By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BEIRUT/GAZA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – At least 24 people were killed and 96 injured in massive Israeli air strikes on Gaza and Lebanon overnight, Hamas-linked officials said early Sunday.
The overnight strikes came ahead of the 1st anniversary of the deadliest attacks by Hamas against Israel since the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, which killed some 1,200 people while about 250 persons were kidnapped.
The death toll given about the overnight strikes was challenging to verify, and it was unclear how many combatants were among those killed.
Authorities said a school and mosque have been hit, while there were heavy explosions in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital.
Israel says it is targeting “terrorists” of Gaza-based Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon and their allies. The groups are backed by Iran, and on Saturday, Israel’s military said it is committed to striking the Islamic Republic in response to more than 200 missiles fired by Tehran at Israel on Tuesday.
Witnesses say the attacks were one of the “heaviest air strikes” in Israel’s ongoing armed conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah.
The strikes on the mosque and the school near the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip underscored that Israel is fighting at multiple fronts in what the government views as a battle for the existence of the Jewish nation and people.
MASSIVE BLASTS
Massive explosions also shook the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight Saturday into Sunday as Israel stepped up its bombardments of Hezbollah stronghold areas.
As clashes intensified, French President Emmanuel Macron was among leaders calling on the international community to halt arms deliveries to Israel destined for use in Gaza.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the president’s comments brought “shame” on Macron as it would limit the Jewish nation’s ability to defend itself against those seeking its destruction.
Yet Macron’s office later said France was an “unfailing friend” to Israel, and Netanyahu’s words were “excessive.”
The French-Israeli standoff came as some 374,000 people fled from Lebanon to Syria in recent days, according to Lebanese authorities, as Israel continued strikes throughout the country, targeting suspected Hezbollah sites.
Strikes were reported in the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as in north and east Lebanon.
More than 2,000 people were reportedly killed in Israeli strikes hitting Lebanon since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 last year, with 1,000 of those victims coming in the last week, according to Lebanese authorities.
HUMAN SHIELDS
Israel says many of the victims are Hezbollah-linked fighters but that civilian casualties are unavoidable as the Islamic “terrorists are hiding among civilians using them as human shields.”
The Lebanese government estimates that around 1.2 million people have been displaced by clashes.
Israel suffered setbacks as well, with at least nine Israeli soldiers reportedly being killed in southern Lebanon since Israel launched a ground operation across its northern border on October 1.
In the Lebanese capital, the Israeli strikes continued and sparked flashes of red and white for nearly 30 minutes visible from several kilometers (miles) away, witnesses said.
Despite international calls for a ceasefire, Israel seemed determined to eliminate groups that sent thousands of rockets toward the nation, forcing tens of thousands of Israelis from their homes.
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