American tourist who went missing in Hungary killed, murder suspect arrested: Police
Budapest Metropolitan Police
(BUDAPEST, Hungary) — A 31-year-old American tourist in Hungary who had been missing for several days was killed, and a suspect has been arrested for her murder, authorities said Friday.
Mackenzie “Kenzie” Michalski, a nurse practitioner, was last heard from early Tuesday while visiting Budapest, according to her friends, who spread the word about her disappearance.
The American went missing while at a nightclub on Tuesday, according to Budapest police. Amid the search for her, investigators identified a man she was seen with in several nightclubs, police said.
The suspect — a 37-year-old Irish citizen — was arrested and allegedly confessed to killing her, police said. He allegedly showed police where he had hidden her body, police said. The name of the suspect, who was a “a couple of years the victim’s senior,” according to investigators, was only identified as L.T.M.
Investigators provided more details about the murder during a news conference Saturday.
Michalski and the suspect met at a nightclub and spent the night together going to other venues, according to investigators. They then went to the suspect’s rented apartment and he allegedly killed here there, according to investigators.
The perpetrator then tried to cover up the murder; so he allegedly cleaned his apartment and hid the woman’s body in the wardrobe cabinet while he went out to buy a suitcase, according to the police.
He then allegedly put the victim’s body in the suitcase, rented a car and drove to Lake Balaton with the suitcase in the trunk, police said.
The suspect allegedly hid the victim in the woods, in an area outside Szigliget and then drove back to Budapest, investigators said.
The suspect allegedly made several suspicious internet searches including “Do pigs really eat dead bodies?”, “Texas woman killed by a wild boar,” according to investigators.
Michalski lived in Portland, Oregon, and was a native of Fredonia, New York, according to ABC Buffalo affiliate WKBW.
A friend told WKBW that she and Michalski had been traveling with a group of friends through Europe and had spent three days in Hungary before parting ways on Monday.
The friend, Gretchen Tower, told WKBW that Michalski was staying behind for one more night in Budapest before flying out on Tuesday.
When Michalski never checked out of the Airbnb they shared in Budapest, her friend said she began to worry. Michalski also missed her flight, according to her friends.
After not hearing from her, Tower told WKBW she called the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday to report Michalski missing.
The U.S. State Department said Friday it is aware of reports that Hungarian police have detained a suspect in connection with the disappearance of a U.S. citizen in Hungary. It said the U.S. Embassy is in contact with Hungarian police but has no further comment due to “privacy and other considerations.”
Michalski’s family and friends released a statement on Friday that said they are “deeply saddened to confirm a report published by Hungarian police announcing the death of our beloved Kenzie.”
“Kenzie will forever be remembered as a beautiful and compassionate young woman who dedicated herself to caring for others and making the world a better place,” the statement said. “As a nurse practitioner, Kenzie used her humor, positivity, and limitless empathy to help heal her patients and encourage family and friends alike.”
Her family and friends thanked the U.S. and Hungarian authorities for their “prompt attention, diligence, care, and consideration” as well as those who helped raise awareness about her disappearance.
“We are thankful that Kenzie’s soul is now at peace,” the statement said. “Her memory and legacy will endure in the hearts of all whom she’s touched. To understand Kenzie’s spirit is to wholeheartedly embrace the vast joy and wonder of life. Her wish for the world: fully embrace the present moment, be your authentic self, practice kindness, and always walk in the light.”
(LONDON) — The ancient streets of Georgia’s capital city were again choked with smoke on Sunday night, as a fourth consecutive night of anti-government protests descended into running street battles between pro-Western demonstrators and security forces.
Protesters in Tbilisi gathered behind makeshift barricades and launched fireworks toward lines of armored police, who sought to disperse the demonstrations with water cannons, tear gas and baton-wielding charges.
More than 200 people have been arrested during four nights of protests, the Georgian Interior Ministry said. Tbilisi has been the core of the unrest, but protests have also been reported in the Black Sea city of Batumi and elsewhere in the south Caucasus nation, which is bordered by Russia to the north and Turkey to the southwest.
The protests erupted after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze — of the Georgian Dream party founded by elusive billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia — announced last week that Tbilisi would suspend European Union membership talks for four years.
Kobakhidze accused the bloc of “blackmail and manipulation” over its criticism of Georgia’s recent parliamentary election. Georgian Dream claimed victory in the October contest, which was beset by allegations of electoral fraud and voter suppression.
EU membership ambitions were central to Georgian Dream’s election manifesto. The party framed a vote for the pro-Western opposition as a vote for renewed war with Russia, which in the 2008 Russo-Georgian war cemented its control of around 20% of Georgian territory in collaboration with local separatist allies.
Mass protests failed to materialize in the aftermath of the vote, despite the efforts of opposition leaders including President Salome Zourabichvili. But the government’s turn away from EU talks prompted significant anger among Georgians, a majority of whom support the goal of EU accession. The ambition to join the bloc is also enshrined in Georgia’s constitution.
Sunday night saw deepening violence, with security forces filmed beating protesters and detainees. More than 40 people have been hospitalized, according to Georgian authorities, with protesters and police among the injured.
Zourabichvili wrote on X on Monday that the “majority of the arrested protesters have injuries to their heads and faces, broken face bones, eye sockets, open wounds.”
Those detained “have been subjected to systematic beatings between arrest and transport to already overcrowded detention facilities,” the president added, citing information from lawyers representing the arrested.
Kobakhidze, meanwhile, said at a Sunday briefing that “any violation of the law will be met with the full rigor of the law.”
“Neither will those politicians who hide in their offices and sacrifice members of their violent groups to severe punishment escape responsibility,” Kobakhidze said.
The opposition has vowed to continue its protest campaign. Zourabichvili said she would not step down from the presidency when her term ends in December unless a new “legitimate” parliament is empowered to choose her successor.
Alexandre Crevaux-Asatiani, a spokesperson for the United National Movement opposition party, told ABC News during the weekend clashes that Ivanishvili — as the power behind the Georgian Dream party — “has been playing chess against the Georgian people for a long time.”
“It was just a question of time before he’d make a wrong move,” Crevaux-Asatiani said of Georgia’s richest man. “Looking at it as a self-inflicted wound would be assuming that his goal is to somehow maintain peace and stability in Georgia, which is not what he wants.”
Jonathan Eyal of the Royal United Services Institute think tank in the U.K., told ABC News that Georgia is at “a tipping point.”
The Georgian Dream government, Eyal said, could “crumble” if the demonstrators remain on the streets, “especially if their numbers grow, as they appear to have done over the weekend and if the president remains stuck in her position,” he added.
“The question, of course, is what happens then?” Eyal continued. “It’s more than just a fake election,” he said of the Georgian Dream’s retention of power. “It’s a state capture.”
“A lot will need to happen for the oligarchs to run away to Moscow,” Eyal said. “It’s really 50-50 at the moment.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists at a Monday briefing that government authorities “are taking measures to stabilize, return the situation to calm.”
Russia, he said, “has not interfered and does not intend to interfere” in events in Georgia.
Peskov described the protests as “an internal matter,” though added that the demonstrations are an “attempt to stir up the situation” reminiscent of the 2014 Maidan Revolution in Ukraine that unseated pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Dmitry Medvedev — formerly Russia’s president and prime minister, now serving as the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council — wrote on Telegram that Georgia was “moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, into the dark abyss.”
Medvedev framed the protests as an attempted “revolution,” which he predicted would end “very badly.”
Western leaders, meanwhile, have underscored concerns over the disputed October election results and the recent conduct of security forces.
The U.S. State Department condemned “the excessive use of force by police against Georgians” and announced it would suspend the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership due to “anti-democratic actions” by Georgian Dream.
“We reiterate our call to the Georgian government to return to its Euro-Atlantic path, transparently investigate all parliamentary election irregularities, and repeal anti-democratic laws that limit freedoms of assembly and expression,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
The EU’s new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the bloc stands “with the Georgian people and their choice for a European future.”
“We condemn the violence against protesters and regret signals from ruling party not to pursue Georgia’s path to EU and democratic backsliding of the country,” Kallas wrote in a post to X. “This will have direct consequences from EU side.”
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued intense air and ground campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The uptick in offensive operations came after Israel marked the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault, and as Israeli leaders planned their response to Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack.
54 killed, 258 wounded in Lebanon in past 24 hours
In the past 24 hours, 54 people have been killed and 258 have been wounded in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
The total number of casualties since Israel’s increased attacks on Lebanon in mid-September is now 2,309 people killed and 10,782 people injured, the ministry said.
A situational report from the Lebanese Prime Minister’s Office on Monday said 200 airstrikes and shellings were recorded in various parts of Lebanon over the past 48 hours.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a release Monday that they found an underground compound in southern Lebanon stocked with “weapons, ammunition and motorcycles ready to be used in an invasion into Israel.”
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller
Netanyahu: ‘We will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon” while visiting the Golani camp, which was hit by a Hezbollah drone Sunday evening, killing four IDF soldiers and injuring dozens.
“I want to make it clear: We will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon — also in Beirut, all according to operational considerations. We have proven this in recent times, and we will continue to prove it in the coming days as well,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu extended his condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and said he would visit the injured later on Monday.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Doctors Without Borders staffer killed in northern Gaza
A Doctors Without Borders staffer has been killed in northern Gaza, the organization announced Monday.
Nasser Hamdi Abdelatif Al Shalfouh, 31, was struck by shrapnel Tuesday and died of injuries to his legs and chest two days later, according to the organization.
He is survived by his wife and two children.
In a statement, Doctors Without Borders condemned Israeli forces for having “systematically dismantled the health system in Gaza, impeding access to life-saving care for people.”
“He was unable to receive the necessary level of care due to the hospital’s lack of capacity and an overwhelming number of patients in the facility,” the organization said of Al Shalfouh.
Al Shalfouh joined Doctors Without Borders as a driver in March 2023, but had not been able to work for them recently as operations have been impacted by the war, the group said.
He is the seventh Doctors Without Borders staffer to be killed in Gaza since the war began, the organization added.
“We are horrified by the killing of our colleague which we strongly condemn and call yet again for the respect and protection of civilians,” the NGO said. “In this tragic moment, our thoughts are with his family and all colleagues mourning his death.”
Americans in Lebanon should ‘depart now,’ embassy says
American citizens in Lebanon “are strongly encouraged to depart now,” the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said in a new alert Monday.
The embassy has been urging Americans to depart Lebanon via commercial flights in recent weeks. Monday’s warning was the starkest yet.
The embassy noted it had helped add thousands of extra seats to commercial flights to help Americans leave amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
“Much of this capacity has gone unused,” Monday’s alert said. “Please understand that these additional flights will not continue indefinitely.”
“U.S. citizens who choose not to depart at this time should prepare contingency plans should the situation deteriorate further,” the embassy said.
“These alternative plans should not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation,” the notice read.
The embassy has been warning citizens not to travel to Lebanon since July.
Airstrike kills 18 in north Lebanon, Red Cross says
Eighteen people were killed and four wounded in an airstrike in the town of Aitou in northern Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Red Cross wrote on X.Seven Red Cross teams were dispatched to the area in the Zgharta district, the organization said. “Our teams are working to provide first aid and evacuate the wounded,” it added.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Guy Davies
Hezbollah launches dozens of cross-border attacks, marking daily record
Hezbollah issued 38 statements claiming cross-border attacks into Israel on Sunday — the highest tally since renewed fighting began on Oct. 8, 2023, per ABC News’ count.
The attacks included the drone strike on an Israel Defense Forces training base in northern Israel, which killed four soldiers and injured 55.
Hezbollah has expanded its attacks into Israel despite the IDF’s monthslong campaign of targeted killings of top commanders and airstrikes on Hezbollah military facilities and weapons caches.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Guy Davies
IDF claims killing of Hezbollah anti-tank commander
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it killed a Hezbollah commander responsible for anti-tank missile forces.
The IDF said in a statement posted to social media that Muhammad Kamal Naim was killed in an airstrike in the Nabatieh region of southern Lebanon.
Naim, it said, was responsible for the elite Radwan Force’s anti-tank weapons.
Naim “was responsible for planning and carrying out many terrorist plots, including firing anti-tank missiles at the Israeli rear,” the IDF wrote.
Israel kills 20 in strike on UNRWA school, health ministry says
At least 20 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East school-turned-shelter in central Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said.
The school was being used to shelter displaced people in Nuseirat camp, health authorities said. It was bombed on Sunday.
The school was earmarked for use in the planned second round of the Gaza polio vaccination campaign, which was due to begin on Monday.
-ABC News Diaa Ostaz and Guy Davies
10 killed amid ‘total siege’ in northern Gaza
Ten people were killed in shelling at an aid distribution center in the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza on Monday morning, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the strip.
The area has been the focus of intense recent Israeli military activity, with the Israel Defense Forces reporting fierce fighting with Hamas militants there.
The IDF has ordered residents of northern Gaza — of whom there are an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 — to leave the region, which it has classified as a military zone.
Hamas is urging residents to stay, suggesting Israel will not allow those who leave to return.
Gaza’s Civil Defense said there was a “complete siege” of Jabalia. Aid agencies have said that no food has been allowed to enter the north of Gaza since Oct. 1.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Guy Davies
Israel to probe deadly drone attack on troops, Gallant says
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the scene of a deadly Hezbollah drone strike in northern Israel on Monday, telling soldiers there the incident “was a difficult event with painful results.”
Four troops were killed and 55 wounded in Sunday’s attack on the Golani Training Base close to the town of Binyamina, some 20 miles south of Haifa.
“We must investigate it, study the details and implement lessons in a swift and professional manner,” Gallant said, according to a Defense Ministry readout.
“We are concentrating significant efforts in developing solutions to address the threat of UAV attacks,” he added
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF claims 200 strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday its warplanes targeted around 200 “Hezbollah terror targets” in its continuing operation against the Iranian-backed group in southern Lebanon.
The targets included “launchers, anti-tank missile launch posts, terrorist infrastructure and weapons storage facilities containing launchers, anti-tank missiles, RPG launchers and munitions,” the IDF wrote on X.
Ground forces, meanwhile, “eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters encounters and aerial strikes” in their ongoing cross-border incursion, the force reported.
The IDF is still describing its ground operation as consisting of “limited, localized, targeted raids” in southern areas close to the border.
Airstrikes, though, continue across southern Lebanon. Around a quarter of all Lebanese territory is under IDF evacuation orders and some 1.2 million civilians are displaced, according to the government in Beirut.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah drone attack on IDF base ‘painful,’ commander says
The Israel Defense Forces identified the four soldiers killed in a Hezbollah drone attack on a training base in the north of the country on Sunday.
Sgt. Omri Tamari, Sgt. Yosef Hieb, Sgt. Yoav Agmon and Sgt. Amitay Alon were killed, an IDF press release said. The strike occurred at the Golani Training Base close to the town of Binyamina, some 20 miles south of Haifa.
Around 55 more are reported to have been injured.
IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi addressed Golani Brigade troops on Sunday night following the attack.
“We are at war, and an attack on a training base in the rear is difficult and the results are painful,” the commander said according to a post on the IDF’s official Telegram channel.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Israel strike on Gaza hospital kills 4, wounds dozens
At least four people were killed and 40 others wounded Monday in an Israeli airstrike on tents housing displaced Palestinians inside the Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza’s city of Deir al-Balah, health officials said.
The Israeli military said it targeted militants operating from a command center inside the compound. Israel accuses Hamas of routine use of civilian facilities such as hospitals for military purposes — a charge Hamas denies.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Defense Secretary Austin discusses safety of UNIFIL forces with Israel’s Gallant
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant by phone on Sunday to express his condolences for the IDF soldiers killed in a Hezbollah drone attack and discuss the IDF’s military operations in Lebanon.
According to a readout of the call from the Pentagon, Austin, “reinforced the importance of Israel taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and Lebanese Armed Forces, and the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway to provide security for civilians on both sides of the border as soon as feasible.”
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon established by the U.N. Security Council.
The conversation comes after the IDF has repeatedly fired on the UNIFIL headquarters in southern Lebanon.
Additionally, Secretary Austin “reaffirmed the deep U.S. commitment to Israel’s security,” which he says is demonstrated by the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
According to the Department of Defense, THAAD employs interceptor missiles, using “hit-to-kill” technology, to destroy threat missiles.
During the call, Austin “again raised concern for the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and stressed that steps must be taken soon to address it,” the Pentagon said.
At least 3 killed in IDF strike on Gaza hospital
At least three people were killed and dozens more were injured after Israel Defense Forces struck Al Aqsa Hospital in Gaza on Sunday.
(LONDON) — Israeli forces continued their intense operations inside Gaza after Hamas leader and Oct. 7, 2023 attack mastermind Yahya Sinwar was killed in a firefight with Israeli forces.
The development comes as Israel continues intense air and ground campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and mulls its response to Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday in a bid to kickstart stalled cease-fire talks and prevent further regional escalation.
IDF attempting to make us ‘killable targets,’ Al Jazeera journalist in north Gaza says
Israel has accused six Al Jazeera journalists of being “Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists,” publishing their names and photographs.
Al Jazeera said the claims were “unfounded” and “fabricated accusations as a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of the war from audiences worldwide,” in a statement.
Hossam Shabat, one of the journalists named said dossiers released by the IDF claiming to link the journalists to militant groups were “fabricated.”
“This blatant and belligerent attempt to transform us, the last witnesses in the north, into killable targets is an assassination threat and obvious attempt to preemptively justify our murder,” he said in a post on X.
Israel and Al Jazeera have history, but this latest claim has sparked major concern amongst media organizations and prominent journalists around the world.
“Israel has repeatedly made similar unproven claims without producing credible evidence. After killing Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Al Ghoul in July, the IDF previously produced a similar document, which contained contradictory information, showing that Al Ghoul, born in 1997, received a Hamas military ranking in 2007 – when he would have been 10 years old,” The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to a question about the accusations saying he can’t speak to the accuracy of them, but said “it clearly needs to be examined.”
“We very much support the work of journalists in Gaza and everywhere else around the world and including in areas of conflict and we’re equally determined that journalists be protected. Far too many have lost their lives in Gaza. We’re determined to do what we can to ensure that, again, they can do their work safely and securely as possible,” Blinken told reporters during a joint press conference in Doha on Thursday.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, also commented on the the accusations.
“At Al-Jazeera, they are running at the highest international standards, and if there are any premises to these accusations, they are going to take care of the measures that’s needed for their journalists. But also, we need to know that we learned throughout this war that we cannot take those accusations of Israel for face value,” he said.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Blinken says negotiations to resume on hostage release, cease-fire in Gaza
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference in Doha on Thursday that negotiators will resume talks with Hamas “in coming days” to discuss a path forward in Gaza to release the hostages and end the war.
But, he added, it’s not clear whether Hamas was “prepared to engage” following the death of its leader, Yahya Sinwar.
“We haven’t yet really determined whether Hamas is prepared to engage, but the next step is getting the negotiators together, and I anticipate we’ll know and we’ll certainly learn more in the coming days,” he said.
Blinken announced the development at a press conference with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who said his government had been in touch with Hamas officials in recent days.
“I believe that until now, there is no clarity what will be the way forward or the clear position,” bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.
Blinken also announced another $135 million in aid to Gaza civilians, bringing the total contribution to $1.2 billion, he said.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
Surgeon under Israeli siege in north Gaza reports death ‘in all forms’
Dr. Mohammed Obeid, a Médecins Sans Frontières surgeon working at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza said medical workers there are “hopeless” and under constant fire amidst Israel’s siege.
“There is death in all types and forms,” Obeid said. “The bombardment does not stop. The artillery does not stop. The planes do not stop. There is heavy shelling, and the hospital is [being] targeted too.”
“It just looks like a movie — it does not seem real,” he added.
“We have 30 people dead inside the hospital and around 130 injured patients who need urgent medical care. Medical staff are exhausted and many are injured as well. We feel hopeless. I just don’t have words.”
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Blinken in Qatar for talks on ending Gaza war
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha on Thursday as he neared the end of this week’s Middle East peace push.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement that Blinken discussed “renewed efforts to secure the release of the hostages and end the war in Gaza, as well as ongoing work to provide for security, governance and reconstruction in Gaza after the war.”
Blinken and Al Thani also discussed Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and “exchanged views on achieving a diplomatic resolution along the Blue Line and making political progress in Lebanon in order to ensure its sovereignty and security.”
Blinken is set to travel to the U.K. after concluding his meetings in Qatar.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
16 killed in Israeli airstrike on school-turned-shelter, officials say
Hospital officials at Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza said they received 16 dead bodies and 32 injured people after Israeli strikes on a school-turned-shelter in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
The hospital said “most” of the victims were “children and elderly people.”
The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately comment on the attack.
-ABC News’ Dia Ostaaz and Guy Davies
Deadly airstrikes in Syria, military says
Syria’s Defense Ministry reported airstrikes in the capital Damascus and at a military site near the western city of Homs on Thursday.
The attacks killed one soldier and injured seven other people, according to the ministry.
Israel — which has conducted regular strikes inside Syria in recent years — did not claim the airstrikes. The country generally refuses to confirm or deny responsibility for operations on foreign soil.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Guy Davies
IDF accuses Hezbollah of using ambulances to carry weapons
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee alleged on X on Thursday that Hezbollah is using ambulances to transport fighters and weapons.
Any vehicle used for “terrorist” purposes will be subject to “necessary measures,” Adraee wrote.
The IDF did not provide any evidence to support the assertion. Medical vehicles, workers and facilities have been repeatedly targeted by Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
IDF says 50 projectiles, 2 missiles fired from Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces wrote on X on Thursday morning that around 50 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
The launches set off air alert sirens in the Upper and Western Galilee areas, with some projectiles intercepted and other landing, the IDF said.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said paramedics evacuated three people suffering from shrapnel injuries to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. Two of the victims were in moderate condition and one in mild condition, the service said.
The IDF also reported two missiles fired from Lebanon into northern Israel which it said “fell in open areas.”
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
US urges Israel to address ‘dire humanitarian situation’ in Gaza U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant Wednesday to discuss Israel’s operations in Lebanon and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Pentagon said in a statement.
“Secretary Austin welcomed the movement of humanitarian assistance through the Erez crossing and urged the Government of Israel to take all necessary steps to address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said of the call.
Humanitarian services ‘completely stopped’ in north, Gaza Civil Defense says The Gaza Civil Defense said its work has “completely stopped” in northern Gaza as “the situation there has become catastrophic,” according to a statement released Wednesday.
“Citizens there are now without humanitarian services,” the Gaza Civil Defense said.
Medical supplies have also run out at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, the director of field hospitals in Gaza said Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz
Nearly 200,000 people displaced in Lebanon as number of Israeli strikes approaches 11,000
Nearly 200,000 people have been displaced across various regions of Lebanon as the number of Israeli strikes on the country approaches 11,000, according to a report from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
The highest concentrations of displaced persons are in Mount Lebanon and Beirut, though the estimated total number of displaced individuals is likely much higher, the ministry said.
At least 2,574 people were killed and 12,001 others were injured since the increase in strikes began, the ministry said.
Since the increase in strikes began, 1,097 centers have been established to accommodate the displaced, with 922 of these centers reaching maximum capacity, the ministry said.
From Sept. 23 to Oct. 23, 344,819 Syrian nationals and 150,104 Lebanese nationals crossed the Lebanese border into Syria, the ministry said.
Over 150 patients in northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital in critical condition
More than 150 people in northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital are in critical condition and are facing increasingly dire conditions, according to the hospital director.
Health services cannot be provided to the sick and injured due to the depletion of medical supplies, according to the director.
“Kamal Adwan Hospital remains partially functional but is struggling to meet growing needs due to intensified hostilities in the north and a shortage of medical supplies and fuel. A strike near the hospital causing damages to the gate was reported earlier today, 22 October,” the World Health Organization said in a statement Wednesday.
“As hostilities intensify in North Gaza, WHO is deeply concerned about the last two functional hospitals – Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda – which must be protected. A complete lack of health care in North Gaza would make an already catastrophic situation worse, and lead to more lives being lost,” the WHO said.
Gaza polio vaccine campaign postponed due to ‘intense’ attacks, UN says
The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that it has been forced to postpone the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza.
The WHO blamed “escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders and lack of assured humanitarian pauses across most of northern Gaza.”
The third and final round of the vaccination push was due to start on Wednesday, the WHO said, and aimed to vaccinate 119,279 children across northern Gaza.
“The current conditions, including ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure continue to jeopardize people’s safety and movement in northern Gaza, making it impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccination, and health workers to operate,” the organization wrote in a statement published on its website.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Blinken to travel to Qatar, UK after Saudi visit
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Qatar and the U.K. after his Wednesday stop in Saudi Arabia, the State Department announced.
Blinken left Israel early Wednesday following meetings with officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
The visit was the first on a Middle East tour intended to kickstart stalled cease-fire negotiations in Gaza and encourage a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning ahead of a planned meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
-ABC News’ Cindy Smith
US has ‘not seen evidence’ of bunker under Beirut hospital: Austin
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Wednesday that U.S. officials have “not seen evidence” to support Israel’s claim of a Hezbollah bunker located under Al-Sahel hospital in southern Beirut.
“We’ll continue to collaborate with our Israeli counterparts to gain better fidelity on exactly what they’re looking at,” Austin added.
Israel claims Hezbollah is using the purported bunker to store hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold under the city’s southern Dahiya suburb. Hospital officials have denied the allegation.
The area — known as a Hezbollah stronghold — has been the focus of its intense airstrikes on the Lebanese capital over the past month.
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
Austin says no staffers probed in FBI’s Israel leak investigation
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday denied reports that one of his senior staffers is under investigation by the FBI in connection with leaked Pentagon documents purportedly relating to Israel’s planned retaliatory strike on Iran.
“There’s no OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] official being named as a part of this investigation,” Austin told reporters while in Rome, Italy. “So that is not true at this point.”
“I’ve seen no evidence of that, or any indication that any OSD official will be implicated as part of this.”
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
More overnight Israeli strikes rock Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes conducted another night of airstrikes in the Lebanese capital targeting what it said were Hezbollah weapons storage, arms manufacturing and command center targets in the southern suburbs.
The airstrikes centered on Dahiya — an area of south Beirut known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
More than 2,500 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Oct. 7, 2023, with nearly 12,000 injured, according to tallies from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Will Gretsky
Blinken departs Israel for Saudi Arabia
Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed Israel early Wednesday for Saudi Arabia — the next stop on his latest Middle East tour.
Before boarding his plane in Tel Aviv, Blinken told reporters that Israel has now achieved most of its military objectives in Gaza — including the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — but at great cost to Palestinian civilians.
Blinken said it was time to end the conflict, having spent Tuesday meeting with Israeli leaders — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and the families of hostages in a bid to revive cease-fire and hostage release talks.
There is now a need to establish whether a post-Sinwar Hamas will be more open to a diplomatic resolution, Blinken said, plus to facilitate more aid into Gaza and to establish a concrete plan for the post-war governance of the territory.
Blinken said such questions would be part of his meetings with other Middle East leaders through this week.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
US officials press Israel on ‘General’s Plan’
During their meeting Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about reports that some Israeli officials wanted to seize control of north Gaza using controversial methods, according to a senior U.S. administration official.
Coined the “General’s Plan” by media outlets, the idea would be to force evacuations of the area and assume anyone who stays behind is an enemy combatant and can be fired upon and starved.
The senior U.S. administration official said Blinken noted in the meeting that there’s a “perception” that this method is official Israeli policy.
The official said Netanyahu and his top aide, Ron Dermer, denied that it was and said the perception was “deeply damaging” to their efforts.
“We did hear a very clear commitment that that is not their state of policy,” the official told a reporter.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Blinken, Netanyahu meet as US pushes for cease-fire
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for over 2 1/2 hours on Tuesday, as the U.S. makes a push for a cease-fire agreement to end Israel’s conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah.
Blinken and Netanyahu discussed the need to capitalize on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to reach an agreement that would secure the release of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza and putting in place a plan that provides lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
Blinken also discussed the importance of increasing the flow of aid being allowed into Gaza. The U.S. warned Israel last week that assistance could be withheld if humanitarian aid doesn’t reach civilians in Gaza.
Lebanese hospital sustained ‘severe material damage’ in Israeli strike
Lebanon’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital will continue providing care despite the building sustaining “severe material damage” in an Israeli strike on Monday, according to Dr. Jihad Saadeh, the head of the hospital.
“Because of the targeting that has happened, we have sustained severe material damage to the hospital, including the destruction of solar panels, extensive destruction of all glass facades and damage to the hospital walls. Severe damage because it seems the shrapnel was very large,” Saadeh said.
“We will not stop. Several entities even called me yesterday asking if I would like to evacuate the hospital. I told them, not at all. We will not evacuate. There is no hospital left but us. After the sinful targeting of the suburb’s hospitals, there is no one left except for us. So we will continue our work, God willing,” Saadeh said.
Drone attack on Netanyahu’s house caused damage
The drone that targeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home on Saturday caused some damage to the structure, according to a person familiar.
Netanyahu called the attack an “attempt to assassinate me and my wife,” in a statement Saturday. They were not in the home at the time of the attack, according to the prime minister’s office.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
63 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon Monday
At least 63 people were killed and 234 were injured in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Since the start of Israel’s increased strikes on Lebanon, at least 2,546 people were killed and 11,862 others were injured, the ministry said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Gaza’s development set back 69 years by war, UN says
The United Nations Development Programme published a new report Tuesday suggesting that Israel’s war against Hamas has set the Gaza Strip’s development back by as much as 69 years.
Poverty levels in Gaza are projected to rise to 74.3% in 2024, affecting over 4 million people, the report said — including 2.61 million “newly impoverished” people.
The territory’s GDP is expected to contract by some 35.1% in 2024 compared to a no-war scenario, it added, with unemployment potentially rising to almost 50%.
“The assessment indicates that, even if humanitarian aid is provided each year, the economy may not regain its pre-crisis level for a decade or more,” UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said.
Evacuation leaflets accompany Israeli attacks in north Gaza
At least 12 people were killed or injured in Israel Defense Forces attacks in northern Gaza over the past 24 hours, officials from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday.
At least 87 people were killed over the weekend in an IDF attack in the Beit Lahia neighborhood, officials said, just north of the Jabalia refugee camp which has been the focus of recent Israeli operations in the area. The IDF disputed the death toll.
Meanwhile, the IDF dropped leaflets over Beit Lahia on Tuesday urging residents to evacuate southwards.
Footage from the area showed long lines of people — mostly women and children — fleeing with their belongings under the watch of Israeli forces.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Guy Davies
Beirut hospital won’t evacuate despite Israeli strike, director says
The general manager of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital said on Tuesday that staff would continue treating patients there despite a nearby Israeli airstrike.
“We are committed to continuing our work and will not evacuate the hospital,” Dr. Jihad Saadeh said. “Although the hospital has suffered damage from shrapnel, we are prepared to treat patients in the hospital corridors if necessary.”
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said 13 people including a child were killed and at least 57 others injured in the Israeli airstrike late Monday, with significant damage done to the nearby hospital — the largest public medical facility in Lebanon.
There was no warning issued before the strike on the hospital, sources told ABC News. The Israel Defense Forces denied the hospital was hit and said its strike was on a nearby Hezbollah target.
Saadeh told Tuesday’s press conference that some 50 healthcare centers, 150 ambulances, 150 paramedics and 15 hospitals have been targeted in Israeli attacks.
-ABC News’ Josiane Hajj Moussa and Guy Davies
IDF strike near hospital in Lebanon kills 13 and injures at least 57
An Israel Defense Forces strike near Rafik Hariri Hospital in southern Beirut on Monday killed 13 people including a child and injured at least 57 others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Seventeen of those injured required hospitalization, with seven in a critical condition, the ministry said in a Tuesday statement.
The hospital, which is the largest public medical facility in Lebanon, sustained significant damage, officials said.
There was no warning issued before the strike on the hospital, sources told ABC News.
The IDF denied attacking the hospital in a statement, claiming it was targeting a Hezbollah target close to the facility. “The strike did not hit the hospital and the IDF emphasizes that the hospital was not targeted, and the hospital itself and its operation were not affected, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Josiane Hajj Moussa, Jordana Miller and Guy Davies
Israel designates Al-Qard al-Hassan as a terrorist organization
Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced Tuesday that he designated the Al-Qard al-Hassan finance institution — which Israel alleges is a key financial vehicle for Hezbollah — a terrorist organization.
“Hezbollah’s bank is used to purchase weapons, pay the salaries of terrorists and keep Hezbollah’s terror machine going,” Gallant wrote in a post on X.
“Degrading Hezbollah’s capabilities requires both a military and economic campaign,” he added. “We are destroying the terrorist organization’s ability to both launch and buy missiles.”
Israel has been targeting Al-Qard al-Hassan infrastructure throughout Lebanon in recent days. The strikes have been especially fierce in Beirut, and particularly in its southern Dahiya suburb which is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Blinken lands in Israel
Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to begin a tour of Middle East nations in bid to reinvigorate cease-fire talks in both Gaza and Lebanon.
Blinken is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
The revival of stalled cease-fire talks and the prevention of further regional escalation are at the top of the agenda for America’s top diplomat.
Blinken’s latest regional tour comes just two weeks to go until the U.S. presidential election and with Israel still mulling its retaliation against Iran for the latter’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston and Guy Davies
IDF claims 230 more strikes in Lebanon and Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces said in a social media post Tuesday that it struck around 230 Hezbollah and Hamas targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip over the previous 24 hours.
The strikes killed “dozens” of fighters, the IDF claimed, and hit targets including three purported command centers of a Hezbollah drone unit in southern Lebanon.
In Gaza, fighting continues in the Jabalia area in the north of the strip, which is under intense Israeli bombardment and sweeping evacuation orders.
The IDF said “thousands of civilians have been evacuated” from the area, while “dozens of terrorists were arrested from among the civilians.”
Another 10 fighters were killed in a strike in the area, the IDF added. Troops also dismantled several tunnel shafts and a rocket launcher in Beit Lahia, to the north of Jabalia.
Elsewhere, the IDF reported an airstrike on a rocket launcher and ammunition in the southern Rafah area.
IDF claims Nasrallah’s bunker located underneath Beirut hospital
The Israel Defense Forces claimed late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s gold-filled bunker is located underneath a Beirut hospital, which hospital officials said was being evacuated Monday out of an abundance of caution.
“There are millions of dollars in gold and cash in Hassan Nasrallah’s bunker. Where is the bunker located? Directly under Al-Sahel Hospital — in the heart of Beirut,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a video address Monday.
The IDF released 3D renderings of the hospital building and the bunker it said belonged to Nasrallah, who was killed in Israeli airstrikes in Beirut last month, but has not provided tangible proof. Hagari said the Israeli air force is monitoring the site but added, “We will not strike the hospital itself.”
“We are not at war with the people of Lebanon. We are at war with Hezbollah,” he said.
Following Hagari’s remarks, Lebanese hospital officials said the hospital is being evacuated out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the patients. Lebanese Parliament member Fadi Alameh, the owner of the hospital, said he has requested that the Lebanese army and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon investigate the Israeli allegations.
Lebanese official Wiam Wahhab said the “talk of weapons depots” at the hospital “is illogical and false.”
“This points to the beginning of targeting hospitals, and the army must deploy around the hospital and protect it,” he said.
Dr. Youssef Bakhash, the president of the Lebanese Order of Physicians, told the Lebanese media group Al Jadeed that the “pretext of the existence of tunnels and funds beneath Sahel Hospital is aimed at targeting and disrupting the healthcare sector.”
Israel’s conflict with Iran to last ‘many months’: Former IDF general
Israel’s planned attack on Iran will mark the “beginning of a war” that will last “many months,” retired Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi told ABC News.
Israel’s war with Hezbollah had gone incredibly well and the IDF had surpassed its own expectations in degrading the Iranian proxy, Avivi said, adding that the same mentality would be applied to dealing with the Iranian regime itself.
“We have a historical opportunity to deal with Iran so they don’t pose another threat to Israel,” said Avivi, the founder of the right-wing think tank Israel’s Defense and Security Forum.
Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran will be “fierce and strong and very surprising” when it happens, he said.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge and Jordana Miller
300 Hezbollah targets hit in Lebanon in past 24 hours: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces said it hit 300 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, which saw an intense night of airstrikes on Beirut.
Seven brigade commanders, 21 battalion commanders and 24 company commanders for Hezbollah were killed in its ongoing operations, the IDF said.
More strikes against Hezbollah targets are expected all over southern Lebanon Monday night, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.
Still unclear whether intelligence docs were leaked or hacked: White House
There’s no indication yet whether classified documents on Israel’s retaliation plans were leaked or hacked, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday.
“I’m just not able to answer your question whether it was a leak or a hack at this point. We’ll let the investigation pursue its logical course there,” Kirby said.
Kirby said that President Joe Biden was “deeply concerned” about the incident, and that while they don’t expect more documents to be revealed, they are on high alert amid the investigation.
“We’re certainly going to keep our antenna up and our eyes open for any potential future disclosures,” he said.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
7 Israeli citizens arrested after allegedly spying for Iran
Seven Israeli citizens were arrested after allegedly spying for Iran, Israeli authorities said Monday.
The Israel Security Agency and Israel Police said they “successfully dismantled a spy network” that allegedly gathered sensitive information on Israel Defense Forces bases and energy infrastructure.
The citizens were allegedly recruited by Iranian agents to conduct “security-related tasks” over at least two years, authorities said, including “extensive reconnaissance missions” on air force and navy installations, ports, Iron Dome system locations and energy infrastructure.
Photographs and videos of “numerous” IDF bases, ports and energy infrastructure were seized as part of the investigation, authorities said.
“It is assessed that these activities have inflicted security damage on the state,” the ISA and Israel Police said.
The seven Israelis were allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, often through cryptocurrencies, for their work, authorities said.
Prosecutors are expected to file an indictment against them in the coming days.
Austin: ‘Hard to say’ what Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran will look like
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters while traveling to Ukraine on Monday that it’s “hard to say” what an Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran will look like, when asked whether the response should be proportional.
“That’s an Israeli decision,” he said. “Whether or not the Israelis believe [it] is proportional and [how] the Iranians perceive it, I mean, those are maybe two different things.”
Austin told reporters that the U.S. is “going to continue to do everything we can” to get both parties to “begin to de-escalate.”
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Blinken to visit Israel in Middle East tour
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will begin a tour of Israel and other Middle Eastern nations on Monday in a bid to inject new life into stalled cease-fire and hostage release negotiations in Gaza, the State Department said.
Blinken “will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people,” the State Department notice said.
“He will continue discussions on post-conflict period planning and emphasize the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives and realize their aspirations free from Hamas’ tyranny,” the statement said.
Blinken will also “underscore that additional food, medicine and other humanitarian aid must be delivered to civilians in Gaza,” it continued.
The situation in Lebanon — where Israel is continuing an intense air and ground campaign and Hezbollah is still firing across the shared border — will also be a topic of discussion, the State Department said.
Blinken will continue pursuit of a “diplomatic resolution” that “allows civilians on both sides” of the border to return to their homes, the statement said.
-ABC News’ Cindy Smith
‘Beirut in flames’ after night of airstrikes, foreign minister says
“Beirut in flames,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Monday following an intense night of airstrikes on the Lebanese capital.
“A wide-scale Israeli attack targeted Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure in Beirut and across Lebanon last night,” Katz said.
“Massive fires were seen above Beirut as over 15 buildings were struck following evacuation warnings to residents,” the foreign minister wrote.
“Hezbollah has paid and will continue to pay a heavy price for its attacks on northern Israel and its rocket fire. We will keep striking the Iranian proxy until it collapses.”
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
IDF claims ‘dozens’ of strikes on Hezbollah financial targets
Israel Defense Forces warplanes launched “a series of targeted, intelligence-based strikes against dozens of facilities and sites used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to finance its terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a Monday post to X.
The Sunday night strikes hit targets in Beirut, southern Lebanon and elsewhere “deep within” the country, the IDF added.
The IDF said the targets were linked to the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, which Israel has accused of acting as a key financier of Hezbollah activities.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
US investigating intelligence leak on Israel’s alleged plan to attack Iran
Documents purporting to show classified U.S. intelligence-gathering on Israel’s preparations for a possible retaliatory strike against Iran appeared on social media platforms late last week.
The impact of the circulation of these documents on current and future planning by the Israeli military is unclear at this time.
U.S. officials declined to comment on the situation when reached by ABC News. However, a law enforcement source on Sunday confirmed with ABC News that there is an investigation underway.
Markings on the documents indicate that they would have originated from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which collects, analyzes and distributes intelligence gleaned from satellite and aerial imagery.
If the documents are authentic, it would indicate a major intelligence breach.
According to Mick Mulroy, an ABC News national security and defense contributor, who served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East: “The future coordination between the U.S. and Israel could be challenged, as well.”
The Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation and a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence all declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.
House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared on CNN Sunday and acknowledged that there is an investigation underway into the possible intelligence leak, adding, “We’re following it closely.”
-ABC News’ T. Michelle Murphy
IDF says it’s targeting infrastructure in Lebanon of group allegedly financing Hezbollah
The Israel Defense Forces announced it was targeting infrastructure Sunday night in Lebanon that has been linked to the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, an organization it alleges is involved in financing Hezbollah.
The United States placed sanctions on the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association in May 2021 related to financing Hezbollah activities.
The Al-Qard Al-Hassan group has 31 branches in Lebanon — including in Beirut and Bekaa, officials said. At least one strike was reported Sunday evening in the Chyah neighborhood of Beirut.
“The ‘Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association’ is involved in financing the terrorist activities of the Hezbollah organization against Israel, and therefore the IDF has decided to attack this terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF said in a statement Sunday. “The IDF continues to work forcefully to destroy Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure. Therefore, we call on people inside buildings used by Hezbollah to stay at least 500 meters away from them for the next few hours.”
