Israel-Gaza-Lebanon updates: Officials say 87 killed in Israeli strikes on Beit Lahia

Hezbollah in Lebanon launches rocket attacks on Israel, IDF says.

Last Updated: October 20, 2024, 3:20 PM EDT

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, was killed this week in a firefight with Israeli forces, officials said.

The development comes as Israel continues intense air and ground campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The uptick in offensive operations came as Israeli leaders planned their response to Iran's latest ballistic missile attack.

Oct 15, 2024, 4:41 PM EDT

UK issues sanctions in response to continued violence in the West Bank

The United Kingdom announced sanctions against Israeli settler outposts and four organizations in response to "continued violence by extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank," Tuesday, according to a release from the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The sanctions target outposts and organizations "that have supported, incited and promoted violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank," the U.K. said in a statement.

"When I went to the West Bank earlier this year, on one of my first trips as Foreign Secretary, I met with Palestinians whose communities have suffered horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers. The inaction of the Israeli government has allowed an environment of impunity to flourish where settler violence has been allowed to increase unchecked. Settlers have shockingly even targeted schools and families with young children," U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.

"Today’s measures will help bring accountability to those who have supported and perpetrated such heinous abuses of human rights. The Israeli government must crack down on settler violence and stop settler expansion on Palestinian land. As long as violent extremists remain unaccountable, the UK and the international community will continue to act," Lammy said.

Oct 15, 2024, 4:06 PM EDT

Gazan soccer player killed alongside 9 family members

Emad Abu Tai'ma, a 20-year-old Gazan soccer player, was killed alongside nine members of his family, after a strike hit a house in Bani Sahalia where the family was sheltering early Tuesday morning, according to local health officials.

It took rescuers over two hours to free Abu Tai'ma's body from the rubble, a Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson told ABC News.

Emad Abu Tai'ma, a 20-year-old soccer player for Khan Yunis-Tokyo Union, a fourth division team, died when a strike hit a house in Bani Sahalia early Tuesday. He and nine members of his family died in the airstrike.
Palestinian Football Association

Abu Tai'ma was a soccer player for the Khan Yunis-Tokyo Union for about a year before he was killed, his friend, 19-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Muzain, told ABC News.

"We studied together in one of the Bani Suhaila schools east of Khan Younis. Imad was a smart student, and he was a famous player even in school. I have not seen him for eight months due to the repeated and continuous displacement. I feel very sad for his loss. He was displaced in a house belonging to the Baraka family, and he is a civilian," Al-Muzain said.

The Palestinian Football Association confirmed Emad's death and reflected on his soccer career playing for Ittihad Khan Yunis Club and the Palestinian national soccer team.

"With the passing of Abu Taima, the number of martyrs of the Palestinian sports and scouting movement, as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 7, has risen to 455 martyrs, including 314 in football (87 children, 227 young men), in addition to 90 martyrs from the Olympic sports federations, and 50 martyrs from the scouting movement. The occupation forces also destroyed 57 sports facilities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," the association said in a statement.

-ABC News' Dia Ostaaz

Oct 15, 2024, 3:26 PM EDT

At least 29 killed in northern Israel amid fighting with Hezbollah

At least 29 civilians were killed in northern Israel amid fighting with Hezbollah, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.

Twenty-nine Israeli soldiers were also killed in the north, according to the prime minister's office.

The mother of Israeli soldier Sergeant Yoav Agmon, who was killed in a drone attack from Lebanon is comforted as she mourns during his funeral, in Binyamina-Givat Ada, Israel, Oct. 15, 2024.
Itay Cohen/Reuters

Oct 15, 2024, 3:12 PM EDT

Attacks on hospitals, health workers jeopardize health care in Lebanon, WHO warns

Nearly half of the health care centers and dispensaries in conflict-affected areas in Lebanon are now closed, jeopardizing access to health care, according to the World Health Organization

"Increasing conflict, intense bombardment and insecurity are forcing a growing number of health facilities to shut down, particularly in the south," the WHO said in a statement Tuesday. "Hospitals have had to close or evacuate due to structural damage or their proximity to areas of intense bombardment."

The World Health Organization said it has verified 23 attacks on health care in Lebanon, killing 72 and injuring 43 health workers and patients since the escalation of hostilities on Sept. 17.

Fifteen incidents impacted health facilities and 14 impacted health transport, according to WHO.

"Hospitals in Lebanon are already under massive strain as they strive to sustain essential health services while dealing with an unprecedented influx of injured people. Understaffed and under-resourced, the health system has been struggling to maintain uninterrupted services to all those in need with supplies being depleted and health workers exhausted," WHO said.

-ABC News' Guy Davies

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