What we know
- Israel struck central Beirut overnight and expanded its evacuation orders north of a U.N. buffer zone. At least nine people were killed in Israel's deepest attack into the Lebanese capital yet.
- Two Lebanese army soldiers were killed today as the country entered the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, firing at Israeli soldiers for the first time.
- President Joe Biden said he is discussing possible Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities but opposes an attack on its nuclear sites as Israel vows a swift retaliation to Iran's missile barrage. Tehran has threatened a severe response.
- A woman kidnapped by the Islamic State terrorist group more than 10 years ago has been rescued in Gaza, the Israeli military said.
- An "apocalyptic" situation is mounting across Lebanon, health care workers warned, with 1.2 million people displaced and many sleeping on the streets of Beirut. More than 1,300 have been killed, health officials say, as the U.S. and other countries evacuate their citizens.
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Israel’s overnight strikes plunge Lebanon’s capital into a nightly ‘nightmare’
ZOUK MOSBEH, Lebanon — When night falls, it’s no longer sleep but the humming threat of an Israeli strike that descends on the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Israel’s overnight attacks, which reached the heart of Beirut in the early this morning, mean few in the city and beyond are getting any rest. Residents told NBC News they’ve hardly slept in recent days, fearful of where Israel will strike next and what the future holds for their long-beleaguered country now at the center of a spiraling regional conflict.
Hala Kobaissi, a makeup artist living in Beirut’s Salim Salam neighborhood — just a stone’s throw from Bachoura, where at least nine people were killed in an Israeli strike on the city’s heart overnight — said she spent the hours from dusk to dawn “in total shock” as the sounds of “shattered glass, people’s screams and cries” rang out.
“I don’t know what to say and from where to start,” said Kobaissi, 55, speaking at a frenetic pace in a phone interview early today. “Nowhere is secure now.”
37 killed and 151 others injured in Lebanon, ministry says
At least 37 people were killed in Lebanon today from southern Lebanon north to the capital, Beirut, according to the Lebanese Public Health Ministry.
An additional 151 others were injured in Israeli airstrikes throughout the country, the ministry said.
FIFA will open investigation into request to ban Israel
FIFA, the international soccer federation, will open an investigation into whether Israel should be banned following a complaint of discrimination from the Palestine Football Association.
The decision was made following a FIFA Council meeting in Zurich today, FIFA said in a news release. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the organization remains "extremely shocked" over the violence in the region and called for peace.
"The FIFA Council has implemented due diligence on this very sensitive matter and, based on a thorough assessment, we have followed the advice of the independent experts,” Infantino said.
The PFA made the complaint on the basis of what it said were human rights violations, violations of the member associations' rights and "grave violations of FIFA’s statutory objectives." It also noted that 92 Palestinian — non-professional — players have been killed in the war and that the PFA's soccer infrastructure has been destroyed.
In addition, there are concerns that Israeli club teams are playing in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Israel Football Association rejected the accusations.
18 people killed in airstrike in the occupied West Bank
At least 18 people have been killed by an Israeli airstrike in the occupied West Bank, according to the health ministry.
The IDF said today that the Israeli air force conducted the strike in Tulkarm as part of a joint operation with security forces but did not provide more details. Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian National Initiative, said on X that the strike hit a cafe inside the Tulkarm refugee camp
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority presidency, condemned the strike. In a statement published by the WAFA News Agency, Rudeineh accused Israel of escalating "massacres" against the Palestinian people.
Hamas also released a statement condemning the strike.
IDF calls for more evacuations of Beirut's southern suburbs
The IDF hit residents of Beirut's southern suburbs with more evacuation warnings this evening, urging people in the Burj al-Barajneh neighborhood to leave immediately.
The warning, which was issued just before 11 p.m. local time, signals another sleepless night for civilians in Beirut, who were kept awake by bombings the night before.
G7 leaders call on regional players in Middle East to ‘act responsibly’
LONDON — Group of Seven leaders today reiterated their deep concern over the crisis in the Middle East and called on players in the region to “act responsibly” and with restraint while repeating their backing for Israel’s security.
“We, the Leaders of the G7, express deep concern over the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. ... We unequivocally reiterate our commitment to the security of Israel,” a G7 statement provided by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office read.
“A dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliation risks fuelling uncontrollable escalation in the Middle East, which is in no one’s interest. Therefore, we call on all regional players to act responsibly and with restraint.”
Along with Britain, the G7 comprises the U.S., Canada, Italy, France, Germany and Japan.
10 consecutive strikes hit Beirut, Lebanese state news says
At least 10 consecutive strikes were recorded in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said.
It characterized the hits as some of the strongest to strike the southern suburbs so far. One of the strikes was in the area of St. Georges Hospital in Hadath, NNA reported.
Reuters video showed explosions close to the Beirut airport just as a Middle East Airlines flight was landing.
State Department says Michigan resident killed in Lebanon was an American
An American citizen, Hajj Kamel Ahmad Jawad, of Dearborn, Michigan, was killed by an airstrike in Lebanon on Tuesday, his family said in a statement.
The State Department first said that Jawad was a U.S. legal permanent resident but that now it is looking further into his citizenship status.
“I saw the article quoting @StateDept claiming he wasn’t an American,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said on X. “All this while the family is mourning and having services for Hajj Kamel in our community this week.”
The State Department said today that it sees Jawad as an American either way.
“I see now that the family has described him as a U.S. citizen. That may very well be true. We are looking through our records now to verify whether he was an American citizen or whether a legal whether he’s a legal permanent resident,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
“Either way, he’s an American, and his death was a horrific tragedy,” he said.
28 health care workers killed in Lebanon in the last day, World Health Organization says
At least 28 health care workers have been killed in 24 hours, the World Health Organization said.
As Israel continues its heavy bombardment of Lebanon, 37 medical facilities in southern Lebanon have closed and three hospitals in Beirut have been forced to evacuate patients and staff members. Paramedics were killed by rounds of airstrikes as they rescued victims of earlier strikes.
"Health and humanitarian workers, including WHO staff, have done incredible work under very difficult and dangerous conditions, with limited supplies," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general. "And yet healthcare continues to come under attack."
Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad called Israel's killing of paramedics a war crime. Echoing the accusation, the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said he condemned the violation of international humanitarian law.
IDF identifies soldier killed in combat in southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said one of its soldiers died fighting in southern Lebanon.
Israel's military said that Capt. Ben Zion Falach, 21, a member of a paratrooper unit, "fell yesterday during combat in southern Lebanon." It did not provide additional details.
Yesterday, the IDF identified eight soldiers who were killed fighting in southern Lebanon.