Terrified families flee their homes in Lebanon amid new Israeli airstrikes
Emergency workers have been struggling to cope with the sudden spike of people fleeing their homes in the south of Lebanon as the Israeli forces continued their campaign of airstrikes across the country.
The capital, Beirut, was struck for the third time in five days as the Israeli military said it had targeted and “eliminated” another key Hezbollah commander.
He was named by Israeli forces as Muhammed Qabisi – Hezbollah’s commander in charge of missiles and rockets – and comes days after the militant group buried another of its top leaders.
There were multiple Israeli airstrikes across the south and in the east for a second day as huge swathes of the population continued fleeing to the north of the country.
Israel-Hezbollah latest updates
We saw terrified and worried families turning up at the emergency centre in Tyre as Israeli jets flew overhead alongside the sounds of Hezbollah rockets being fired into Israel.
“We have nothing left,” a woman called Fatima told us. “We have no food, no water, nothing.”
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said two of its workers had been killed in airstrikes, including a young mother and her son.
The agency said it was “outraged and deeply saddened” at the deaths.
Dina Daarwiche and her family were at home in the Bekaa Valley when the house was targeted.
She and her youngest son were killed and her husband and second child are critical in hospital.
The second UNHCR worker was named as Ali Basma, who had worked in the agency’s Tyre office for seven years.
The Lebanese Ministry Of Health said the number killed in Monday and Tuesday’s airstrikes included children and many women and had now risen to nearly 600.
UNHCR said in a statement: “The protection of civilians is a must.
“We reiterate the UN secretary-general’s call for urgent de-escalation and calls on all parties to protect civilians, including aid workers in line with obligations under international humanitarian law.”
We’ve been witnessing multiple airstrikes in the south throughout the day and evening with the constant sounds of blasts and ambulance sirens going off.
The head of Tyre’s emergency response, Hassan Dbouk, told us: “Half of the IDPs (displaced people), they slept in the garden, on the beach, without any tent, any cover, any blanket, in the streets and in their cars, that’s a disaster.
“And when you see the eyes of the babies and the women, it’s really a disaster.”
As desperate people turned up at the disaster response centre in Tyre, one man told us his was the only house still standing in his village.
“They hit them all,” Abu Ali said.
Emergency workers have been trying to cope with the huge numbers of people needing help in Lebanon
The Israeli forces say they are targeting Hezbollah weapons stores, fighters and commanders and said the militant group is hiding in residential areas and using Lebanese people as human shields.
But Abu Ali insisted: “That’s not true. Not a single target (in our village) was on a military position.
“They’re only hitting civilians. We don’t have military operations in our village.”
The astonishing movement of tens of thousands of the Lebanese population from the south and along the border comes on the back of nearly a year of Israel saying it wants to create a buffer zone so Hezbollah cannot fire into its northern communities.
Even if the continuous Israeli bombardment of the south and the border is not a deliberate tactic to ensure this happens, that certainly appears to be the growing result.
But despite a range of Israeli attacks on its military command and supporters through the booby-trapped pagers and radios; despite its targeting of key Hezbollah commanders; and despite its aerial bombardment of multiple population centres and significant Hezbollah strongholds, the militant group shows no signs of backing down.
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Roads out of southern Lebanon have been heavily congested as people flee their communities
Instead, the militants are using more of their powerful weapons.
Last night, for the first time, the group used a ballistic missile aimed at the suburbs of Tel Aviv, they say targeting a Mossad building, and in the last few days they have continuously fired their long-range Fadi rockets, which they have been launching deeper and deeper into Israeli territory.
The Iran-allied group, which the UK and US have designated as a terror group, has linked its attacks on Israel since last October to a Gaza ceasefire – and insists it will continue until there is one.
That’s ensured its hero status among its many loyalists and its Hamas allies.
But with a Gaza ceasefire unlikely soon, and with the Israeli forces vowing to increase their onslaught on the militants, Lebanon looks set for a very rough period ahead.
The Sky News team reporting with Alex Crawford from south Lebanon is camera Jake Britton, specialist producer Chris Cunningham and Lebanon producers Jihad Jneid and Sami Zein.
World
Arrest warrants issued for Israeli PM Netanyahu and former defence secretary Gallant and senior Hamas commander over alleged war crimes
Arrest warrants have been issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defence secretary Yoav Gallant and a senior Hamas commander by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The warrants against the senior Israeli figures are for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza that Israel launched following the 7 October attacks by Hamas.
The prime minister’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.
Another warrant was issued for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Al Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, was the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks. It is unclear if he is still alive, following an airstrike that Israel claimed killed him earlier this year.
Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden described the warrants against Israeli leaders as “outrageous”, adding “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas”.
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.
The court originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and today announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.
The new UK Labour government said in the summer it would not oppose the ICC’s right to issue the warrants.
Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the UN general assembly. Pic: Reuters
Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant
In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.
These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
Netanyahu previously spoke of his “disgust” at the suggestion the ICC would seek an arrest warrant for him.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the ICC’s decision sent a “terrible message”.
“The court has minimised how Hamas fights – deliberately from within civilian infrastructure and cruelly using Palestinian civilians as human shields, tragically leading to many casualties,” the board said.
“Democratic governments, and people around the world, should consider how they would have responded to an October 7th perpetrated against their country, involving mass murder, rape, and hostage-taking.
“We should all be focused on defeating the Hamas terrorists, liberating the hostages, ensuring that civilians in Gaza receive all necessary aid and working towards a sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians to prevent these horrible conflicts in the future.
“The decision of the ICC is counter-productive in all these respects.”
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A video released by Hamas in 2005 shows a man identified as Mohammed Deif. Pic: AP
Warrant for Hamas leader
The ICC also said it has issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Al Masri, saying it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that he is responsible for crimes against humanity including murder, extermination, torture, rape, as well as war crimes including taking hostages.
Discussing the 7 October attacks, the court said: “In light of the coordinated killings of members of civilians at several separate locations, the Chamber also found that the conduct took place as part of a mass killing of members of the civilian population, and it therefore concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of extermination was committed.”
In its statement, the ICC said the prosecution was not in a position to determine whether Al Masri is dead or alive, so was issuing the arrest warrant.
The court previously said it was seeking an arrest warrant for Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas who was subsequently killed in July.
The home secretary has refused to say if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he landed on British soil after an international arrest warrant was issued for him.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence secretary Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.
But Yvette Cooper said the ICC, which the UK is a member of, is independent and while the government respects that, it “wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment” on the processes involved.
She told Sky News: “We’ve always respected the importance of international law, but in the majority of the cases that they pursue, they don’t become part of the British legal process.
“What I can say is that obviously, the UK government’s position remains that we believe the focus should be on getting a ceasefire in Gaza.”
However, Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee in parliament, told Sky News: “If Netanyahu comes to Britain, our obligation under the Rome Convention would be to arrest him under the warrant from the ICC.
“Not really a question of should, we are required to because we are members of the ICC.”
The government said after winning July’s election it would not oppose the ICC’s right to issue the warrants.
An ICC arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri, the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks in Israel, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel claims Al Masri was killed earlier this year but the ICC said that has not been confirmed, so it was issuing the arrest warrant.
Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant (right) have arrest warrants against them. File pic: Reuters
Netanyahu’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.
Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden described the warrants against Israeli leaders as “outrageous”, adding: “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas.”
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the ICC’s decision sent a “terrible message”.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he would invite Netanyahu to visit Hungary and he would guarantee the arrest warrant would “not be observed”.
However, both France and Italy signalled they would arrest Netanyahu if he came to their countries.
Read more:
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Why have arrest warrants been issued?
The ICC originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and on Thursday announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.
In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.
These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
It is the first time a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.
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