Middle East latest: Israeli strikes on Lebanon and Gaza leave dozens dead

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said an Israeli airstrike hit guesthouses where journalists were staying in southeast Lebanon, killing three media staffers from two different news agencies Friday. Meanwhile, an Israeli attack on the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis left 38 people dead.

Several journalists have been killed since a near-daily exchange of fire began along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, 2023.

Lebanon's health ministry says the total toll over the past year is over 2,500 killed and 12,000 wounded. The fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, including more than 400,000 children, according to the United Nations children's agency. Israeli strikes have killed much of Hezbollah's top leadership since fighting ramped up in September.

Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not differentiate between militants and civilians. The Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023, blew holes in Israel's security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Jordan's Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, on Friday in London, where the Arab leader accused Israel of engaging in ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Safadi did not mince words Friday when describing Israel's role in the conflicts, saying cease-fire negotiation mediators are trying to "get through the nightmare that the region continues to live in."

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Here's the latest:

In meeting with Blinken, Jordan's foreign minister alleges Israel is engaging in ethnic cleansing

LONDON — United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Jordan's Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, on Friday in London, where the Arab leader accused Israel of engaging in ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

“The only path to save the region from that is for Israel to stop the aggressions on Gaza, on Lebanon, stop unilateral illegal measures of the West Bank that is also pushing this situation,” Safadi said.

"We meet at a very, very critical moment, as you mentioned, the humanitarian situation is really difficult when we look at Northern Gaza, where we do see ethnic cleansing taking place, and that has got to stop," he said.

Safadi is one of many Arab leaders with whom Blinken has met with as he took negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza and a post war plan on a tour of the Middle East.

Safadi did not mince words Friday when describing Israel’s role in the conflicts, saying mediators are trying to “get through the nightmare that the region continues to live in.”

Israeli attack kills 38 overnight in Khan Younis

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military conducted operations overnight into Friday in Khan Younis, killing 38 people and injuring more than a dozen others, health officials said.

Palestinians who were killed or injured were taken to the European and Nasser Hospitals. Records from the European hospital obtained by the AP showed at least 15 members from al-Farra family were killed, including 13 children.

Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal posted a video Friday morning of rescuers recovering the bodies of 9 children from the Al-Farra family in Al Manara neighborhood.

The Israeli attack, which included airstrikes and shelling, according to health officials, targeted several residential buildings in neighborhoods east of Khan Younis Governorate. Six members of the Abdeen family were also killed, according to health officials.

Israel has attacked 55 hospitals, Lebanon's health minister says

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said Friday that Israel has carried out attacks on 55 hospitals — 36 of which were directly hit — leaving 12 people dead and 60 wounded.

Abiad told reporters that eight hospitals have been closed while seven are still partially functioning.

He said that paramedic groups have been targeted in different areas, killing 151 people and wounding 212. Of the paramedics killed, eight remain in their ambulances in south Lebanon with Israel’s military preventing anyone from reaching them, he said.

“Attacks against the medical and paramedic sectors in Lebanon are direct and intentional aggressions,” Abiad said, adding that Israel’s military claims to have intelligence information on what is happening in Lebanon, thus cannot say that these attacks happened by mistake.

“This is a war crime,” Abiad said.

Israeli strike closes Lebanese border crossing with neighboring Syria

BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike in northeast Lebanon has closed another border crossing with neighboring Syria, Lebanon’s state news agency said Friday.

The airstrike on the outskirts of the village of Qaa brings the number of border crossings between the two countries that have been struck by Israel’s military to three. That leaves three functioning border crossings.

An Israeli airstrike on Oct. 5 blocked a highway and left a giant crater near the Lebanese side of the crossing, known as Masnaa, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Beirut. Masnaa is the busiest border crossing between the two countries.

In late September, an Israeli airstrike struck the border crossing of Matraba in Lebanon’s northeast, forcing it to close.

Lebanon's information minister accuses Israel of committing a war crime

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary alleged Friday that the attack on a compound housing journalists which killed three media staffers is an “assassination” and “a war crime.”

In a statement, Makary said there were 18 journalists representing seven media organizations at the compound in the town of Hasbaya in south Lebanon.

The Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said two of its staffers — camera operator Ghassan Najar and broadcast technician Mohammed Rida — were among the journalists killed early Friday. Al-Manar TV of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said its camera operator Wissam Qassim was also killed in the airstrike.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike in Lebanon.

Ghassan bin Jiddo, the director of Al-Mayadeen, alleged in a social media post that the journalists were deliberately targeted.

“We hold the (Israeli) occupation fully responsible for this war crime, in which journalist crews, including the Al-Mayadeen team, were targeted,” he said.

An Israeli airstrike on a journalist compound kills 3 TV staffers, Lebanon’s state news says

BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike on a compound housing journalists in southeast Lebanon has killed three media staffers, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Friday.

Local news station Al Jadeed aired footage from the scene showing collapsed buildings and cars marked “PRESS,” covered in dust and rubble. The Israeli army did not issue a warning prior to the strike, which hit a collection of chalets that had been rented by various media outlets.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike in Lebanon.

The Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said two of its staffers were among the journalists killed early Friday. Al-Manar TV of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said its camera operator was also killed. The airstrike hit early Friday in the Hasbaya region, which had been spared much of the fighting along the border so far.

Several journalists have been killed since a near-daily exchange of fire began along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, 2023.

Israel has accused journalists working for Al Jazeera of being members of militant groups, citing documents it purportedly found in Gaza. The network has denied the claims as "a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region."