Israel escalates Beirut bombing, as Gaza strike kills 73

GAZA CITY

Fighting raged on two fronts on Sunday as Israel targeted what it said was a Hezbollah "command center" in the Lebanese capital, while in Gaza rescuers reported 73 people killed in a single air strike.

The overnight strike hit several houses and a multistorey residential building in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, the authorities said, describing it as a “massacre.” Many people remained trapped under the rubble on Oct. 20.

Rescue efforts were hampered by a communications blackout and road obstructions in the north of the enclave, where a 16-day Israeli military siege has cut off access to food, water, medicine and essential services for residents.

A reporter said large chunks of concrete blocked the path to the bombed-out areas, making it difficult for paramedics and Palestinian Civil Defense members to conduct rescue missions in Beit Lahiya, resulting in more casualties, most of them women and children.

Beit Lahiya is a city located in the far north of the Gaza Strip close to Jabalia and Beit Hanoon. All three cities are severely affected by the Israeli offensive that has also resulted in severed phone and internet access.

Civil defense spokesman Bassal said "we have recovered more than 400 martyrs from the various targeted areas in the northern Gaza Strip,” including Jabalia and its refugee camp, since Israel's operation began.

"More than a year has passed, and every day our blood is shed," displaced Gazan Nasser Shaqura said outside a hospital in Deir el-Balah, where victims of an Israeli air strike were taken.

Meanwhile, Israel's strikes on Beirut hit a residential building in Haret Hreik near a mosque and a hospital.

The Israeli military said it hit a Hezbollah "command center of Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters" and underground weapons facility in Beirut, and that it also killed three Hezbollah militants in other strikes.

It later said about 70 projectiles fired from Lebanon crossed into Israel within a matter of minutes, and that it intercepted some of them.

On Oct. 19, Netanyahu's office said a drone was launched towards his residence in the central town of Caesarea but he and his wife were away and there were no casualties.

"The attempt by Iran's proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake," the prime minister said.

"Anyone who tries to harm Israel's citizens will pay a heavy price," he said in comments directed at Tehran and "its proxies,” which include Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Three drones were launched from Lebanon in the attack targeting the prime minister’s private residence. Two were intercepted over Rosh Hanikra and Nahariya, but the third exploded in the central seaside town of Caesarea, known for its high-end villas and Roman ruins.

This is the first time since the beginning of the war that a target affiliated directly with Netanyahu has been hit.

Iran, for its part, attempted to distance itself from the drone strike and push the blame solely onto Hezbollah.

Iran’s permanent mission to the U.N. said in a statement that it had “already responded to the Israeli regime,” an apparent reference to its unprecedented Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack, and that “the action in question has been carried out by Hezbollah in Lebanon.”