Lebanese capital’s south hit after Israel orders evacuations; Israeli PM’s office says he and US president-elect ‘agreed to work together for Israel’s security’Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing live coverage of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the wider Middle East crisis. Here are the latest headlines.Israel launched new strikes on southern Beirut early on Thursday. Hours earlier, Benjamin Netanyahu said he spoke to US president-elect Donald Trump and they “agreed to work together for Israel’s security”.The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory, expressing confidence that he would support Palestinians’ “legitimate aspirations” for statehood. Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, spoke to Trump to congratulate him, while Egypt – the first Arab state to sign a peace deal with Israel – also congratulated himFour Israeli opposition leaders made a joint statement condemning Benjamin Netanyahu for firing defence minister Yoav Gallant. There were protests for a second night in a row in Jerusalem on Wednesday over the sacking. Many protesters are calling for Netanyahu to resign and demanding the new defence minister prioritise a hostage dealThe United Nations responded to Israel’s decision to cut ties with the UN’s aid agency for Palestinians (Unrwa) by saying it had no responsibility to replace the agency’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank, signalling it was Israel’s problem as the occupying power, according to a letter excerpt seen by Reuters. Separately, Unrwa’s head said the agency was facing its “darkest hour”. “Without intervention by member states, Unrwa will collapse, plunging millions of Palestinians into chaos,” Philippe Lazzarini saidHezbollah said on Wednesday it had fired missiles at an Israeli military base near Ben Gurion airport. Israeli media reported a rocket had landed near the airport.
Later, the Israeli military said dozens of projectiles had crossed into Israel from Lebanon, some of which were interceptedUN agencies said they had completed the administration of a second dose of polio vaccine to the overwhelming majority of children in Gaza. In all, 556,774 children under the age of 10 received the second dose, amounting to 94% of the total population of that age groupIsrael and the World Health Organization said about 230 people in Gaza – both patients and their carers – were evacuated to the United Arab Emirates or Romania on Wednesday for medical treatment. “This is the largest number of patients and caregivers who have left through the Kerem Shalom crossing in recent months,” the Israeli defence ministry body Cogat said. The operation was carried out in cooperation with the UAE, the EU and the WHO, it addedLebanon said it had filed a complaint with the UN’s labour agency over the deadly attacks on communication devices across the country in September, which it blames on Israel. Lebanese labour minister Mustafa Bayram called the attack – which Israel has not admitted – an “egregious war against humanity, against technology, against work” Continue reading…
Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/nov/07/middle-east-israel-netanyahu-gaza-lebanon-hamas-hezbollah
Author : Martin Belam
Publish date : 2024-11-07 07:24:26
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Middle East crisis live: Israel launches fresh strikes on Beirut; Netanyahu and Trump discuss ‘Iranian threat’
