Middle East Crisis Live: Officials say Israeli attack on Gaza residential towers kills at least 73 people Israel-Gaza war

Hello and welcome to The Guardian’s live coverage of Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon.

In northern Gaza, Israeli airstrikes hit several houses and a multi-storey residential building in the town Beit Lahiya At least 73 people were killed in northern Gaza on Saturday night, officials said.

The Hamas media office said at least 73 people were killed. Medway Abbas, a senior health ministry official, said the figures were accurate. There are also reports that more people may be trapped under the rubble in densely populated areas.

Palestinian health officials said rescue operations were hampered by disruptions in telecommunications and internet services for a second day.

• The U.S. government is investigating the alleged leak of U.S. secrets about Israel’s attack on Iran, according to CNN. According to CNN, the documents, dated October 15 and 16, began circulating on Friday through an account called “Middle East Observer” on Telegram. According to the Associated Press, the investigation is also examining how the documents were obtained, including whether they were intentionally leaked by members of the U.S. intelligence community or obtained through other methods such as hacking, and whether any other intelligence information was leaked.

• Benjamin Netanyahu’s house in the seaside town of Caesarea was hit by a drone on Saturday, causing superficial damage but no casualties. Neither Netanyahu nor his wife Sara were home at the time. “Iran’s proxy Hezbollah attempted to assassinate me and my wife today, which was a grave mistake,” Netanyahu said in a statement, vowing that Iran and its proxies would “pay a heavy price.”

• British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Benjamin Netanyahu after reports that the Israeli prime minister’s holiday home was targeted by a drone on Saturday. Starmer told Netanyahu he was shocked by what Netanyahu called an “assassination attempt” on his life, according to a Downing Street spokesman.

• G7 defense ministers have expressed concern over recent Israeli attacks on UNIFIL forces in Lebanon. The group, which has been holding meetings in Naples, Italy, said: “We are concerned about recent events in Lebanon and the risk of further escalation. We are concerned about all threats to the security of UNIFIL.

• U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a phone call with Israeli Defense Minister Yov Galante on Saturday to review the “posture adjustments” of the U.S. military. That includes the recently deployed anti-missile system to bolster Israel’s defenses against regional threats, the Pentagon said in a statement.

• Austin said the United States would like to see Israel reduce some of its attacks on and around the Lebanese capital, Beirut. “The civilian casualties are too high,” Austin told reporters at a Group of Seven defense conference in Naples.

• Lebanese state media reported that Israel launched two air strikes in southern Beirut early on Sunday.. According to the state news agency, “enemy (Israeli) aircraft carried out two attacks this morning on the southern suburbs of Beirut, one of which hit a residential building in Haret Hreik, near the mosque and hospital”. There were no details of casualties or property damage.

• The Israeli army early this morning ordered the immediate evacuation of civilians near buildings “linked to Hezbollah” in two neighborhoods in southern Beirut..