Israel hits central Beirut as WHO says hospitals overwhelmed

The IMF said the conflict between Israel and Hamas has resulted in a "devastating impact on the economy" in the occupied West Bank and particularly Gaza.

"Preliminary official estimates indicate an 86% decline in GDP in the first half of 2024" International Monetary Fund communications chief Julie Kozack said about the economy in Gaza.

Kozack said that Gaza's "civilian population faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid delivery."

In the West Bank, "already grim prospects have further deteriorated, and preliminary official data indicate a 25% decline in GDP in the first half of 2024," she added.

Israel's economy appears to have also been affected, with its GDP having contracted by about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the conflict began, Kozack added.

The Washington-based global lender is also monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon.

"In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation," Kozack said. "The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond."

World football's governing body FIFA on Thursday indicated that it had not reached a decision on a Palestinian request to have Israel suspended.

In a statement, FIFA instead said that a disciplinary committee would begin an investigation into the alleged cases of discrimination raised by the Palestine Football Association (PFA).

The complaint was made in May, and though FIFA had initially planned to respond by July, it delayed that date to allow for further examination, before announcing a further extension on Thursday. 

FIFA said that a governance and compliance committee would investigate and advise the FIFA Council on "the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine."

"The FIFA Council has implemented due diligence on this very sensitive matter and, based on a thorough assessment, we have followed the advice of the independent experts," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

FIFA, along with European federation UEFA, suspended Russia from its competitions soon after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a move that few other sporting associations mirrored, with most taking less severe punitive steps. This meant both that Russia's national team was ineligible for the World Cup in Qatar, and that its club teams could not compete in European competitions like the Champions League.

FIFA has faced pressure in recent months to act similarly in response to Israel and the conflict in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said that a 21-year-old Yazidi woman, who had been abducted by the so-called "Islamic State" (IS, or ISIS) militants in Iraq more than 10 years ago, has been freed from Gaza.

The IDF said the woman was 11 years old at the time of her kidnapping and "was trafficked by ISIS to a Hamas terrorist in Gaza, who was presumably killed during IDF strikes." 

According to the Israeli military, the woman fled and was then rescued "in a secret mission through the Kerem Shalom Crossing" that involved Israel, the US, Jordan and Iraq.

The Reuters news agency reported that the woman was freed after more than four months of efforts to secure her release, citing the chief of staff of Iraq’s foreign minister.

The ethno-religious Yazidi community mostly resides in northern Iraq. In 2014, the minority, thought to number around 500,000 inside Iraq, became a target for the extremist IS group when they seized the Sinjar Mountains, where Yazidis have lived for centuries.

The Yazidis follow an ancient religion rooted in Zoroastrianism, which IS considers to be heretical.

IS jihadists forced women and girls into slavery, recruited boys as child soldiers, and killed many of the community's men. Since then, thousands of Yazidis have fled the region.

The IDF alleged the case was "further proof of the connection between Hamas and ISIS."

Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said on Thursday that several dozen paramedics and firefighters had been killed in Israeli strikes over a three-day period.

Speaking to reporters in Beirut, Abiad said more than 40 people "working in ambulances and firetrucks" had died.

Abiad said that a total of 97 emergency workers had been killed since Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging fire since October last year.

The toll includes emergency personnel from organizations affiliated with Hezbollah or other Lebanese factions.

Abiad also said that over the past year, 1,974 people had been killed by Israeli fire, while more than 9,350 had been wounded.

Israel has repeatedly come under fire from Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and Israeli responses have led to concerns that the situation could spiral out of control, sparking a wider regional conflict.

The ongoing exchanges of fire in the border areas have been an issue for years but intensified after the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel on October 7 last year.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters have been targeted in Beirut.

The IDF said in a statement on X that the intelligence headquarters were struck with fighter jets, and posted a video it said showed the moment the building was hit.

The IDF also claimed that the building was the central intelligence body of Hezbollah, which it said was responsible for gathering intelligence about Israel and the IDF.

Israel has been conducting days of heavy bombardment on targets throughout Lebanon as it has shifted focus from Gaza to the country on its northern border.

Iran on Thursday summoned diplomats from Germany and Austria, to protest their criticism of Tuesday's attack on Israel. 

This was effectively a tit-for-tat move, with the German and Austrian foreign ministries having called in an Iranian diplomat the previous day. 

A spokesman at the ministry in Berlin confirmed that Ambassador Markus Potzel had been summoned in Tehran, following media reports in Iran. 

Both Germany and Austria had said they condemned the strike "in the strongest possible terms," with Germany saying that "nothing could justify it."

Iran also voiced criticism of a G7 statement condemning its attack on Thursday, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei denouncing what he called "the continued biased and irresponsible approach" of the G7. 

He called the strike, dubbed "Operation True Promise 2" by Tehran, "a clear manifestation of Iran's inherent right to legitimate self-defense." 

The Lebanese army said one of its soldiers has been killed in an Israeli strike during a rescue operation in Lebanon's south. 

"A soldier was killed and another was wounded as a result of an aggression by the Israeli enemy during an evacuation and rescue operation with the Lebanese Red Cross in Taybeh village," the military said.

The Lebanese Red Cross said four of its paramedics were wounded in the incident.

The Associated Press news agency reported, citing the Red Cross, that the medics convoy was accompanied by Lebanese troops and its movements had been coordinated with UN peacekeepers.

Lebanon's Health Ministry has raised the death toll in the Israeli attack on central Beirut to nine, with 14 other people injured. 

The ministry said it would give a final toll after authorities identify the remains removed from the site with DNA tests. 

The Islamic Health Authority, a health institution affiliated with Hezbollah, said seven of its staff were killed in the attack. 

Robin Ramaekers, a correspondent for Belgian broadcaster VTM, and cameraman Stijn De Smet were injured while reporting in Beirut and are being treated at a hospital, their employer has said. 

According to a statement by VTM parent company DPG media, Ramaekers suffered facial injuries and De Smet was being treated for a gunshot wound to the leg. A local fixer was also injured, according to reports in Belgian media.

"Last night there was a bombing in central Beirut. When Robin and Stijn wanted to run a report on that, they got injured," said the DPG media statement. 

"Both are now in safety and are being cared for."

DPG said the exact circumstances of the incident were unclear. Ramaekers last posted early Thursday on social media a video captioned: "Rockets in the middle of the old center of Beirut." 

Israeli strikes on central Beirut killed at least nine people, including two medics who were affiliated with the Islamic Health Authority, a health services institution linked to Hezbollah. 

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it "repelled with artillery fire" an attempt by Israeli forces to advance at a border point in southern Lebanon. 

Israel did not immediately comment, but Hezbollah's claim came a day after eight Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting with the Iran-backed group in Lebanon's south.

Hezbollah later said it fired a barrage of rockets at the western Israeli city of Tiberias.

The attack, the group said, was in retaliation to the Israeli bombardment of Lebanese "towns, villages and civilians."

The Israeli army has not yet confirmed whether the attack was intercepted. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was ramping up humanitarian aid to Lebanon by an additional €30 million ($33 million).

The EU had already announced Sunday a €10 million emergency aid package for Lebanon. The announcements bring the total EU humanitarian assistance to the country to over €100 million this year. 

"Our new funding will ensure civilians receive much needed assistance during this very difficult time," von der Leyen said.

"I am extremely concerned by the constant escalation of tensions in the Middle East. All parties must do their utmost to protect the lives of innocent civilians," she added.

The Israeli army has confirmed its forces killed a senior Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip three months ago. 

Rawhi Mushtaha was the most senior of three commanders from the Islamist militant group killed in the attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

Israel struck a fortified underground compound in northern Gaza that served as a control center while the three were in the bunker, according to the IDF.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas, although there had been rumors of Mushtaha's death for months.

Mushtaha is believed to have co-founded Hamas' armed wing and is said to be one of the main conspirators behind the October 7 terror attacks.

In 2015, the United States listed Mushtaha as a "specially designated global terrorist." The United States, Israel, Germany and several other countries classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has condemned Israel's strikes on Lebanon and called the conflict in the region a "collective genocide." 

"It has become crystal clear that what is happening is genocide, in addition to turning the Gaza Strip into an area unfit for human habitation, in preparation for displacement," he said during the Asia Cooperation Dialogue summit in Doha on Thursday.

He also condemned Israel's airstrikes and military operations "against the brotherly Lebanese Republic."

Israel, which is facing accusations of genocide in a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has strongly objected to the allegations of war crimes and maintains that its actions are in self defense following Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw about 240 more taken hostage.

Over 41,500 people have been killed in the war in Gaza, according to health authorities in the Hamas-ruled territory.

Qatar, alongside the US and Egypt, have played a key role in mediating talks for a hostage deal and cease-fire in Gaza.

Yemen's Houthi rebel group said it targeted the Israeli city of Tel Aviv with overnight drone strikes. 

The spokesperson for the Iran-backed group claimed the attack "achieved its goals successfully by the arrival of the drones without being detected or shot down by the enemy."

However, there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The Israeli military said it shot down two drones over the sea in central Israel and that a third one landed in an "open area."

Israel did not name the source of the drones.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued fresh evacuation orders for several parts of southern Beirut in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The warning was directed at residents of the Haret Hreik, Burj al-Barajneh and Hadath Gharb areas specifically.

"You are located near facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah, which the army will act against in the near future," Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on social media.