Lebanon
As the Israeli army faces increasing skirmishes with Hezbollah along the northern border of Israel with Lebanon, a substantial evacuation is underway. Over the past 24 hours, evacuation orders have been issued for 14 communities, with an additional 28 settlements receiving similar directives last week.
These evacuation measures have triggered mixed reactions within the affected communities. Some residents express frustration and doubts about their safety during the evacuation process. This large-scale evacuation underscores the palpable anxiety and unease prevailing in the region due to escalating military tensions.
One more journalist dies
Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian community is mourning the loss of Rushdi Sarraj, a talented photojournalist who fell victim to an Israeli attack on his residence.
Sarraj was renowned for his exceptional photographic skills, creatively conveying the stories of the Gazans enduring conflict and prolonged blockades. Colleagues, including internationally acclaimed photojournalist Wissam Nassar, paid heartfelt tributes to his memory.
Ali Jadallah, a Palestinian photojournalist affiliated with Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, shared an image of Sarraj’s purported body bag, confirming the tragic loss.
These parallel narratives of Israeli evacuations along the Lebanese border and the devastating loss of photojournalist Rushdi Sarraj in Gaza serve as poignant reminders of the ongoing tensions and violence in the region, encapsulating the complex challenges inherent in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Israeli military on Sunday launched an airstrike on a mosque in the Jenin refugee camp of the occupied West Bank as it announced intensifying strikes on Gaza ahead of a planned ground invasion while the Pentagon said it was bolstering defences in the Middle East over “escalations” by Iran and its allies.
The Israeli military claimed it killed “operatives” from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in an air strike on Al-Ansar mosque in Jenin, in the West Bank, beneath which was a command centre used for planning and execution.
It said the targeted individuals had carried out “several terror attacks over the last months and were organising an additional imminent terror attack,” stating they were “neutralised” without providing details on the number of killed or their identities.
The director of the Red Crescent in Jenin, Mahmoud Al-Saadi, was quoted by the Palestinian news agency Wafa saying one person was martyred and three others injured in the strike, AFP reported.
Dozens of people have been martyred in the occupied West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers since October 7, when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israel and killed at least 1,400 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli officials.
Meanwhile, Israel has launched a heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation, which has martyred over 4,741 Palestinians, mostly civilians including 1,000 children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
A first trickle of aid entered the Palestinian enclave from Egypt on Saturday, but the 20 trucks permitted to cross have been described as a “drop in the ocean” given the needs of 2.4 million residents.
According to an Al Jazeera correspondent, Sara Khairat, the Israeli air attack on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank took residents “by surprise”, but it appears there may still be more to come.
“Eyewitness spoke to us and said they saw an F-fighter jet in the sky, they heard it and then the Israeli army came out to confirm it was an air strike,” said Khairat live from Ramallah.
The air strike targeted a mosque associated with the Jenin Brigade, labelled an “underground terrorist group” by Israel.
The mosque was the site of a two-day Israeli siege in July when Israeli forces found a network of tunnels and seized equipment, drones, and ammunition, she said.
Following the attack, some residents received text messages on their phones warning them to avoid collaborating with the Jenin Brigade, one of the largest and most popular groups in the West Bank. The messages also said to keep children inside.
There are also unconfirmed reports of an Israeli officer calling residents and telling them to turn their “youngsters” over to the police by 7am.
‘Better to leave now’
The conflict has touched off fresh violence in the West Bank, where dozens of Palestinians have been martyred in Israeli raids and settler attacks.
On Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, the military continued to trade fire with the resistance group Hezbollah, which said four of its fighters had been martyred. A member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad was also reportedly martyred.
Israeli authorities reported three soldiers wounded, one of them seriously, in Hezbollah anti-tank fire on the village of Baram, and two Thai farm workers were also wounded.
Western leaders have warned Hezbollah against intervening in the conflict, but the group’s number two said it stood ready to step up involvement.
“Let’s be clear, as events unfold if something comes up that calls for greater intervention by us, we will do so,” Naim Qassem said.
