Israel strikes historic Lebanese city after warning residents to flee

Israel has began striking the historic Lebanese city of Baalbek after issuing evacuation orders earlier – the first time it has ordered residents to leave a city in the north of the country.

• Israel has began striking the historic Lebanese city of Baalbek after issuing evacuation orders earlier – the first time it has ordered residents to leave a city in the north of the country. One of the areas marked for evacuation is home to Roman ruins, according to a map published by an IDF spokesman. • An Israeli airstrike on a multistory building killed dozens of people including children in northern Gaza, in what the US called a “horrifying incident” and the UN said was one of Israel’s deadliest attacks in nearly three months. Israel’s military said it was “trying to understand” why so many people were in the area. • A group of top US officials are heading to the Middle East as the Biden administration seeks to both make progress on resolving the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon and deter a further Iranian response. White House officials Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk will be in Israel Thursday. CIA Director Bill Burns will be in Cairo. • The amount of aid entering Gaza has hit the lowest level since Israel’s war in the enclave started, United Nations data shows. Just 836 trucks carrying aid have entered Gaza so far this month. Before the war, 500 trucks would enter the strip on average on a daily basis. Israel’s recent attacks on Iran will be met with a “definitive and painful” response that will likely come before the US presidential vote, a high-ranking source told CNN on Wednesday. The remarks signal a departure from Iran’s initial attempts to downplay the severity of the strikes carried out by Israel on October 25, which marked the first time Israel has openly acknowledged striking Iranian targets.