Middle East latest: An Israeli airstrike cuts a major highway linking Lebanon with Syria

An Israeli airstrike has cut off a main highway linking Lebanon with Syria, leaving two huge craters on either side of the road.

The airstrike Friday rendered the road unusable for cars, leaving people to go on foot to the Masnaa Border Crossing where tens of thousands of people fleeing war in Lebanon have crossed into Syria in the past two weeks.

Israel began a ground incursion into Lebanon on Tuesday against the Hezbollah militant group, while continuing strikes in Gaza. The Israeli military said nine soldiers have died in the conflict in southern Lebanon.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since the day after Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage. Israel declared war on the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip in response. More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, and just over half the dead have been women and children, according to local health officials.

Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since then, most of them since Sept. 23, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

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Here is the latest:

South Korea evacuates 97 people from Lebanon

SEOUL, South Korea — A military plane evacuating 97 people from Lebanon was expected to arrive in South Korea on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said the group on the plane includes South Korean nationals and their family members. There are about 30 South Koreans left in Lebanon besides diplomats and embassy workers who are staying.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed officials Wednesday to send military aircraft to conflict areas in the Middle East as he called a meeting to discuss the impact of the intensified fighting in the region. There are about 480 South Korean nationals living in Israel and 110 in Iran.

Hospital in southern Lebanon says it was shelled after being warned to evacuate

BEIRUT — A hospital in southern Lebanon said in a statement that it had been shelled by Israeli forces Friday after being warned to evacuate.

The statement from Salah Ghandour Hospital in the town of Bint Jbeil said the shelling “resulted in nine members of the medical and nursing staff being injured, most of them seriously,” while most of the medical staff were evacuated.

A day earlier, the World Health Organization says 28 health workers in Lebanon had been killed in the past 24 hours.

Earlier on Friday, the Israel military in a statement alleged that rescue vehicles were being used by Hezbollah to transport militants and weapons.

UN says at least 20 killed in attacks on schools sheltering Palestinians in Gaza

UNITED NATIONS — A U.N. agency reports that three schools where it has been sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza have been attacked in the past two days, killing more than 20 people.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Friday that the agency helping Palestinian refugees in Gaza, UNRWA, stresses that “schools are not a target and cannot be used for any military purposes by anyone.”

Dujarric says the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, and its humanitarian partners reported this week that at least 87% of school buildings in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged since Israel launched its offensive following Hamas’ attacks in southern Israel last Oct. 7.

He says one third of the buildings were UNRWA schools.

Dutch military transport plane evacuates 185 people from Lebanon

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A Dutch military transport plane carrying 185 people out of Lebanon has landed at an airbase in the southern city of Eindhoven, the government announced.

More than 100 of those on board the Airbus A330 plane were Dutch citizens and the remainder were repatriated at the request of Belgium, Finland and Ireland.

“It’s great that these people are safely back in the Netherlands. These have been tense times for them,” Christiaan Rebergen, secretary-general of the foreign ministry, said after they landed Friday.

A second Dutch military flight is scheduled for Saturday.

Biden says unclear if Netanyahu is trying to influence the US election

President Joe Biden says he doesn’t know whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding up a peace deal in order to influence the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

“No administration has helped Israel more than I have,” Biden said Friday. “None. None, none. And I think Bibi should remember that. And whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know but I’m not counting on that.”

Biden was responding to comments made by one of his allies, Sen. Chris Murphy, who said this week that he was concerned Netanyahu had little interest in a peace deal in part because of U.S. politics.

The UN releases more funds for humanitarian relief in Lebanon

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon has released an additional $2 million from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund to help address the deteriorating situation. That’s according to Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

This comes in addition to $10 million already released from the Lebanon fund, and an additional $10 million from the U.N.’s main Central Emergency Response Fund.

Dujarric says a flight carrying medical supplies from the U.N.’s World Health Organization to treat tens of thousands of injured people arrived in Beirut on Friday. Additional flights are expected later Friday and in the coming days.

US military says it hit Houthi targets in Yemen

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military says it hit several Houthi targets in Yemen, going after weapons systems, bases and other equipment belonging to the Iranian-backed rebels.

A U.S. official has told The Associated Press that U.S. aircraft and ships struck Houthi strongholds on Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet publicly released.

The exact number of targets was not yet available as the mission was just ending.

According to the Houthi media, seven strikes hit the airport in Hodeida, a major port city, and the Katheib area, which has a Houthi-controlled military base. Four more strikes hit the Seiyana area in Sanaa, the capital, and two strikes hit the Dhamar province.