Live updates: Israel strikes Lebanon and Gaza as war with Hamas and Hezbollah continues | CNN

Israeli strikes kill at least 22 in central Beirut

Sana Noor Haq

Sophie Tanno

Matt Meyer

By Lucas Lilieholm, Manveena Suri, Sana Noor Haq, Sophie Tanno, Rob Picheta and Matt Meyer, CNN

Updated 1:34 AM EDT, Sat October 12, 2024

Flames and smoke rise at the scene of destroyed buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday, October 10.

Video Ad Feedback

The aftermath of Israeli strikes in Beirut

1:13 • Source: CNN

Flames and smoke rise at the scene of destroyed buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday, October 10.

The aftermath of Israeli strikes in Beirut

1:13

What we covered

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with top Lebanese officials on Friday as Israeli military operations in the country continue, including deadly strikes in Beirut Thursday that left at least 22 dead.

• Israel’s security cabinet has yet to agree on its response to Iran’s missile attack earlier this month, but the gaps between the US and Israeli positions are narrowing, a source told CNN. US President Joe Biden has said Israel’s retaliation should be “proportional.”

• A UN inquiry has accused Israel of war crimes during its year-long war against Hamas in Gaza, saying Israel carried out a “concerted policy” of destroying the enclave’s health care system. Palestinians are living in desperate conditions, with food not having reached northern Gaza since last month, the UN says.

• Concerns are mounting for the safety of UN troops in southern Lebanon. The UN says Israel’s military has hit its peacekeeping base twice in the last 48 hours, injuring four of its troops and drawing international condemnation.

30 Posts

Our live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East has moved here.

Nicaragua breaks diplomatic ties with Israel

From CNN staff

Nicaragua is breaking diplomatic relations with Israel over its war in Gaza, its Vice President Rosario Murillo announced on Friday.

Murillo said that the “repudiation” measure is not against the people of Israel but against its government.

CNN has contacted the Israeli consulate in Nicaragua for comment.

Context: The announcement comes on the back of statements made by Nicaragua’s foreign minister Valdrack Ludwing Jaentschke Whitaker in a speech to the UN General Assembly in late September, where Whitaker denounced and condemned “the genocide that the Government of Israel and its ‘First World’ allies have committed, commit and continue to commit” across the Middle East.

In January, Nicaragua’s government applied to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to join the genocide lawsuit that South Africa filed against Israel in December last year.

Israel has rejected the genocide charges, arguing that the war against Hamas in Gaza is conducted in self-defense. Israel also maintains that it is not fighting the Palestinian people, and that its leaders have not shown any intent to commit genocide.

Thailand “profoundly saddened” by death of Thai worker in Israel

From CNN’s Kocha Olarn and Lucas Lilieholm

Thailand’s foreign ministry said it was “profoundly saddened” by the death of a Thai worker in northern Israel on Friday, according to a statement.

Earlier in the day Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency response service had reported that the Thai national had been killed in the Upper Galilee region after an anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanon.

The Thai foreign ministry disputed that account, saying the death, and the injury of another of its nationals, had resulted from “an explosion of dropped ammunition” without providing additional details.

The ministry added that its embassy in Israel was closely monitoring the condition of the injured worker and awaiting autopsy results to confirm the identity of the deceased before notifying the family.

The statement said the embassy was working to evacuate 10 additional Thai nationals from the kibbutz where the incident had occurred. It asked other Thai citizens having trouble leaving high-risk areas of Israel to contact the embassy for assistance.

The agriculture industry in Israel has employed thousands of Thai nationals to tend crops and work in dairies.

Thais made up the largest group of foreign nationals killed in the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. Most were workers on agricultural sites close to the perimeter fence that separates Israel from Gaza.

In the months after the attack an estimated 10,000 farm workers left, according to the Israeli government.

US secretary of state speaks with top Lebanese officials

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

Antony Blinken speaks at a press conference during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits in Vientiane, Laos, on October 11.

Antony Blinken speaks at a press conference during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits in Vientiane, Laos, on October 11.

Tang Chhin Sothy/Reuters

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke separately on Friday with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri as Israeli military operations in the country continue, including deadly strikes in Beirut Thursday.

According to State Department readouts of both calls, Blinken reiterated the US’ “commitment to a diplomatic resolution to the conflict across the Blue Line,” referring to the roughly 120-kilometer boundary between the two countries established by the United Nations in 2000 to ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The top US diplomat “underscored enduring United States support for Lebanese institutions that can help stabilize the country, including the Lebanese Armed Forces,” and called for the country not to allow Iran or Hezbollah to “stand in the way” of Lebanon’s security, the readout from the Mikati call said.

In both calls, Blinken discussed the presidential vacancy in Lebanon and the need to fill it with a leader “that reflects the will of the people for a stable, prosperous, and independent Lebanon.”

Neither readout mentioned the deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut or the ongoing ground operations in the south of Lebanon.

Israeli military looking into accusations that it killed 2 Lebanese soldiers

From Eugenia Yousef and Mia Alberti

Israel’s military says it is investigating after Lebanese officials blamed an Israeli strike for the killing of two of the country’s soldiers on Friday.

The Lebanese army said earlier that Israeli strikes targeting an army base in Kafra, southern Lebanon, killed two of its soldiers. The Israel Defense Forces now tells CNN that it is looking into the reported incident, and added that it was unaware of a Lebanese Armed Forces facility in the area:

Some background: While Israel is at war with Hezbollah — the Iran-backed paramilitary group that operates in southern Lebanon — its strikes have also killed more than 1,400 Lebanese civilians and at least three of the country’s soldiers, according to Lebanon’s government.

The IDF reiterated in its statement Friday that it is fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and not the state of Lebanon.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati earlier condemned the strike in Kafra as a part of a “persistent Israeli crime against Lebanon.”

US government expands sanctions on two Iranian energy sectors

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler and Betsy Klein

The US government expanded sanctions on two Iranian energy sectors in an effort to cut off revenue that the US says Tehran is using to fund proxy groups and foment instability in the region.

Friday’s actions were taken in response to Tehran’s missile attack on Israel earlier this month, the Treasury Department said in a press release. It comes while the region is on edge about potential conflagration as Israel weighs its potential answer to that attack.

Remember: Hezbollah, which Israel is fighting in Lebanon, and Hamas, which it is fighting in Gaza, are two members of an axis of militant groups funded by Iran, which also operate in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Thousands unable to leave Gaza camp despite Israel's call to evacuate, aid group warns

From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and CNN staff

Thousands of people are unable to leave northern Gaza’s Jabalya refugee camp despite evacuation warnings from the Israeli military, due to gunfire and strikes around evacuation routes, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on Friday.

CNN has previously reported incidents of evacuees from Jabalya coming under fire. One man said he and his family fled their home in Jabalya due to continuous bombing in the area, and that he and other civilians were shot at when they went back to retrieve supplies.

Five MSF staff members are currently trapped at the camp, according to a post on X from the organization, which is also known as Doctors Without Borders.

Haydar, a driver working for the organization who is trapped at the camp, was also quoted by MSF describing his fear of attempting to flee the dangerous area:

CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on allegations that its troops are firing near evacuation routes and that MSF workers are trapped.

Some background: The Israel Defense Forces launched its latest ground operation in Jabalya on Sunday, where it said it was encircling the area after seeing signs of Hamas rebuilding, despite a year of fighting and intense strikes on the area.

The IDF told residents across several parts of northern Gaza, including Jabalya, to evacuate on Monday, warning that it is “currently operating with great force in the area.”

In photos: Devastation in Lebanon after days of Israeli airstrikes

From CNN staff

Israel has been pounding the Lebanese capital of Beirut and other areas in the south of the country at an unprecedented intensity since escalating its war against the Iran-backed paramilitary group Hezbollah.

The Israeli strikes have often targeted crowded areas, leveling residential buildings, killing more than 1,400 people and displacing over 1 million others, according to the Lebanese government.

Israel’s military accuses Hezbollah of intentionally embedding itself within the civilian population, and says it is striking weapons stores and other key infrastructure for the militant group.

These were some of the latest scenes of destruction in Lebanon on Friday:

A view of the wreckage of a residential area following the Israeli airstrikes on the neighborhoods of Ras Al Naba'a and Basta Al Fawqa, in Beirut, Lebanon on October 11.

A view of the wreckage of a residential area following the Israeli airstrikes on the neighborhoods of Ras Al Naba'a and Basta Al Fawqa, in Beirut, Lebanon on October 11.

Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu/Getty Images

Lebanese women pass destroyed buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike, in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 11.

Lebanese women pass destroyed buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike, in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 11.

Hussein Malla/AP

Residents remove the debris from their destroyed balcony at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 11.

Residents remove the debris from their destroyed balcony at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 11.

Hussein Malla/AP

Lebanese civil defense workers at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 11.

Lebanese civil defense workers at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 11.

Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 11.

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 11.

Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images

Israeli strike kills 2 Lebanese soldiers and injures 3 others, army says

From Mia Alberti, CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali and Charbel Mallo

An Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center in Kafra, south Lebanon, killed two soldiers and wounded three, according to the army.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned Israel for the attack, also criticizing the international community for what he said has been silence about “Israel’s crimes.”

While Israel is at war with Hezbollah — the Iran-backed paramilitary group that operates in southern Lebanon — its strikes have also killed at least three Lebanese soldiers and wounded five others, according to Lebanon’s government.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

Israel acknowledges striking UN peacekeeping base as international condemnation grows

From Eugenia Yousef, Eyad Kourdi and CNN's Sophie Tanno

Israel has acknowledged it struck the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, on Friday, resulting in injuries to two peacekeepers who were transferred to hospitals in Lebanon.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told CNN’s Becky Anderson that one of the peacekeepers was seriously injured in Friday’s explosion — the second to hit the headquarters in 48 hours — after being hit in the stomach by shrapnel.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Friday that its soldiers “identified an immediate threat against them” and “responded with fire toward the threat.”

“Hours before the incident, the IDF instructed UNIFIL personnel to enter into protected spaces and remain there. This instruction was in place at the time of the incident,” the IDF said.

Key context: Concern was already growing for the safety of peacekeepers in southern Lebanon after the UN accused Israeli troops of injuring two UNIFIL personnel in a separate incident on Thursday.

In a Friday statement, UNIFIL said several concrete walls used to shield a UN position near the Blue Line in the southwest village of Labbouneh collapsed when an Israeli armored bulldozer struck its perimeter, after which “IDF tanks moved in the proximity of the UN position.”

In a statement on X, the IDF said it had been notified that two peacekeepers were “inadvertently hurt during IDF combat against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.”

The injuries to UN troops have drawn international condemnation, including from France and Ireland, both of which have contingents from their national armies in the Lebanon peacekeeping mission. On Friday, France’s foreign ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to Paris over the issue.

More than 220 Palestinians have been killed in northern Gaza since renewed Israeli incursion, officials say

From CNN's Kareem Khadder and Sana Noor Haq

Palestinians carry a casualty in the aftermath of an Israeli strike at al-Remal clinic, which had been sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, on October 10.

Palestinians carry a casualty in the aftermath of an Israeli strike at al-Remal clinic, which had been sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, on October 10.

Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters

More than 220 people have been killed in northern Gaza since the Israeli military launched renewed attacks there last weekend, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense and Ministry of Health.

The Israel Defense Forces escalated operations in the north of the enclave on Saturday, targeting what it says is Hamas’ renewed presence there.

Footage has emerged of upturned cars strewn across dusty streets, buildings leveled to rubble, and Palestinian residents desperately trying to flee the area — scenes reminiscent of the early days of the war, when Israel concentrated attacks in northern Gaza.

US secretary of defense urges Israel to ensure safety of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

From CNN's Natasha Bertrand

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Thursday to discuss Israel’s military operations in Lebanon and “emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety of UNIFIL forces in the area,” according to the Pentagon.

UNIFIL, the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Lebanon, said on Thursday that Israeli forces had fired on its positions and injured two members of the force. Austin’s call came after UN Under-Secretary General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix described hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon as “increasingly alarming,” and putting “peacekeepers at serious risk.”

In his call with Gallant, Austin emphasized the US commitment to a “diplomatic arrangement that safely returns both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the border,” and urged Israel to “pivot” from military operations to a diplomatic pathway “as soon as feasible,” the Pentagon said. More than 1,400 people have been killed by Israel’s operations in Lebanon since late last month, CNN has reported.

Gaza hospital chief says medical facilities are running out of fuel as Israel pushes deeper into the north

From CNN’s Kareem Khadder and Sana Noor Haq

A Palestinian hospital director has warned that three health care facilities in northern Gaza are on the verge of running out of fuel, as Israeli forces move deeper into the besieged region.

Patients relying on ventilators in Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia “will die” if the Israeli military does not allow fuel to enter the northern parts of Gaza, Dr. Hussam Abu Saifiya, the director of the hospital, told CNN on Friday.

“There have been many attempts to bring fuel in, but the Israeli military have prevented that,” he said. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.

A number of patients have been transferred to other hospitals in Gaza City, according to Abu Saifiya, after the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of Kamal Adwan, Al-Awda and the Indonesian Hospital on Wednesday. CNN had reached out to the IDF for comment.

Palestinian health workers at Kamal Adwan Hospital can be seen delicately nursing a baby in the video. In another scene, young children connected to ventilators lie on blue hospital gurneys. Some have wounds, with thick bandages swaddled around their bodies. It is the only specialized neonatal intensive care unit in the area, according to the UK-based NGO, Medical Aid for Palestinians.

1 million people at risk of starvation as UN says no food has entered northern Gaza this month

From CNN's Kareem Khadder, Abeer Salman and Eyad Kourdi and Pauline Lockwood

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in northern Gaza, on September 11.

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in northern Gaza, on September 11.

Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

No food has entered northern Gaza since the start of October, putting 1 million people at risk of going hungry, the World Food Programme told CNN on Friday.

In August, approximately 700 hundred aid trucks entered northern Gaza. In September, only 400 aid trucks entered, after commercial operations ceased at the Allenby Crossing on the border between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, the WFP added. No food trucks have entered northern Gaza in October, the WFP told CNN.

On Wednesday, the WFP said in a report that the aid entering the strip has plummeted to its lowest level in months, forcing the organization to stop the distribution of food parcels in October.

“Hunger remains rampant and the threat of famine persists,” WFP added. “If the flow of assistance does not resume, one million vulnerable people will be deprived on this lifeline.”

Earlier this week, the UN’s OCHA said: “September saw the lowest volume of commercial and humanitarian supplies entering Gaza since at least March 2024.”

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military about the lack of food and aid entering the strip.

Israeli incursion in the north: The warning from the UN came against the backdrop of Israel’s renewed ground operation in northern Gaza on October 6, after seeing signs of Hamas rebuilding.

The military has issued fresh evacuation orders for residents in northern Gaza, adding it had expanded the scope of the “humanitarian area” in Al-Mawasi in the south.

Journalist Mohammad al-Sawalhi contributed to this report from Gaza.

"I need bread to feed my children." Two bakeries forced to close in central Gaza

From journalist Mohammad al-Sawalihi and CNN's Kareem Khadder, Abeer Salman, Eyad Kourdi, Pauline Lockwood and Sana Noor Haq

Two of central Gaza’s main bakeries have been shut down for three days, according to CNN footage and bakery workers, as humanitarian agencies warned of blocked access to the Palestinian enclave.

Al-Banna Bakery and Zadna Bakery in Deir al-Balah, both supported by the WFP, have halted operations due to a lack of flour and fuel, bakery workers and residents told CNN. CNN video from the bakeries shows bare conveyor belts and shelves emptied of stock. Parents in the area said they cannot find enough food to feed their children, while local staff trying to support their families are losing wages.

Ahmad Abed, a Palestinian staffer at Al-Banna Bakery in central Gaza, told CNN that at least 50 employees rely on wages from the facility, which was forced to close down amid flour and fuel shortages.

Ahmad Abed, a Palestinian staffer at Al-Banna Bakery in central Gaza, told CNN that at least 50 employees rely on wages from the facility, which was forced to close down amid flour and fuel shortages.

CNN

“I am the head of a family of six. The day I work, I can feed my family. The day I don’t, we don’t eat,” said Ahmad Abed, an employee at Al-Banna Bakery. “People are chasing flour, and we go to bakeries searching for where bread is available.”

Amjad Al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network, told CNN that the depletion of flour and other production materials has led to the closure of essential bakeries that produce bread.

Bread remains the number one staple food for Palestinians and has become a crucial basic necessity since the war started just over a year ago.

Haitham Badri, a father in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, said he cannot find enough flour to make bread for his children.

Haitham Badri, a father in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, said he cannot find enough flour to make bread for his children.

CNN

At least 42,126 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, health ministry says

From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman and Sana Noor Haq

Palestinian women mourn near the bodies of relatives killed in an Israeli airstrike, outside the morgue in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza, on June 10.

Palestinian women mourn near the bodies of relatives killed in an Israeli airstrike, outside the morgue in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza, on June 10.

Jehad Alshrafi/AP

At least 42,126 Palestinians have been killed and another 98,117 injured since Israel launched its war in Gaza on October 7, according to the Ministry of Health in the enclave.

In the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes in the strip killed at least 61 people and wounded 231 people, the ministry reported on Thursday.

UAE calls for US to step in as regional war escalates

From CNN’s Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi

Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates president, attends the opening ceremony of the Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Buergenstock Resort in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 15.

Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates president, attends the opening ceremony of the Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Buergenstock Resort in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 15.

Denis Balibouse/Reuters

The United Arab Emirates is “seriously concerned” as the regional war expands and believes it is imperative that the US play an effective role to diffuse tensions, a top official told CNN.

The UAE is the Middle East’s commercial and tourism hub and has strong economic ties with both Israel and Iran.

He said that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made “encouraging statements” at the United Nations General Assembly last month, but those statement have been “undermined by the current escalation.”

Pezeshkian said at the United Nations that his country is ready to engage with the West on its disputed nuclear program, and said Iran was ready to lay down its arms if Israel did the same.

Key stakeholders: Both the UAE and Iran are major oil producers and Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-third of the world’s seaborne oil trade passes. US President Joe Biden has cautioned against an Israeli strike on Iranian oil interests. Tehran has in previous years warned that if it cannot sell its own oil, then it won’t allow others in the region to do so either.

A disruption to oil production from Middle Eastern states could lead to global oil prices skyrocketing. Gargash also stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire in in Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel says it killed Hezbollah commander, as military intensifies attacks in Lebanon

From CNN's Dana Karni and Edward Szekeres

The Israeli military announced on Friday that it killed a commander in the Hezbollah Radwan Forces’ anti-tank missile unit, in the Lebanese area of Meiss El Jabal, as Israel’s ground incursion in the country’s south rages on.

In a statement, the Israeli military said Araeb el Shoga “was responsible for numerous anti-tank missile attacks on the area of Ramot Naftali in northern Israel.”

Israeli forces “also identified and struck a launcher that was ready to fire toward Israeli territory and soldiers” and “struck Hezbollah weapons storage facilities,” the military added. CNN cannot independently verify the statement.

Elsewhere in Lebanon: Israeli forces also intensified an aerial campaign in the Lebanese capital late Thursday, killing at least 22 people and wounding at least 117 others, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

The strikes in the densely populated upper Basta neighborhood marked the single deadliest Israeli attack in central Beirut since Israel’s 34-day-war in 2006, which killed 1,100 people in Lebanon.

Russian and Iranian leaders meet amid escalating Middle East conflict

From CNN's Lauren Kent

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during their meeting on October 11, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during their meeting on October 11, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin was meeting his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian for the first time on Friday, as relations between the two sanctioned nations warm and the Middle East braces for Israel’s response to Tehran’s largest-ever missile attack last week.

The meeting at a regional summit in Ashgabat, the capital of the Central Asian country Turkmenistan, also comes against a backdrop of closer military ties between Iran and Russia’s military in recent years, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Iran has supplied thousands of “Shahed” attack drones to Russia, and according to US officials, built a drone factory in Russia. Iran also recently transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use in the war against Ukraine, CNN reported in September, marking a significant escalation in the country’s support for Moscow.

“Since Ukraine, the two countries have been more equal in terms of both needing each other and relying each other on specific issues. And that, I think, has been seen as beneficial from the Iranian side,” said Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, senior analyst and associate fellow, at UK think tank Chatham House.

Moscow and Tehran have a de facto military alliance in the region to support the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Analysts say the countries have found further common ground as they are increasingly isolated by global sanctions.

Read the full story here.

Blinken stresses US diplomatic efforts to prevent wider regional conflict

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken deboards an airplane on arrival at El-Alamein on Egypt's northern coast on August 20, as part of his latest Middle East tour to push forward talks aiming to end the Gaza war.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken deboards an airplane on arrival at El-Alamein on Egypt's northern coast on August 20, as part of his latest Middle East tour to push forward talks aiming to end the Gaza war.

Kevin Mohatt/AFP/Getty Images

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US would “engage intensely” to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East as concerns grow that Israel’s wars with Iranian proxies could escalate into a full-scale regional war.

Blinken also said he had “a real concern about the inadequacy of the assistance” reaching people in Gaza, stressing the US is “directly engaged with Israel on the imperative of addressing the humanitarian needs” in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

His remarks come after the US ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday that Israel must urgently address the “catastrophic conditions” in Gaza and that “actions by the Israeli government to limit the delivery of aid” would intensify suffering.

On Lebanon: Blinken emphasized the need for a “diplomatic solution in Lebanon,” amid an Israeli ground incursion in the south of the country and intensified airstrikes as it fights Hezbollah.

He also expressed support for a stronger Lebanese state emerging from the conflict.

Up next