Israeli strikes on northern Gaza leave at least 87 dead

Gaza Strip, Oct. 21: Israeli strikes on multiple homes in the northern Gaza Strip overnight and into Sunday left at least 87 people dead or missing, the territory's Health Ministry said.

It said another 40 people were wounded in the strikes on the town of Beit Lahiya, which was among the first targets of Israel's ground invasion nearly a year ago.

Israel has been carrying out a large-scale operation in northern Gaza for the last two weeks, saying Hamas has regrouped there. Palestinian officials say hundreds of people have been killed and that the health sector in the north is on the verge of collapse.

The United States is meanwhile investigating an unauthorized release of classified documents that assess Israel's plans to attack Iran, according to three U.S. officials. A fourth U.S. official said the documents appear to be legitimate.

The documents, attributed to the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency and marked top secret, indicate that Israel was moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to Iran's ballistic missile attack on Oct. 1.

The U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The U.S. is urging Israel to press for a cease-fire in Gaza following the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week. But neither Israel nor Hamas has shown any renewed interest in such a deal, after months of negotiations sputtered to a halt in August.

US urges Israel to scale back Lebanon strikes

Iran supports Hamas and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, where a year of escalating tensions boiled over into all-out war last month. Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon at the start of October.

On Saturday, a drone targeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's house, causing no casualties, as part of a barrage of incoming projectiles across the country's northern border. It wasn't clear if the house was hit.

Israel has meanwhile ramped up strikes on southern neighbourhoods of Beirut known as the Dahiyeh, a crowded residential area. Hezbollah has a strong presence there, but it is also home to large numbers of civilians and people unaffiliated with the militant group.

U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, has called civilian casualties in Lebanon "far too high" in the Israel-Hezbollah war and urged Israel to scale back some strikes, especially in and around Beirut. Medics warn of a catastrophic situation in Gaza

There was no immediate comment on the strikes in Beit Lahiya from the Israeli military, which said it was "continuing to operate across Gaza in both aerial strikes and ground operations."

Among the dead were two parents and their four children, and a woman, her son and her daughter-law and their four children, according to Raheem Kheder, a medic. He said the strike flattened a multi-story building and at least four neighbouring houses.

Mounir al-Bursh, director general of the Health Ministry, said the flood of wounded from the strikes compounded "an already catastrophic situation for the health care system" in northern Gaza, in a post on X.

Doctors Without Borders, the international charity known by its French acronym MSF, called on Israeli forces "to immediately stop their attacks on hospitals in North Gaza" after the Health Ministry said Israeli troops had fired on two hospitals over the weekend.

The military said it was operating near one of the hospitals but had not fired directly at it, and that it was looking into the other incident.

"The ever-worsening escalation of violence and non-stop Israeli military operations that we have been witnessing over the past two weeks in northern Gaza have horrifying consequences," said Anna Halford, an emergency coordinator for MSF.

"When hospitals are attacked, their infrastructure destroyed, and the electricity cut off, the lives of patients and medical staff are under threat."

Internet connectivity went down in northern Gaza late Saturday and had not yet been restored by midday Sunday, making it difficult to gather information about the strikes and complicating rescue efforts.

Large Israeli operation in northern Gaza enters third week

Israel has been carrying out a major operation in Jabaliya, also in northern Gaza, for the last two weeks. The military says it launched the operation against Hamas militants who had regrouped there.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday accused Iran-backed Hezbollah of trying to assassinate him, with the Middle East already on edge after Israel had vowed retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage.

Netanyahu’s office said a drone was launched toward his residence in the central town of Caesarea on Saturday but he and his wife were not home at the time and there were no injuries.

“The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

“Anyone who tries to harm Israel’s citizens will pay a heavy price,” he said in comments to Tehran and “its proxies”, which include Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a group Israel has been at war with since late September.

Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said a drone “hit a building in Caesarea, while trying to hit the prime minister”.

While fighting a two-front war, in Lebanon and in Gaza, Israel has also vowed to respond to Iran’s October 1 missile barrage with a “deadly, precise and surprising,” attack, according to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.(AP)