By Elham Asaad Buaras
London, (The Muslim News): One person was killed in southern Lebanon and at least 10 Palestinians were wounded in the occupied West Bank on Friday as Israeli military operations and settler attacks intensified across multiple fronts, while Amnesty International accused Israel of possible “war crimes” over earlier strikes that killed 24 civilians in Lebanon and Iran demanded the United Nations take “decisive action” against the United States.
In the occupied West Bank, at least 10 Palestinians were injured during Israeli military raids and illegal Israeli settler attacks in several areas, including Beit Furik, Beit Imrin, Masafer Yatta, Dura and Arraba.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said two Palestinians were injured after being assaulted by Israeli settlers in Beit Furik, where witnesses said settlers stormed Palestinian-owned land and attacked residents as Israeli troops deployed reinforcements.
Elsewhere, settlers seized land in Beit Imrin, including the Al-Qemma restaurant and café and a house under construction, raising Israeli flags over the site. In Masafer Yatta, eight Palestinians were injured during attacks involving Israeli forces and settlers, while groups of settlers also entered the archaeological site of Khirbet Rabud near Dura. A new settlement outpost was also established on land belonging to Arraba, southwest of Jenin.
Palestinian officials say violence in the West Bank has escalated dramatically since October 2023, leaving at least 1,175 Palestinians dead, nearly 13,000 wounded, around 33,000 displaced and almost 24,000 arrested.
In southern Lebanon, Israeli drone strikes killed a young man riding a motorcycle in Kfarrumman and seriously wounded another in a separate strike on a car in the same area. Two more people were injured when a drone hit a pickup truck unloading rubbish near Choukine and Kfar Dajjal.
Israeli forces also carried out large-scale demolition operations in the border town of Khiam, with repeated explosions reported overnight despite a US-backed framework agreement signed last month that provides for a phased Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory. Lebanese authorities say more than 4,300 people have been killed and over 12,000 wounded since Israel’s assault began in March.
The latest violence came as Amnesty International said three Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon that killed 24 civilians, including 12 children, should be investigated as “war crimes.”
“Within the space of just a week – the Israeli military obliterated entire families, including a dozen children, in Lebanon, demonstrating a callous disregard for civilian lives,” said Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“How many more families will have to pull the body parts of their children from the rubble before this devastating cycle of war crimes ends? The international community must act now.”
Amnesty said it had “reasonable basis to conclude” that Israeli forces may have violated international humanitarian law by failing to distinguish between civilians and military objectives or take sufficient precautions to minimise civilian casualties.
Israel rejected the allegations, saying it is “committed to mitigating harm to civilians during operational activity” and accused Hezbollah of “systematically” using civilian infrastructure for military purposes.
Meanwhile, diplomatic tensions flared at the United Nations after Iran’s Ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, urged the Security Council and Secretary-General António Guterres to take “effective and decisive measures” against the United States over what he described as unlawful aggression.
“The United States bears full international responsibility for all legal and political consequences arising from its unlawful action,” Iravani said.
He insisted Iran remains committed to last month’s framework peace agreement, provided Washington honours its commitments, and said responsibility for navigation and any demining operations in the Strait of Hormuz “rests exclusively” with Tehran.
His remarks came after US President Donald Trump claimed Iran had sought to resume negotiations despite saying the June ceasefire was “over.”
The developments underscore the continuing instability across the region, with fresh violence on the ground accompanied by mounting international criticism, legal scrutiny and renewed diplomatic confrontation.
At least 10 Palestinians were injured Friday in attacks by Israeli occupiers and the army in the occupied West Bank, as raids and assaults targeted several Palestinian towns and lands, according to witnesses and sources.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said two Palestinians were injured after being assaulted by Israeli occupiers in the town of Beit Furik in eastern Nablus.
Sources told Anadolu Agency that occupiers stormed Palestinian-owned lands in the eastern part of the town and attacked residents, while the Israeli army deployed military reinforcements to the area.
Occupiers also entered the vicinity of the Abu Raafat al-Hajj Hussein Mosque in eastern Beit Furik.
In a separate incident, occupiers seized land in the town of Beit Imrin in northwestern Nablus, including the Al-Qemma restaurant and cafe and a house under construction, and raised Israeli flags over the site.
In the Masafer Yatta area in southern Hebron, eight Palestinians were injured in an attack by Israeli forces and occupiers in the Asfi al-Fawqa area, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
Groups of occupiers also stormed the archaeological site of Khirbet Rabud in the city of Dura in southern Hebron.
In the northern West Bank, occupiers established a new settlement outpost on land belonging to the town of Arraba in southwestern Jenin.
Since October 2023, the West Bank has witnessed intensified Israeli military offensives and occupier violence, which, according to official Palestinian figures, have killed at least 1,175 Palestinians, injured 12,919, displaced 33,000 and led to the arrest of nearly 24,000 people.
[Photo: Israeli forces stand by in the area as the Israeli military demolish two Palestinian homes on the grounds that they had been built without permits in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, West Bank, Palestine on July 07, 2026. Photojournalist: Mamoun Wazwaz/AA]
