Israeli missile strikes hit Beirut area as 98 Gaza aid trucks ‘violently’ looted

An Israeli drone strike has hit a neighbourhood in central Beirut, a Lebanese security source says, the second day in a row that a target within the Lebanese capital has been struck as Israel presses its campaign against Hezbollah militants.

Smoke was seen rising from the location of the strike in the Zuqaq al-Blat area, a short distance from the central Beirut district where the Lebanese government is headquartered.

The Lebanese health ministry said at least four people were killed and 18 others were injured in the strike.

Since Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah in late September, the bulk of its air strikes in the Beirut area have targeted the group’s strongholds in the southern suburbs.

But on Sunday, Israel hit targets in the Beirut city limits for the first time in more than five weeks, killing 10 people in two separate strikes, including Hezbollah’s top media official.

Israel has dealt big blows to Hezbollah since late September, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with air strikes and sending troops into southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has kept up rocket fire into northern Israel, where sirens sounded again on Monday.

In Israel at least six people were wounded on Monday when a rocket struck a building in the northern Israeli Arab town of Shfaram, Israel’s ambulance service said.

One woman was still trapped in the building, it said.

The Israeli military said about five projectiles had been fired from Lebanon.

Nearly 100 trucks carrying food for Palestinians were violently looted on November 16 after entering the Gaza Strip, two United Nations agencies told Reuters on Monday.

The convoy transporting food provided by UN agencies UNRWA and the World Food Programme was instructed by Israel to depart at short notice via an unfamiliar route from Kerem Shalom border crossing, UNRWA senior emergency officer Louise Wateridge said.

Ninety-eight trucks of the 109-truck convoy were raided and some of the transporters were injured during the incident, she said, without detailing who carried out the ambush.

“This ... highlights the severity of access challenges of bringing aid into southern and central Gaza,” she told Reuters.

“⁠The urgency of the crisis cannot be overstated; without immediate intervention, severe food shortages are set to worsen, further endangering the lives of over two million people who depend on humanitarian aid to survive.”

A WFP spokesperson confirmed the looting and said that many routes in Gaza were currently unpassable due to security issues.

An Israeli official said Israel had been working to address the humanitarian situation since the start of the war, adding that the main problem with aid deliveries was UN distribution challenges.