Israel Efforts for ceasefire in Lebanon - shelling continues

Despite efforts to achieve a ceasefire, the Israeli military and the Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon continue to fire at each other.

According to media reports, at least four people were killed in a heavy air attack on the Lebanese capital Beirut. 23 others were injured in the attack on a building in the Basta district, the Arabic television station Al-Majadin reported, citing the Ministry of Health.

A correspondent for the Hezbollah-affiliated station Al-Majadin reported that the building had been completely destroyed in the air strike. Hezbollah in turn fired around 80 shells at Israel, according to the Jewish state's armed forces. The statements by both sides could not initially be independently verified.

US President Joe Biden spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron about a possible ceasefire in Lebanon, according to the White House. The aim is for residents on both sides of the border to be able to return to their homes. US special envoy Amos Hochstein was also in the region to sound out the chances of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hospital director killed in attack in Lebanon

According to the authorities, the director of a university hospital was killed in an Israeli attack in north-eastern Lebanon. Ali Rakan Alam and six employees were killed in an Israeli attack on his house in Duris, not far from the city of Baalbek, according to the Ministry of Health. Alam was the director of the Dar Al Amal Hospital in Duris. According to the ministry, it is the largest hospital in the north-eastern region.

The Ministry of Health strongly condemned the attacks on health facilities and their staff. It went on to say that they constituted a war crime. According to the Ministry of Health, 3,645 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah over a year ago. The count does not distinguish between civilians and fighters of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia.

Israeli general harassed in the West Bank - Five arrests

Suspected Jewish extremists harassed the commander of the Israeli Central Command in Hebron in the West Bank. Major General Avi Bluth and several other officers were insulted, according to the Israeli military. Their way was also blocked. Five suspects were subsequently arrested by the Israeli police.

Tens of thousands of people had come to Hebron for an annual pilgrimage. Jewish extremists traditionally have a tense relationship with the military, as there are frequent clashes between soldiers and settlers in the West Bank. During the pilgrimage in Hebron, Major General Bluth was called a "traitor", reported the newspaper "The Times of Israel".

According to media reports, violence by radical settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased since the massacre by Islamist Hamas over a year ago and the outbreak of the Gaza war. Major General Bluth said when he took over the Central Command in June that he would not turn a blind eye to this. His predecessor had already complained that some settlers were following "the path of the enemy" and that the leaders of the settler movement were not condemning the violence.

Photographer Nan Goldin opens exhibition with speech on Gaza war

Accompanied by vociferous activists, artist Nan Goldin opened her exhibition in Berlin with a speech in which she sharply criticized Israel's actions in the Gaza war. She also repeatedly condemned Germany's supposed stance in the conflict. "I have decided to use this exhibition as a platform to express my moral outrage at the genocide in Gaza and Lebanon," Goldin had previously said on stage. "Germany is home to the largest Palestinian diaspora in Europe. Yet protests are being fought with police dogs."

After her speech, dozens of pro-Palestinian activists held up flags and banners in and in front of the National Gallery and chanted for the "freedom of Palestine", among other things. Klaus Biesenbach, director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, tried to give a counter-speech, but was shouted down. When the situation had calmed down, he read out the speech again. The 71-year-old American Goldin is one of the most renowned artists in contemporary photography.

SDA