Israel-Lebanon latest: 19 dead and thousands trapped as Israeli forces strike Jabalia refugee camps

The 30 Irish peacekeepers carried only rifles and small arms. The Israeli force was preparing to advance with all the tools of a military superpower: tanks, aircraft, drones, heavy artillery and thousands of troops.

But when the Israelis ordered the Irish soldiers to vacate their observation post on the Lebanon-Israel border last week to clear the way for their invasion, they refused.

The incident, which sparked a tense stand-off and diplomatic spat, was just the latest in a long history of confrontations between the Israeli army and the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL.

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United Nations officials said on Friday an Israeli offensive and evacuation orders in northern Gaza might affect the second phase of its polio vaccination campaign set to start next week.

The territory’s health ministry announced on Saturday that the campaign would begin on Monday in central Gaza Strip areas and would last three days before moving to other territories.

Aid groups carried out an initial round of vaccinations last month after a baby was partially paralysed by the type 2 poliovirus in August, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.

As in the first phase, humanitarian pauses in the fighting in Gaza are planned, in order to reach hundreds of thousands of children.

Two events took place last weekend in Germany. At a conference in Berlin called The Big Chill, a group of thinkers and activists denounced what they called “anticipatory obedience” in which Germans, including Jews, had been “muted, de-platformed and stigmatised” for criticising Israel’s response to the atrocities of 7 October 2023.

At the same time, in a small town called Zeitz in eastern Germany, 10 “stumbling stones”, small memorial brass plates denoting the homes of Jews taken to be exterminated in concentration camps, were ripped up. “Whoever did this wants to tear the Holocaust out of our memory,” a leading local politician, Götz Ulrich, declared.

The sad fact is both sets of assertions are largely true. And yet, it was a weekend like any other and neither event received particular coverage.

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Israeli military strikes on Gaza overnight killed at least 19 Palestinians, medics said on Saturday, while forces continued to push deeper into the Jabalia area, where international relief agencies say thousands of people are trapped.

Residents said Israeli forces continued to pound Jabalia, which is in the north of the enclave and is the largest of the enclave’s historic refugee camps, from the air and ground.

There has been no fresh Israeli comment but the military said in past days that forces operating in Jabalia and nearby areas killed dozens of militants, located weapons and dismantled military infrastructure.

The operation in this area began a week ago and the military said then it aimed to fight against Hamas militants waging attacks and to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

Palestinian health officials put the number of people killed in Jabalia over the past week at around 150.

The United Nations food agency said on Saturday that no food aid had entered northern Gaza since 1 October.

The World Food Program said that the primary border crossing into the war-ravaged area had been closed for about two weeks, warning that Israel’s ongoing ground operation has a disastrous impact on food security for thousands of Palestinians families there.

“The north is basically cut off and we’re not able to operate there,” said Antoine Renard, the WFP country director of Palestinian territories.

Concerns of a hunger crisis have risen in Gaza roughly a month after the U.N.’s independent investigator on the right to food accused Israel of carrying out a “starvation campaign” against Palestinians.

Israel has denied such allegations and insisted that it has allowed food and other aid into Gaza in significant quantities.

Simon Harris, the Irish prime minister, has urged Israel to heed “the concerns of the international community” and “stop firing on UN peacekeepers”.

Israel said its forces fired at a threat near a United Nations position in Lebanon Friday, acknowledging that a “hit” was responsible for wounding two Blue Helmets.

The two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were injured at Unifil’s main base in Naqura, southern Lebanon, according to the mission. It followed two Indonesian soldiers suffering injuries when tank fire hit a watchtower the previous day.

The speaker of Iran’s parliament on Saturday toured the scene of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut that killed and wounded dozens, vowing that Tehran would keep supporting Lebanese and Palestinians in fighting against Israel.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf visited the bombed area after holding talks with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who said that Lebanon’s priority now was working toward a cease-fire.

His office said that Lebanon’s government still abides by a 2006 UN Security Council Resolution approved at the end of a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah and was prepared to boost Lebanese army presence along the country’s border with Israel.

“We will keep standing with the Lebanese people during these difficult circumstances and also with the Palestinian people,” Qalibaf said during the tour, during which he was escorted by several Hezbollah officials.

Qalibaf added that Iran will aid the Lebanese people and “we hope that they will be victorious.”

At least 30 people were killed in Israeli strikes throughout Friday in the Jabalia city and refugee camp, Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

The agency’s spokesman says that a strike had left “12 dead, including women and children” in the town, adding that 14 people were still missing and likely trapped under the rubble.

The Israeli military has ordered residents of 22 southern Lebanese villages to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, according to a statement released on Saturday.

It read: “To the residents of the following villages: Aita al-Shaab, Ramyeh, Yater, Qawzah, Beit Lif, Hanin, Rshaf, Ainta, Qlaila, Al-Hawsh, Nabaa, Tulin, Al-Tamriya, Al-Khiyam, Al-Kharba, Kfar Hamam, Arab Al-Luwaizeh, Abu Zebla Bridge, Jabal Al-Adas, Dahr Bariyeh Jaber, Kafra, Ramadiyeh, Zebqin. Hezbollah’s activity forces the IDF to take action against it.

“The IDF does not seek to harm you. For your own safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately.

“Anyone who is near Hezbollah elements, facilities or weapons is putting his life at risk. Residents, you are requested to leave your homes and move immediately to the north of the Awali River.

“To ensure your safety, you must evacuate without delay. Warning: You are prohibited from heading south, as any movement towards the south poses a danger to your life.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has called on Palestinians in the “D5” area in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate “immediately”.

Spokesperson Avichay Adraee said it is considered a “dangerous combat zone”.

In a post on X, he wrote: “The IDF is operating with great force against the terrorist organizations and will continue to do so for a long time. The designated area, including the shelters located there, is considered a dangerous combat zone.

“The area must be evacuated immediately via Salah El-Din Street to the humanitarian area.”