Israel bombs UNESCO-listed Tyre, polio vaccination campaign postponed

IN BRIEF 

• Israel began to bomb Lebanon's UNESCO-listed port city of Tyre, roughly three hours after issuing an order online for residents to flee central areas. READ MORE BELOW

• In Gaza, health authorities reported at least 20 people killed in fresh Israeli strikes, most in the north. READ MORE BELOW

• A polio vaccination campaign in north Gaza has been postponed due to Israeli bombardments, mass displacement and lack of access, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. READ MORE BELOW

• The Gazan health ministry appealed for blankets to wrap the bodies of the dead, saying "We call on the world, which has failed to provide protection and shelter for our people and has been unable to deliver food and medicine, to make an effort to send shrouds for our fallen."

• Israel's military said it had killed three Hezbollah commanders and some 70 fighters in the south of Lebanon in the past 48 hours, a day after confirming it had killed Hashem Safieddine, the militant group's heir apparent leader.

• UN refugee agency UNRWA said one of its staff members was killed when a UNRWA vehicle was hit in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip – a day after UNRWA called for a temporary truce.

• More than 42,792 Palestinians have been killed and 100,412 injured in Israel's military offensive in Gaza since October 7, 2023, the Gaza health ministry said.

• Senior Hamas member Mousa Abu Marzouk has arrived in Moscow on a planned visit, Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday, citing a diplomatic source.

• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel on Wednesday to end the war in Gaza, using the opportunity created by the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the destruction of much of the group's capacity during more than a year of conflict.

• Israel's air force shot down two rockets from Lebanon that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, the Israeli military said, while Blinken was on a visit to the city.

• German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in Beirut for talks on Wednesday and said the task was to find a viable diplomatic solution between Israel and Lebanon after Israel succeeded in weakening Hezbollah.

IN DETAIL

Israel bombs historic Lebanese port city

Israel began to bomb Lebanon's UNESCO-listed port city of Tyre roughly three hours after issuing an order online for residents to flee central areas. Huge clouds of thick smoke billowed above residential buildings.

Tens of thousands of people had already fled Tyre in recent weeks as Israel steps up its campaign to destroy Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, both close allies of Iran.

The port is typically a bustling hub for the south - with fishermen, tourists, and even UN peacekeepers on a break from deployments near the border spending time there by the sea. But Israel's evacuation orders this week for the city have for the first time encompassed swathes of it, including right up to its ancient castle.

Some Lebanese fear their country will end up like Gaza, where Israeli strikes have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and leveled much of the small enclave.

20 killed as Israel steps up pressure on northern Gaza

Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 20 people on Wednesday as Israeli forces intensified a siege of northern parts of the Palestinian enclave, surrounding hospitals and refugee shelters, and ordering residents to head south, medics and residents said.

Israeli forces began the operation in the north about three weeks ago with the declared aim of preventing Hamas fighters from regrouping. The operation has intensified since the killing of Hamas chief Yahya Al-Sinwar a week ago.

The Israeli military announced last Friday it had sent another army unit to Jabalia on the northern edge of Gaza. Residents say the troops have besieged shelters, forcing displaced people to leave while rounding up many of the men. The health ministry said at least 650 people had been killed since the new offensive began.

Of at least 20 people reported killed by Israeli military strikes across the enclave on Wednesday, 18 deaths were in northern Gaza.

North Gaza polio campaign postponed due to violence, says WHO

A polio vaccination campaign in north Gaza has been postponed due to Israeli bombardments, mass displacement and lack of access, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

This final phase, due to begin on Wednesday, aimed to vaccinate more than 119,000 children in the Palestinian enclave under siege for over a year in response to militant group Hamas' attacks on Israel.

"The current conditions, including ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure, continue to jeopardize people's safety and movement in northern Gaza, making it impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccination, and health workers to operate," the UN agency said in a statement, reiterating its call for a ceasefire.

The polio campaign began on September 1 after the WHO confirmed in August that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.

Delays in a second dose for children could jeopardize efforts to halt transmission. "This could also lead to further spread of poliovirus in the Gaza Strip and neighboring countries, with the risk of more children being paralyzed," the agency said.

On Tuesday, the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA called for a temporary truce to allow departures from areas of north Gaza, where it said "people are just waiting to die" after three weeks of Israeli attacks.

On Wednesday, the agency said one of its staff members was killed when an UNRWA vehicle was hit in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Medics said the man's brother was also killed. 

Health and civil emergency officials said dozens of bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in and around Jabalia were scattered on roadsides and under the rubble where medical teams could not reach them.

Hospitals in the north have either stopped providing medical services or are hardly operating because of the offensive. Hospitals where medics have refused Israeli evacuation orders say they are running out of blood for transfusions, as well as coffins and shrouds for the dead.

"We call on the world, which has failed to provide protection and shelter for our people and has been unable to deliver food and medicine, to make an effort to send shrouds for our fallen," the Gaza health ministry said in a statement.