Hundreds of people marched through the streets of Beirut to attend the funeral of Hamas deputy Saleh Al-Arouri, who was killed in a reported drone strike in the Lebanese capital on Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENTWhile both Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group immediately blamed Israel, no party has yet claimed responsibility.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) released footage on Thursday showing military strikes on Hezbollah and an "anti-tank missile terrorist cell" in the area of Maroun El Ras in southern Lebanon.
Israel's military also said it had identified several launches from Lebanon towards Israeli territory on Thursday, as fears mount of a regional escalation in the Middle East.
For its part, Hezbollah announced that its fighters had carried out 11 attacks against Israeli posts along the border, including four using heavy warhead Burkan rockets, which the group has rarely fired since the start of the current conflict.
The focus of the war remains on Gaza, where Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel is seeking a “clear victory” over Hamas, which has ruled the territory since 2007.
The Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) also reported “intense and continuous shelling” around its headquarters building in the southern Gaza City of Khan Younis and the nearby Al-Amal Hospital on Thursday.
At least seven displaced people were reportedly injured.
Twenty-one of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are no longer functional while thirteen remain partially functional and a further two minimally functional, according to the latest assessment by the World Health Organisation.
There are more than 57,000 wounded in Gaza, while Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 22,300 people, two-thirds of them women and children. according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run coastal enclave.
According to the United Nations, a quarter of Gaza’s population faces starvation, as Israeli restrictions and heavy fighting hinder aid delivery.