Middle East Tensions: Israeli Strikes Kill 22 In Beirut, 27 In Gaza School As Conflict Rages On | Latest

A United Nations commission, meanwhile, accused Israel of disintegrating Gaza's health care system through "relentless and deliberate attacks" in its year-long war with Hamas. This expert panel was formed in 2021 by the UN-backed Human Rights Council to investigate the rights violations and abuse in Israel and the Palestinian areas under its control.

Middle East Tensions | The Latest

22 Killed In Israeli Strikes In Beirut

Israeli airstrikes on central Beirut killed at least 22 people and injured 117 others, said Lebanon's health ministry. The strike left two neighbourhoods to burn slowly.

Reportedly, the strikes targeted two residential buildings in separate areas of western Beirut. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said that it was looking into the reported strikes on the Lebanese capital. Notably, Beirut has been the central point of many of Israel's airstrikes.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon -- UNIFIL -- said in a statement that its headquarters and positions "have been repeatedly hit" by Israeli troops.

UNIFIL said that an Israeli tank "directly" struck an observation tower at the force's headquarters in the Lebanese town of Naquora. The Israeli army also acknowledged opening fire at a UN base in southern Lebanon on Thursday, saying that it had ordered the UN peacekeepers to "remain in protected spaces".

According to Italy's foreign minister, two UNIFIL soldiers who were wounded in the fighting were Indonesians. The UN peacekeeping mission was notably created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon after the 1978 invasion.

The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, strongly condemned Israeli strikes at UNIFIL positions, terming it to be "an inadmissible act, for which there is no justification".

About 1,000 soldiers have been deployed from Italy as part of UNIFIL. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto claimed that Israel intentionally targeted the UNIFIL base in southern Lebanon in strikes that "could constitute war crimes".

Thursday's strike was an addition to the already escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, who have been attacking each other since the October 7 attack by Hamas. In recent weeks, following the pager and walkie-talkie blasts in Lebanon, fears of an all-out war have been on the edge, which further creates a possibility of a wider regional conflict.

Before the strike on central Beirut, the Lebanese crisis unit said that Israeli strikes over the past day had claimed the lives of 28 people, bringing the total death toll to 2,169 since the war broke out in October.

Hezbollah, on the other hand, has killed 28 civilians in northern Israel since the beginning of the war. The Iran-backed militant group also claimed the lives of as many as 39 Israeli soldiers -- including both in northern Israel since last October and in southern Lebanon during Israel's ground offensive.

Hezbollah had started firing into Israel in support of its ally Hamas and Iran supports both of these groups. Last week, Iran launched some 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and other top commanders of the groups.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday warned of a "lethal and surprising" attack on Iran, without revealing any other details.

Israeli Strike On Gaza School Kills 27

An Israeli strike in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah killed 27 people, including women and children. The Israeli forces said that it targeted a militant command and control centre inside the school, without providing any proof.

Schools -- which were turned into shelters -- in Gaza have been repeatedly struck, with Israel accusing militants of taking cover in them.

Meanwhile, a Swiss aid group's -- Terre des Hommes -- Palestinian branch said that members of one of its children's health teams were killed in the strike.

"There were no militants. There was no Hamas," said Iftikhar Hamouda, who had fled from northern Gaza earlier in the war, as cited by The Associated Press.

Hamas has continued to launch attacks on Israel in this war that has been going on for more than a year now. The militant group launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 and stormed into the country, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250 others.

Around 100 people are still being held captive by Hamas, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Meanwhile, Israel's offensive on Hamas has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. The war has destroyed larger parts of Gaza and displaced around 90 per cent of the 2.3 million population of the region.

Israel Destroying Gaza's Health Sector: UN Panel

A UN commission on Thursday accused Israel of destroying Gaza's health care system through "relentless and deliberate attacks" in the year-long war with Hamas.

However, the panel also noted that people on both sides have been tortured, saying that Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages have been tortured and sexually abused.

The expert panel was commissioned in 2021 by the UN-backed Human Rights Council to look into rights violations and abuse in Israel and the Palestinian areas it controls.

The panel -- led by former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay -- has independent experts as part of its members who do not speak for the global body.

The UN commission's report accused Israel of deliberately killing and torturing Palestinian medical staff, of targeting their vehicles and of restricting permits for medical evacuations from Gaza. It said that these amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"Israel must immediately stop its unprecedented wanton destruction of health care facilities in Gaza," Pillay said in a statement, adding, "By targeting health care facilities, Israel is targeting the right to health itself with significant long-term detrimental effects on the civilian population."

Meanwhile, the commission also found that thousands of adults and children detained in Gaza have been subjected to "widespread and systematic abuse, physical and psychological violence, and sexual and gender-based violence".

It further said that hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza were also subjected to physical and sexual violence, forced isolation and threats, and given limited access to water, food and hygiene facilities. The UN panel said that Palestinian armed groups were also guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, calling on them to immediately release all the hostages.