Live: Over 200 Lebanese children killed in two months of Israeli attacks

The US government on Thursday said Israel's decision to sign a waiver to extend cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian banks for another month was for a "very short term duration" and would create "another looming crisis" by 30 November.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's spokesman said on Thursday he will sign a waiver to extend cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian banks for another month after the cabinet agreed.

Reporting by Reuters

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• Israeli fighter jets have carried out at least 10 strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs less than an hour after the Israeli army ordered residents to leave in the early morning
• The strikes, which marked Israel's first attack on Beirut in a week, killed at least two people and injured four, according to Lebanese media reports
• The Wafa news agency reports that an Israeli strike on a home in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza killed at least two people
• The Islamic Resistance in Iraq says it launched a drone attack on southern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, with the Israeli army saying it intercepted several drones over the Red Sea
• Palestinian Health Minister Majid Abu Ramadan said that the second round of polio vaccinations will resume in northern Gaza on Saturday
• The four foreigners killed in a rocket attack on Metula, northern Israel were Thai workers, Thailand's foreign ministry said. An Israeli was also killed in the attack

Our live coverage will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are some of the day's key developments:

Gaza's health ministry has put the number of known deaths from Israeli attacks on Thursday at 46, a figure which includes two journalists and a paramedic. The air strikes were mainly focused on northern Gaza, where one attack hit a hospital, torching medical supplies and disrupting operations, officials said

The Lebanese health ministry has updated the number of deaths from Israeli attacks to 2,865 since 8 October 2023. The figure includes 45 people killed in the last 24 hours

In a speech to new military officers on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran that Israel can reach anywhere within the country, should the need arise. For its part, Iran may be getting ready to respond to Israel's air strikes from Iraqi airspace, and before the US election, according to reporting from Axios

The US has seen "good progress" being made between Lebanon and Israel on a potential truce, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Thursday. The comments follow news that US envoy Amos Hochstein left the region without making a stop in Beirut. He had been in Israel for talks

Unicef, the United Nations children's agency, said that Israeli attacks have killed at least one child a day in Lebanon over the past month. At least 166 children have been killed and 1,168 have been wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since October 2o23, according to the Lebanese health ministry

An analysis published Thursday by the Washington Post showed that Israel has partly or wholly demolished one quarter of all buildings in southern Lebanon. That amounts to 5,000 structures, including at least nine religious sites demolished in controlled explosions, the Post said

An analysis published Thursday by the Washington Post showed that Israel has partly or wholly demolished one quarter of all buildings in southern Lebanon.

That amounts to 5,000 structures, including at least nine religious sites demolished in controlled explosions, the Post said. 

"The vast majority of the damage — almost 80 percent — has occurred since 2 October, the day after Israel launched its ground invasion," the article notes. 

"Since then, the destruction has continued at a rapid pace, roughly doubling every two weeks, even as Israeli officials signal they are willing to begin negotiations to wind down the war."

Israel has damaged or destroyed nearly a quarter of buildings in Lebanon’s south, impacting more than 5k structures, including at least nine religious sites demolished in controlled explosions, a WaPo analysis has found pic.twitter.com/BRnJwEpxuV

— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) October 31, 2024

Gaza's health ministry has put the number of known deaths from Israeli attacks on Thursday at 46, a figure which includes two journalists and a paramedic.

The air strikes were mainly focused on northern Gaza, where one attack hit a hospital, torching medical supplies and disrupting operations, officials said.

Israel has accused Hamas of using the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia for military purposes and said "dozens of terrorists" have been hiding there. Health officials and Hamas deny the charge.

Reporting from Reuters

Israeli air strikes on the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, west of Jabalia in northern Gaza, killed at least five people late on Thursday night. 

Images shared by Aljazeera's northern Gaza correspondent Anas al-Sharif show the bloodied bodies of children being carried away from the rubble. 

5شهداء أثر إستهداف منزل بالقرب من ارض الشنطي في حي الشيخ رضوان غرب مدينة غزة pic.twitter.com/AJuEXrwkNJ

— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) October 31, 2024

Former US President Bill Clinton has sparked backlash online after saying the Palestinian group Hamas “forces" Israel to kill Palestinian civilians.

Clinton addressed an audience in Michigan on Wednesday to rally support for Democratic Party candidate Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 5 November US presidential elections, with a speech that discussed Israel's ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

He said that criticism of Israel’s disproportionate response was misguided.

"That all sounds nice until you realise what would you do if it was your family and you hadn't done anything but support a homeland for the Palestinians and one day they come for you and slaughter the people in your village.

"You would say, 'Well you'll have to forgive me, I'm not keeping score that way  - it isn't how many we've had to kill' - because Hamas makes sure that they're shielded by civilians, they'll force you to kill civilians if you want to defend yourself."

Read more: US elections 2024: Bill Clinton’s Gaza comments draw outrage on social media

The Egyptian army on Thursday said it denies accusations that it has been helping facilitate weapons shipments to Israel for its wars in Gaza and Lebanon. 

The Reuters news agency pointed to reports that an Egyptian port received a shipment of explosives bound for an Israeli defence contractor.

"The Egyptian Armed Forces categorically deny what has been circulated on social media and suspicious accounts and what is being promoted about assisting Israel in its military operations in general and in detail," the army said in a statement. 

The vessel-tracking website, Marine Traffic, showed the MV Kathrin, which reportedly carried a 150-metric-ton shipment of military-grade explosives, docked in Egypt's port at Alexandria on Monday.

The Israeli military said it has intercepted and shot down a drone coming from Lebanon. 

Earlier, sirens rang out in Haifa, as well as Avivim in northern Israel when the drone was detected. 

Axios is reporting that Iran may be getting ready to respond to Israel's air strikes from Iraq before the US election. 

The report cites Israeli intelligence and points to a "large number of drones and ballistic missiles" that will be used. 

Iran had accused the US of utilizing Iraq's "occupied" air bases to help Israel carry out its attack last Saturday. 

The US has seen "good progress" being made between Lebanon and Israel on a potential truce, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Thursday.

The comments follow news that US envoy Amos Hochstein left the region without making a stop in Beirut. He had been in Israel for talks. 

"We are working very hard and making progress on reaching understandings of what would be required for the effective implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701. This would be the basis of a diplomatic resolution to the crisis," Blinken said, referring to the 2006 mandate.

"It's important to make sure that we have clarity both from Lebanon and from Israel, about what would be required under 1701 to get its effective implementation, the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from the border, the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces, the authorities under which they'd be acting, [and] an appropriate enforcement mechanism," he added.

"I can tell you that, based on my recent trip to the region, the work that's ongoing right now, we have made good progress on those understandings. We still have more work to do, but that's what's necessary to get us to [a] diplomatic resolution, including through the ceasefire."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Thursday that his office is "tracking very carefully Israel's responsibilities" to meet its humanitarian aid obligations in Gaza.

US law demands that no country receive weapons transfers if it is denying humanitarian aid to affected populations. So far, however, Washington has overlooked Israel's non-adherence to that provision. 

"There's been real progress, but insufficient, and we're working on a daily basis to make sure that Israel does what it must do to ensure that this assistance gets to people who need it inside of Gaza," Blinken said. "It's not enough to get trucks to Gaza. It's vital that what they bring with them can get distributed effectively inside of Gaza." 

The Lebanese health ministry has updated the number of deaths from Israeli attacks to 2,865 since 8 October 2023. 

The figure includes 45 people killed in the last 24 hours. 

Aljazeera is reporting via its correspondents on the ground that at least two people have been killed after an Israeli air strike on al-Zawaydeh refugee camp, in the middle of the Gaza strip. 

Several injuries were also reported. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Thursday said it is "deeply concerning to see universities needlessly expose students to police violence for peacefully expressing their political opinions" with regard to Palestine. 

In a statement, the ACLU called on college and university presidents across the US "to respect and protect the right to protest in support of Palestinian rights".

"With the continuation of the Israeli military’s assault on Gaza and the risk of US complicity through the sending of weapons, campus protests in favor of stopping the violence and destruction will continue. Universities have a responsibility to protect academic freedom and the rights to freedom of expression, and to peacefully protest, and we will be watching to ensure they do.”

NEW: ACLU, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch call on colleges and universities across the U.S. to respect and protect the right to protest in support of Palestinian rights. https://t.co/M3rHeMZmq2 pic.twitter.com/hPrthdwyhP

— Jamil Dakwar (@jdakwar) October 31, 2024