Live: Israel ramps up strikes on Gaza after Iran attack

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with an Israeli opposition leader who called for the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.

Yair Golan, who was a Knesset member for the Meretz party, which describes itself as leftist, is also set to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the UK Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool. 

When the war on Gaza began in October last year, Golan called for electricity to be cut off and all supplies to be withheld from Gaza.

"First of all, close all supplies to Gaza. I think in this battle we should not allow a humanitarian effort," he said at the time.

"We need to say to them: listen, until the hostages are released, for all we care, you will starve to death. It's completely legitimate."

The policy implemented by Israel is a form of collective punishment, which is a war crime under international law.

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David Lammy meets Israeli politician who called for Palestinians to 'starve to death'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to return the tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from northern border areas to their homes, as its military has been hammering Lebanon with hundreds of air strikes over the past few days.

"I can't go into detail about everything we do, but I can tell you one thing: We are determined to return our residents in the north safely to their homes," he said in a brief video message.

Reporting by Reuters

Lebanon's National News Agency is reporting that an Israeli air strike hit Chehour, a small town near Tyre, in southern Lebanon.

At least five people were killed in the strike, including a baby.

The US has sent dozens of troops to Cyprus amid the ongoing escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, two officials told CNN.

The troops are being sent to prepare for a range of possibilities, according to the report, including the evacuation of Americans out of Lebanon should "a full-blown war erupt".

The Pentagon announced earlier this week that a small number of troops would be deployed to the Middle East, without providing further details.

The UK also announced it would be deploying troops to Cyprus, and called on its citizens to leave Lebanon.

In an appearance on the ABC show "The View", US President Joe Biden said that an all-out war in the Middle East was possible.

"An all-out war is possible, but I think there's also the opportunity - we're still in play to have a settlement that can fundamentally change the whole region," Biden said.

Biden backed Israel's right to defend itself at the United Nations General Assembly after Israel launched a major escalation in its conflict with Hezbollah. Israel launched hundreds of air strikes across Lebanon that have killed at least 569 people since Monday.

Multiple news outlets are reporting that one Palestinian and three others were wounded during an Israeli raid on the village of Anza, located 18km southwest of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

At least 51 people were killed and 223 wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday, the Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said during a news conference.

In need to divert public discourse from freeing Israeli captives and the open-ended war on Gaza, a war on Lebanon was the ideal move for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

The escalation, which began with the explosion of pagers and radio devices across Lebanon last week, has, in this regard, been a success so far. 

The issue of the captives has been removed from the public agenda in Israel, although it is unclear how this escalation will contribute to their return - or that of the north’s residents back to their homes. Additionally, the military’s heavy bombardment of Lebanon has brought Netanyahu closer to the army. 

Israeli defence philosophy has been based on “deterrence” for decades. This was the philosophy behind Israel’s policy versus Hamas over the past 15 years: to hit the Palestinian movement hard every time it breaks the status quo, as determined by Israel. 

But this deterrence was severely undermined by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October, which saw Israeli defences fall to the Palestinian fighters within three hours. 

You can read Israeli journalist Meron Rapoport's full analysis piece for Middle East Eye below. 

Analysis: Israel seeks to isolate Gaza from Lebanon, but it’s easier said than done

At least 90,530 newly displaced people have been reported in Lebanon in recent days, including nearly 40,000 in 283 shelters, the International Organisation for Migration said on Wednesday.

A Palestinian student will be appealing against the decision taken by the UK government to revoke her visa to study in the UK after she spoke at a pro-Palestine march in Manchester. 

Dana Abuqamar, who previously headed the University of Manchester's Friends of Palestine Society, will appear before a court in Manchester on Thursday, where her two-day hearing will begin.

Last year, the British government revoked Abuqamar's visa on "national security" grounds after claiming she was a risk to public safety. 

Abuqamar, who has lost 15 relatives in Gaza since Israel began its bombardment of the besieged enclave, believes the UK government revoked her visa last year after she made a speech in Manchester. 

The Palestinian student faced criticism for her speech in which she said, "We are full of pride, we are really, full of joy at what has happened”, following the 7 October Hamas-led attacks on Israel. 

Read more: Palestinian student to appeal against decision to revoke her UK student visa

Israel is calling up two additional reserve brigades to the north of the country along the Lebanese border, the military said on Wednesday, after days of escalating air strikes killed over 500 in Lebanon. 

The death toll across Lebanon from Israeli strikes on Wednesday has reached 22, according to a tally compiled by Reuters based on statements by Lebanon's health ministry. 

The death toll from the Israeli assault on Gaza has risen to 41,495.

In a statement, the Palestinian health ministry said there had also been 96,006 injuries.

"A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defence crews cannot reach them," it said.

An Israeli strike hit a mountain village north of Beirut for the first time on Wednesday, residents told AFP.

Lebanon's National News Agency reported "two rockets fell in Maaysra" a village about 25km from Beirut.

Locals said the strike hit their village, destroying a house and a cafe.

Israel said it was carrying out "extensive" strikes on Hezbollah strongholds.

Pope Francis on Wednesday slammed the "terrible escalation" of the conflict in Lebanon as "unacceptable", after Israeli bombings in the south of the country killed hundreds of people.

"I am saddened by the news coming out of Lebanon... but I hope that the international community will make every effort to stop this terrible escalation. This is unacceptable, I express my closeness to the Lebanese people, who have already suffered too much in the recent past," Francis said.

Reporting by AFP