The [Cannes film festival](https://www.theguardian.com/film/cannesfilmfestival) is facing strike action as it opens next week and could see protests by projectionists, floor managers and press agents who are demanding changes to the French government’s treatment of seasonal film festival staff. The festival on France’s Côte d’Azur has faced major strike action only once before, during the student protests and workers’ strikes that began in May 1968. This year a collective called _[Sous les Écrans la Dèche](https://souslesecransladeche.wordpress.com/qui-sommes-nous/)_ (The Poverty Behind the Screens), which represents more than 200 workers, has called a strike over the government’s treatment of freelance workers at festivals across France. They include projectionists, programmers, box office staff, logistics managers, floor managers, drivers, decorators and press officers. The collective said the government’s latest proposed changes to unemployment laws would make it impossible for many skilled film festival workers to get by. The workers are hired on short-term, seasonal contracts at film festivals across France. But they do not fall under France’s special unemployment insurance scheme for freelance performers, artists and technicians in the cultural sector. That scheme tops up salaries to a minimum wage, giving state support during periods of no work. The collective said changes to the French unemployment system to be introduced at the start of July would leave seasonal film festival workers in an even harder position, with a higher threshold for claiming unemployment benefits. A spokesperson for the collective said: “One after the other, we will have to give up our professions, which will jeopardise these film festivals who already say it is difficult to find staff.” They added: “The strike will not put the Cannes opening at risk, but there could be disruption during the festival.” The collective is demanding a meeting in the first week of the festival with key Cannes staff alongside representatives from the economy ministry. It wants a government commitment to draw up concrete plans for protecting festival workers. The [Cannes film festival](https://www.theguardian.com/film/cannesfilmfestival) said it acknowledged the “difficulties” faced by some staff and encouraged all parties to “come together around the bargaining table”. Meanwhile, there are fears that as a new #MeToo movement in French cinema gathers pace, the festival could be affected if fresh revelations of sexual harassment are published by French media during the event. Iris Knobloch, the Cannes president, told [Paris Match](https://www.parismatch.com/culture/cinema/iris-knobloch-cannes-et-le-metoocinema-nous-suivons-la-situation-de-pres-237269) that the festival was “extremely attentive” to the #MeToo movement and was “following the situation closely”. She said that if anyone involved in presenting a film at the festival was the target of allegations, “we would ensure the right decision was taken, case by case, in consultation with our governing body and the different parties involved”. But she said the film on show would also be taken into consideration as “the work is the real star”. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/11/cannes-film-festival-faces-strike-disruption-over-seasonal-workers-rights#EmailSignup-skip-link-11) Sign up to Film Weekly Take a front seat at the cinema with our weekly email filled with all the latest news and all the movie action that matters **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion Cannes will next week premiere a short film by the actor, writer and director [Judith Godrèche](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/20/what-happened-to-me-mustnt-happen-to-the-next-generation-judith-godreche-on-grooming-and-frances-metoo) entitled _Moi Aussi_, or Me Too, highlighting the stories of survivors of sexual violence. Godrèche has become a leading voice in France’s [#MeToo movement](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/07/rape-inquiry-opened-judith-godreche-complaint-against-director-benoit-jacquot) after accusing the directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually assaulting her while she was a teenager. Both men have denied the allegations. Prosecutors have opened an inquiry. Godrèche has spoken at this year’s French film awards, the Césars, and in parliament urging an end to sexual abuse in what she described as an “incestuous” French film industry. [Gérard Depardieu](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/29/gerard-depardieu-questioned-by-french-police-over-sexual-assault-allegations), one of France’s best-known actors, will face a criminal trial in October over the alleged sexual assaults of two women on the set of a film in 2021. He is also under formal investigation in another case after the actor Charlotte Arnould alleged he raped her at his Paris home in 2018. He has denied all allegations.

An Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza city of Rafah that killed dozens of displaced Palestinians drew widespread international condemnation Monday, with world leaders calling for an investigation into the attack and intensifying the pressure for Israel to end its military campaign in the south. President Emmanuel Macron of France said Monday he was “outraged” by the blast, and he called “for full respect for international law and an immediate cease-fire.” “These operations must stop,” he said, referring to the strike on Sunday. “There are [no safe areas](https://x.com/emmanuelmacron/status/1795041573224206368?s=46&t=WiyCJ3iOZhKl5lJ3ldGVBA) in Rafah for Palestinian civilians.” The strike came just two days after the International Court of Justice appeared to order Israel to immediately halt its offensive in the city. A legal official with the Israeli military said the strike was under review. Volker Türk, the United Nations human rights chief, said, “What is shockingly clear is that by striking such an area, densely packed with civilians, this was an entirely predictable outcome.” Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares [said at a news conference](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-ask-eu-partners-back-icj-over-israel-2024-05-27/) Monday that he planned to ask other foreign ministers from the European Union’s member states to support the World Court’s rulings against Israel and to take measures if Israel continues with its Rafah operations. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F27%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Frafah-israel-strike-leaders-ceasefire.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F27%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Frafah-israel-strike-leaders-ceasefire.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F27%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Frafah-israel-strike-leaders-ceasefire.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F27%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Frafah-israel-strike-leaders-ceasefire.html).

**On Today’s Episode:** * **[Israeli Strike Kills Dozens at Civilian Shelter in Gaza](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/06/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-school-killing.html)**, _by Aaron Boxerman, Abu Bakr Bashir, Erika Solomon and Thomas Fuller_ * **[Witness in Hunter Biden Trial Gives Intimate Portrait of His Drug Use](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/06/us/politics/hallie-biden-hunter-gun-trial-testimony.html)**, _by Glenn Thrush, Eileen Sullivan and Zach Montague_ * **[Minority Groups’ Uninsured Rate Has Plunged in Recent Years, Reports Find](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/us/health-insurance-minority-groups.html)**, _by Noah Weiland_ * **[Pat Sajak, the Cool, Unflappable, Reliable Host, Signs Off](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/style/pat-sajak-wheel-of-fortune-host.html)**, _by Guy Trebay_ Image Mourners gathered around the bodies of people killed in an Israeli airstrike at a U.N. school housing displaced Palestinians in Nuseirat on Thursday.Credit...Bashar Taleb/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

PARIS -- French President Emmanuel Macron could awake — if he has slept at all — with clipped wings on Monday morning. The high-stakes second round of the [legislative election on Sunday](https://apnews.com/article/france-election-campaign-left-right-violence-386f52a46a2eca14d3c15897e15a853a) will almost certainly impact the French leader's sway in the areas of [defense and foreign affairs](https://apnews.com/article/france-election-macron-weakened-far-right-3a9f54a3de796f76eae449523015d371). It could diminish his role as an energetic and influential figure in European and world affairs and as one of Ukraine's primary backers in [the war against Russia](https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine), say retired French military officers and analysts of France's defense and foreign policies. After the centrist president's bloc finished a distant third, behind the surging far right, in last weekend's [first round of voting](https://apnews.com/article/france-election-far-right-macron-193233ade08821a71731980d8a17eb4a) for a new parliament, one of the only certainties before Sunday's decisive round two is that Macron himself can't emerge strengthened. With many of its candidates already out of the race, Macron's camp can't secure the absolute majority that gave him ample maneuvering room in his first term as president from 2017. It also is likely to fall well short of the 245 seats it won after his reelection in 2022. That made it the largest single group — albeit without a clear majority — in the outgoing National Assembly that Macron dissolved on June 9, triggering the surprise election after the far right handed his alliance a painful beating in French voting for the European Parliament. That leaves two outcomes most likely to emerge on Sunday night to Monday as official results come in. In one scenario, France could end up with a fragmented parliament and a prime minister too weak to seriously undermine Macron's constitutionally guaranteed role as head of the armed forces and, more broadly, unable or unwilling to majorly challenge his defense and foreign-policy powers. Still, even in this best-case scenario for Macron, France risks becoming inward-looking, more focused on its polarized and unstable domestic politics than its place and military activities in the world. In a second scenario, a worst case for Macron, the far right could secure an historic victory on Sunday that saddles the president with Jordan Bardella as prime minister, in an awkward and possibly conflictual power-sharing arrangement. The 28-year-old Bardella is a protege of [Marine Le Pen](https://apnews.com/article/france-le-pen-far-right-elections-89c9f07aef85fea66420155cfcdeb8fc), who leads the far-right National Rally party, with Bardella as its president. Both Le Pen and Bardella have made clear that, in power, they would seek to rein in Macron and exert themselves in defense, European and foreign affairs decision-making. The French Constitution only gives limited answers to how the various scenarios might play out. In large part, it could depend on the personalities of those involved and their ability to compromise, French analysts say. Although the constitution says the president is commander in chief, it also says the prime minister “is responsible for national defense.” During the campaign, Bardella laid out what he said would be "my red lines” with regards to Ukraine, if he ends up sharing power with Macron: No more French deliveries of long-range weaponry that Ukraine could use to strike targets in Russia and no sending of troops, [a scenario that Macron floated](https://apnews.com/article/france-macron-ukraine-troops-caa788d2455dafb06dd87f79c4afe06f) this year. Bardella said he doesn't want nuclear-armed France to be drawn into direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia. His party has [historically been close to Russia](https://apnews.com/general-news-96c01541f5a640e185b8881321fe4858) and Le Pen [cultivated ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin](https://apnews.com/general-news-9fd3a3f874b343d8a8bd00a24fdd088e) for many years and supported Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Who would have the final word in potential arguments over long-range weapons for Kyiv is “actually quite a tricky one,” says François Heisbourg, a French analyst on defense and security questions at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “The president can probably do it if he wanted to, but the prime minister could also state that he can prevent the president from doing so,” he says. “It can become a deadlock.” “If they don’t agree, they can actually prevent each other from doing anything.” Power-sharing isn't new to France. But in previous cases, the president and prime minister weren't as sharply opposed politically as Macron and Bardella. “Nobody until now has tried to test these respective powers to their ultimate conclusion. This is completely uncharted territory,” Heisbourg says. On military affairs, Le Pen has already delivered a warning shot, calling Macron's role as commander in chief “an honorary title for the president since it’s the prime minister who holds the purse strings." Macron retorted: “What arrogance!” French retired Vice Adm. Michel Olhagaray, a former head of France’s center for higher military studies, is concerned that what he describes as the constitutional “blur” about shared military responsibilities could ripple through the ranks of the country's armed forces. Conflictual power-sharing could be “something extremely painful for the armies, to know who the armies will obey. Very painful, very difficult,” he says. “In any case, the president of the republic can no longer take personal initiatives, like launching a (military) operation, etc., because that requires an understanding with the prime minister." Because the French military operates across the globe, with forces deployed on the eastern flank of the NATO alliance, in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere, changes to its posture by a power-sharing government are sure to be scrutinized by France's international network of allies and partners. “They will all ask, ‘But what is happening? How will this evolve? What will become of France? Will France keep its commitments?’” Olhagaray says. But analysts say France's nuclear forces shouldn't be impacted. The president holds the nuclear codes, not least to ensure that the arsenal remains credible as a deterrent by making sure that potential enemies understand that any decision to strike isn't taken by committee. If no clear majority emerges for any single bloc from Sunday's voting, lawmakers may have to do something that's not a tradition in France: build a coalition government. Because the prime minister at its head will need broad consensus in parliament to keep the government from falling, that person is more likely to be a weakened junior partner in sharing power with Macron. “The president will have much more control,” says retired Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France’s military mission at the United Nations. In a coalition government, consensus-building on tough foreign policy questions — such as whether to greatly boost aid to Ukraine — could take time, and issues that divide might be put on the back burner. “The room to maneuver would be narrowed,” says Frédéric Charillon, a professor of political science at Paris Cité University. “In France, we are much more used to this kind of, you know, presidential system of monarchic foreign policy, when the president says, ‘I will do this, I will do that.’” But in the power-sharing arrangement with a new prime minister that now awaits Macron, “It cannot work like that.”

Workers have gone on strike at the five-star hotel in Paris where members of the International Olympic Committee are staying PARIS -- Workers went on strike Thursday at the five-star hotel in Paris where members of the International Olympic Committee are staying, walking out just a day before the opening ceremony of the Games. According to the major French union CGT, the IOC paid the hotel where staffers were striking, Hôtel du Collectionneur, 22 million euros ($23.88 million) for exclusive use of the facility. The Paris division of the CGT posted a video on social media appearing to be from inside the hotel, showing around a dozen staffers lining a corridor. Employees held signs reading, “No 13th month, no Olympics!," “Luxury hotel, poverty wages” and “Give us back our social benefits." Many companies in France pay their workers a bonus in December known as the “13th month." The CGT said the employees were demanding a pay increase, having not received a raise for seven years. The strike comes after a fifth round of negotiations failed Wednesday. “Negotiations with the unions are underway, without affecting the operation of our hotel," management for Hôtel du Collectionneur said in a statement Thursday. "Our teams remain mobilized and committed to ensuring that our services run smoothly.” Although a dividend of over 9.5 million euros ($10.3 million) was given to shareholders this year, the union says the hotel has made no attempt to improve the financial situation of its staff. In a separate protest, around 200 performers stood along the Seine River on Monday and refused to take part in a rehearsal for the opening ceremony being held Friday, protesting working conditions and inequality in the treatment of entertainment workers at the Paris games. The protests come as tensions run high following recent legislative elections, putting France on the brink of a governing [paralysis](https://apnews.com/article/france-election-left-far-right-macron-7c61d22e610c8ceef133e26bd8c847ee) — which, in turn, has sparked further calls for strikes. Sophie Binet, general secretary of the CGT, called this month for mass demonstrations and possible strikes to pressure President Emmanuel Macron into “respecting the results” of the election and allow a left-wing coalition to form a new government. Binet didn’t rule out strikes during the Olympics. Asked about strikes that could disrupt the biggest event France has ever organized, she said, “At this stage, we don’t plan a strike during the Olympic Games. But if Emmanuel Macron continues to throw gasoline cans on the fires that he lighted ...” CGT has an open call for potential strikes by public service workers from July through September.

Before dawn on the day of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, arsonists on Friday sabotaged three critical high-speed rail lines, stranding thousands of travelers, heightening security fears and blighting what President Emmanuel Macron hoped to be a moment of national glory. Around 4 a.m., the arsonists cut through and burned cables used for signaling and security near three rail divides, the French authorities said. The carefully placed strikes snarled end-of-week travel plans for more than a million people, including Parisians leaving for vacation and international travelers en route to the opening ceremony of the Games. Parts of the prized rail system came to a standstill. A fourth sabotage attempt was foiled, the authorities said, when railway workers doing maintenance work in Vergigny, southeast of Paris, stumbled upon suspicious individuals who fled before any damage was done. No one was killed or reported injured. The Paris prosecutor’s office, which handles major organized crime cases, said it had opened an investigation into what it called criminal vandalism and criminal conspiracy. No immediate claim of responsibility was made. “This operation was prepared, coordinated, critical points were targeted, which shows they knew enough about the network to know where to strike,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said. He added, “All of our services are obviously mobilized to organize the games so that they are a success.” Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F07%2F26%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Frail-sabotage-france-olympics.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F07%2F26%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Frail-sabotage-france-olympics.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F07%2F26%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Frail-sabotage-france-olympics.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F07%2F26%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Frail-sabotage-france-olympics.html).

A frantic diplomatic push to deter Israel from striking Beirut in response to a deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights was under way on Monday, as the government of the UK, Germany, France and America issued travel warnings to their citizens, calling on them to leave [Lebanon](https://www.theguardian.com/world/lebanon) or avoid travel there. British foreign secretary David Lammy said events were “fast-moving” and that British nationals were advised “to leave Lebanon and not to travel to the country.” In its travel guidance, the UK Foreign Office warned events in the region could escalate with “little warning” and leave commercial routes out of Lebanon severely disrupted. “Do not rely on FCDO \[Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office\] being able to evacuate you in an emergency,” it added. Rena Bitter, the assistant secretary for consular affairs at the US embassy in Beirut [used a video on X](https://x.com/usembassybeirut/status/1817847016510165251) to tell Americans in Lebanon to “create a crisis plan of action and leave before the crisis begins”. Some flights to and from Beirut’s international airport have been cancelled this week, with Jordan’s flag carrier, Royal Jordanian, becoming the latest on Monday, suspending flights until at least Tuesday. Washington is racing to avert a full-blown war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah after the attack on the [Israeli-occupied Golan killed 12 youths at the weekend](https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/27/attack-kills-10-young-people-in-israeli-occupied-golan-heights). Israel and the US have blamed Hezbollah for the rocket strike, though the group has denied responsibility. The US has reportedly focused its high-speed diplomacy on constraining Israel’s response by urging it against targeting densely populated Beirut, the southern suburbs of the city that form Hezbollah’s heartland, or key infrastructure like airports and bridges. [](https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/30/lebanon-israel-attack-travel-warnings-for-uk-germany-france-america-citizens#img-2) Passengers wait after their flights were delayed or canceled at Rafik Hariri International Airport, in Beirut. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh/EPA Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker Elias Bou Saab, who said he had been in contact with US mediators since Saturday’s Golan attack, told Reuters that [Israel](https://www.theguardian.com/world/israel) could avert the threat of major escalation by sparing the capital and its environs. “If they avoid civilians and they avoid Beirut and its suburbs, then their attack could be well calculated,” he said. A spokesperson for the national security council told the Guardian that Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu had not spoken since the rocket attack but stressed that US officials had been in regular contact with both Lebanese and Israeli officials since the strike. Lebanese foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the flurry of diplomatic activity has sought to contain the anticipated Israeli response, but an attack was expected. “Israel will escalate in a limited way and Hezbollah will respond in a limited way … These are the assurances we’ve received,” Bou Habib said in an interview with local broadcaster Al-Jadeed.’ The Israeli calculation that it could conduct a large volume of strikes deeper into Lebanese territory, strike targets in Beirut or even hit facilities belonging to the Lebanese state rather than the militant group could prove to be high-risk strategies, Danny Citrinowicz, an analyst with Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said. On Monday, Netanyahu, [promised a “harsh” response to the rocket strike on the occupied Golan Heights](https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/29/israeli-drones-hit-southern-lebanon-tensions-mount-golan-heights-attack), saying, “the state of [Israel](https://www.theguardian.com/world/israel) will not and cannot let this pass. In a briefing to reporters, John Kirby, the White House national security council communications adviser, called warnings of all-out war “exaggerated”. “Nobody wants a broader war, and I’m confident that we’ll be able to avoid such an outcome,” Kirby said. “I’ll let the Israelis speak to whatever their response is going to be.” Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian, whose country supports Hezbollah and Hamas, warned Israel against attacking Lebanon, which he said would be “a great mistake with heavy consequences”. Pezeshkian spoke with French president Emmanuel Macron on Monday, with the Élysée Palace saying Macron told his counterpart “all must be done to avoid a military escalation” and urging Tehran to “cease its support for destabilising actors”. _Reuters, Agence France-Presse and PA Media contributed to this report_

An Israeli airstrike on a school functioning as a shelter in Gaza City killed at least 30 people and injured dozens more on Sunday, according to the Palestinian emergency response agency in Gaza and Palestinian news outlets. It was the third attack on a school in the last four days. Most of the victims were women and children, said Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense. He said that an F-16 fighter jet hit a school called Hassan Salame, where at least 14 people were still buried under the rubble. Shrapnel and debris also hit a neighboring school known as Nasser, he said. The death toll was initially 25, but rose to 30. It was unclear if any of those killed were militants. The Israeli military said it had targeted “terrorists” in “Hamas command and control centers” located at the Hassan Salame and Nasser schools. It said it had taken “numerous steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians” before the strike, including using precision munitions, surveillance and intelligence, though it did not specify how it had done so. People and emergency crews look for survivors following an Israeli strike that targeted the Nasser school and another, both of which serve as shelters for displaced people in Gaza City.Credit...Omar Al-Qattaa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images A woman mourns following an attack on a shelter-turned-school in Gaza City.Credit...Omar Al-Qattaa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images But civilians paid dearly. “Right in front of me, there was a 5-year-old child dying. How is that related to Oct. 7?” Mr. Basal said. “If you want to kill someone, kill him away from other people.” Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F04%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-gaza-strike-shelter.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F04%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-gaza-strike-shelter.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F04%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-gaza-strike-shelter.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F04%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-gaza-strike-shelter.html).

Two French pilots have died after their Rafale jets collided in mid-air in eastern [France](https://www.theguardian.com/world/france), President Emmanuel Macron has said, in a rare accident involving the cutting-edge military aircraft. One pilot ejected after the crash over northeastern France on Wednesday, but authorities had launched a desperate search for a missing instructor and a student pilot on the second jet. “We learn with sadness the death of Capt Sebastien Mabire and Lt Matthis Laurens in an air accident in a Rafale training mission,” Macron posted on X. “The nation shares the grief of their families and brothers in arms at airbase 113 in Saint-Dizier” in eastern France, he added. “One of the pilots was found safe and sound,” defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said earlier on X. It was not immediately clear what caused the collision that authorities said occurred over Colombey-les-Belles, a town in northeastern France. “The military authorities will report on the causes of the accident,” said the local prefecture. The supersonic Rafale “multi-role” fighter – used to hunt enemy planes, strike ground and sea targets, carry out reconnaissance and even carry France’s nuclear warheads – has become a bestseller for the French arms industry. Accidents involving Rafale jets are rare. “We heard a loud noise, around 12.30pm (10.30 GMT),” Patrice Bonneaux, deputy mayor of Colombey-les-Belles, told AFP. It was not the usual sonic boom of a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier, he said. “It was a strange noise, a percussive sound”. “I assumed that two planes had collided, but we didn’t believe it,” he said, adding that a road bordering a nearby forest had been cordoned off. In December 2007, a Rafale jet crashed near Neuvic in southwestern France. Investigators concluded that the pilot had become disoriented. That was believed to be the first crash of a Rafale. In September 2009, two Rafale aircraft went down as they flew back to the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle off the coast of Perpignan after completing a test flight. One pilot died. France has sold the Rafale to Egypt, India, [Greece](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/19/greece-receives-six-french-fighter-jets-as-part-of-115bn-military-overhaul), Indonesia, Croatia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Lecornu said in January that France had ordered 42 new Rafale fighter jets, with the first to be delivered in 2027. The French military has now ordered more than 230 Rafales since the jet went into service. Macron has urged defence manufacturers to boost production and innovation as Europe seeks to increase arms supplies to buttress Ukraine, which has been [struggling to fight off Russia’s invasion](https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2024/aug/08/how-russias-summer-offensive-is-reshaping-the-war-in-ukraine), now in its third year.

Ukraine struck Russia with one of its largest drone attacks of the war on Tuesday, killing a woman in the Moscow area, setting off fires in high-rise buildings and forcing the closure of major airports near the capital, Kremlin officials said. The Russian Ministry of Defense said it had shot down 144 Ukrainian drones in multiple regions ranging from the border area near the war zone in southwestern Russia to suburban towns around Moscow, highlighting Ukraine’s growing capability to strike back at Russia with a fleet of domestically made, long-range weapons. About 20 of the drones were intercepted over the Moscow region, the ministry said. Ukraine did not immediately comment on the strikes. Taking the war to Russia has become a focus of Ukraine’s strategy over the summer, most prominently in [a surprise ground incursion into the Kursk region of Russia](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/08/23/world/europe/ukraine-russia-kursk-invasion-map.html), capturing more than 500 square miles of territory. At the same time, it has stepped up long-range strikes, even as Russia has repeatedly bombarded Ukraine with missiles and [pressed ahead with an offensive](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/05/world/europe/russia-ukraine-putin-kursk.html) in the country’s east. Rubble in Ramenskoye, near Moscow, on Tuesday. Taking the war to Russia has become a focus of Ukraine’s strategy over the summer.Credit...Tatyana Makeyeva/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F09%2F10%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Frussia-moscow-drone-strike-ukraine.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F09%2F10%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Frussia-moscow-drone-strike-ukraine.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F09%2F10%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Frussia-moscow-drone-strike-ukraine.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F09%2F10%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Frussia-moscow-drone-strike-ukraine.html).

Image Inspecting debris on Tuesday at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon.Credit...Mahmoud Zayyat/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Rescue teams searched through the rubble early on Thursday after an overnight Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed at least five members of the country’s civil defense agency, according to Lebanon’s health ministry and state news media. The strike hit a civil defense base of operations where the emergency workers were waiting to respond to relief calls, said Elie Khairallah, a spokesman for the agency. The agency’s regional chief was among those killed, he said, adding that the building, situated near a church in the southern Lebanese town of Derdghaiya, was leveled in the attack. Lebanon’s health ministry condemned the killings, accusing the Israeli military of targeting ambulance crews and rescue teams. There was no immediate comment from Israel’s military. At least 65 health workers have been killed in Lebanon since Israel intensified its offensive there against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah three weeks ago, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. It added that the agency had recorded 16 “attacks on health care” across the country in the same period of time. As the Israeli military continued to pound Hezbollah targets across Lebanon on Thursday, the country’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, suggested that diplomatic efforts with the United States and France to secure a pause in the fighting had “intensified.” Mr. Mikati’s comments, in a statement from his office, could not be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from the United States or France, which last month had put forward a proposal for a 21-day pause in the fighting. The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had struck 110 sites in Lebanon over the past day and claimed that it had killed two Hezbollah commanders. Hezbollah did not comment on the claims. Hezbollah also kept up its rocket attacks into Israel on Thursday, with the Israeli military saying that 40 projectiles had been launched from Lebanon in the morning, setting off sirens in parts of the country’s north. Some were intercepted but several struck the area, according to the military. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Hezbollah said it had been targeting Israeli troops stationed along the border with Lebanon, and in the city of Kiryat Shmona. On Wednesday, a rocket attack in Kiryat Shmona [killed two civilians](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/09/world/middleeast/israel-hezbollah-lebanon.html).

Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670fa44b8f0898da3e0b5843#block-670fa44b8f0898da3e0b5843) **Palestinian** farmers in the **occupied West Bank** are facing “the most dangerous olive season ever”, experts said on Wednesday, urging **Israeli** settlers and forces not to interfere with the harvest. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that the experts also recommended a “foreign presence” to act as a buffer between the two sides. According to AFP, a dozen experts said farmers were facing intimidation, restriction of access to lands, severe harassment and attacks by armed Israeli settlers and Israeli security forces. “In 2023, the harvest was marred by a sharp increase in movement restrictions and violence by Israeli forces and settlers,” the independent experts said in a statement. Last year, they said:“Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, faced the highest level of Israeli settler violence.” Settlers had assaulted Palestinians, set fire to or damaged their crops, stolen sheep and blocked them from getting to their land, water and grazing areas, the statement added. “Last year, Israel also seized more Palestinian land than in any year in the past 30 years,” they said, adding that the situation was “expected to worsen”. [](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike#img-2) Palestinian and foreign volunteers help in olive picking during the harvest season in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, on Tuesday. Photograph: Zain Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images Olive harvests are central to Palestinian life and culture, said the independent experts, who are mandated by the **Human Rights Council** but do not speak for the UN. “Restricting olive harvests, destroying orchards and banning access to water sources is an attempt by Israel to expand its illegal settlements,” they argued. **Francesca Albanese**, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, was among the signatories, reports AFP. The experts, also including those on the right to food, to safe drinking water and sanitation and to adequate housing, said Palestinian farmers were facing “enormous challenges, threats and harassment” in accessing their olive trees. In 2023, more than 9,600 hectares (24,000 acres) of olive-cultivated land across the occupied West Bank was not harvested due to Israeli-imposed restrictions, they said. That had meant the loss of 1,200 metric tonnes of olive oil, worth $10m, they added. “This situation is expected to worsen,” they warned, as the Israeli authorities had revoked or failed to issue permits allowing farmers to access their lands. They urged Israeli forces to refrain from interfering with this year’s olive harvest, and “concentrate their efforts on withdrawing the occupation and dismantling the colonies”. The experts said they would “continue to call for protection, including through a foreign presence acting as a buffer between the Palestinians and their aggressors, and to protect Palestinian farmers and their families”. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f9baf8f08ff54487be378#block-670f9baf8f08ff54487be378) **The UN Palestinian refugee agency is close to a possible breaking point for its operations in the [Gaza](https://www.theguardian.com/world/gaza) Strip** due to increasingly complicated conditions, its head said. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told journalists at a news conference in Berlin: > > _I will not hide the fact that we might reach a point that we won’t be able anymore to operate._ > > _We are very near to a possible breaking point. When will it be? I don’t know. But we are very near of that._ He said the agency was facing a combination of a financial and political threats to its existence, in addition to difficulties in day-to-day operations, as aid is even more desperately needed against the threat of disease and famine. He said there was a real risk, heading into winter, with people’s immune systems weakened, that famine or acute malnutrition could become a likelihood. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670fa2808f088ef416005fe3#block-670fa2808f088ef416005fe3) The UN special coordinator for [Lebanon](https://www.theguardian.com/world/lebanon) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert has said that **civilian suffering has reached an unprecedented level**. Her comments follow an Israeli strike in the south which killed at least six people and hurt 43, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. She also urged the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure after deadly Israeli strikes hit municipality buildings in the southern city of Nabatiyeh on Wednesday. Hennis-Plasschaert said in a statement: > _Today, Israeli air strikes hit the town of Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon, yet again._ She added that “civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times”. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670fa0a88f08ff54487be3c3#block-670fa0a88f08ff54487be3c3) **The EU countries contributing to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in [Lebanon](https://www.theguardian.com/world/lebanon), dubbed as UNIFIL, say it is “essential and fundamental”** and only the UN can decide whether to end it, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles has said after a video call with 15 of her counterparts. She said in a video statement sent to reporters: > _All the countries that are part of it are firmly supporting the UNIFIL mission, our soldiers, our people who are there._ EU countries, led by Italy, France and Spain, have thousands of troops in the 10,000-strong peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, which has said it has repeatedly come under attack from Israeli forces in recent days. [Israel](https://www.theguardian.com/world/israel) has called on the United Nations to move the troops out of the combat zone. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670fa03b8f08ff54487be3bc#block-670fa03b8f08ff54487be3bc) **Palestinian health officials called on Wednesday for a humanitarian corridor to three hospitals in northern Gaza that have come close to collapse** as Israeli troops have cut off the area during almost two weeks of heavy fighting against Hamas. Reuters reports: Doctors at the Kamal Adwan, Al-Awda and the Indonesian hospitals have refused to leave their patients despite evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military at the start of a major push into the Jabalia area of northern Gaza 12 days ago. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, said: > _We are calling on the international community, the Red Cross and the World Health Organisation, to play their humanitarian role by opening up a corridor towards our healthcare system and allow the entry of fuel, medical, delegations, supplies and food._ > > _We are talking about more than 300 medical staff working at Kamal Adwan Hospital, and we can’t provide even a single meal for them to be able to offer medical services safely._ [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f9ede8f0898da3e0b57e4#block-670f9ede8f0898da3e0b57e4)  Daniel Hurst The **Australian** foreign affairs minister, **[Penny Wong](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/penny-wong)**, has been heckled by **pro-Palestine** advocates as she gave a speech warning that “disregard for international humanitarian law is increasing”. Addressing the **University of [Tasmania](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/tasmania)** on Tuesday night, Wong released Australia’s new humanitarian policy and repeated the government’s call for ceasefires in **Gaza** and **Lebanon**. But the speech was interrupted by pro-Palestine advocates who called on the government to take firm action against the **Israeli** government rather than express concerns. Wong initially responded to the hecklers by saying that she recognised that “everyone’s voice matters” in a democracy and that “this is a very distressing \[time\]”. She added: “I don’t actually believe, and I’ve never believed, that we gain anything by shouting each other down.” In [a clip broadcast by the ABC](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-16/foreign-minister-penny-wong-interrupted-during/104477752), a person in the audience can be heard shouting: “What we need right now is leaders that have the backbone – that are willing to do something that isn’t just talk.” Another person can be heard interjecting: “You’ve had chances at a national and international level to change what is happening in [Lebanon](https://www.theguardian.com/world/lebanon), in Palestine … there’s blood on your hands.” The clip shows Wong walking away from the podium temporarily while the interjections continued. A moderator said he was “asking both of you please to leave the venue”. In an interview with ABC Radio Tasmania on Wednesday morning, Wong said it was “probably the 10th interruption” when she became “a bit frustrated I couldn’t finish a sentence”. “Some of the things that were being said and shouted were not true,” she said. “One example is being told to stop bombing Lebanon. We are calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon.” _You can read the full piece by Guardian Australia’s foreign affairs and defence correspondent, **[Daniel Hurst](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/daniel-hurst)**, here:_ [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f933e8f08ff54487be303#block-670f933e8f08ff54487be303) As **Israel** fights **Hezbollah** in **Lebanon**, **UN** peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have complained that Israel has been firing on their positions and the UN has said more than 15 of its soldiers have been injured. Israel has said it is not attacking the peacekeepers but called on them to leave the area, insisting they have failed in their mandate to disarm Hezbollah along the so-called **blue line**. But the UN says it will not pull out. In the latest episode of the [Today in Focus](https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/todayinfocus) podcast, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, **Patrick Wintour,** explains that this row has decade-long roots and that Israel and the UN have had a bitter relationship almost from the start. [ How UN peacekeepers ended up in Israel’s line of fire – podcast ](https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2024/oct/16/how-un-peacekeepers-ended-up-in-israels-line-of-fire-podcast) [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f9b108f088ef416005f66#block-670f9b108f088ef416005f66) **Iran**’s president **Masoud Pezeshkian** on Wednesday called for more pressure on Israel’s backers to end killings in **Gaza** and **Lebanon**, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). “The president … demanded more pressure on the supporters of the Zionist regime (Israel) to stop the killings” in Gaza and Lebanon, Pezeshkian said during a phone call with **Oman**’s **Sultan Haitham bin Tariq**, according to a presidency statement. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f991f8f08ff54487be34a#block-670f991f8f08ff54487be34a) **Hezbollah** said it targeted an **Israeli** army tank near a border village with a guided missile on Wednesday, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP), as attacks escalated after Israel intensified bombing of the country last month. Hezbollah fighters “targeted a Merkava tank near the village of Ramia … with a guided missile”, the **Iran**\-backed group said in a statement, adding the attack was “in defence of [Lebanon](https://www.theguardian.com/world/lebanon) and its people”. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f951b8f08ff54487be31a#block-670f951b8f08ff54487be31a) The **Israeli** army on Wednesday said its forces hit dozens of **Hezbollah** targets in the **Lebanese** city of **Nabatiyeh**, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). “The IDF army struck dozens of Hezbollah terrorist targets in the Nabatiyeh area and dismantled underground infrastructure used by Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces in southern [Lebanon](https://www.theguardian.com/world/lebanon),” the army said in a statement. Lebanese prime minister **Najib Mikati** condemned the deadly Israeli strikes on Wednesday saying the Israeli army intentionally targeted a municipality meeting ([see 11.03am BST](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?page=with:block-670f8e418f088ef416005ecd#block-670f8e418f088ef416005ecd)). Lebanon’s health ministry said five people were killed in the strike. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f94408f088ef416005f1a#block-670f94408f088ef416005f1a) **Lebanese** official media reported on Wednesday that **Israeli** jets caused two sonic booms over **Beirut** and the surrounding area, with Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists in the capital hearing loud bangs. “Enemy aircraft violently broke the sound barrier twice in the airspace of (Beirut’s) southern suburbs” and surroundings areas, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f91088f08ff54487be2cf#block-670f91088f08ff54487be2cf) **Lebanese** prime minister **Najib Mikati** condemned deadly Israeli strikes on Wednesday on the southern city of **Nabatiyeh**, saying they intentionally targeted a municipality meeting. Mikati “condemned the new Israeli aggression against civilians in the city of Nabatiyeh, which deliberately targeted a meeting of the municipal council that was discussing the city’s services and relief situation,” he said in a statement, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). A local official said the city mayor, **Ahmad Kahil**, was among the dead. [](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike#img-3) Ahmad Kahil (C), the mayor of Nabatiyeh, pictured on 12 October, inspecting the damage after Israeli airstrikes that targeted the marketplace of the southern Lebanese city. Photograph: Abbas Fakih/AFP/Getty Images [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f8e418f088ef416005ecd#block-670f8e418f088ef416005ecd) The probability of an attack on **Iran**’s nuclear sites remains low but any potential damage would be “quickly compensated”, state atomic energy agency spokesperson **Behrouz Kamalvandi** said on Wednesday, reports Reuters citing the semi-official Nournews. After Iran’s missile attack on **Israel** on 1 October, there has been speculation that [Israel](https://www.theguardian.com/world/israel) could strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, as it has long threatened to do. “We have always taken these threats seriously,” Kamalvandi said. Israeli prime minister **Benjamin Netanyahu**’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that Israel would listen to the **US** but would decide its actions according to its own national interest. The statement was attached to a Washington Post article which said Netanyahu had told US president **Joe Biden**’s administration that Israel would strike Iranian military targets, not nuclear or oil targets, reports Reuters. Biden has said he would not support an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites and oil markets have been on edge over the prospect of an Israeli strike against Iranian oilfields. Kamalvandi told Nournews that any attack on Iran’s nuclear sites remained improbable and that if this happened, the damage was likely to be minimal and quickly repaired by Iran. “We have planned in a way that if they commit any stupidity, the damages would be minimal,” Kamalvandi said. According to Reuters, the Iranian spokesperson added that the **UN** nuclear watchdog and the international community should condemn any threat or attack on nuclear sites. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f8b8d8f0898da3e0b56c5#block-670f8b8d8f0898da3e0b56c5) * * * #### Page 2 Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature **Lebanon**’s prime minister has condemned the ‘deliberate’ **Israeli** strike on a **Nabatiyeh** municipality meeting, reports Agence France-Presse. _We will update with more details soon …_ [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f8b018f08ff54487be260#block-670f8b018f08ff54487be260) At least 42,409 **Palestinians** have been killed and 99,153 injured in **Israel**’s military offensive on **Gaza** since 7 October 2023, the **Gaza health ministry** said on Wednesday. The health ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f841b8f08ff54487be1fd#block-670f841b8f08ff54487be1fd) **Italian** prime minister **Giorgia Meloni** will meet **King Abdullah of Jordan** in **Aqaba**, then the Lebanese prime minister in **Beirut** on Friday, reports Reuters. The prime minister’s office said in a note that Meloni will see **King Abdullah** at 10am GMT (11am BST), than the Lebanese premier, **Najib Mikati**, at 2.30pm GMT (3.30pm BST). [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f82ba8f0898da3e0b5661#block-670f82ba8f0898da3e0b5661) Here are some recent images of **Nabatiyeh**, **Lebanon**, where an **Israeli** airstrike is reported to have killed five people today. [](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?page=with:block-670f8b018f08ff54487be260&filterKeyEvents=false#img-2) Smoke billows near Nabatiyeh, as seen from Marjayoun, near the Lebanese border with Israel, on Wednesday. Photograph: Karamallah Daher/Reuters [](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?page=with:block-670f8b018f08ff54487be260&filterKeyEvents=false#img-3) Lebanon’s health ministry said five people were killed in an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh. It added that rescuers were searching for survivors under the rubble. Photograph: Abbas Fakih/AFP/Getty Images [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f7fa58f08ff54487be1bc#block-670f7fa58f08ff54487be1bc) Further to the news that several people, including a mayor, were reported killed ([see 9.30am BST](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?page=with:block-670f78ab8f088ef416005dbb#block-670f78ab8f088ef416005dbb)) on Wednesday in an **Israeli** strike on a municipality building in the southern city of **Nabatiyeh**, **Lebanon**, some more information has been shared on the news wires. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), **Lebanon’s health ministry** said five people were killed in the strike. “The Israeli enemy raid … on two buildings, that of the Nabatiyeh municipality and the union of municipalities, killed five people in a preliminary toll,” the ministry said in a statement, adding rescuers were searching for survivors under the rubble. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f7d478f088ef416005de7#block-670f7d478f088ef416005de7) **Israeli** navy forces have struck dozens of **Hezbollah** targets in southern **Lebanon**, in cooperation with troops on the ground, Israel’s military said on Wednesday, reports Reuters. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f7ce28f088ef416005de1#block-670f7ce28f088ef416005de1) The mayor of **Nabatiyeh** was among those killed on Wednesday in **Israeli** strikes on the municipality of the southern **Lebanese** city, where **Hezbollah** and its ally **Amal** hold sway, authorities said. “The mayor of Nabatiyeh, among others … was martyred. It’s a massacre,” Nabatiyeh governor **Howaida Turk** told Agence France-Presse (AFP), adding he had been in the municipality building. Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers also told AFP that several people were killed in the strike on the municipality building including mayor **Ahmad Kahil**. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f78ab8f088ef416005dbb#block-670f78ab8f088ef416005dbb) **Wizz Air** said on Wednesday that it was suspending flights to and from **Tel Aviv** until 14 January due to the situation in the region. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f77e48f08ff54487be16f#block-670f77e48f08ff54487be16f) A **Lebanese** official said **Israel** carried out 11 airstrikes on **Nabatiyeh** and surrounding areas on Wednesday, days after strikes destroyed the southern city’s marketplace, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). “For now, 11 strikes have mainly hit Nabatiyeh but also its surroundings,” Nabatiyeh governor **Howaida Turk** told AFP when asked about Israeli strikes, adding that the intense raids “formed a kind of belt of fire” in the area. She reported casualties but could not provide a precise toll. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f71da8f08ff54487be13d#block-670f71da8f08ff54487be13d)  Geneva Abdul The **Biden** administration’s call warning **Israel** to take immediate action to let more humanitarian aid into **Gaza** at risk of possible punishment, including the potential stopping of **US** weapons transfers, is “long overdue” the **Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn)** has said. The organisation, formed by the [late](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/02/saudi-expats-launch-opposition-party-on-anniversary-of-jamal-kashoggis-death) **[Saudi](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/02/saudi-expats-launch-opposition-party-on-anniversary-of-jamal-kashoggis-death)** [dissident](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/02/saudi-expats-launch-opposition-party-on-anniversary-of-jamal-kashoggis-death) **[Jamal Khashoggi](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/02/saudi-expats-launch-opposition-party-on-anniversary-of-jamal-kashoggis-death)**, said the letter from the US administration is an “important” and “unprecedented” signal, while urging for further action “beyond warnings”. “We now need the Biden administration to show action, not just words, in enforcing US laws, which prohibit aid to Israel given not only its relentless obstruction of humanitarian relief but deliberate starvation and incessant bombardment of Gaza’s civilians,” said Dawn’s executive director, **Sarah Leah Whitson**. A four-page letter, written by US secretary of state **Antony Blinken** and the defence secretary, **Lloyd Austin**, dated 13 October, calls on Israel’s government to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza, by lifing restrictions on the entry of assistance within 30 days or face unspecified policy “impliciations”. The letter was sent to Israeli defence minister, **Yoav Gallant** and strategic affairs minister, **Ron Dermer**. “While the letter demands Israel rescind evacuation orders, it is time for the US to enforce these demands immediately rather than issuing vague deadlines. The US must move beyond warnings and act decisively to end its complicity in these atrocities,” added **Raed Jarrar**, Dawn’s advocacy director. [Share](mailto:?subject=Middle%20East%20crisis%20live:%20Lebanese%20governor%20decries%20‘massacre’%20after%20mayor%20among%20those%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20attack&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/16/middle-east-crisis-live-blog-israel-lebanon-attacks-beirut-strike?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-670f6d328f088ef416005d6a#block-670f6d328f088ef416005d6a)

The US presidential election has not been the only high-stakes date looming for [Elon Musk](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/elon-musk). It has been more than a year since Swedish workers came out on strike against his electric car giant Tesla. Swedish industrial union IF Metall has been demanding better wages, benefits and conditions for mechanics in Tesla repair shops across the country, but fundamentally what is at stake is the Swedish labour market model of collective bargaining which Musk refuses to recognise. It is the [first and only strike](https://www.industriall-union.org/swedish-union-warns-of-strike-at-tesla) against Tesla anywhere in the world. And it has now become the longest-running strike in Sweden for a century. In April, six months into the dispute, Musk said: “Actually, I think the storm has passed on that front, I think things are in reasonably good shape in Sweden.” That was not true then, and [it is not true now](https://news.industriall-europe.eu/Article/1150). The past year has been marked by [a wave of solidarity strikes by other unions](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/10/elon-musk-sweden-unions-tesla-labour-car) to block the shipping of Tesla cars to Swedish ports, halt the cleaning of Tesla facilities, withhold postal deliveries, including new number plates, to all Tesla offices and prevent Tesla charging stations being connected to the power grid. Tesla has repeatedly lost legal battles against these solidarity strikes, and [was recently f](https://www.arbetsvarlden.se/domstolssmall-mot-tesla-tvingas-betala-65-miljoner/)orced to pay SEK6.5m (£468,000) in legal costs to the Swedish postal service, PostNord. Twelve Swedish trade unions are involved and three Nordic ones, including Norway’s transport union Fellesforbundet and 3F Transport in Denmark. Meanwhile, Tesla has [brought in strikebreakers](https://da.se/2024/05/utlandska-strejkbrytare-flygs-in-till-teslas-verkstader-okat-kraftigt-sedan-arsskiftet/) from the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Finland, Denmark and many other European countries to cover the 52 striking workers, almost half of Tesla’s mechanics in the country. While legal under Swedish law, the use of strikebreakers is anathema for unions and employers alike in Nordic countries where unwritten rules and norms are essential to their model of worker protection, which rests on collective agreements between employer and employees negotiated via a union. In Sweden, almost 90% of the [workforce is covered by a collective agreement](https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flucris.lub.lu.se%2Fws%2Fportalfiles%2Fportal%2F153810957%2FTrade_unions_in_Sweden_2023._Updated_statistical_data.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Cljames%40etuc.org%7C7d436beecb124d45840c08dcee943ffc%7C7a57d45075f34a4da90dac04a367b91a%7C0%7C0%7C638647567736707488%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=KxpqhD7eBzFlAPJOdWq10C%2F6vZxySXQvsjyzUQ4PAG4%3D&reserved=0), across all sectors. For Tesla, this seems to be of little concern to its notoriously anti-union CEO. Yet the battle has implications far beyond this northernmost corner of Europe. The [United Auto Workers is seeking](https://www.businessinsider.com/uaw-union-vote-volkswagen-tesla-elon-musk-organizing-2024-4) to organise at Tesla factories in the US and the powerful German union [IG Metall is attempting](https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/german-union-slams-aggressive-tesla-firing-works-council-rep-2024-10-14/) to do the same in Grünheide, the site of Tesla’s only European factory. As Johan Järvklo, the international secretary of IF Metall, [has said](https://www.industriall-union.org/in-sweden-the-fight-against-tesla-continues): “It’s really a global struggle and Sweden is currently at the forefront.” [](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/01/one-year-on-we-know-this-swedens-trade-unions-are-more-than-a-match-for-elon-musk#img-2) Emma Hansson, chair of the IF Metall union, Stockholms lan, stands on strike outside Tesla's service centre in Segeltorp, Sweden. Photograph: Tt News Agency/Reuters From the union perspective, allowing Tesla to get away without signing an agreement would risk encouraging other employers in Sweden and [Europe](https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news) to do the same. And from Tesla’s point of view, there is the concern that saying yes to collective bargaining in Sweden could be used as leverage by unions in other countries where Tesla has factories and many more employees. In Sweden, Tesla only has dealerships, offices, repair shops and charging stations. Although Tesla’s apprehension may be understandable, it stems from a limited understanding of European industrial relations systems. Joining a union is a fundamental right of all Swedish workers, and almost half of the company’s mechanics in Sweden are union members. This means that by law Tesla has to negotiate with the union on many issues, even if no collective agreement has been signed. [IF Metall recently filed a lawsuit](https://www.ifmetall.se/aktuellt/nyheter/fran-forbundet/20242/juni/if-metall-stammer-tesla-for-brott-mot-mbl/) against Tesla for failing to inform and negotiate with union members over workplace changes, in accordance with Swedish labour law. In addition, in some parts of Europe, collective bargaining agreements with one company in an industry or region extend by law to most other companies in that industry or region. This is the case in Austria, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland and France, where firms must comply with extended collective bargaining agreements whether they have signed them or not. And, it turns out, Tesla already has collective agreements in Europe. Although representatives of the company reportedly stated last year that Tesla [“has no collective agreement](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2023/10/31/sweden-tesla-employees-strike-to-defend-their-wages-and-social-model_6215563_19.html) anywhere in the world”, my research has uncovered [three local agreements](https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/search/acco?tab_selection=acco&searchField=ALL&query=Tesla&searchType=ALL&siret=52433526200084+TESLA+FRANCE&typePagination=DEFAULT&sortValue=PERTINENCE&pageSize=10&page=1&tab_selection=acco#acco) between Tesla France and the largest union in France [CFDT](https://www.cfdt.fr/portail/navigation-principale-asp_5000). (They are registered on Légifrance, the official website of the French government for the publication of legal documents such as collective agreements.) I believe this new discovery could help to resolve the Swedish stalemate and prevent disputes in other countries. Why? Well, since Tesla already has to comply with sectoral collective agreements in many countries, and even has local agreements in France, it would not be setting a precedent if it did the same in [Sweden](https://www.theguardian.com/world/sweden). So it should start to see unions as a partner to negotiate with, rather than an enemy. Even Tesla’s own [global human rights policy](https://www.tesla.com/legal/additional-resources#global-human-rights-policy) states that “in conformance with local law, Tesla respects the right of workers to form and join trade unions of their own choosing … or to form and join other employee representative bodies … to bargain collectively”. If the company operated in the spirit of this policy, surely it should be perfectly able to adapt to different countries’ regulations and norms and prevent this unnecessary strike in Sweden from continuing any further into its second year. As Esther Lynch, general secretary of the European TUC, said: “[Musk can make up](https://www.etuc.org/en/pressrelease/tesla-fight-collective-bargaining-continues) his own rules when he reaches Mars, but if you want to do business in Europe then you need to play by Europe’s rules and that means respecting our tradition of collective bargaining.” * German Bender is chief analyst at the progressive Swedish thinktank Arena and a senior research associate at Harvard Law School’s Center for Labor and a Just Economy. His book on the Swedish [Tesla](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/tesla) strike will be published in 2025

An Israeli airstrike on a Gaza City neighborhood killed 23 people on Wednesday, including eight children, and left more than 70 wounded, Gaza’s Civil Defense service said. About 20 people remained missing, but rescuers had little equipment to pull them from the rubble, the group said. The Israeli military said it had been targeting a Hamas operative who it said was responsible for planning attacks. It did not name the operative or give further details. Civil Defense’s death toll, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, could not be independently verified. Gaza’s Health Ministry had not yet released a death toll. A Civil Defense spokesman, Mahmoud Basal, said the strike had destroyed eight homes in Shajaiye, an already hard-hit area. Image The site of the airstrike in Shajaiye on Wednesday. Israel last week called for evacuations from the neighborhood, which had already been pummeled.Credit...Omar Al-Qattaa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Video footage published by Reuters showed rescuers trying to free dust-caked people from the wreckage with little but shovels, tools and their bare hands. They strained to push a collapsed ceiling off a man who was trapped flat underneath. Two men picked their way through the moonscape that had been the street, lifting a small body in a colorful blanket. A donkey cart pulled another blanket-wrapped body away. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F09%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-gaza-city-strike-hamas.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F09%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-gaza-city-strike-hamas.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F09%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-gaza-city-strike-hamas.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F09%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-gaza-city-strike-hamas.html).

The Israeli military on Sunday afternoon struck a residential neighborhood in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, in an area that is a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah. In a joint statement following the strike, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military had targeted infrastructure in [the Dahiya](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/02/world/middleeast/hezbollah-beirut-dahiya.html), where Hezbollah holds sway. Israel said the Iranian-backed group was storing precision missiles there. “Israel will not allow Hezbollah to grow stronger and pose any threat to it — anywhere in Lebanon,” Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Katz said. “The Dahiya district in Beirut will not serve as a sanctuary city for the terrorist organization Hezbollah.” They said that “the Lebanese government bears direct responsibility for preventing these threats.” Hezbollah did not immediately comment. Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, said on Lebanese state media that Israel was undermining stability and warned that its actions would “escalate tensions and pose real threats to the region’s security.” He called on France and the United States, which are helping oversee a cease-fire that largely ended fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in November, to “assume their responsibilities and compel Israel to immediately cease its attacks.” Mr. Aoun said, “The ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable under any pretext.” Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F27%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-strike-beirut-hezbollah.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F27%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-strike-beirut-hezbollah.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F27%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-strike-beirut-hezbollah.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F27%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fisrael-strike-beirut-hezbollah.html).

Hugo Bachega BBC Middle East Correspondent Reuters A giant plume of smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs following Israel's strike on Sunday Israel carried out an air strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday, after ordering an evacuation of a building that it said was being used by the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah. The attack occurred despite a ceasefire that came into force five months ago which put an end to the conflict between Israel and the military group. Israel said that it had targeted a Hezbollah store of "precision-guided missiles" that "poses a threat to the State of Israel and its civilians". The Lebanese presidency condemned the strike and called on the US and France - who brokered the ceasefire in November - to press Israel to cease its attacks on the country. The attack marks the first time in almost a month that Israel has struck Beirut's southern suburbs - called Dahieh - where Hezbollah is based. This will put further pressure on the ceasefire. Despite the deal, Israel has struck targets it says are linked to Hezbollah almost every day. The Israeli government has said that it will respond to any perceived threats from Hezbollah. Western officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have told the BBC that the militant group has been largely compliant with the truce, while accusing Israel of multiple violations that include air strikes and drone surveillance. Live footage streamed by Reuters showed a giant plume of smoke billowing from the targeted building an hour after the Israeli army issued an evacuation order to residents of the Hadath neighbourhood. Lebanon's Civil Defence later said that no casualties had been recorded and rescue crews had extinguished the fire. In a statement on X following the strike, the Lebanese Presidency said that President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack. "The United States and France, as guarantors of the cessation of hostilities agreement, must assume their responsibilities and compel Israel to immediately cease its attacks," it wrote. "Israel's continued undermining of stability will exacerbate tensions and expose the region to real threats to its security and stability." Israel's government said that it had targeted a Hezbollah store of "precision-guided missiles". "The storage of missiles in this infrastructure site constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and poses a threat to the State of Israel and its civilians," the Israeli military said in a statement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that Israel "will not allow Hezbollah to grow stronger". "The Dahiyeh neighbourhood in Beirut will not serve as a safe haven for the terrorist organisation Hezbollah," it added. UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, wrote on X that the strike "generated panic and fear of renewed violence among those desperate for a return to normalcy". "We urge all sides to halt any actions that could further undermine the cessation of hostilities understanding," she added. Earlier this month an [Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs killed four people](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c77nxzl3zj8o), including a Hezbollah official.