Israeli Hostilities
Live Reporting
Hezbollah promises ‘swift and severe response’ after 10 civilians killed
At least 12 Israeli air strikes targeted areas close to the border. These are very strategic locations. These are valleys known to be Hezbollah strongholds, not the first time they’ve been hit.
What we’ve been seeing over recent weeks is really stepped-up Israeli strikes on Hezbollah’s infrastructure south of the Litani River.
What Israel wants is for Hezbollah forces to withdraw to the river. Hezbollah’s refusing to do that. It says there will be no halt to the fighting in southern Lebanon. It will continue to attack Israeli military positions as long as the aggression on Gaza continues.
So the cycle of violence continues. Hezbollah says it’s preparing for a widening of this conflict because in the past Israel largely hit military targets, and now we’re getting civilian casualties.
The fact is 10 civilians were killed on Wednesday – this is the largest civilian death toll in a single day. And Hezbollah is promising a swift and severe response.
Nasser, a ‘key’ hospital for all of Gaza
The UN said last week there are no fully functioning hospitals left in Gaza, with only 13 out of 36 across the territory working at some capacity.
On Wednesday, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “alarmed” by reports from Nasser Hospital, which he described as the “backbone of the health system in southern Gaza”.
He added that the UN’s health agency has been denied access to the hospital in recent days and has lost contact with its staff there.
The WHO’s envoy for the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, described Nasser as “a key hospital for all of Gaza”.
“We cannot lose that hospital … this hospital is critically important,” Peeperkorn told journalists.
‘Right now people are being attacked inside Nasser Hospital’
People ordered to evacuate the facility passed through an Israeli checkpoint when they were attacked by a quadcopter. Three people are now being treated for injuries at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah. They were picked up – it’s quite a long distance from Khan Younis – and drove all the way while bleeding.
This is what’s happening to those inside Nasser just in the last 45 minutes. They were ordered to leave, they go through a checkpoint, then minutes later they’re being shot at by attack drones or machine guns.
Israeli forces bulldozed the southern fence of the hospital and stormed the courtyard. They then moved to the main building and rounded up doctors and nurses inside. The Israeli military is preventing them from treating any of the many wounded.
Right now people are being attacked inside Nasser Hospital.
UN warns of ‘atrocities’ if Israel invades overcrowded Rafah
Should the Israeli assault on Rafah go ahead, the risk of atrocities is “serious, real and high”, the United Nations’ special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, says.
Despite pressure from foreign governments and aid agencies not to invade, Israel insists it must push into Rafah and eliminate “Hamas battalions”.
“We will fight until complete victory and this includes a powerful action also in Rafah after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones,” Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
His threats of an imminent incursion come as mediators press for a truce in the four-month-old war, which has flattened vast swaths of Gaza, displaced most of the territory’s population, and pushed hundreds of thousands of people to the brink of starvation.
No safe place for displaced Palestinians in Gaza
The Israeli military is preparing for a ground invasion of Rafah, a designated “safe zone” that has become the last place of refuge for displaced Palestinians who have routinely been pushed further south throughout the war.
Palestinians are now fleeing Rafah to avoid the military operation and to escape Israel’s ramped-up aerial bombardments in the area that have killed dozens of people a day. This raises the question posed by the Commissioner General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, yesterday: “Where will the civilians go?” There is absolutely no safe place in Rafah anymore”.
Israeli forces are engaged in active military operations in central and northern Gaza, so any movement further north would be wrought with danger.
Palestinians along Israel’s designated safe zones, such as Salah al-Din Street, have been bombed, executed, forcibly disappeared, tortured and humiliated throughout the war, emphasising the fact that there is no safe place in the enclave for civilians to seek refuge.
Hospitals and health facilities where many displaced Palestinians have sought shelter throughout the war have also been routinely attacked. This morning, Israeli forces opened fire on Nasser Hospital after ordering an evacuation; three civilians are reported to have been killed.
Many Palestinian fighters killed over the past day: Israeli military
Israel’s army posted its daily update on social media channels:
The Israeli air force completed a number of strikes against “Hamas military infrastructure” in the Gaza Strip to assist ground operations.
In central Gaza, Israeli forces killed a number of Palestinian fighters including a Hamas commander.
Israeli troops killed 15 Hamas fighters in Gaza City and elsewhere in the northern Gaza Strip.
In southern Khan Younis, special forces raided several weapons depots.
A number of Palestinian fighters were killed by sniper and tank fire in the city’s west over the past day.
German FM reiterates Israel’s right to defend itself while advocating for Gaza ceasefire
German’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, who traveled to Israel to meet with its leadership yesterday, said a ceasefire in Gaza is needed, while also stating that Germany has the “responsibility” to support Israel defending itself.
Es ist die Verantwortung Deutschlands, für die Sicherheit der Menschen in Israel einzustehen. Aber wie #Israel sich verteidigt, den Kampf gegen Hamas führt, beeinflusst auch die Sicherheit der Menschen in Israel, die uns am Herzen liegt. -@ABaerbock 1/5 pic.twitter.com/sNTfVTpLFF
— Auswärtiges Amt (@AuswaertigesAmt) February 15, 2024
Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt Canadian lawmakers in parliament
Canada’s parliament was filled with the sound of protesters bellowing “Free Palestine” and “Stop arming Israel”.
The demonstration, although modest in size, led to New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh questioning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on arms shipments to Israel.
“The prime minister has the power and responsibility to protect civilians. When will the prime minister stop selling arms to Netanyahu?” Singh said.
Trudeau replied that Canada hasn’t issued new arms export permits since October 7. The handful of protesters, lodged in the public gallery, displayed banners calling for an arms embargo. They were quickly escorted away by security staff.
Once the protesters were outside on Parliament Hill, some continued to chant. There was at least one arrest. The Palestine Youth Movement took credit for the disruption.
Russia and China accuse US of carrying out illegal attacks on Yemen
Speaking at the UN Security Council, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy and China’s UN envoy Zhang Jun have accused the US of carrying out unauthorised and illegal attacks on Yemen.
The pair argued that the Security Council has not authorised military action against Yemen. US deputy ambassador Robert Wood and UK ambassador Barbara Woodward responded at Wednesday’s meeting by saying that strikes on Houthis targets in Yemen were taken in self-defence and have been “proportionate and legal action”.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been attacking both commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in protest against Israel’s war on Gaza, causing major disruptions to one of the world’s major shipping routes.
Justin Trudeau and King Abdullah II discussed Rafah concerns in Ontario meeting
Canadian Prime Minister met with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Ontario, Canada, shortly before he joined the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand in issuing a joint statement on Rafah.
According to a readout of the meeting from the Canadian prime minister’s office, the two leaders discussed “their concerns around the planned offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and the severe humanitarian implications for all civilians taking refuge in the area, including many Canadians and their families”.
Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan met to discuss peace and security in the Middle East, and agreed to remain in contact as the situation continues to evolve. More on what was discussed: https://t.co/C7wgLLXMWq pic.twitter.com/lumtNJaPzb
— CanadianPM (@CanadianPM) February 15, 2024
US says West Bank demolitions ‘damage Israel’s standing in the world’
The United States condemns the demolition of activist Fakhri Abu Diab’s home in East Jerusalem, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Wednesday.
“We believe that demolition not only obviously damages his home, and his family, and the lives that they have built there, but the entire community who live in fear that their homes may be next,” said Miller.
“He has been an outspoken community leader, including against demolitions, and now his family has been displaced,” Miller added.
The home – which is close to the Al-Aqsa Mosque – was demolished to make way for a planned biblical theme park in the neighbourhood of Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem.
“These acts … damage Israel’s standing in the world, and they make it ultimately more difficult for us to accomplish all of the things we are trying to accomplish that would ultimately be in the interest of the Israeli people,” Miller said.
Lloyd Austin emphasises ‘importance of safeguarding civilians’ in call with Yoav Gallant
The US defence secretary spoke with the Israeli defence minister about Israel’s looming ground operations in Rafah in southern Gaza.
“Secretary Austin and Minister Gallant also discussed the importance of safeguarding civilians and ensuring the movement of and access to humanitarian assistance before any operations against Hamas in Rafah,” a US Defense Department statement said.
The US has expressed concern over Israel’s planned Rafah offensive, with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan saying that Washington has asked Tel Aviv to formulate a “credible” plan that would protect civilians and ensure the flow of aid.
Journalists films inside Nasser Hospital as orthopedic department shelled
Palestinian journalist Mohamed Salameh has shared a video, verified by Al Jazeera, on social media showing health workers trying to rescue patients from a room filled with smoke and debris inside Nasser Hospital.
Israeli forces have been surrounding the hospital in Gaza’s Khan Younis and ordering people to evacuate, while also shooting people as they leave the hospital.
Biden protects Palestinians from deportation for 'humanitarian' reasons
WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Joe Biden has shielded Palestinians in the United States from deportation for 18 months, the White House said Wednesday, as he faces growing anger over his support for Israel's Gaza offensive in an election year.
Biden signed an order saying the Palestinians should not be deported "in light of the ongoing conflict and humanitarian needs on the ground" in the Gaza Strip, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.
The New York Times reported that the reprieve would apply to around 6,000 Palestinians under a law that allows immigrants to stay in the United States if their homelands are in crisis.
9 dead in Israel strikes on Lebanon after Israeli soldier killed
BEIRUT (AFP) – Nine people, seven of them civilians, were killed on Wednesday in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, official sources said, while the Israeli army said it lost a soldier in cross-border rocket fire.
While the rocket attack was not immediately claimed, the exchanges of fire -- and the worst single-day civilian death toll in Lebanon since cross-border hostilities began in October -- raised fears of a broader conflict between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
On Wednesday evening, four civilians from the same family "including two women" were killed in an Israeli strike on a residential building in the city of Nabatiyeh, a Lebanese security source told AFP.
Pressure mounts on Israel not to attack Palestinians' last Gaza refuge
CAIRO (Reuters) - Israel faced growing international pressure on Wednesday (Feb 14) to hold off on a planned assault on the last refuge for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza after truce talks in Cairo ended inconclusively.
Officials said Tuesday's talks were constructive and would continue, but the lack of an immediate breakthrough fuelled fears among hundreds of thousands of people crammed into Rafah that Israel would soon storm the city on the border with Egypt.
Adding to their concerns, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas, which runs Gaza, had presented no new offer for a hostage deal in the Cairo talks, and said Israel would not agree to the Palestinian group's current demands.
Medics warn of danger, desperation at key Gaza hospital
GAZA STRIP (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Medics are sounding the alarm at southern Gaza's Nasser hospital, where a nurse said snipers are killing people, sewage has flooded the emergency room and drinking water has run out.
"It was a black night, with strikes and explosions all night," Mohammed al-Astal, a nurse in the emergency department, told AFP on Wednesday.
Fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants has taken place all around Nasser hospital in the southern Gazan city of Khan Yunis.
