Biden urges Netanyahu to minimise civilian casualties in Beirut amid air strikes

We are going to end our coverage for today, thank you for reading. Here’s a recap of what happened on Wednesday.

• Joe Biden reiterated his call for a return to diplomacy in call with Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Joe Biden also urged the Israeli prime minister to minimise harm to civilians in Lebanon, especially in the populated areas of Beirut.
• Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, warns that retaliation for Iran’s missile attack will be “lethal, precise and surprising”.
• The situation in Lebanon should not turn into the situation in Gaza and that would not be acceptable, US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at a news briefing, when asked about comments made by the Israeli prime minister.

• The Israel Defence Forces have issues another warning telling people in southern Lebanon to be “careful” because troops are operating in the region. Evacuation orders have already been issued to over 100 villages in the south of Lebanon, and one quarter of the country is under such instructions, according to the UN.
• Israeli police have reported that five armed Palestinians were killed in the the occupied West Bank.
• At least six people were stabbed and wounded in northern Israel in what police say was a militant attack. Police said the assailant stabbed people in multiple locations in the northern city of Hadera on Wednesday before fleeing on a motorbike. Police said they later shot and “neutralised” him, indicating he was killed. They did not provide the name or nationality of the assailant.
• Hezbollah claimed on Wednesday its fighters had pushed back advancing Israeli troops in clashes along the length of the border, a day after Israel said it had killed two successors to the Iran-backed Lebanese militant movement’s slain leader.

US President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to minimise harm to civilians in Lebanon, especially in the populated areas of Beirut, while reiterating support to target Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militants, the White House said after their call.

On Gaza, the leaders discussed “the urgent need to renew diplomacy to release the hostages held by Hamas,” the White House said in a statement.

Biden also discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the imperative to restore access to the north, including by reinvigorating the corridor from Jordan immediately, according to the White House’s read out of the conversation.

Earlier, it was reported that four Palestinians were killed in the West Bank. Israeli police have now said five were killed in the the occupied West Bank.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of the Fatah Party, said in a later statement on Wednesday that four of its members were “martyred after a coward assassination operation” by special forces of the Israeli army.

The Palestinian official news agency WAFA earlier said that Israeli special forces had opened fire on a vehicle the men were travelling in, in the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank.

The Palestinian movement Hamas also said while commenting on the killing of the Palestinians in Nablus: “The resistance in Nablus and all the West Bank cities will not be broken”, adding that the “policy of assassinations will not succeed in weakening the people’s confrontation.”

The death toll from the Israeli air strikes on Lebanon has increased to 2,141, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health has said. The figure has been counted since October 2023 when projectiles were launched from both sides.

A further 10,099 people have been injured.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Wednesday warned airlines to have strict risk monitoring procedures for flights within the airspace of Israel.

“The European Commission and European Union Aviation Safety Agency has updated the Conflict Zone Information Bulletin (CZIB) for Israel issued on 28 September. The revised CZIB recommends air operators to implement a stringent monitoring process and risk assessment for each flight when intending to operate within the airspace of Israel,” it said.

“The recommendation is valid until 31 October and can be reviewed earlier and adapted or withdrawn subject to the revised assessment.”

The situation in Lebanon should not turn into the situation in Gaza and that would not be acceptable, US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at a news briefing, when asked about comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The remarks come after Mr Netanyahu said the Lebanese people should throw out Hezbollah to avoid “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza”.

During a video address on Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu said: “You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza.

“I say to you, the people of Lebanon: Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end.”

The US is working to get Americans out of Lebanon ahead of a potential Israeli attack, White House press spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday.

The American embassy in Beirut remains open and can help US nationals who need emergency passports or other documentation and the United States will continue to make aeroplanes available as long as the Beirut airport remains open, Ms Jean-Pierre said.

Canada will provide C$15m ($11m) in new humanitarian assistance to support civilians affected by conflict in Lebanon, the Canadian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

“Canada is deeply alarmed by the rapid escalation of the crisis in Lebanon. We are mobilizing to ensure that Canada is there to bring much-needed assistance to the Lebanese people,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement.

The funding announcement brings Canada’s assistance pledge for Lebanese civilians to C$25m.

Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu finally spoke to one another on Wednesday, for the first time since 21 August.

The call came at a moment when the US leader said he opposes Israel’s suggestion that it might hit Iran’s oil facilities in response for Tehran’s missile attack on Israel this month.

However, Mr Biden, seeking to avoid regional conflagration that might draw the United States into a spiralling conflict, has failed to draw any red lines for Mr Netanyahu that might see US weapons shipments to Israel suspended, or other meaningful action taken by the White House to force the Israeli leader to change direction.

On the first anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, it was notable that there was no call with Mr Netanyahu on Mr Biden’s calendar. Instead, his personal outreach to the Israeli people marking one year of horror in the Middle East was conveyed via a phone call between him and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, a largely ceremonial figure.

When Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu finally spoke on Wednesday, the Israeli side made it clear that the intent of the call was to tell Biden about Israel’s seemingly imminent plans to strike Iran. Vice-President Kamala Harris also participated in the call.

By Simon Marks

Read our full story here.

Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, warns that retaliation for Iran’s missile attack will be “lethal, precise and surprising”.

In a video published by Israeli media, Mr Gallant said Iran “will not understand what happened and how it happened, they will see the results” of any potential attack.

He added: “Whoever attacks us will be hurt and will pay a price.”

The acting director of one of three hospitals in northern Gaza issued with evacuation orders has said staff will refuse to leave unless patients can be safely transferred to other medical facilities.

The Israeli military has ordered the full evacuation of Al-Awda, Indonesian, and Kamal Adwan hospitals in northern Gaza in a move that will have an impact upon all patients, medical staff, critically ill individuals in intensive care, pregnant women, and newborns in incubators.

Dr Mohammed Salha, acting director of Al-Awda hospital, run by ActionAid’s partner in Gaza Al-Awda, said in a voice note message: “Two days ago, the Ministry of Health contacted Al-Awda Hospital regarding the evacuation of the three hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip. From the beginning, our decision was clear that we would not evacuate the hospital.

“I [told the Israeli military] clearly that we would not evacuate the hospital unless there are ambulances that can preserve the lives of the wounded people we have and reach another hospital that provides better service to the wounded.

“As for leaving the wounded randomly, [if] they are not provided with healthcare services, this is unacceptable and rejected by Al-Awda Hospital and its policies. We are humanitarians and will remain humanitarians providing humanitarian and health services to people.”

The call between the respective leaders has now finished, it has been reported.

No details of the conversation have been released, but news website, Axios, reports that Kamala Harris joined the call with the two leaders.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Riyadh on Wednesday, the Saudi state news agency reported.

Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry said on Wednesday. 

Women displaced by attacks by Israeli forces in Lebanon are being forced to use scraps of cloth and plastic bags in place of period products, a partner of charity ActionAid has said.   

Women and girls seeking refuge in shelters are trying to manage their periods with little privacy or access to pads, toilets and clean water, and have resorted to tying black bags around their waists as a way of coping, said The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering, known as RDFL.   

More than 608,000 people are currently displaced by conflict in Lebanon, according to the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) – more than half of them women and girls. Around 170,000 people are currently seeking refuge in shelters, while more than 12,000 people are living in unfinished buildings, tents, parks or on the streets.   

“The conditions [in the shelters] are very hard and inhumane,” said Roula Zeaiter, programme manager at RDFL. “People have been given mattresses and blankets, but there are basic needs left unnoticed, particularly women’s needs. Women on their period are wrapping black bags around their waists.”  

In the Beqaa region, where RDFL is supporting women in shelters, the cost of sanitary pads has risen as market sellers put up prices in response to the crisis. For displaced families, already pushed to brink by years of economic crisis, period products are a luxury they cannot afford.   

Many of the schools where people are sheltering do not have designated shower areas, so women struggling to manage their periods also have no way of bathing. Some NGOs have installed makeshift shower units, but they are far from sufficient for the crowds of people.   

“Even in the best scenarios, the ratio is one shower for every 100 people, making it really difficult to maintain personal cleanliness, especially for women during their periods,” Ms Zeaiter said.  

ActionAid’s partners are providing women and girls in shelters with hygiene kits, which include period products and toiletries. But funds for the kits are limited, and as the attacks continue, the number of displaced continues to grow.   

A Palestinian journalist was killed and at least one other injured in an Israeli air strike in northern Gaza on Wednesday, Palestinian health authorities said.

Mohammed Tanani, a cameraman working with the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV station, was killed in a blast at Abu Shrekh roundabout in the Jabalia area, the Palestinian Red Crescent and Hamas-affiliated outlet said.

Another Palestinian reporter from the television station was wounded, the network said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a media freedom organisation, say 128 journalists have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last October. They include 123 Palestinian, two Israeli and three Lebanese media workers.

President Biden is now speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone, Mr Netanyahu’s office has said.

At least 60 people were killed in Israeli military strikes on Gaza on Wednesday, Palestinian medics said on Wednesday, as Israeli forces pressed on with a raid in the enclave’s north where a UN aid official said hunger is spreading again.

The Israeli military says the raid, now in its fifth day, is intended to stop Hamas fighters staging further attacks from Jabalia and to prevent them regrouping. It has been overshadowed by Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and plans to retaliate for last week’s Iranian missile attack.

Israel has repeatedly issued evacuation orders to residents of Jabalia and nearby areas, but Palestinian and UN officials say there are no safe places to flee to in the Gaza Strip.

“At least 400,000 people are trapped in the area,” Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, posted on X on Wednesday.

Medics said an Israeli strike killed at least 15 people inside Al-Yemen Al-Saeed Hospital in Jabalia. The hospital houses displaced families living in tents.

The Gaza health ministry said the army had ordered three hospitals in northern Gaza to evacuate and that hundreds of patients and medics were trapped inside those facilities.

“The lives of dozens of patients are at risk because of the Israeli siege around those hospitals.”

Israel’s military says Hamas militants use residential areas as cover in densely populated Gaza, including schools and hospitals. Hamas denies this.

• An Israeli man and woman have been killed by a Hezbollah rocket attack on Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel. A further six people at least were wounded in Haifa.
• Hezbollah said on Wednesday its fighters had pushed back advancing Israeli troops in clashes along the length of the border, a day after Israel said it had killed two successors to the Iran-backed Lebanese militant movement’s leader, who was also killed.
• Israel meanwhile launched air strikes including at targets far from the border combat zone. The Lebanese health ministry said four people were killed and 10 wounded by a strike that hit the town of Wardaniyeh, north of Sidon along the coast.
• The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 42,000, after several people were killed overnight by an Israeli air strike in the urban Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps at the centre of the enclave. Some 45 people have been killed in the past 24 hours.
• A quarter of Lebanon is currently under an Israeli evacuation order, the UN has said.
• President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are due to speak later today.