Live: Five Palestinian journalists killed, Gaza media office says

The Israeli military confirmed it carried out an air strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, commonly known as Dahiyeh, on Wednesday.

It claimed the target was "an underground storage" of Hezbollah weapons, though no evidence was provided to support this claim.

Hezbollah has repeatedly denied storing weapons in civilian areas, including Dahiyeh. 

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

It is now just after 7am in Palestine, Lebanon and Israel. Here are the latest updates from the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon, now in its 376th day: 

• At least one Israeli strike hit the southern suburbs of Beirut at dawn on Wednesday after going days without attacking the Lebanese capital. 

• Round-the-clock Israeli bombing across Gaza and Lebanon did not stop overnight. At least 10 people were killed in an Israeli bombing on Qana village in southern Lebanon on Tuesday night, while five people were killed in a bombing on Naser neighbourhood in Gaza City just before dawn. 

• Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said he was starting a regional tour including stops in Jordan, Egypt and Turkey as part of a diplomatic effort to "end genocide, atrocity and aggression". 

Hello Middle East Eye readers. On Tuesday, reports emerged that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to the Israeli government, warning that Israel must boost humanitarian aid to Gaza or risk a reassessment of Israeli military aid.

Israel said it was reviewing the letter. The letter, dated 13 October, comes months after the US administration released a report that avoided making any legal determinations as to whether Israel had violated international humanitarian law in its war on Gaza.

That report also cited no violations of Section 620l of the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits US military support to governments that withhold humanitarian aid.

Meanwhile, Israel's military continued attacking parts of Gaza, killing more than 40 people in its latest wave of bombings on the Strip.

In Lebanon, the Israeli bombing didn't stop, either. Israeli strikes hit a healthcare centre in Lebanon's Qana, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than a dozen others.

Here's what else you need to know about today's developments:

• An Israeli strike on the town of Riyaq in the Beqaa Valley has killed five people, including three children.

• An Israeli air strike on eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip killed Palestinian footballer Imad Abu Tima, 21, along with nine members of his family.

• The US imposed sanctions on the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, accusing the organisation of diverting funds to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is a US-designated terrorist group.

• An Israeli company has launched an underwear collection "inspired" by soldiers who were wounded during the country's ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip, sparking anger among social media users highlighting record numbers of child amputees in the enclave as a result of the war.

• A cross-party coalition of nearly 50 British MPs from seven political parties have backed a motion calling for the Labour government to impose sanctions on Israel.

• Hezbollah's deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem has said a "ceasefire" is the only solution to the ongoing fighting in the region.

Israel is reviewing a letter from the Biden administration that calls on Israel to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation or risk military aid.

"Israel takes this matter seriously and intends to address the concerns raised in this letter with our American counterparts," the Israeli official said, as reported by Reuters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to the Israeli government warning Israel to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza or risk a reassessment of US military support.

Blinken and Austin said that within the next 30 days, Israel must allow 350 aid trucks a day into Gaza.

The letter also called for winter preparations that included allowing those who were forcibly displaced to “move inland” and an end to forced displacement from northern to southern Gaza. It further urged Israel to remove the bureaucratic barriers that prevent certain drivers and goods from entering the strip. 

Despite the US expressing doubts about the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) and its mission in Gaza, the letter also advocated for the protection of the institution.

To read the full story, click below.

US warns Israel that failure to increase aid to Gaza could have 'implications'

The World Bank now estimates that damages from Israel's air strikes and bombings in Gaza range between $14bn and 20bn.

Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank, said during a Reuters Next event in Washington that a significant widening of the conflict, such as the recent Israeli invasion of Lebanon and Iran's strike on Israel, would draw in other countries and could cause significant damage to global growth.

"First of all, I think this unbelievable loss of life - women, children, others, civilians - is just unconscionable on all sides," Banga said. "The economic impact of this war, on the other hand, depends a great deal on how much this spreads."

Lebanon's health ministry said in a statement that an Israeli strike on the town of Riyaq in the Beqaa Valley has killed five people, including three children.

The strike wounded 16 others.

Lebanon's National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike on the town of Qana has killed at least 10 people and injured more than 15 others.

The injured were transferred to hospitals in the city of Tyre for treatment.

An Israeli air strike on eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip killed Palestinian footballer Imad Abu Tima, 21, along with nine members of his family.

Abu Tima played for the Ittihad Khan Younis club and represented Palestine’s under-20 national team in 2021, according to media reports.

Abu Tima is one of over 400 Palestinian athletes killed in Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip, according to data from Palestine’s National Olympic Committee.

To read the full story, click below.

Palestinian footballer Imad Abu Tima killed with his family in Israeli strike on Gaza

A group of more than three dozen charities have signed a statement demanding an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The coalition also called for unhindered humanitarian aid access to Gaza.

"All parties must allow unimpeded access for humanitarian organisations to deliver aid based on need, without restricting types, volumes or locations," the organisations said in a statement.

"Aid delivery must remain impartial and independent of military objectives to prevent its instrumentalisation or politicisation. Civilians must not be forced to flee to receive aid; those choosing to stay in their homes must be protected under international law."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that approximately 3,000 French citizens have left Lebanon since fighting broke out between Israel and Hezbollah.

About 24,000 French nationals were residing in Lebanon before the start of Israel's war on Gaza.

The Lebanese health ministry has released the official death toll from Israel’s attacks on the country on Monday.

At least 41 people were killed and 124 wounded by Israeli forces, raising the death toll to 1,356 since Israel began escalating strikes on Lebanon on 23 September. 

Monday's deaths included 21 people who were killed in an Israeli strike on the village of Aitou, located in the Christian-majority Zgharta district in northern Lebanon.

The latest figures bring the total number of deaths in Lebanon since last October to over 2,200, with 1,356 occurring since the start of Israel’s intensified air campaign in September. 

The United States has imposed sanctions on the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, accusing the organisation of diverting funds to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is a US-designated terrorist group.

The US Treasury Department, in coordination with Canada, said the PFLP uses Samidoun to raise funds across Europe and North America. Germany banned the group’s activities last year.

On Tuesday, Canada officially designated Samidoun as a terrorist entity.

An Israeli company has launched an underwear collection "inspired" by soldiers who were wounded during the country's ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip, sparking anger among social media users highlighting record numbers of child amputees in the enclave as a result of the war.

The apparel brand Delta introduced a collection of "adaptive" women's undergarments this week designed for ease of use for those with limited mobility or movement, Haaretz reported. Its ad campaign features models with disabilities, including former soldier Rotem Sdot, who became an amputee three years prior.

While the campaign was praised as "empowering" by many Israeli social media users, hundreds of others expressed anger and disbelief with what they called “tone-deaf” messaging behind the advertisements.

Many called attention to the soaring numbers of those severely injured as a result of Israel’s war on Gaza. 

“There are like 1000x more civilian amputees in Gaza than in Israel and it's thanks to the IDF [Israeli army].  Barf,” one user commented on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Read more: Israeli underwear line 'inspired' by soldiers wounded in Gaza sparks outrage

Nearly 50 British MPs from seven political parties have backed a motion calling for the Labour government to impose sanctions on Israel.

The motion, tabled by independent MP Richard Burgon, calls for the government to respect the United Nations General Assembly's 18 September resolution demanding Israel rapidly ends its occupation of the Palestinian territories, on which the UK abstained - as well as the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion that Israel's occupation violates international law. 

It "welcomes that the UN resolution calls on states to comply with their obligations under international law and to take concrete steps to address Israel's lawful presence in the OPT [Occupied Palestinian Territory]".

Following on from that, the motion says that the House of Commons "believes the adoption of this resolution places new obligations on the Government".

It "calls on the Government to act in support of the UN resolution and ICJ opinion including by ending all military exports to Israel, banning the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements and revoking the 2030 Roadmap which deepens UK economic, trade and security ties with Israel".

Read more: Cross-party group of British MPs call for sanctions on Israel