Sky News correspondents report from the site of strikes inside Israel and Lebanon

Published

11 months ago

October 3, 2024

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Iran launched nearly 200 missiles on Israel on Tuesday night in what it said was in retaliation to strikes by the Israeli military against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Sky News correspondents are reporting from both sides on the conflict. On Wednesday, Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall visited a school in the town of Gedera, just south of Tel Aviv, which took a direct hit from at least one Iranian ballistic missile.

Meanwhile, international correspondent John Sparks was taken to several bomb sites in the district of Dahieh in Beirut, Lebanon, an area that has been pounded by the Israelis over the past 10 days.

Middle East latest: Eight IDF soldiers killed in Lebanon fighting

This is what they saw.

A school yard covered with broken glass and piles of rubble – Alistair Bunkall

When we visited an Israeli school in the town of Gedera, on Wednesday morning, a large crater caused by at least one of the Iranian ballistic missiles the previous night had already been filled in.

But windows were shattered and classroom walls had been blown out by the blast. The school yard was covered with broken glass and piles of rubble.

People were at the site cleaning up, and the headmistress inspected the damage to her school.

The school is surrounded by apartment blocks, and on the outskirts of the town is an Israeli air base.

People we spoke to thanked God for protecting them.

Israel‘s sophisticated alert and missile defence systems ultimately kept casualties low – only one person was killed, a Palestinian in the West Bank, and three Israelis lightly injured.

Videos on social media suggest a nearby air base took a direct hit. The Israeli military has hinted at damage but said its bases are still operational. It could be that the Iranian missiles had been aimed at that air base but missed and hit the school instead.

No one was on campus when the attack took place, which meant there were no casualties.

In April, when Iran first attacked, many of the missiles were said to be dummies, Tehran gave regional countries forewarning of the attack and they launched slow flying drones in a first wave, allowing Israel’s allies to prepare.

Last night, there was little warning and Iran only fired ballistic missiles – they have a travelling time of only 12 minutes and carry a large payload.

Israel has vowed to respond, and few doubt they will.

The US, which has had little influence on Israel over the past year, will be urging a calm and calibrated response, but Benjamin Netanyahu sees a chance to change the balance of power in the Middle East and might be tempted to go big.

Israel’s enemies though, are also fighting for their very survival.

Everyone is bracing for the next escalation.

Acrid smoke bellowed from the ruins – John Sparks

In a fast-expanding war of many separate fronts, the district of Dahieh in the city of Beirut, looks and feels extreme.

We were brought here by the black-clad members of Hezbollah’s security team and we watched them move in and out of our convoy on their mopeds.

It was a rare opportunity to see one of the most densely populated parts of the city – an area that has been pounded by the Israelis over the past 10 days.

A pile of rubble awaited us on our first stop, the remains of the offices of a religious television station called Al Sirat we were told.

The mound had been decorated with flags and portraits of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s former secretary-general, who was assassinated in a bunker by the Israelis 10 days ago.

But the true purpose of our visit soon became clear. This spot, like two other bomb sites we were taken to, were ordinary civilian neighbourhoods said our minders, not the weapon stores – or factories – that Israel claims.

A Hezbollah-affiliated reporter, holding a mangled-looking camera lens, came over to make the point.

“Look, this has got nothing to do with politics. The Israelis said there was a weapons pile here but look around you. This is the remnants of a television camera,” said Hosein Mortada, pointing at the lump of metal in his hand.

Israel says its operations are “targeted and precise”, but no one believes that here. Equally unusual was an opportunity to speak to local residents in Dahieh.

“I live in an area nearby, where they don’t have members of Hezbollah but they’ve still destroyed it,” said a man on a moped called Ahmed.

“Every day, they put out threats that they are going to bomb this and that – calling them ‘bases for Hezbollah’. We return after the bombing and we don’t find a single bullet from Hezbollah.”

“Are people still living there?” I asked.

“Of course they do,” he replied, adding: “Just look around you, where are we going to go?”

I understood the point Ahmed was making – Dahieh and surrounds are inhabited by some of the poorest in the city. The decision by residents to leave their homes would – for many – result in homelessness.

The decision then between a mat on the seafront – or the anxiety of remaining at home.

The last site we were taken to was great smouldering ruin that had been hit by multiple airstrikes some 12 hours before.

Acrid smoke – and the smell of high explosive – bellowed from the ruins of several apartment blocks.

Again, we were told that it was a peaceful neighbourhood, not a Hezbollah weapons store, and several men mounted a concrete pile to give voice to the anger within.

“I stand with you Hassan Nasrallah,” they shouted, until members of the security team ordered them to desist.

Within minutes we were ordered to leave, the security team telling us to go, “for our own safety”. Our window had closed, Dahieh was off-limits again and its people rushing for the shadows.

World

‘The drones are always there… like a punishment’: A diary of daily life in Gaza

Published

8 hours ago

August 31, 2025

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'The drones are always there... like a punishment': A diary of daily life in Gaza

“We call drones our loyal friends, because they never leave us.”

Tasneem hears Israeli drones overhead, a constant fact of life in Gaza. It gets into your head, into your chest, she says.

“You can’t think, you can’t sleep. You can’t even be.”

“It’s always there, hanging above our heads, like some kind of punishment,” she says. In the background, the slow, constant buzz of a drone is audible.

“The people here in Gaza know that when the drone gets very low, at this level, something will happen. We all know what that something is… I don’t want to mention it.”

Tasneem al Iwini is 24. Like her peers across the world, she splits her time between work, studying for a master’s degree and spending time with her family of six.

Except she also has to deal with warplanes screaming overhead, rocketing food prices and the possibility that any day could be the last for her or her loved ones as Israel continues its war in Gaza.

To give a sense of what day-to-day life is like for her in Deir al Balah, Tasneem recorded a series of audio diary entries over the course of a week as part of her work with ActionAid and shared them exclusively with Sky News.

Day One: At least I’m still breathing

It’s incredibly hot today, Tasneem says. The kind of heat that makes your skin heavy and your thoughts slower.

I had so many things to do on my plate today, but honestly, I couldn’t move.

There’s no electricity and no fans, no air conditioner. So here I am just laying on my mattress and sweating.

My only relief is my plastic tray. I’m just using it as my personal fan…

I keep waving it back and forth, not to cool the room, but just to trick my brain into thinking I have control over this heat.

Sometimes I close my eyes and imagine I’m somewhere cold, as I actually prefer winter.

But then I hear the buzz of flies and mosquitoes in my ear and I remember this is Gaza, summer 2025. It’s exhausting, but at least I’m still breathing.

Day Two: Rocketing price of food

It’s Friday, which is a special day for us as it is the day we usually wait to cook something special. Today we are cooking maqluba (a traditional dish consisting of meat, rice and fried vegetables).

We haven’t tasted any kind of real protein like meat, chicken or fish for more than three months. I really miss chicken and fish badly.

But even this fake maqluba costs a lot, so many families can’t afford it… vegetables are very expensive.

Before the war we used to cook maqluba with at least four kilos of eggplants, because we are crazy about eggplants and its taste in maqluba . Now, if we manage to cook it with only two eggplants, that’s considered a luxury.

The price of one kilo of eggplant is more than 45 shekels. That’s approximately $12.50. Talking about tomatoes, the price is more than 90 shekels, which is approximately $27 per kilo.

Day Three: The drone reality

Here we go again. Our dear friend, the drone, Tasneem says as a buzzing noise hums in the background.

It just never leaves. It’s always there hanging above our heads like some kind of punishment.

The sound, I don’t even know how to describe it.

It’s not just noise. It gets into your head, into your chest. You can’t think, you can’t sleep, you can’t even be.

It drains something inside you slowly, and yet we live with it every day.

Later on:

Hi again. I’m just recording the gunfire. We are not sure what is happening outside, actually.

I can say that this is almost an every afternoon routine.

Day Four: A message to the world

Today I came across a small community kitchen, one of the very few still functioning.

Because of the current situation, especially the scarcity of food and the near-total blockade on the humanitarian aid, most of these kitchens have shut down…

Tasneem says that just after she left the office, the community kitchen was hit in an Israeli strike.

Three youths were killed, and many children were injured.

Those children were playing around and nearby the kitchen…

This time I went to send a message to the world, with a heavy heart burdened by the challenges and the impossible conditions we live under.

I still hold on to hope that this war will end… Because honestly, here in Gaza, we have lost trust in the world, governments and every actor.

Day Five: How many children must die?

Good evening, dear friends. I don’t really know what to say. I feel like my heart is just a drain.

Yesterday I promised to take you through the rest of my day, but honestly, I came home feeling exhausted…

I bought just two cucumbers, and that cost me $8. Yes, $8 for two cucumbers.

This is what it means to say that even the basics have become impossible to get in Gaza.

I came home, washed the cucumbers and cut them into small pieces so all of us could taste what it feels like to eat cucumber.

Tomatoes are even worse. They are completely unaffordable in the market.

And every time I think about the situation we are living through here in Gaza, I feel like I’m out of patience. I just can’t take more.

How many of us have to die before the world decides to intervene? And how many children must die, not from bombing or shelling, but from starvation and malnutrition?

Today, the telecommunications company in Gaza announced that in the next 24 hours it is expected that internet services will shut down again because of the fuel shortage and because of the occupation, who continue to block fuel from entering the Strip.

And this does not mean losing the internet only. It means patients in the ICUs will lose connection to life. It means ambulances, fridges for medications and blood, even water pumps for both drinking and domestic use will stop working.

I was planning today to come home and study for my final exams, but I just sat there for a moment thinking about our reality.

And I couldn’t, I couldn’t do anything. So instead, I decided to record this for you. This is what Gaza looks like right now.

Day Seven: The cemetery is full… and the horror of jets overhead

There are many types of weapons being used… and here in Gaza, we the people have learned to genuinely distinguish between them.

We know each sound by heart.

For example, we know the sound of the F-16 (fighter jet) very well. We can even guess when it has a target.

It has a special tone, like it’s rushing towards something. There is a tension in the air, and we feel it in our bodies.

Whenever I hear one of them, I swear I feel like this is the last moment of my life. I cover my ears with both hands and run to stay nearby my family, because in this moment my heart tells me, if something happens, let it happen to all of us together.

I know that’s not how it works, but that’s how I cope. That’s the only way I feel some false sense of control…

Sometimes it feels like the pilot is showing off, flying lower over the heads of women, children and civilians, as if to say: “Look at me. I can do this.”

Every time the jets go low, I start praying, I do everything I can as if it is the end of my life.

In another voicenote from the same day, Tasneem talked about her walk to work.

I pass by the cemetery every day. Today, I saw a situation that truly broke my heart.

There was a group of angry people gathered around the person who is responsible for digging graves.

They were shouting, saying the cemetery is completely full, and now they have started opening all the graves without knowing who is buried there and without getting any consent from the families of the dead.

They are placing new dead bodies on the top of the old ones, whether they are men, women or children.

Most people were furious, and honestly, I was so disappointed and heartbroken when I saw this.

This is one of those things I wish I never had to witness, but I wanted to share it with you, because it says so much about how bad things have become.

‘Critical moment’ for Gaza

Tasneem works with the Palestinian NGOs Network in Gaza and has partnered with ActionAid in the UK.

A spokesperson for ActionAid UK said: “Humanitarian workers like Tasneem are risking their lives every day to support and advocate for their fellow Palestinians in Gaza, despite experiencing the same intolerable conditions that they are.

“Just imagine having to go to work when you haven’t had a proper meal in days, knowing that at any moment you could be killed by bombing: that is their daily reality. Yet still, people like Tasneem are bravely speaking out and telling their stories so that the world knows the truth about the horrors they are facing…

“This is a critical moment. It’s time for the world to take meaningful action and use every diplomatic lever available to bring about a permanent ceasefire and end the siege on Gaza immediately so that food and other aid can enter unhindered, rapidly and at scale.”

World

‘The drones are always there… like some sort of punishment’: Woman’s diary of daily life in Gaza

Published

17 hours ago

August 31, 2025

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