Key points
- The Israeli military said plans for an offensive in Lebanon had been “approved and validated.”
- Experts are divided over the prospect of a wider war, almost nine months into the war between Hamas and Israel.
- Months of negotiations over a ceasefire and the release of hostages have failed to make any progress.
The Israeli army continued its bombardment of Gaza on Saturday after the International Committee of the Red Cross said 22 people were killed in shelling that damaged its office in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The gun battle on the Lebanese border between Israel and the powerful Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah has also escalated in recent weeks.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that cross-border hostilities should not turn Lebanon into a “new Gaza”, warning of the risk of causing a catastrophe that is “unimaginable”.
His warning came as Israel stepped up its attacks in the Gaza Strip, where a Gaza City hospital reported at least 30 deaths on Friday and fighting continued on Saturday morning.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, said troops continued to conduct operations in central Gaza “eliminating several armed terrorists and dismantling terrorist infrastructure in the area.”
“Fighters and other aircraft have struck numerous terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip, including armed terrorists, weapons storage facilities and additional terrorist infrastructure,” it added.
In southern Gaza, the ICRC said Friday that 22 dead and 45 wounded were taken to a Red Cross field hospital after shelling with “heavy caliber projectiles” near its Gaza office.
“Shooting so dangerously close to humanitarian structures endangers the lives of civilians and humanitarians,” the ICRC said on X.
Gaza’s health ministry blamed Israel for the shelling, saying 25 people were killed and 50 wounded in the southern coastal area of Al-Mawasi, where thousands of displaced people were sheltering in tents.
An Israeli military spokesman did not acknowledge any role in the incident but said it was “under investigation.”
In the north of the Gaza Strip, the director of Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Hospital was quoted by the territory’s health ministry as reporting 30 deaths in strikes.
“It was a difficult and brutal day in Gaza City. So far, about thirty martyrs have arrived at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital,” said Doctor Fadel Naeem.
Lebanon-based Hamas ally Hezbollah meanwhile claimed several attacks on Israeli forces and positions near the border on Friday, including two using drones.
The Israeli military said it carried out multiple retaliatory strikes on both days.
Israeli fighter jets on Friday struck a “Hezbollah military structure near Khiam, a Hezbollah military post near Mais al-Jabal and a Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the Taybeh and Tallouseh areas of southern Lebanon,” it said army in a statement. rack.
Experts are divided over the prospect of a wider war as Israel nears nine months into its campaign to eradicate Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Amid escalating exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, the Israeli military said Tuesday that plans are underway for an offensive in Lebanon
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said that “no place” in Israel would “spare our missiles” in a wider war, and also threatened nearby European Union member Cyprus.
Citing “belligerent rhetoric” on both sides, UN chief Guterres warned on Friday that the risk of all-out war was real.
“One rash move – one miscalculation – could trigger a catastrophe far beyond the pale, and frankly, unimaginable,” he said.
Israel’s ally, the United States, has called for de-escalation.
The war began on October 7, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
At least 37,551 people were killed by Israel’s military operations on Saturday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Months of negotiations over a ceasefire and the release of hostages have failed to make any progress, but mediator Qatar stressed on Friday that it is still working to “bridge the gap” between Israel and Hamas.
The war has destroyed much of Gaza’s infrastructure and left residents short of food, fuel and other essentials.
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