Sky News correspondents report from the site of strikes inside Israel and Lebanon
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Iran’s attack on Israel
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Inside Hezbollah controlled area
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.
Black-clad members of Hezbollah’s security team
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.
The remains of what was allegedly the offices of a religious television station called Al Sirat
A Hezbollah-affiliated reporter holds a mangled-looking camera lens
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.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
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.”
Acrid smoke – and the smell of high explosive – bellowed from the ruins of several apartment blocks
“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.
Read more:
Where Iranian missiles struck Israel, what it means
Iran cannot match Israel’s level of defence
Sky team directly under flight path of Iran’s missile barrage
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.
Several men mounted a concrete pile to give voice to the anger within
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
UN’s Antonio Guterres condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes
The head of the UN has said Israel has only authorised for Gaza what amounts to a “teaspoon” of aid after at least 60 people died in overnight airstrikes.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Friday the supplies approved so far “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,” adding “the needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering”.
He warned that more people will die unless there is “rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access”.
A woman at the site of an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Gaza: ‘Loads of children with huge burns’
Israel says around 300 aid trucks have been allowed through since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Monday, but according to Mr Guterres, only about a third have been transported to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity.
The IDF said 107 vehicles carrying flour, food, medical equipment and drugs were allowed through on Thursday.
Many of Gaza’s two million residents are at high risk of famine, experts have warned.
Meanwhile, at least 60 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight.
Ten people died in the southern city of Khan Younis, and deaths were also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.
A body is carried out of rubble after an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Almost everyone depends on aid’ in Gaza
The latest strikes came a day after two Israeli embassy workers were killed in Washington.
The suspect, named as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, told police he “did it for Gaza”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of fuelling antisemitism following the shootings.
The leaders of the UK, France and Canada are “on the wrong side of humanity and (…) history”, he said, after they threatened “concrete action” against Israel this week if it continues its “egregious” military operations in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu also accused Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.
Palestinians search for casualties in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
But UK government minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Friday morning he “doesn’t recognise” Mr Netanyahu’s accusation.
Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu said he was recalling negotiators from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Read more on Sky News:
Shooting suspect ‘fired repeatedly’
Huge fire declared major incident
Has there been a rise in NHS appointments?
The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
A woman has been arrested after 12 people were reportedly injured in a stabbing at Hamburg’s central train station in Germany.
An attacker armed with a knife targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14, according to police.
They added that the suspect was a 39-year-old woman.
Police at the scene. Pic: AP
Officers said they “believe she acted alone” and investigations into the stabbing are continuing.
There was no immediate information on a possible motive.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
The attack happened shortly after 6pm local time (5pm UK time) on Friday in front of a waiting train, regional public broadcaster NDR reported.
A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the incident.
Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by what had happened.
Read more from Sky News:
Trump threatens EU with 50% tariff
Mum of emaciated Gazan baby: ‘I don’t want to lose her’
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Four tracks at the station were closed in the evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted.
Hamburg is Germany‘s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.
“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.
Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing
Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.
But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.
Israel-Gaza latest: Gaza enduring ‘atrocious death and destruction’, UN boss warns
“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.
“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”
Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.
Baby Aya at Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza is dangerously thin
“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.
At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.
Jall al Barawi, a doctor at Rantisi hospital
Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.
The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Children are the worst affected.
Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.
Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Aya’s nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Lethal spiral
Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.
Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.
It’s a lethal spiral.
This is what Aya looked like shortly after she was born
“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.
“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”
“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.
“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”
Read more:
British doctor in Gaza describes horror
Shouts of ‘genocide’ in Commons
Aya and her mother Sundush
Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.
The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.
Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway