Scores of people have been killed in Israeli strikes in northern Gaza this weekend, according to local officials, with the bloodshed in the enclave and continued attacks in Lebanon dimming hopes that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar might breathe new life into cease-fire talks that have been stalled for months.
Meanwhile, fears also grew Sunday that a drone strike launched toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in the town of Caesarea, north of Tel Aviv, on Saturday, would further enflame hostilities in the region as Israel plans an attack on Iran in response to strikes launched over the assassinations of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
Israel blamed Iran-backed Hezbollah for Saturday’s drone strike, but as of early Sunday, the Lebanese militant and political group had not claimed responsibility for the failed attack.
The Israeli security cabinet is expected to hold a meeting Sunday afternoon to discuss plans for a strike on Iran, an Israeli official told NBC News.
In northern Gaza, the local health ministry on Sunday said at least 87 people were killed, with more than 40 others injured, in Israeli strikes on residential areas in Beit Lahia on Saturday. It suggested the death toll could grow, with some still missing under the rubble.
The Israel Defense Forces disputed an initial a death toll of at least 73 people issued by Gaza’s government media office on Saturday as “exaggerated,” saying it did not align with the information it held or with “the precise munitions used and the accuracy of the strike” on what it said was a Hamas target. Still, it noted that the “area in question” was “an active war zone,” and did not provide an alternative estimate for the strikes’ death toll.
Asked by NBC News to expand on exactly what information it holds on the death toll related to its strikes, the IDF said it would not offer further comment. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the updated death toll provided by Gaza’s health ministry.
In a separate statement early Sunday morning, the IDF said its air force had struck a total of approximately 175 targets across Gaza and Lebanon “over the past day” alone.
Videos and photos emerging out of northern Gaza showed devastating scenes. Video captured by NBC News’ crew on the ground showed people killed and injured being rushed to a hospital after a strike in the Jabalia refugee camp, about 1.5 miles away from Beit Lahia. Children were among the injured, with some lying shellshocked on blood-streaked hospital beds attached to IV drips and wrapped in bandages.
Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense agency, said at least five people were killed in that particular strike, including a baby who was less three months old, with video by NBC News’ crew showing what appeared to be the small form of an infant wrapped in a white shroud.
Basal said the area had fallen under “intense bombing” and he accused Israeli forces of “targeting homes in a very intense way.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry further warned over the weekend that the IDF was “besieging and directly targeting” at least three hospitals in northern Gaza, threatening to put the desperately needed facilities out of service. The IDF confirmed operations near one facility, the Indonesian hospital, on Saturday but said “no intentional fire” had been directed at the site.
The deadly strikes unfolded after President Joe Biden expressed optimism that Israel’s killing earlier this week of Sinwar, the man accused of orchestrating the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, would give new impetus to cease-fire negotiations to bring more than a year of fighting in the region to an end.
“I think there is an opportunity, but it depends what’s done with it,” Gershon Baskin told NBC News in a phone interview on Sunday.
But he questioned optimism from Washington over a cease-fire “because they’re not doing anything to pressure Israel in that direction.”
Israeli forces on Sunday continued operations in Gaza and in Lebanon, with the IDF saying troops remained active across the northern, southern and central ares of the Strip. It said troops had killed dozens of militants during close-quarter encounters on the ground and in airstrikes.
The deadly fighting came as Hamas Political Bureau member Izzat Al-Rishq said in a post on Telegram on Sunday that Hamas would “not tire” in calling for escalated actions against Israel “and its allies in the war” as he accused Israel of carrying out a “massacre” in Beit Lahia.
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, the IDF said troops continued to invade the south. It said forces had killed Hezbollah members, including in close-quarter combat, and had dismantled Hezbollah infrastructure and confiscated weapons in the area.
Israel’s continued assault in Gaza and in Lebanon came after Netanyahu suggested on Friday there would be no immediate end to the war that has gripped the region.
“The war, my dear ones, is not over yet,” he said, adding that there was a “great opportunity to stop the axis of evil,” referring to Iran and its allies, and to carve out a “different future” in the region.
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