Bombay Durpun - Dozens killed, missing in Israeli strike on devastated north Gaza

In Lebanon, Israel's second war front, a Lebanese source reported the death of Hezbollah's spokesman in one Israeli raid.

Vowing to stop Hamas from regrouping in already war-ravaged north Gaza, Israel on October 6 began its air and ground operation in Jabalia and then expanded it to Beit Lahia.

The fighting comes more than a year after the Palestinian militants triggered the Gaza war with their unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.

On Sunday, Gaza's civil defence agency said 34 people were killed including children, and dozens were missing, after an Israeli air strike hit a five-storey residential building in Beit Lahia overnight.

"The chances of rescuing more wounded are decreasing because of the continuous shooting and artillery shelling," civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

Jaber Ghabayen, who was staying elsewhere but whose family lived in the razed building, said "the whole area was shaking" and "we all thought that death was near".

Israel's military said there were "ongoing terrorist activities in the area of Beit Lahia" and several strikes targeted militant targets there.

"We emphasise that there have been continuous efforts to evacuate the civilian population from the active war zone in the area," the military said in a statement.

In other deadly strikes, Bassal said attacks on refugee camps in central Gaza killed 15 people, and an Israeli drone strike on the southern city of Rafah killed five.

Also in the south, in the Khan Yunis area, civil defence said an Israeli drone targeted a group of unarmed people securing an aid delivery, killing six.

Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry on Sunday said the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war had reached 43,846.

The majority of the dead are civilians, according to ministry figures, which the United Nations considers reliable.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

- Nasrallah confidant killed -

Israel has been fighting on two fronts since September when it intensified air raids on Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah and sent in ground troops against the militants in south Lebanon. This followed nearly a year of cross-border clashes that Hezbollah said were in support of Hamas.

A Lebanese security source said Sunday Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif was killed in a strike on central Beirut's Ras al-Nabaa district, one of relatively few attacks outside the group's strongholds. Israel's military declined to comment.

Previous strikes claimed by Israel have killed senior Hezbollah officials including its leader Hassan Nasrallah in late September.

Earlier, AFPTV footage showed several strikes hit Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold, after Israel's military warned people to evacuate.

Further south, Lebanon's official National News Agency reported seven strikes on Jibsheet village in less than two hours, with more attacks on villages closer to the Israeli border.

Lebanon's army, which is not a party to the conflict, said Israel "directly targeted" an army centre in south Lebanon, killing two soldiers.

The Israeli army said about 20 projectiles crossed from Lebanon into Israel on Sunday, and some were intercepted.

The United Nations force in south Lebanon said peacekeepers were fired upon around 40 times on Saturday, probably by "non-state actor" individuals who tried to prevent a patrol from passing in the south. No injuries were reported.

- 'Humanitarian disaster' -

Several Israeli strikes in recent weeks on Baalbek in Lebanon's east and Tyre in the south -- both Hezbollah strongholds -- hit close to ancient Roman ruins designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

A petition published Sunday, the day before a crucial UNESCO meeting, was signed by 300 prominent cultural figures, including archaeologists and academics. It called on the United Nations to safeguard Lebanon's heritage and establish "no-target zones".

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,452 people have been killed since October last year, with most casualties recorded since September.

Israel says 48 soldiers have been killed fighting Hezbollah.

A UN-backed assessment on November 9 warned famine was imminent in northern Gaza, amid the increased hostilities and a near-halt in food aid.

Jordan and Qatar urged "immediate" action to "end the unprecedented humanitarian disaster in northern Gaza", their foreign ministers said in a joint statement Sunday, blaming "Israel's failure to allow aid to enter".

The United States, Israel's top military supplier, last week said Israel was not violating US law on the level of aid entering Gaza but called for further progress.

In Israel, police said they arrested three suspects over two flares that landed near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in the town of Caesarea while he was away.

The speaker of Israel's parliament, Amir Ohana, accused anti-government protesters of being behind the incident.

Protesters had gathered again in Tel Aviv, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Caesarea, late Saturday to reiterate demands that the government reach a deal to free dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.

Qatar last week said it had suspended its mediator role until Hamas and Israel show "seriousness" in truce and hostage-release talks.

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A.Zacharia--BD