Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot in Beirut, after rejecting any “unilateral” cease-fire plan. Meanwhile, the regional conflict is expected to top the agenda at first EU-Gulf summit.

Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs for first time in five days Brussels is hosting talks amid escalating Israeli attacks in Lebanon An Israeli strike reportedly killed the mayor of the town of Nabatiyeh

Here are the latest developments on the Israel-Lebanon escalation, Gaza and the wider Middle East region on Wednesday, October 16:

UK ‘looking’ at sanctioning two far-right Israeli ministers

The UK is considering sanctioning two Israeliministers over comments they made about civilians in Gaza, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both considered part of Israel’s far-right, voiced their support for blocking aid from entering the Gaza Strip, as well as backing the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the enclave and in the occupied West Bank.

Asked during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday whether he would sanction the two men, Starmer said: “We are looking at that.”

Former UK Foreign SecretaryDavid Cameron revealed on Tuesday that the previous Conservative government had been working on sanctions against the two politicians, whom he called “extreme.”

Current Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced that the UK, France and Algeria had called an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council following UN reports that “barely any food has entered” northern Gaza in the past two weeks.

Israel allows 50 aid trucks into northern Gaza after US criticism

Israel says it has allowed 50 trucks carrying humanitarian aid into northern Gaza, after the US warned it to boost aid efforts or risk losing military support.

According to COGAT, the Israeli military body supervising civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, the aid included food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment. The aid was provided by Jordan.

This comes after the US administration criticized Israel for not letting enough humanitarian aid enter the northern part of the enclave amid its military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

COGAT said the delivery was made at the direction of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the “political echelon.”

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, warned Wednesday that a famine or acute malnutrition in Gaza “is unfortunately again a likelihood.”

Germany’s Scholz pledges to keep supplying arms to Israel

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised to continue supporting Israel with arms deliveries.

In the past eight weeks, the German government has approved military equipment and munitions exports to Israel worth around €31 million ($33.7 million) — more than twice as much as during the entire rest of the year, the German news agency DPA reported.

“There are deliveries and there will always be further deliveries. Israel can rely on that,” Scholz said in remarks to Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag.

Germany must keep Israel “in a position to defend its country,” Scholz emphasized. “Israel can rely on our solidarity — now and in the future,” he added.

The chancellor’s comments came after conservative opposition lawmakers accused the government of failing to provide enough support and of delaying approvals for weapons shipments to Israel.

Scholz also said in his speech that there was still a need for humanitarian aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip and called for the rules of international law to be observed in the conflict in the Middle East.

The German chancellor contended that hope for a two-state solution in which Israel would grant Palestinians their own country is also needed.

Lebanon denounces airstrike at Nabatiyeh municipal meeting

Officials in Lebanon said the Israeli airstrike on Nabatiyeh targeted a municipal building where a meeting coordinating relief efforts was taking place. The mayor of the city is said to have been killed by the strike.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati accused Israel of “deliberately targeting” the meeting.

Mikati “condemned the new Israeli aggression against civilians in the city of Nabatiyeh, which deliberately targeted a meeting of the municipal council that was discussing the city’s services and relief situation,” he said in a statement.

Mikati accused the international community of being “silent” about Israeli strikes that have killed civilians and attacks on peacekeepers. “What solution can be hoped for in light of this reality?” he added.

Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said in a separate statement that a civil defense member was among those killed during the meeting held to coordinate relief work and aid distribution for people who have remained in southern Lebanon.

UNRWA says it’s close to ‘breaking point’ in Gaza

The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said in a news conference in Berlin that it is close to a possible breaking point for its operations in the Gaza Strip.

The organization cited increasingly complicated conditions for carrying out its work.

“I will not hide the fact that we might reach a point that we won’t be able anymore to operate,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said.

“We are very near to a possible breaking point. When will it be? I don’t know. But we are very near [to] that,” he added.

Lazzarini also called for more access for international media organizations to Gaza to report on the situation on the ground, saying that “most of the information that we are receiving is either by … local journalists or by organizations operating in Gaza.”

Israeli strike kills mayor of Nabatiyeh

Five people were killed in Israeli strikes on the southern Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. Sources told Reuters and AFP news agencies that the town’s mayor was among those killed.

“The Israeli enemy raid … on two buildings, that of the Nabatieh municipality and the union of municipalities, killed five people in a preliminary toll,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that rescuers were searching for survivors under the rubble.

Israel’s army also struck surrounding areas, including Zebdine and Kfar Tebnit.

The mayor of Nabatiyeh is believed to be among those killed.

“The mayor of Nabatieh, among others … was martyred. It’s a massacre,” Nabatiyeh municipal governor Howaida Turk told AFP, adding the mayor had been in the building at the time of the strike.

Israel commented on the strike by saying it had struck dozens of targets in the Nabatiyeh area and dismantled underground infrastructure.

Iran says fully prepared for ‘decisive response’ if Israel strikes

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to do something to stop “crimes and invasions” and to provide humanitarian aid to Lebanon and Gaza.

Araghchi also said that “Iran, while making all-out efforts to protect the peace and security of the region, is fully prepared for a decisive and regretful response to any adventures” by Israel.

“Responsibility of consequences of spreading insecurity in the region will be on the regime and the United States as [the] main supporter,” of Israel, he added.

Iran is Hezbollah’s main backer in the region and the country also supports Israel’s foe to the south, Palestinian Hamas.

Over the past week, the Iranian foreign minister has visited Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and Oman in an effort to ease tensions.

Israel strikes southern Beirut

An Israeli strike hit southern Beirut on Wednesday, media sources reported. Israel’s army said its jets hit a Hezbollah underground strategic weapons storage depot.

It was the first strike on the Lebanese capital in five days.

It comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea of a cease-fire in Lebanon.

Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that he was “opposed to a unilateral cease-fire, which does not change the security situation in Lebanon, and which will only return it to the way it was,” according to a statement from his office.

The strike occurred less than an hour after the Israeli military ordered residents to leave part of the city. Black smoke billowed from between buildings in Haret Hreik.

Earlier, the Israeli military urged residents to evacuate a specific building in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The military gave the warning in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that it was set to hit Hezbollah targets there.

Israel has been criticized for its evacuation warnings, with Amnesty International calling them “inadequate,” “misleading” and “issued at short notice.”

Middle East conflict tops agenda at first EU-Gulf summit

Seeking ways to avoid a “general conflagration” in the Middle East will be at the top of the agenda when European Union and Gulf leaders attend a summit in Brussels, according to European officials.

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be in attendance on Wednesday along with heads of state and government from six Gulf countries.

Israel’s conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, and the risk of a broader regional war, are expected to be “the main topic” at the summit, EU officials said.

“One of the objectives is to avoid a general conflagration,” the news agency AFP reported one official as saying. “Both sides are worried about this.”

The EU is seeking closer ties with nations from the Gulf Cooperation Council, which brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل جديد إلى سكان الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا المتواجدين في المبنى المحدد في الخارطة والواقع في حارة حريك

🔴أنتم متواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على مدى الزمني القريب
🔴من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء عائلتكم عليكم اخلاء هذا… pic.twitter.com/cigjAse6iL

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 16, 2024

By Laila Bassam and Humeyra Pamuk

BEIRUT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Israel launched an airstrike on Wednesday on the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh, a major town in south Lebanon, killing the mayor and at least five others.

The attack raised fears that Israel’s expanding air campaign, designed to crush Iran-backed Hezbollah, could increasingly include public officials and buildings, which so far have been spared.

Debris lies at a damaged site in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmad Al-Kerdi
© Thomson Reuters

Lebanon’s Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack on the provincial capital, saying it “intentionally targeted a meeting of the municipal council to discuss the city’s service and relief situation.”

It was the most significant Israeli hit yet on a Lebanese state building since it launched its offensive two weeks ago and came despite U.S. concerns about rising death tolls and fears of all-out war in the region.

Rubble lies at a damaged site in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmad Al-Kerdi
© Thomson Reuters

The health ministry said six people had been killed, with the interior minister confirming the death of the mayor.

After Israel first issued an evacuation notice for Nabatieh, a city of tens of thousands of people, on Oct. 3, a Reuters reporter called Mayor Ahmed Kahil to ask if he would leave. He said he would not.

Israel’s military said on Wednesday it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in the Nabatieh area and dismantled underground infrastructure, while its navy also hit dozens of targets in southern Lebanon, in cooperation with troops on the ground.

Israel is now battling Tehran’s allies Hezbollah in south Lebanon and in the capital Beirut and the Palestinian militants Hamas in Gaza. It is also preparing to retaliate for an Iranian missile attack on Oct. 1, following a similar large-scale operation in April.

Rubble lies at a damaged site in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmad Al-Kerdi
© Thomson Reuters

Options include an attack on the Islamic Republic’s oil facilities, a move that would hammer Iran’s economy and raise global oil prices, or its nuclear facilities.

Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
© Thomson Reuters

LOW PROBABILITY OF ATTACK ON NUCLEAR SITES

The probability of an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites remains low but any potential damage would be “quickly compensated,” state atomic energy agency spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Wednesday, according to semi-official Nournews.

“We have always taken these threats seriously. We have planned in a way that if they commit any stupidity, the damages would be minimal,” Kamalvandi said.

Earlier on Wednesday, at least one Israeli airstrike hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, Reuters witnesses said.

Reuters witnesses heard two blasts and saw plumes of smoke emerging from two separate neighbourhoods. It came after Israel issued an evacuation order early on Wednesday, which mentioned only one building.

On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the U.S. had expressed its concerns to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration on the recent attacks on Beirut.

The last time Beirut was hit was on Oct. 10, when two strikes near the city centre killed 22 people and brought down entire buildings in a densely populated neighbourhood.

The Israeli military has in recent weeks carried out strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, the stronghold of Hezbollah, without advance warnings, or with a warning for one area while striking more broadly.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had targeted an underground Hezbollah weapons stockpile in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh.

“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including advancing warnings to the population in the area,” the Israeli military said.

Hezbollah has not yet commented.

NO SIGNS OF CEASEFIRE

Some Western countries have been pushing for a ceasefire between the two neighbours, as well as in Gaza, though the United States says it continues to support Israel and was sending an anti-missile system and troops.

Natanyahu and his far-right government has rejected ceasefire calls and has vowed to crush Hamas and Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s Mikati on Wednesday also appeared to cast doubt on diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire.

“What can deter the enemy (Israel) from its crimes, which have reached the point of targeting peacekeeping forces in the south? And what solution is hoped for in light of this reality?,” he said in a written statement.

Since Israel began its ground incursion, UNIFIL positions have come under fire and two Israeli tanks burst through the gates of one of its bases, the U.N. says. Five peacekeepers have been injured.

European Union countries that contribute have no intention of pulling back despite Israeli calls to do so, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said.

Sixteen EU countries, including Austria, contribute to UNIFIL and the recent incidents have sparked widespread alarm among European governments.

Israel says it intends to push back Hezbollah and allow the safe return of tens of thousands of Israelis to their homes in northern Israel.

Israeli operations in Lebanon have killed at least 2,350 people over the last year and left nearly 11,000 wounded, according to the health ministry, and more than 1.2 million people have been displaced. The U.N. says a quarter of the country is under evacuation orders.

The toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but includes hundreds of women and children.

Around 50 Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in the same period, according to Israel.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Timour Azhar in Beirut, Humeyra Pamuk in Washington and Andrew Gray in Brussels; Writing by Lincoln Feast and Michael Georgy; Editing by Stephen Coates, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Sharon Singleton)

North Korea has said that its troops stationed at the border with South Korea are combat-ready after tensions between the two neighbors escalated.

Ekwutosblog gathered that Pyongyang accused Seoul of recently flying drones over its airspace, dropping leaflets denouncing the propaganda regime in the North. South Korea has not commented on its neighbor’s claims.

In a statement, North Korea’s Ministry of Defense ordered its border troops to be ready to “open fire.”

This announcement comes as North Korea has blown up the routes connecting the two countries. South Korea’s Ministry of Unification deemed the action “abnormal” and said it violated bilateral agreements aimed at reducing tensions between the two nations.

Last week, Pyongyang said that it would block all roads and railways connecting the two countries following South Korea’s joint military exercises with the United States.

Kim Jong Un also revealed plans to amend the constitution to formally designate South Korea as a sworn enemy.