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

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.”

At least 42,175 Palestinians have been killed and 98,336 others injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, 2023, Gaza’s health ministry said on Saturday.

Thousands of people are trapped in Gaza’s Jabalia camp as Israeli forces attack the area, Medecins Sans Frontires (Doctors Without Borders) said on Friday, a week after Israel launched an offensive there which it says is aimed at stopping Hamas regrouping.

At least 20 Palestinians were killed and dozens more were wounded late on Friday by Israeli strikes in Jabalia, which also damaged four nearby homes, medics told Reuters. The death toll is likely to rise, they added.

Leaders of nine European Union member states in the Mediterranean on Friday called for an immediate ceasefire after a sharp escalation in conflict between Israel and forces of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Amid the backdrop of the conflict in Gaza in the broader region, we express our deep concern at the escalation of a military confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah,” a statement from EU leaders attending a summit, known as MED9, read after meeting in Cyprus.

At least eight people were killed in intensified airstrikes across villages in southern and eastern Lebanon on Friday evening, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

An Israeli airstrike on Baysarieh, a village in Sidon province, killed three people, including a 2-year-old and a 16-year-old, and injured three others, the health ministry said.

In Baalbeck-Hermel province, located in the Bekaa Valley, five more people were killed and five others wounded in additional airstrikes. On Thursday, 22 people were killed and 117 wounded in two Israeli strikes on two locations in central Beirut.

The strike caused the collapse of two residential buildings housing families and displaced individuals. Critical aid routes into northern Gaza have been cut off, United Nations officials say.

Israel claims to have killed another Hezbollah commander after reports of fighting this morning in southern Lebanon.

The military wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday morning that they had killed Araeb el Shoga, a commander in the Hezbollah Radwan Forces’ anti-tank missile unit.

They said he was killed in Meiss El Jabal in southern Lebanon, adding that he was responsible for “numerous anti-tank missile attacks in northern Israel”.

Earlier this morning, the Israeli military said they had detected one anti-tank missile fired from southern Lebanon across the border into Kibbutz Yaraon, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The publication said a 27-year-old man from Thailand was killed while two more people were injured.

At least eight people were killed in intensified airstrikes across villages in southern and eastern Lebanon on Friday evening, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

An Israeli airstrike on Baysarieh, a village in Sidon province, killed three people, including a 2-year-old and a 16-year-old, and injured three others, the health ministry said.

In Baalbeck-Hermel province, located in the Bekaa Valley, five more people were killed and five others wounded in additional airstrikes.

On Thursday, 22 people were killed and 117 wounded in two Israeli strikes on two locations in central Beirut. The strike caused the collapse of two residential buildings housing families and displaced individuals.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that Israel should “stop killing innocent people”, and that its actions in the Middle East were backed by the United States and the European Union.

Pezeshkian was speaking to a Russian state TV reporter on the sidelines of an international meeting in Turkmenistan.

An Israeli strike late on Thursday in the heart of Beirut killed 22 people and injured more than 100, Lebanese authorities said.

An Israeli attack on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon has been condemned as appalling by the UK government.

A Downing Street spokesperson said it was vital peacekeepers were protected and called for an immediate ceasefire across the Middle East.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said an Israeli tank fired on its headquarters in the town of Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Thursday, hitting an observation tower and wounding two peacekeepers.

The force said its headquarters was affected by further explosions on Friday which injured two more peacekeepers.

“We were appalled to hear those reports and it is vital that peacekeepers and civilians are protected,” a No.10 spokesperson said.