Lebanon searches for survivors after Israeli airstrikes kill 52

Rescuers successful northeastern Lebanon searched for survivors Friday aft Israeli airstrikes killed astatine slightest 52 people, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Israel airstrikes pounded Lebanon's Bekaa Valley aboriginal Friday, sending families fleeing from their homes. Video from the country showed immoderate buildings successful rubble arsenic fume roseate supra the skyline.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said 72 radical were injured successful the bombardment.

Israeli warplanes besides destroyed dozens of buildings Friday successful the confederate Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, but determination were nary reports of causalities.

The Israel Defense Forces, oregon IDF, reported that 7 radical were killed successful bluish Israel by cross-border rocket attacks from Hezbollah.

In connection posted to its X societal media account, the IDF said during the nighttime Thursday into Friday, its combatant jets "attacked with precise intelligence" sites for weapons production, arsenic good arsenic what it said were Hezbollah cardinal office and different "military infrastructures" successful the Beirut area.

The IDF said its combatant jets besides attacked overnight what it described arsenic Hezbollah's "southern front" office passim Nabatiyeh successful confederate Lebanon. They said beforehand warnings were fixed to the colonisation successful the country to mitigate the hazard to civilians.

Lebanon's authorities National News Agency, oregon NNA, reported Lebanon's acting premier minister, Najib Mikati, said Friday the overnight strikes and the "expansion of Israeli aggression" successful Lebanon amusement that Israel "rejects each efforts" to scope a cease-fire. Earlier this week helium had expressed anticipation for the anticipation of specified an agreement.

In Gaza, doctors and section sources reported much than 30 radical killed successful Israeli strikes connected the Nuseirat exile campy successful cardinal Gaza overnight Thursday into Friday. Officials astatine al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital successful Deir al-Balah told The Washington Post that 26 bodies arrived astatine the hospital, including 21 from Nuseirat exile camp.

The leaders of 15 U.N. agencies and humanitarian organizations said Friday, "the concern unfolding successful bluish Gaza is apocalyptic."

The officials, which included the heads of the World Health Organization, World Food Program and children's bureau UNICEF said, "The full portion is connected the borderline of a precipice" and said Palestinians person been denied basal humanitarian assistance and lifesaving supplies.

The IDF said successful a connection its troops had identified and eliminated "several equipped terrorists" successful cardinal Gaza and had eliminated "dozens of terrorists" successful targeted raids successful bluish Gaza's Jabalia area. They besides told the AP they had deed a Hamas infrastructure tract and had targeted a militant who was operating successful the Nuseirat area.

The unit comes arsenic U.S. diplomats, including U.S. CIA Director William Burns, near the portion this week aft a bid of meetings to propulsion for a cease-fire.

A elder Hamas leader, Taher al-Nunu, told quality outlets Friday that the militant radical has rejected the latest abbreviated word cease-fire connection presented by mediators from Egypt and Qatar due to the fact that it did not see a lasting cease-fire.

At a quality league Friday successful Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said helium remains optimistic regarding bid and cease-fire efforts connected some fronts.

Regarding Lebanon, Blinken said erstwhile again, the ground of a diplomatic solution to the situation would beryllium the effectual implementation of the 2006 U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for Hezbollah to retreat its equipped beingness from an country southbound of the Litani River and for Israeli forces to get retired of Lebanon.

Blinken made the comments astatine a associated briefing with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The 2 held talks Friday with their South Korean counterparts successful Washington.

Blinken was asked astir a missive helium and Austin sent to Israel, calling connected Tel Aviv to instrumentality steps to get much humanitarian assistance into Gaza oregon look imaginable restrictions connected U.S. subject aid.

The caput of authorities said their teams are tracking "very carefully" Israel's effect and efforts regarding humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Blinken said determination has been "progress" but added it has been insufficient.

"We're moving connected a regular ground to marque definite that Israel does what it indispensable bash to guarantee that this assistance gets to radical who request it wrong of Gaza," Blinken said. "It's not capable to get trucks to Gaza; it's captious that what they bring with them tin get distributed efficaciously wrong of Gaza."

Blinken besides mentioned the World Health Organization's palmy archetypal polio vaccination run for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children successful Gaza. He said for that run to beryllium concluded, determination indispensable beryllium a 2nd circular of vaccinations completed quickly, and helium called connected Israel to facilitate that effort.

The WHO said Friday the adjacent signifier of the polio vaccination run volition statesman Saturday aft being postponed from October 23 owed to a deficiency of entree and a deficiency of humanitarian pauses successful the warring successful Gaza.

The warfare successful Lebanon erupted precocious past month, astir a twelvemonth aft Hezbollah began low-intensity cross-border occurrence into Israel successful enactment of Hamas.

Hamas and Hezbollah person been designated arsenic panic groups by the United States, the U.K. and different Western countries.

The struggle successful the portion began erstwhile Hamas militants killed 1,200 radical and captured astir 250 hostages successful their October 7, 2023, panic onslaught connected Israel. Israel says it believes Hamas is inactive holding 101 hostages, including 35 the subject says are dead.

Israel's counteroffensive successful Gaza has killed astatine slightest 43,259 Palestinians, according to the territory's Hamas-run wellness ministry, with Israel saying the decease toll includes thousands of militants. The Israeli run has devastated overmuch of the Gaza Strip, wherever the warring and Israeli evacuation orders person displaced astir 90% of Gaza's colonisation of 2.3 cardinal people.

Some accusation for this communicative came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.