Israel pounds Gaza, Lebanon; kills at least 45

Deir al-Balah: Israel unleashed waves of deadly strikes on regions in Gaza and Lebanon on Friday, resulting in 25 deaths in the central Gaza Strip and at least two dozen across Lebanon's Northeast region, the Associated Press reported.

Israel claimed that the bloodbath in Gaza was targeted strikes on Hamas infrastructure and a militant operating area of the central Nuseirat refugee camp. In Lebanon, its attack was a part of stepping up its offensive against Hezbollah.

The strike in Gaza's Nuseirat camp ended up in killing an 18-month-old and his 10-year-old sister among 25 others. When Israeli authorities did not comment on the overnight strikes at the Nuseirat refugee camp, they stated that it was aware of the reports of civilian casualties and were investigating.

Since October 7th last year, Israel has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians in its outright offensive inside the Gaza Strip. Israel forces opened an attack on Gazans without distinguishing between civilians and combatants, while more than half of the dead were women and children, AP writes.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Friday that a total of 55 people had been killed in the past 24 hours and that another 196 had been wounded.

The state-run news agency in Lebanon, National News Agency, reported four airstrikes in different villages across the country's northeast region in the country. In recent days, Israel has intensified its airstrikes on the northeastern city of Baalbek and nearby villages, as well as different parts of southern Lebanon, prompting roughly 60,000 people to flee their homes.