Live Blog Update| Israel's genocide in Gaza
This is an entry from: Live: Five Palestinian journalists killed, Gaza media office says

Evening recap

16 October 2024 23:33 BST

Hello Middle East Eye readers. On Wednesday, Israel's military struck the city of Nabatieh in Lebanon, hitting a municipal building and killing 16 people, including the town's mayor.

Wednesday also saw intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, with Israeli media reports saying that five Israeli soldiers were killed over the course of the day.

Meanwhile in Gaza, Israeli forces killed more than 60 Palestinians over the past 24 hours, as the Israeli military continued its siege in northern Gaza.

Israel said that it permitted 50 aid trucks to enter the northern area of the Strip, but Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif said that not a single truck entered the parts of northern Gaza besieged by Israeli forces.

Here's what else happened on Wednesday:

  • The death toll in Gaza has now reached at least 42,409, with more than 99,153 wounded and at least 10,000 still missing, likely buried under rubble.

  • British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is "looking at" sanctioning Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, as well as the national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir.

  • France has reportedly banned Israeli firms from participating in an upcoming military naval trade show.

  • The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (Unifil) said an Israeli Merkava tank fired at their watchtower near southern Lebanon's Kfar Kela.

  • Qatar's prime minister said on Wednesday that there had been no conversations or engagement with any parties for the last three to four weeks to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.

  • A top Biden official said Washington wouldn't consider withholding weapons from Israel for blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza.