Catch up: Israel continues to strike Gaza and Lebanon as ceasefire talks are expected to resume this weekend

 

People inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Friday. 

Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images

Israel is continuing its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon as the Middle East also braces for a possible Israeli response on Iran.

The United States’ top diplomat met with Middle East leaders on Friday, the diplomacy seeking to rein in the wars in Lebanon and Gaza. It comes as talks about a ceasefire and hostage deal are expected to resume on Sunday in Qatar.

Here’s what to know:

• Journalists killed: Israel’s military said it is reviewing reports that three journalists were killed in an overnight strike in Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it struck a Hezbollah military structure in the town of Hasbaiya. The attack was condemned by a host of Lebanese officials including Information Minister Ziad Makary and the country’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also issued a statement “strongly condemning” the attack.
• US diplomacy: Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Middle East leaders in London on Friday. The Biden administration is “working to seize” the urgency of the moment, Blinken said during talks about ending the war in Gaza, with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Lebanon’s Mikati. President Joe Biden said Friday that the killing of people in Gaza “has to stop.”
• Israel’s possible response to Iran: United States Air Force F-16 fighter jets arrived in the Middle East from Germany on Friday, according to US Central Command, as the region braces for a possible Israeli attack on Iran. The potential strike would be in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack on Israel on October 1.
• Possible ceasefire talks: Israel’s Mossad Director David Barnea visited Cairo on Thursday and met with his Egyptian counterpart Hassan Mahmoud Rashad. Barnea will attend ceasefire talks in Qatar this weekend, the Israeli prime minister’s office said. However, there is little expectation of a breakthrough on a ceasefire deal before the US presidential election, sources tell CNN.

• War in Lebanon: Herzi Halevi, Israel’s Chief of the General Staff, said “there’s a possibility of reaching a sharp conclusion” to the war in Lebanon, since Israel has “thoroughly dismantled Hezbollah’s senior chain of command.” More than half a million people have fled from Lebanon into Syria since September 23, according to Lebanon’s Disaster Risk Management Unit.
• Northern Gaza: Israeli forces entered the Kamal Adwan Hospital compound with tanks and bulldozers and opened fire after days of laying siege to the facility, health authorities said. Health officials also said the facility is running low on supplies and in desperate need of aid. The World Health Organization has “lost touch with the personnel” at the hospital, the WHO director said. The United Nations’ human rights chief warned possible “crimes against humanity” are taking place in the northern part of the strip.
• Southern Gaza: A medical aid worker was killed in Israeli military operations in southern Gaza Thursday night, according to Médecins Sans Frontières, aka Doctors Without Borders. At least 26 Palestinians were killed in overnight strikes on Khan Younis, including children, according to emergency response officials. On Friday morning, the Israeli military said its troops continued combat operations in the southern Gaza Strip, targeting Hamas “from the air and ground” over the past day.