Protesters waving Palestinian flags in front of the British embassy in Beirut, Nov. 14, 2023. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine)
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Catch up on yesterday’s LIVE coverage of the Israel-Hamas war here.
Cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Hamas continued in southern Lebanon yesterday while Lebanese officials denounced attacks on civilians. Israeli shelling struck houses in Tayr Harfa and Markaba, security sources told L’Orient Today’s correspondent. Several sources reported other strikes on al-Marj, Aita al-Shaab, Aitaroun, Bint Jbeil, Blida, Houla, Hunin, Jibbain, Labbouneh, Mais al-Jabal, Odaisseh, Rab al-Thalathine, Ras al-Naqoura and Wadi Saluki. Ibn al-Saqi residents told L'Orient Today they found an Israeli drone stuck in a tree. Hezbollah announced four separate strikes on northern Israel. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri warned United Nations peacekeepers (UNIFIL) Chief Aroldo Lazaro that Israel risks expanding war in the region with its aggressions on Lebanese “civilians, media professionals, and paramedics.” Human Rights Watch called for an investigation into Israel’s attack on a civilian vehicle in Ainata, southern Lebanon, that killed journalist Samir Ayoub's sister and his three granddaughters, aged 10, 12, and 14, calling it an "apparent war crime," AFP reported. The Lebanese government filed a complaint to the UN Security Council over the targeting of journalists in Yaroun yesterday.
Some 300 demonstrators staged a protest against the war in Gaza outside the British Embassy in Beirut yesterday afternoon. The demonstration was held at the invitation of "Lebanese parties and Palestinian factions," according to a Hezbollah statement and, while the call to protest was announced by Hezbollah, the protest was not in the party's name. Tensions briefly escalated when demonstrators threw stones in the direction of the embassy and police responded by firing a stun grenade. "The UK is at the root of the problem. It's the UK that granted a state to the Zionists," said Wafa Issa, 60, a Palestinian born in Lebanon who attended the protest. "Palestinians have the right to live. We are mobilizing to stop the genocide and massacres in Gaza. We want to return to our homeland."
77 people have been killed and 328 people have been injured in southern Lebanon since Oct. 7, the Lebanese Health Ministry said in its first official bi-weekly emergency report on the region. The ministry estimates that 26,232 people have been displaced by the border clashes. The report said that 25 percent of reported injuries were due to exposure to toxic chemicals, 33 percent were blast injuries and 37 percent were caused by blunt force trauma.
A cabinet meeting scheduled for yesterday was postponed to next Monday, Nov. 20, after it failed to reach quorum, the state-run National News Agency reported. The meeting's 16-item agenda included a proposal to boost the war-readiness of Lebanon's telecom network with a Starlink connection. Telecom providers in the country previously announced proactive measures for maintaining operations in the case of war. Another item was a proposed revision to the cancer medicine subsidies mechanism.
The Gaza Health Ministry told The Washington Post it can no longer update its death toll of the ongoing bombardment in the Gaza Strip due to a lack of internet connection and severed communication with the hospitals. Its latest figures reported over 11,000 deaths since Oct. 7. A Hamas official stated that 25 out of 35 hospitals in Gaza are unable to function due to Israeli bombardment and fighting, Reuters reported. Hamas political official Izzat Rachaq said al-Shifa hospital was continuously bombarded for the past five days, adding that 179 people were buried in its courtyard in a mass grave, as the corpses were creating worrisome sanitary conditions in the besieged hospital. Al-Shifa Hospital lost power on Saturday and Israeli forces reportedly began entering the hospital in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The Israeli army announced it took control of government buildings in Gaza, which Hamas described as an attempt “to stage a victory.” Osama Hamdan, Hamas official, said “The battle is still at the beginning … what is coming is bigger.” Qatar urged Hamas and Israel to reach a deal to release hostages held by the former since Oct. 7.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Gaza triggers mental health crises among diaspora Arabs”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz
