Israeli strikes kill 46 people in the Gaza Strip and 33 in Lebanon, medics say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes killed at least 46 people in the Gaza Strip in the past day, including 11 at a makeshift cafeteria in an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone, medics said. In Lebanon, warplanes struck Beirut’s southern suburbs and killed 33 people elsewhere in the country on Tuesday.

The latest bombardment came as the United States said it would not reduce its military support for Israel after a deadline passed for allowing more humanitarian aid into Gaza. The State Department cited some progress, even as international aid groups said Israel had failed to meet the U.S. demands.

In Lebanon, large explosions shook Beirut’s southern suburbs — an area known as Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah has a significant presence — soon after the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for 11 houses there.

There was no immediate word on casualties. The Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure, including command centers and weapons production sites, without providing evidence.

Another Israeli strike on an apartment building east of Beirut killed at least six people. Wael Murtada said the destroyed home belonged to his uncle and that those inside had fled from the Dahiyeh last month. He said three children were among the dead and other people were missing.

An Israeli airstrike on a residential building in central Lebanon killed 15 people, including eight women and four children, and wounded at least 12 others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. The strike came without warning, and state media said the building was sheltering displaced families.

Israel has been carrying out intensified bombardment of Lebanon since late September, vowing to cripple Hezbollah and stop more than a year of cross-border fire by the Lebanese militant group.

A rocket exploded in a storage building in the northern Israeli town of Nahariya on Tuesday, killing two people, first responders said. Another two people were wounded by shrapnel in a separate impact outside the town.

A Hezbollah drone smashed into a nursery school near the northern Israeli city of Haifa on Tuesday morning, but the children were inside a bomb shelter and there were no injuries. The impact scattered debris across the playground.

At the same time, Israel has continued its 13-month campaign in Gaza set off by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.

An Israeli strike late Monday hit a makeshift cafeteria used by displaced people in Muwasi, the center of a “humanitarian zone” that Israel’s military declared earlier in the war.

At least 11 people were killed, including two children, according to officials at Nasser Hospital, where the casualties were taken. Video from the scene showed men pulling bloodied wounded from among tables and chairs set up in the sand in an enclosure made of corrugated metal sheets.

A strike on a house in the northern town of Beit Hanoun killed 15 people on Tuesday, including relatives of Al Jazeera journalist Hossam Shabat, who has been reporting from the north.

Mohamed Shabat and his wife Dima, both volunteer doctors at Kamal Adwan Hospital, were killed along with their daughter Eliaa, according to hospital director Hossam Abu Safiya.

Strikes in central and southern Gaza killed another 20 people, according to Palestinian medical officials.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes.

Hours earlier, the Israeli military announced a small expansion of the humanitarian zone, where it has told Palestinians evacuating from other parts of Gaza to take refuge. Hundreds of thousands are sheltering in sprawling tent camps in and around Muwasi, a desolate area with few public services.

Israeli forces have also been besieging the northernmost part of Gaza since the beginning of October, battling Hamas fighters it says regrouped there.

With virtually no food or aid allowed in for more than a month, the siege has raised fears of famine among the tens of thousands of Palestinians believed to still be sheltering there.

The United States gave Israel a 30-day deadline — that expired this week — to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, calling on it to allow at least 350 truckloads to enter each day, among other things.

So far, Israel has fallen short. In October, 57 trucks a day entered Gaza on average, and 75 a day so far in November, according to Israel’s official figures. The United Nations puts the number lower, at 39 trucks daily since the beginning of October.

Israel has announced a flurry of measures in recent days to increase aid, including opening a new crossing into central Gaza and some small deliveries of food and water to the north. But so far the impact is unclear.

The military announced Tuesday that four soldiers were killed in Jabaliya, bringing to 24 the number of soldiers killed in the assault there since it began.

Palestinian health officials say hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, though the true numbers are unknown as rescue workers are unable to reach buildings destroyed in strikes. Israel has ordered residents in the area to evacuate. But the U.N. has estimated some 70,000 people remain.

Many Palestinians there fear Israel aims to permanently depopulate the area to more easily keep control of it. On Tuesday, witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli troops had encircled at least three schools in Beit Hanoun, forcing hundreds of displaced people sheltering inside to leave.

Drones blared announcements demanding people move south to Gaza City, said Mahmoud al-Kafarnah, speaking from one of the schools as sounds of gunfire could be heard. “The tanks are outside,” he said. “We don’t know where to go.”

Hashim Afanah, sheltering with at least 20 other people in his family home, said the forces were evicting people from houses and shelters.

The U.N.’s top humanitarian official, Joyce Msuya, told the Security Council on Tuesday that “acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes” are being committed in Gaza. “The daily cruelty we see in Gaza seems to have no limits,” she said, pointing to recent developments in Beit Hanoun.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities that do not distinguish between civilians and militants in their count but say more than half the dead are women and children. Israel says it targets Hamas militants who hide among civilians.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250 as hostages. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third of them believed to be dead.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem, Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Bassem Mroue and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show that the span of the war in Gaza is now 13 months, not 19 months, and that 75 aid trucks have entered per day in November, according to Israeli figures, not 87.

Mourners attend the funeral of Israeli soldier Orr Katz, who was killed in a battle in the Gaza Strip, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Lebanese Red Cross volunteers and other rescuers search for victims at a house that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Baalchmay village east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Rescue workers search for victims at a house hit in an Israeli airstrike in Baalchmay village east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Rescue workers search for victims at a house hit in an Israeli airstrike in Baalchmay village east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Rescue workers search for victims at a house hit in an Israeli airstrike in Baalchmay village east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Rescue workers search for victims at a house hit in an Israeli airstrike in Baalchmay village east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A firefighter, right, extinguishes a fire as smoke rises from a house hit in an Israeli airstrike in Baalchmay village east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Members of ZAKA rescue services clean the blood stains at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit a storage facility in the northern Israeli town of Nahariya, killing two people on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

FILE - Palestinians line up for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)

FILE - Palestinians line up for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Journalists document as smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — It surely ranked among the best and most joyous five minutes in Alpine skiing history for the Swiss men's team and fans at the race they prize above all.

Marco Odermatt, the superstar of men’s skiing, raced down the longest and quirkiest World Cup downhill course to edge teammate Franjo von Allmen for victory in the classic Lauberhorn race.

As Odermatt waited at the start gate, Von Allmen delighted a noisy crowd of 40,000 with the latest standout display of his breakout season to set the fastest time, one day after getting his first World Cup win in a super-G.

Odermatt would not be denied on a near-perfect day for downhill racing on fast, hard snow under sunshine and blue skies in temperatures of 2 degrees (36 F) at the finish.

“This is my house!” Odermatt declared in English on seeing he was 0.37 seconds faster than Von Allmen.

Third-placed Miha Hrobat was 0.57 back after setting a fast target as the first starter.

The celebration was a shoutout to Daniel Yule, Odermatt said later of his Swiss teammate with British parents who said the same on winning a slalom at nearby Adelboden in 2020.

Von Allmen hugged Odermatt and shared exuberant smiles as he gave up his seat in the course-side leader’s box to his good friend.

Wengen is fast becoming Odermatt’s house, after winning both downhills on the course one year ago and being runner-up behind Aleksander Aamodt Kilde in the two previous years. Kilde is skipping this season to recover from injuries suffered while crashing at Wengen last year.

“It’s the most important race for me this year,” Odermatt told Swiss broadcaster RTS of the Lauberhorn downhill now in its 95th year. It is a standout event in Switzerland’s sports and social calendar.

“It’s super cool. Today the skiing is perfect, the course, the snow. The feeling on my feet was fantastic,” the three-time defending overall World Cup champion said after extending his lead in the standings.

The snow conditions set up for fast skiing and Italian veteran Dominik Paris was clocked at 154.99 kph (96 mph) on the straight Haneggschuss section two minutes into the run. It was there in 2013 that Johan Clarey of France set the World Cup record speed of 161.9 kph (100.6 mph). Paris finished fourth.

Still, the 4.45-kilometers (2 ¾-mile) course that twists beneath the Eiger, Jungfrau and Mönch mountain peaks is always tiring and two-time Lauberhorn winner Vincent Kriechmayr crashed hard into safety fences before the final turn.

Kriechmayr stood up and later was seen limping with a right leg injury that the Austrian team confirmed was “a severe strain” to a knee ligament.

French racer Blaise Giezendanner was airlifted from the course after crashing midway down his run. The French team later said Giezendanner tore the ACL in his right knee.

Odermatt also leads the downhill standings from Von Allmen, who has been runner-up in three straight downhills.

In a discipline where racers often peak in their 30s, Von Allmen shapes already as an elite racer in just his second year competing at Wengen. He placed 14th last year in both of Odermatt's wins.

Von Allmen was saluted in the finish area by International Ski Federation president Johan Eliasch, who also owns the Head ski brand the Swiss prospect uses.

Swiss men have placed 1-2 in all four World Cup downhills this season. Odermatt has won two, with Justin Murisier and Alexis Monney winning the others.

“It’s incredible, you have to give it to them,” Eliasch said. “The dominance in speed across the board is something for everybody else to aspire to.”

Austria’s classic race is next Saturday for the downhillers, the Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel that is a shorter course than Wengen but the most feared.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, center, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, celebrates on the podium with second-placed Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen, left, and third-placed Slovenia's Miha Hrobat, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Mt. Eiger, 3,967-meter (13,015 ft), overlooks an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Slovenia's Miha Hrobat speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr skis on a single ski as he comes down the slope after crashing during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)