Middle East War: Washington Raises Tone After Death of 93 Palestinians in Gaza

The United States says it has “contacted” the government of Israel to ask what happened” after an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia (Gaza) on Tuesday , causing the death of nearly 100 people.

The Essentials

• The United States expressed concern on Tuesday after nearly 100 Palestinians (93 according to the Gaza Civil Defense), including women and children, were killed in an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, in the Gaza Strip. “We are deeply concerned about the loss of civilian life” in this “horrible strike with a horrific result.” “We have contacted the Israeli government to ask what happened,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. The “tragic cost to civilians” of this bombing “reminds us once again why we must end this war,” Washington said.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday asking him to maintain the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which is now banned by a law of the Hebrew state.
• On Wednesday, October 30, Israeli strikes continued in Lebanon. One person was killed and six others were injured. injured in the Israeli strike on Sinai, near the village of Ansar, in southern Lebanon, according to information from L'Orient-Le Jour. Six new Israeli raids also targeted Khiam.

Latest updates

10:00 – In southern Lebanon, an Israeli strike leaves 1 dead and 6 injured

According to the latest information from L'Orient-Le Jour, the Israeli strike on Sinai, near the village of Ansar, left one dead and six injured. “The victims were in the garden of their house,” the media outlet said. Six new Israeli raids targeted Khiam and the al-Rissala scouts, affiliated with the Amal movement, announced the death of the child Ranim Ibrahim Saklaoui. In addition, this Wednesday morning, a car was struck on the road to Araya, on the highway linking Beirut to the Bekaa, about ten kilometers from the Lebanese capital.

09:42 – Washington denounces Israel's choice over UNRWA

On Wednesday, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller expressed deep concern about the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, particularly after Israel's decision to ban the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from its soil.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken “made it clear that we are opposed to the adoption of this law and that its implementation could have legal and political implications” on the United States' support for Israel, warns the spokesperson. Several countries and world organizations have also denounced Benjamin Netanyahu's decision by calling for the maintenance of UNRWA.

10/29/24 – 5:15 PM – Iran Wants to Increase Military Budget by 200%

This Tuesday, the Iranian government is proposing a 200% increase in its military budget over one year, starting March 21, 2025. An announcement that comes as the country contributes financially to Hezbollah's assaults, participating in the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, which recently protected itself as far as Lebanon, an area in which Hezbollah is largely established. with several strongholds. 

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10/29/24 – 4:30 PM – Israeli tanks enter southern Lebanon

Several Israeli tanks entered southern Lebanon, as far as the town of Khiam, less than 6km from the border, the largest incursion in this area, according to the official Lebanese news agency, ANI.  “A large number of tanks of the Israeli occupation army” took up position on a hill near east of Khiam, indicates the agency.

29/10/24 – 3:20 p.m. – 43,061 dead in the Gaza Strip

New death toll in the Gaza Strip. 43,061 people have died in the Palestinian enclave since the start of the war with Israel, according to estimates by the Hamas government's health ministry. In the last 24 hours, 41 people have lost their lives, the press release states.

10/29/24 – 2:40 p.m. – Israel: One person killed by rockets fired from Lebanon

One person was killed by rockets fired from Lebanon. killed on Tuesday by rockets fired from Lebanon towards Maalot, in northern Israel. “We saw an unconscious man, without a pulse and not breathing (…) His injury was critical and we had to declare him dead,” Magen David Adom said in a statement. In total, around fifty projectiles were fired from Lebanon towards Israel on Tuesday.

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43,061. This is the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas terrorist offensive on October 7, 2023 in Israel. A figure communicated by the Ministry of Health of the Hamas government, on Monday, October 14, 2024, which reveals the intensity of the fighting that has now lasted for more than a year. Over the months, tensions have intensified, and as of October 27, 2023, Israel extended its ground operation to Gaza. The goal for Netanyahu and the IDF is clear: to “annihilate” Hamas. A week-long ceasefire was nevertheless in place in November 2023. After a major leap forward, on April 13, 2024, Iran launches its first massive attack on Israel. Allied to Hamas, Iran then fires nearly 350 explosive drones and missiles on the Hebrew state. An attack in response to missiles fired at the embassy in Damascus in Syria on April 1, in which 11 people lost their lives, including seven Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, a new type of attack broke into the war. Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies exploded. Twelve dead and nearly 3,000 injured were reported in Lebanon. Since its coordinated explosions, Israel has continued to strike Lebanon with air and ground raids. More than 1,000 people were killed in IDF strikes and thousands of Lebanese were forced to be displaced. On October 1, 2024, Iran responded by sending nearly 200 ballistic missiles directly to Israel. Since then, the two countries have been engaged in a merciless war, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening on October 8, 2024 that Lebanon would experience “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza” if the country's population did not “free itself” from Hezbollah. Remarks described as “provocation” by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot.

On Monday, October 14, 2024, the Lebanese Hezbollah threatened Israel with new attacks in a press release. As a reminder, Hezbollah had struck Haifa two days earlier, killing four Israeli soldiers and injuring no fewer than 60. At the beginning of the week, the terrorist organization indicated that “the resistance (…) promises the enemy”. The raid carried out “south of Haifa is only a foretaste of what awaits it if it decides to continue its aggression against our people”, it threatens. According to Palestinian doctors quoted by the Associated Press, the courtyard of a hospital in the Gaza Strip was then shelled by the Israeli army, killing at least four people and setting fire to a camp for displaced people.