Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon on Sunday in a widening war with Iran-allied militant groups across the region, while Palestinian officials said one strike on a mosque killed at least 19 people.
Israel also has vowed to strike Iran after a ballistic missile attack on Israel last week. The widening conflict risks further drawing in the United States, which has provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Israel. Iran-allied militant groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have joined in with long-distance strikes on Israel.
Israel is on high alert ahead of memorial events for the October 7 attack, while rallies continue around the world marking the anniversary.
Beirut’s skyline lit up again late on Sunday with new airstrikes, a day after Israel’s heaviest bombardment of the southern suburbs known as the Dahiyeh since it escalated its air campaign on September 23. It was not immediately clear if there were casualties.
Israel confirmed the strikes and says it targets Hezbollah. The militant group, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, has called its months of firing rockets into Israel a show of support for the Palestinians.
A separate Israeli strike earlier on Sunday in the town of Qamatiyeh southeast of Beirut killed six people, including three children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported more than 30 strikes overnight into Sunday, while Israel’s military said about 130 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
«It was very difficult. All of us in Beirut could hear everything», resident Haytham Al-Darazi said.
