterated that the UN "urgently calls on Israel to open up the area to humanitarian operations at the scale needed, given the massive needs".

1901 GMT — Death toll from Israeli strike in northern Lebanon rises

The death toll from an Israeli air strike on the village of Ain Yaaqoub in northern Lebanon has risen to 28.

Eyewitnesses and medical sources reported that the attack struck a building housing several displaced people.

Several individuals were trapped under the rubble, with ambulances arriving at the site, the same sources added.

Lebanon's official news agency, NNA, confirmed the initial toll, saying that the 28 people included Syrian nationals, displaced Lebanese, and residents of the village.

For our live updates from Monday, November 11, 2024, click here.