Rescue teams were searching Friday through rubble for missing people near the city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon where an Israeli strike hit a civil defense center the night before, killing at least 13.
All those killed in the strike on the town of Douris near Baalbek were employees and volunteers of the emergency services agency, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense. Some other remains were also recovered and will require DNA testing, it said in a statement.
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Civil defense workers extinguish a fire as smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A bomb dropped from an Israeli jet prepares to hit a building in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Civil defense workers extinguish a fire as smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Mourners react during eulogies for Israeli soldier Capt. Itay Marcovich, who was killed in action in Lebanon, during his funeral in Kokhav Yair, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Security officers and rescuers gather at a destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Mourners react during eulogies for Israeli soldier Capt. Itay Marcovich, who was killed in action in Lebanon, during his funeral in Kokhav Yair, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Mourners react during eulogies for Israeli soldier Capt. Itay Marcovich, who was killed in action in Lebanon, during his funeral in Kokhav Yair, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Smoke rises from a building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Maghazi in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians collect clean drinking water at a desalination plant that now operates round the clock in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, a resource they barely had any access to during the war, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Smoke rises between buildings hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises between buildings hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A man passes in front of destroyed buildings that were hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises between buildings hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises from buildings hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Maghazi in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mourners carry their relatives who were killed in the Israeli bombardment of Maghazi in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Maghazi in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Maghazi in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Smoke rises between buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A man passes in front of destroyed buildings that were hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Firefighters check a destroyed building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Residents check their destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A man checks his destroyed shop at a street that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Firefighters try to extinguish a fire as smoke rises from a destroyed building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The General Directorate of Civil Defense expressed “deep regret over this direct attack on its members." Staffers “will continue to respond to relief calls and continue with its humanitarian mission, no matter how great the challenges and sacrifices are," it said.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of using ambulances and medical facilities to transport and store weapons. The Israeli military has not commented on the strike on the civil defense center in Baalbek.
Israel has been striking deeper inside Lebanon since September as it escalates the war against Hezbollah. After 13 months of war, more than 3,300 people have been killed and more than 14,400 wounded, Lebanon’s Health Ministry says.
The Israel-Hamas war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Lebanon’s Hezbollah group began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.
Israel’s blistering 13-month war in Gaza has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to local health officials who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The fighting has left some 76 people dead in Israel, including 31 soldiers.
Here's the Latest:
BEIRUT — An Iranian official flew to Beirut on Friday to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war with top Lebanese officials as Israel’s air force struck areas on the edge of the Lebanese capital.
The visit of Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, comes amid attempts led by the United States to end the 13-month war that broadened in September into southern and eastern Lebanon as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Lebanese media reported that the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon has handed over a draft of a proposed deal to end the Israel-Hezbollah war to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
A Lebanese official confirmed that the U.S. ambassador to Beirut, Lisa Johnson, visited Berri but refused to say whether a draft was handed over. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media about the ongoing talks. The U.S. Embassy refused to either confirm or deny the reports.
Larijani flew in Friday from neighboring Syria where he held similar talks a day earlier with President Bashar Assad. Syria’s state news agency said Assad and Larijani discussed the “ongoing aggression on Palestine and Lebanon and the necessity of stopping it.”
Iran is a main backer of Hezbollah and for decades has been funding and arming the Lebanese militant group.
BEIRUT — Rescue teams were searching for missing people through rubble near the city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon where an Israeli strike hit a civil defense center the night before.
Thirteen bodies were recovered, all of them employees and volunteers of the emergency services agency, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense. Some other remains that will require DNA testing were also recovered, it said in a statement.
The General Directorate of Civil Defense expressed “deep regret over this direct attack on its members.” Staffers “will continue to respond to relief calls and continue with its humanitarian mission, no matter how great the challenges and sacrifices are,” it said.
Rafik Shehada, head of the union of municipalities in the Baalbek region, described the strike as “barbaric” and said that rescue teams were still searching for missing people who had been inside the center at the time and were presumed dead.
Human Rights Watch in a report issued in late October said that it had documented three incidents that it described as “apparent war crimes” in which Israeli forces struck medica “medical personnel, transports, and facilities.” At that time, it said that Israeli strikes had killed at least 163 health and rescue workers across Lebanon and damaged 158 ambulances and 55 hospitals during a year of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of using ambulances and medical facilities to transport and store weapons. The Israeli military has not commented on the strike on the civil defense center near Baalbek.
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council’s 10 elected members have circulated a draft resolution demanding “an immediate, unconditional and permanent cease-fire” in Gaza.
The draft resolution, which was sent to the council’s five permanent members Thursday, reiterates the council’s demand “for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” seized during Hamas’ surprise attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel says about 100 are still being held, though not all are believed to be alive.
The council’s 10 elected members – Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland, Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia – circulated the draft after they agreed to it.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, holds the key to whether the Security Council adopts the resolution. The four other permanent members – Russia, China, Britain and France -- are expected to support it or abstain.
The draft, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, also demands immediate access for Gaza’s civilian population to humanitarian aid and services essential for their survival.
It “underscores” that the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA “remains the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza.”
Israel’s parliament passed two laws last month banning UNRWA’s operations in the Palestinian territories, which take effect in 90 days.
The draft resolution would also express the council’s “deep alarm over the ongoing catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza including the lack of adequate healthcare services and the state of food insecurity creating a risk of famine notably in the north.”
For more Middle East news: https://apnews.com/hub/middle-east
Civil defense workers extinguish a fire as smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A bomb dropped from an Israeli jet prepares to hit a building in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Civil defense workers extinguish a fire as smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Mourners react during eulogies for Israeli soldier Capt. Itay Marcovich, who was killed in action in Lebanon, during his funeral in Kokhav Yair, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Security officers and rescuers gather at a destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Mourners react during eulogies for Israeli soldier Capt. Itay Marcovich, who was killed in action in Lebanon, during his funeral in Kokhav Yair, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Mourners react during eulogies for Israeli soldier Capt. Itay Marcovich, who was killed in action in Lebanon, during his funeral in Kokhav Yair, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Smoke rises from a building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Maghazi in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians collect clean drinking water at a desalination plant that now operates round the clock in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, a resource they barely had any access to during the war, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Smoke rises between buildings hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises between buildings hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A man passes in front of destroyed buildings that were hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises between buildings hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises from buildings hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Maghazi in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mourners carry their relatives who were killed in the Israeli bombardment of Maghazi in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Maghazi in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Maghazi in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Smoke rises between buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A man passes in front of destroyed buildings that were hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Firefighters check a destroyed building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Residents check their destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A man checks his destroyed shop at a street that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Firefighters try to extinguish a fire as smoke rises from a destroyed building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
New York at (3-13) at Philadelphia (13-3)
Sunday, 1 p.m., EST, CBS
BetMGM NFL Odds: Eagles by 3 1/2
Against the spread: New York 4-11-1; Philadelphia 10-6
Series record: Eagles lead 91-86-2
Last meeting: Saquon Barkley rushed for 176 yards to lead Philadelphia to a 28-3 victory in New York on Oct. 20.
Last week: Giants defeated the Colts 45-33. Eagles routed the Cowboys 41-7.
Giants offense: overall (29), rush (22), pass (27), scoring (31).
Giants defense: overall (24), rush (31), pass (10), scoring (23).
Eagles offense: overall (6), rush (1), pass (30), scoring (7).
Eagles defense: overall (1), rush (10), pass (1), scoring (T-6).
Turnover differential: Giants: minus-7; Eagles: plus-10.
Wide receiver Malik Nabers. The No. 6 overall pick has 104 catches for 1,140 yards and 6 touchdowns and is four receptions shy of topping Steve Smith’s franchise mark of 107 catches in a season, set in 2009.
QB Tanner McKee. The third-string quarterback could start with Jalen Hurts and backup Kenny Pickett sidelined by injuries. McKee threw two touchdown passes and put the finishing touches on a rout against Dallas.
If Barkley played, it would have been New York’s rushing defense vs. Barkley. The Giants are second from the bottom in the NFL by allowing an average of 141.6 rushing yards per game. In Barkley’s place, the Giants rushing defense will be contending with Kenneth Gainwell.
Giants: Defensive lineman Armon Watts (knee) was injured in the first half against the Colts last week and didn’t return. He underwent surgery and won’t play on Sunday, coach Brian Daboll said on Wednesday. C John Michael Schmitz (ankle) and LB Micah McFadden (neck) did not play against Indianapolis. Neither practiced on Wednesday. RT Evan Neal (rib/hip) also didn’t practice on Wednesday.
Eagles: QB Jalen Hurts (concussion) did not play last week and missed the final three quarters against Washington the week before after getting injured early against the Commanders. The Eagles held a walkthrough on Wednesday rather than a full practice, but Hurts would not have participated had it been a full practice. Either way, he likely will not play this week to heal up for the playoffs. TE Dallas Goedert (knee), out since Dec. 1 and LB Nakobe Dean (abdominal), who missed last week’s game against Dallas, would have been full participants on Wednesday if the Eagles held a full practice rather than a walkthrough. Many starters either didn’t participate on Wednesday because of rest and several others were limited participants.
The Eagles are NFC East champions for the second time in three seasons. The Giants finished last in the division for the second time in the past four. New York lost the inside track for the top pick in the draft by beating the Colts last week.
Giants QB Drew Lock passed for 309 yards and four touchdowns without an interception and ran for a 5-yard score in the win over the Colts that snapped a 10-game losing streak. … The victory over Indianapolis kept the Giants from becoming the first team to go 0-9 at home, but also knocked them out of control of the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft. … New York had six plays of 30 or more yards against Indianapolis. … Ihmir Smith-Marsette returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score last Sunday. … WR Malik Nabers has 104 catches for 1,140 yards and 6 touchdowns and is four receptions shy of topping Steve Smith’s franchise mark of 107 catches in a season, set in 2009. ... Philadelphia is locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC and will host either Washington or Green Bay on January 11, 12 or 13 in a wild-card game. If Washington loses Sunday to Dallas and Green Bay beats Chicago, the Commanders are headed to Philadelphia. If the Commanders win, the Packers are the No. 7 seed and play the Eagles. … Philadelphia needs 35 points to eclipse the club record of 477, set in 2022. … Brown joined Mike Quick (1983–85) as Eagles receivers to reach 1,000-plus receiving yards in three straight seasons last week. Brown stands at 1,079 yards and has surpassed 1,000 in each of the past three seasons. … Zack Baun has a career-high 150 tackles, which ranks third in the NFL. … C.J. Gardner-Johnson has four interceptions in the past four games.
For those still playing in fantasy leagues, Nabers could have another big game to close out his stellar rookie season.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) gets past Indianapolis Colts linebacker E.J. Speed (45) to score a touchdown on a 5-yard run in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee (16) reacts after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver DeVonta Smith during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)