Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 7 as people flee south Lebanon day after nearly 500 killed

Palestinian officials say Israel’s strikes early Tuesday killed at least seven people in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis. At least 15 others, including women and children, were injured in the strikes, they said.

Israel’s military says it will do “whatever is necessary” to push Hezbollah away from Lebanon’s border with Israel.

The two countries have been trading fire since the Israel-Hamas war began.

On Monday, Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, killing nearly 500 people and wounding more than 1,600 others.

Thousands of people fled southern Lebanon, jamming the main highway to Beirut in the biggest exodus since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

It’s a staggering one-day toll for a country still reeling from a deadly attack on communication devices the week before.

Lebanon blamed the attacks on Israel, but Israel did not confirm or deny its responsibility.

Hezbollah launched more than 100 projectiles toward Israel on Monday, the military said, reaching deep into Israel, including around the northern city of Haifa and parts of the occupied West Bank.

Most of the missiles were intercepted but two people were lightly injured from falling shrapnel in northern Israel.

Here’s the latest:

Israeli strikes kill at least 7 in Khan Younis

DEIR-Al-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian officials say Israel’s strikes early Tuesday killed at least seven people in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis.

At least 15 others, including women and children, were injured in the strikes, they said.

The civil defense said the dead include five people who were killed in a strike on the Abu Harb family house in the Qizan al-Najjar area.

The strike also wounded at least 10 others, it said.

Another strike hit a house in the Tahlia area in Khan Younis, killing at least two people and wounding five others, according to the rescue service.

The casualties from both strikes were confirmed in hospital records in Khan Younis.

Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians but rarely comments on individual strikes.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war.

It does not say how many were fighters, but says a little over half were women and children.

The war began when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250.

Around 100 of the captives are still being held in Gaza, and a third of them are believed to be dead.

United Arab Emirates airlines cancel flights to Lebanon

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Airlines in the United Arab Emirates, a key East-West travel hub, canceled flight Tuesday to Lebanon over the ongoing cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad canceled flights, as did FlyDubai, the low-cost carrier.

The United Arab Emirates, which reached a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel in 2020, is home to a large Lebanese population.