Israeli strikes hit Lebanon, northern Gaza while Netanyahu and Trump speak

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes killed dozens of people on Sunday in Lebanon and northern Gaza, as the world watched for signs of how the U.S. election might affect the wars between Israel and Iranian-backed terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he has spoken three times with Donald Trump since Tuesday’s election and they “see eye-to-eye regarding the Iranian threat and all of its components.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

The Israeli airstrike in Lebanon killed at least 23 people in Aalmat village north of Beirut. Israel’s military said that it hit a Hezbollah site used to store weapons, and the strike was under review.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel after war broke out in Gaza, in solidarity with Hamas. Israel retaliated, and a series of escalations have led to all-out war.

In northern Gaza, an Israeli strike killed at least 17 people according to Dr. Fadel Naim, director of Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza City. Israel’s military said that it targeted a site where terrorists were operating. It said the details of the strike were under review.

A separate strike hit a house in Gaza City, killing Wael al-Khour, a minister in the Hamas-run government, according to the Civil Defense first responders who operate under the government.

Israel has struck deeper inside Lebanon since September, when it killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his top commanders. Hezbollah has expanded its rocket fire from northern to central Israel. The fighting has killed more than 3,100 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry, and more than 70 people in Israel.

In Syria, an Israeli airstrike hit the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab. Britain-based opposition war monitor The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights suggested that Hezbollah was targeted. Israel didn’t immediately comment.