Middle East latest: 3 young siblings killed in Gaza as Israeli strikes leave 6 dead in Lebanon

An Israeli strike on a home in northern Gaza killed three siblings aged 6 and under, among at least six people killed in airstrikes in the war-ravaged territory, Palestinian medics said. In Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building south of Beirut on Wednesday killed at least six people and wounded 15, the Health Ministry said.

The Biden administration said Tuesday it won’t limit weapons transfers to Israel because it has made limited progress in increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Eight international aid groups had earlier said that Israel failed to meet U.S. demands for greater humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, where hunger experts say the north may already be experiencing famine.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. The officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.

The Israel-Hamas war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. Since then, more than 3,200 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 14,200 wounded, the country’s Health Ministry reported. In Israel, 76 people have been killed, including 31 soldiers.

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Here’s the latest:

Blinken says Israel should end the war in Gaza and allow displaced to return home

BRUSSELS — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is urging Israel to allow displaced Palestinians and aid back into Gaza and says it should end the war against Hamas now that it’s achieved its main security aims.

“The situation is so difficult and so dramatic that to fully redress it, to fully answer the needs of people, the best way to do that is to end the war,” Blinken told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday.

He said that Israel has accomplished its goals of dismantling the military wing of Hamas and ensuring that an attack like the one the militant group launched on Oct. 7 last year cannot happen again.

“Israel, by the standards it set itself, has accomplished the strategic goals it set for itself,” Blinken said. “So this should be a time to end the war.”

He said that hundreds of aid trucks in Gaza are unable to distribute relief supplies due to looting and other crime. “It’s imperative that that be addressed. Israel has responsibilities to do that. We’re also working with Egypt,” he said.

Blinken called for “real and extended pauses” in the fighting in much of Gaza “so that the assistance can effectively get to people who need it.”

A new video shows an Israeli hostage in Gaza

CAIRO — The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group has released a new video showing an Israeli hostage who has been held in Gaza for over a year.

The video shows Sasha Troufanov, likely speaking under duress, describing the harsh conditions inside Gaza, warning against military operations to free him and calling on Israelis to protest for his release.

It was the first such video to be released in several weeks. It was not clear when it was filmed, but Troufanov appeared to refer to Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and its recent exchange of fire with Iran, which occurred in October.

Islamic Jihad took part in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 people hostage. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Islamic Jihad released two previous videos of Troufanov earlier this year. He turned 29 on Monday, marking his second birthday in captivity. His mother, grandmother and girlfriend were also taken captive, but they were released during a November 2023 cease-fire. His father was killed in the Oct. 7 attack.

The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have spent most of this year trying to broker a cease-fire and the release of the remaining hostages. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting cease-fire, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retain Israeli control over parts of Gaza and to continue the war until “total victory” over Hamas and the return of the remaining captives.

At least 6 dead and 15 wounded in an Israeli strike south of Beirut

BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in the town of Aramoun, just south of Beirut, killed at least six people and wounded 15 others Wednesday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.

The state-run National News Agency reported that there were children missing after the strike and it wasn’t clear if they are under the rubble or were transferred to a hospital.

There was no warning issued before the strike, and it was not clear what the target was. There was no immediate statement from the Israeli military.

Also Wednesday morning, the Israeli military struck several sites in Beirut’s southern suburbs, an area known as Dahiyeh, after issuing evacuation warnings. It said the strikes were targeting “Hezbollah facilities and interests.” There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have been clashing since Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began launching rockets across the border in support of its ally, Hamas, in Gaza. The conflict escalated beginning in mid-September. Israel has launched a widespread aerial bombardment of Lebanon and a ground invasion that it said is intended to push Hezbollah back from the border.

3 young siblings were killed in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza, Palestinian medics say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian medics say an Israeli strike on a home in northern Gaza killed three siblings aged 6 and under.

They were among at least six people killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday in the war-ravaged territory, where Israel has been at war with Hamas for more than 13 months.

The Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service says the three children were killed in a strike on a home near a clinic in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp, where Israel has been waging an offensive for over a month.

In the central city of Deir al-Balah, a strike hit a tent in the western side of the city, killing at least two people, including a 15-year-old boy, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. Another strike on a tent in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed a man, the hospital said. An Associated Press journalist counted the three bodies at the hospital.

Israel says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It accuses Hamas militants of hiding among civilians in homes and shelters.

The military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 250 people hostage. Around 100 captives are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not distinguish between militants and civilians in their count but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.

US forces conduct strikes in Syria against Iranian-aligned militia groups

WASHINGTON — U.S. forces conducted strikes in Syria against Iranian-aligned militia groups for a second day in a row Tuesday in response to further attacks on U.S. personnel, U.S. Central Command said late Tuesday.

In the latest retaliatory strikes, U.S. forces hit a weapons storage and logistics facility after militia groups launched a rocket attack on U.S. personnel at Patrol Base Shaddadi in eastern Syria.

Earlier Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that over the weekend the militias had also targeted U.S. personnel with a drone attack and indirect fire at another base, Green Village, where U.S. troops are operating — which prompted the U.S. to strike nine militia targets on Monday in self-defense.

There are about 900 U.S. troops deployed in Syria. No U.S. troops were wounded in either attack.

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The Associated Press