Israel’s military did not comment on the casualties.
In a separate attack on Saturday, a drone strike killed two people and injured three in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, according to the Lebanese state-run National News Agency.
Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area, said those killed were Palestinian refugees from nearby al-Rashidieh camp who were out fishing.
Civil defence workers carry a body found under rubble after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.Credit: Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times
Despite a warning last month by Israel’s army to avoid Lebanon’s southern coast, “you can’t tell someone who needs to eat that you can’t fish,” Bikai said.
The Health Ministry said other airstrikes killed eight people, including four children, in the eastern town of Shmustar, five others in the southern village of Roumin, and another five people in the north-eastern village of Budai.
Ceasefire sticking points
Two Western diplomatic officials described disputed points between Israel and Lebanon in ceasefire negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the talks.
The current proposal calls for a two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. Thousands of Lebanese army troops would patrol the border area with UN peacekeepers, and an international committee would monitor the deal’s implementation.
The officials said Israel wanted more guarantees that Hezbollah’s weapons were removed from the border area. Israeli officials have said they would not agree to a deal that did not explicitly grant them the freedom to strike in Lebanon if they believed Hezbollah was breaching it.
Lebanese officials have said the inclusion of such a term would violate their country’s sovereignty. Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem has said that the militant group would not agree to a deal that did not entail a “complete and comprehensive end to the aggression”.
Lebanon and Israel also dispute which countries would sit on the monitoring committee.
More deadly strikes in Gaza
In northern Gaza, the Health Ministry said at least 80 people were killed on Thursday and Friday, including near the Kamal Adwan and Al-Ahli hospitals. Dozens of people were trapped under the rubble.
Israel’s army said it wasn’t aware of a strike near Kamal Adwan, and it didn’t respond to questions from the Associated Press.
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On Saturday, at least six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to staff at Nasser Hospital.
“Suddenly, we woke up to dust, smoke and a fire,” said one grieving father, Ahmad Ghassan. “We found [my son] dead and his brother injured.” Another father wept as he carried his child’s body in a bloodstained sheet.
Al-Awda Hospital said it received six bodies after Israel shelled a house north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Palestinian death toll from the 13-month-long war has surpassed 44,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. It has said more than half the dead are women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed more than 17,000 militants without providing evidence.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people and abducting another 250. About 100 hostages are still inside Gaza; at least a third are believed to be dead.
AP
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