Israeli strikes in northern Gaza killed scores of people this weekend, according to local officials, with the bloodshed in the enclave and continued attacks in Lebanon dimming hopes that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar might breathe new life into cease-fire talks that have been stalled for months.
Meanwhile, a drone strike launched Saturday toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in the town of Caesarea, north of Tel Aviv, threatened to further inflame hostilities in the region as Israel plans an attack on Iran in response to strikes launched over the assassinations of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
In an initial assessment, the Israel Defense Forces said the drone, which struck a nearby building, was launched from Lebanon. Netanyahu blamed “Iran’s proxy Hezbollah” on X for the attack, which he described as an assassination attempt, saying any actors who try to harm other citizens of Israel “will pay a heavy price.”
The Israeli security Cabinet was expected to meet Sunday afternoon to discuss plans for a strike on Iran, an Israeli official told NBC News.
Even as Israel appeared to pin blame for the attack on Iran, Iran’s mission to the United Nations denied involvement, saying “the action in question has been carried out by Hezbollah in Lebanon.” As of early Sunday, Hezbollah had not claimed responsibility for the failed attack.
Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi further suggested that Iran was not seeking war. “For us, America is an ally of the Zionists,” he said, referring to Israel, “and if a major war breaks out in the region, America will be dragged into it, which is something we do not want.”
In northern Gaza, where Israel had sent additional troops Friday after it renewed widespread operations this month, the local Health Ministry said Sunday that at least 87 people were killed in overnight Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Beit Lahia. More than 40 others were injured. The ministry suggested the death toll could grow, with some still missing under the rubble.
The IDF disputed an initial death toll of at least 73 people issued by Gaza’s government media office Saturday as “exaggerated,” saying it did not align with the information it held or with “the precise munitions used and the accuracy of the strike” on what it said was a Hamas target. Still, it noted that the “area in question” was “an active war zone” and did not provide an alternative estimate for the strikes’ death toll.
Asked by NBC News to expand on exactly what information it has about the death toll related to its strikes, the IDF said it would not offer further comment. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the updated death toll provided by Gaza’s Health Ministry.
In a separate statement early Sunday, the IDF said its air force had struck about 175 targets across Gaza and Lebanon “over the past day” alone.
Videos and photos emerging out of northern Gaza showed devastating scenes. NBC News’ crew on the ground captured people being rushed to a hospital after a strike in the Jabalia refugee camp, about 1.5 miles from Beit Lahia. Children were among the injured. Some appeared shell-shocked, lying wide-eyed and still on blood-streaked hospital beds attached to IV drips and wrapped in bandages.
Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense agency, said at least five people were killed in that strike, including a baby who was less 3 months old. On the cement floor of the hospital, the NBC News crew saw what appeared to be the small form of an infant wrapped in a white shroud.
Basal said the area had fallen under “intense bombing,” and he accused Israeli forces of “targeting homes in a very intense way.”
IDF Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Saturday on X that Israeli forces had arrested a number of people he said were militants in the Jabalia area. In video he shared online, dozens of men could be seen lined up near an Israeli tank. The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for further information.
The Palestinian Health Ministry further warned over the weekend that the IDF was “besieging and directly targeting” at least three hospitals in northern Gaza, threatening to put the desperately needed facilities out of service. The IDF confirmed operations near one facility, the Indonesian hospital, on Saturday but said “no intentional fire” had been directed at the site.
“While the northern part of the Strip has been under siege for over two weeks, it is absolutely crucial to ensure the protection of the few remaining functional health care facilities,” Anna Halford, emergency coordinator in Gaza for Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement. “People must be able to continue to access medical care and lifesaving treatments. We call on the Israeli forces to immediately stop their attacks on hospitals in North Gaza.”
According to the U.N., 20,000 people fled Jabalia to U.N. refugee shelters in recent days, with basic needs like food and water perilously scarce. There were critical shortages of fuel and medical supplies, and internet disruptions were widespread. Aid deliveries had slowed to a trickle.
Israel’s intensified campaign appeared to undermine President Joe Biden’s expressed optimism that Israel’s killing last week of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader accused of orchestrating the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, would give new impetus to cease-fire negotiations and open a pathway to end more than a year of fighting in the region.
“I think there is an opportunity, but it depends what’s done with it,” Gershon Baskin said in a phone interview Sunday.
But he questioned optimism in Washington over a cease-fire “because they’re not doing anything to pressure Israel in that direction,” referring to the lack of progress on months of U.S.-led efforts toward a deal.
Israeli operations continued into Sunday, with the IDF saying troops remained active across the northern, southern and central areas of Gaza. It said troops had killed dozens of militants in close-quarter encounters on the ground and in airstrikes.
Hamas Political Bureau member Izzat Al-Rishq said Sunday on Telegram that Hamas would “not tire” in calling for escalated actions against Israel “and its allies in the war” as he accused Israel of carrying out a “massacre” in Beit Lahia.
Meanwhile, the IDF said troops continued to invade the south in Lebanon. It said forces had killed Hezbollah members, some of them in close-quarters combat, and had dismantled Hezbollah infrastructure and confiscated weapons in the area.
Netanyahu suggested Friday that there would be no immediate end to the war that has gripped the region.
“The war, my dear ones, is not over yet,” he said, adding that there was a “great opportunity to stop the axis of evil,” referring to Iran and its allies, and to carve out a “different future” in the region.
