By Nadine Osman
London (The Muslim News): Israel has intensified its military campaigns in both Lebanon and Gaza, leading to significant casualties and a growing humanitarian crisis.
In southern Lebanon, the Israeli army launched a new wave of airstrikes, apparently targeting Hezbollah positions, while ordering civilians from 26 border towns to evacuate immediately. According to Lebanese government majority of casualties are civilians.
Military spokesman Avichay Adraee ordered residents to move north of the Awali River, with the affected towns, including Houla, Meiss Ej Jabal, and Majdal Selm. Lebanese officials have described the displacement as “catastrophic,” with over 900 public schools converted into shelters, forcing children into remote learning, and delaying the start of the school year.
Despite these efforts, shelters are at full capacity, and the situation remains dire, with the displaced resorting to sleeping in cars, parks, on beaches, and outside mosque premises.
The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that at least 23 people were killed and 93 others injured in Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon on Saturday, raising the total death toll in the country since September 23 to 1,204, with 3,411 wounded.
The escalation in Lebanon is part of Israel’s broader military campaign against Hezbollah [Hizbullah], which intensified following Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Since the conflict erupted, at least 2,036 people have been killed, over 9,600 injured, and more than 1.2 million displaced in Lebanon. Tel Aviv began a ground invasion of southern Lebanon on October 1, raising fears that the conflict could escalate into a wider regional war.
On the Israeli side, tensions mounted further as the Israeli army reported intercepting two surface-to-surface missiles launched from Lebanon towards the Haifa region. Israeli forces also intercepted several drones over the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, preventing further escalation. While no casualties were reported from these interceptions, an attack in southern Israel resulted in the death of one Israeli and the injury of nine others at Beersheba’s central bus station.
In parallel, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continues unabated. On Sunday, Gaza’s Health Ministry confirmed that 45 more Palestinians were killed, pushing the death toll since October 7 to 41,870, with 97,166 injured.
In northern Gaza, at least 30 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes, which coincided with a ground incursion east of Jabalia. Palestinian medics reported that three people were killed in an airstrike on a home in Jabalia, while another airstrike targeted a school near Gaza’s central market.
Since Saturday night, Israeli forces have carried out more than 100 airstrikes in northern Gaza, destroying residential buildings, public infrastructure, and shelters for displaced families. Hundreds of people were forced to flee the eastern Jabalia area as Israeli artillery and drones targeted anything that moved. Witnesses reported intense shelling as Israeli forces sought to gain control of strategic areas around Jabalia, using heavy artillery fire to secure key positions.
The central Gaza Strip has also suffered heavy casualties, with at least 26 people, including children, killed in Israeli airstrikes on a mosque and a school sheltering displaced civilians. Gaza’s government media office condemned the attacks, accusing Israel of committing “brutal massacres” and war crimes.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Mosque in Deir al-Balah and Ibn Rushd School in Al-Zawaida were targeted, killing several children and leaving many others critically injured. “These two heinous massacres come after a series of atrocities committed by the Israeli army, including airstrikes on 27 homes, schools and shelters across Gaza over the past 48 hours, resulting in the deaths and injuries of dozens of Palestinians,” Gaza’s government media office said in a statement.
Medical facilities in Gaza are overwhelmed, with hospitals struggling to cope with the rising number of casualties.
The international community has raised concerns that Israel’s actions in Lebanon and Gaza could escalate the conflict into a broader regional war. Despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, the violence shows no sign of abating, and the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen.
[Photo: Lebanese who fled their homes due to the Israeli attacks take shelter in Shuheda Square in Beirut with few belongings on 5 10, 2024.
Photojournalist: Houssam Shbaro/ AA]
