Forty nations that contribute to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said in a statement on Saturday that they “strongly condemn recent attacks” on the peacekeepers. “Such actions must stop immediately,” said the joint statement, posted on X. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Saturday that gunfire from an unknown source a day earlier had hit one of its peacekeepers, the fifth wounded in south Lebanon in just two days. Read our blog on the day’s developments in the Middle East.
Summary:
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Saturday that gunfire on Friday had hit one of its peacekeepers, the fifth wounded in south Lebanon near the Israeli border in just two days as Israeli forces battled Hezbollah. The source of the gunfire that had wounded the fifth peacekeeper was unclear.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on two villages Saturday, one north of Beirut and another south of the capital, killed at least nine people.
The Israeli military ordered residents of 23 southern Lebanese villages on Saturday to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, which flows from the western Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean.
Israel observed Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, on Saturday amid a firestorm of international criticism over its military offensive in Lebanon and its soldiers firing on peacekeepers.
Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack Saturday on a military base in north Israel's Haifa, hours after claiming an attack on another base south of the city.
More than 42,175 Palestinians have been killed and 98,336 wounded in Israel's military offensive in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza health ministry.
40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks': statement
Forty nations that contribute to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Saturday that they “strongly condemn recent attacks” on the peacekeepers.
“Such actions must stop immediately,” said the joint statement, posted on X and signed by nations including leading contributors Indonesia, Italy and India.
At least five peacekeepers were wounded by Israeli fire in the past 48 hours as Israel takes its fight against Hezbollah into southern Lebanon.
Lebanon says 9 dead in Israeli strikes on two villages
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on two villages Saturday, one north of Beirut and another to the south, killed at least nine people, as state media reported further strikes elsewhere.
An “Israeli enemy strike on Maaysra”, a Shiite Muslim majority village in a mostly Christian mountain area north of Beirut, killed “five people and wounded 14 others”, the ministry said in a statement.
Separately, it said that “four people were killed and 14 others wounded” in an “Israeli enemy strike” on Barja in the Shouf district south of the capital.
Macron calls on Hezbollah to 'immediately stop' strikes on Israel
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called on Hezbollah to end its strikes on Israel, after Israel’s army said a barrage of projectiles were launched from Lebanon over the Yom Kippur holy day.
“A ceasefire must be implemented in Lebanon immediately,” Macron said during a talk with Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri, adding that Hezbollah strikes must “immediately stop”.
Lebanon state media says Israeli strike targets market in major southern city
Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike on Saturday targeted a marketplace in Nabatiyeh, an important south Lebanon city located around 12 kilometres (seven miles) from the Israeli border.
“Israeli warplanes... carried out a strike that targeted the centre of the marketplace” in Nabatiyeh, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said, after Israel’s army last week told residents to evacuate the city.
Israel says hit around 280 'terror targets' in Lebanon, Gaza over weekend
Israel’s military said on Saturday its forces had attacked roughly 280 “terror targets” during combat operations in Lebanon and Gaza over the Yom Kippur weekend.
The Israeli air force “struck approximately 280 terror targets belonging to both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Among these targets were underground terror infrastructure sites, weapons storage facilities, military command centres, terrorist cells, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites,” the military said in a statement.
UN official appeals for Lebanon's ports and airport to be spared as Israel presses its offensive
A top United Nations official said during a visit to Beirut Saturday that he is concerned that Lebanon’s ports and airport might be taken out of service, with serious implications for getting food supplies into the county, as Israel continues its offensive against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“What I have seen and heard today is devastating, but the sense is that this can get much worse still, and that needs to be avoided,” said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN World Food Program, in an interview with The Associated Press.
Israeli army shuts access to areas in north Israel, statement says
Israel’s military declared areas around some towns in north Israel closed to the public on Saturday, after conducting a security assessment, as many parts have been evacuated due to rocket and missile fire from Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
It announced that the closed military zones along the border with Lebanon would now include the areas of Zerait, Shomara, Shtula, Natua and Eben Menachem.
Israel army says Hezbollah fired about 320 projectiles into Israel over Yom Kippur
The Israeli military said that Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired about 320 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel over Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day which ended at nightfall Saturday.
“Throughout the weekend of Yom Kippur, approximately 320 projectiles that were fired by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation crossed from Lebanon into Israel,” the military said in a statement.
Israel's plan is to 'empty' northern Gaza of its population, analyst says
FRANCE 24 talked to Ahron Bregman, a teaching fellow at King’s College London and a former Israeli military officer, about what Bregman sees as Israel’s plan to create a buffer zone in northern Gaza by forcing the population to evacuate to the south.
Lebanon says 9 dead in Israeli strikes on two villages
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on two villages Saturday, one north of Beirut and another south of the capital, killed at least nine people.
An “Israeli enemy strike on Maaysra”, a Shiite Islam majority village in a mostly Christian mountain area north of Beirut, killed “five people and wounded 14 others”, the ministry said in a statement, adding separately that “four people were killed and 14 others wounded” in an “Israeli enemy strike” on Barja in the Shouf district south of the capital.
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon warn against 'catastrophic' regional conflict
A spokesman for UN peacekeepers in Lebanon on Saturday said he feared an Israeli escalation against Lebanese militants Hezbollah in the country’s south could soon spiral out of control.
This risks “turning very soon into a regional conflict with catastrophic impact for everyone,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP, calling for a diplomatic solution.
1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon, Red Cross adviser says
Civilians on the ground in Lebanon are feeling the full effects of the ongoing conflict. For more analysis, FRANCE 24’s Jean-Emile Jammine is joined by Dr.Shawky Amine Eddine, humanitarian adviser for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“Over the past few weeks, we have seen unprecedented internal displacements in Lebanon (...) Over 1.2 million people been displaced from their houses,” he said. “They lack access to basic needs. Many of these people are sleeping in the streets because they don’t have access to shelter,” he added.
UN force reports fifth peacekeeper wounded in Lebanon
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Saturday that unknown gunfire a day earlier hit a peacekeeper, the fifth wounded in south Lebanon near the Israeli border in just two days.
“Last night, a peacekeeper at UNIFIL’s headquarters” in Naqura “was hit by gunfire due to ongoing military activity nearby... We do not yet know the origin of the fire,” a statement said, adding that the peacekeeper was “stable”.
UN force says it refused Israel's request to leave its south Lebanon positions
A spokesman for UN peacekeepers in Lebanon Saturday said Israel had requested it leave its positions in south Lebanon where Israel is clashing with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, but they had refused.
They asked us to withdraw "from the positions along the Blue Line... or up to five kilometres from the Blue Line," UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP, using the term for the demarcation line between both countries. "But there was a unanimous decision to stay."
Iran bans pagers, walkie-talkies on flights after Lebanon attacks
Iran has banned pagers and walkie-talkies on all flights, local media reported Saturday, weeks after deadly sabotage attacks in Lebanon which were blamed on Israel.
“The entry of any electronic communication device, except mobile phones, in flight cabins or ... in non-accompanied cargo, has been banned,” ISNA news agency reported, citing the spokesman for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation Jafar Yazerlo.
Israel orders evacuation of more southern Lebanese towns amid rising displacement
The Israeli military ordered residents of 23 southern Lebanese villages on Saturday to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, which flows from the western Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean.
The Israeli military stated that evacuations were necessary for the safety of residents due to increased Hezbollah activities, claiming the group is using sites to conceal weapons and launch attacks on Israel. Hezbollah denies concealing its weapons among civilians.
FRANCE 24's correspondent in Beirut, Rawad Taha, said that "almost the entirety of the southern part of Lebanon, south of the Litani river", has been ordered to be evacuated by the Israeli military.
Hezbollah says launched drone attack on base in north Israel's Haifa
Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack Saturday on a military base in north Israel's Haifa, hours after claiming an attack on another base south of the city.
Hezbollah fighters at 8:00 am (0500 GMT) launched "an air attack with a group of explosives-laden drones on an air defence base" in Haifa, a statement from the Iran-backed group said.
Foreign countries continue to evacuate their nationals from Lebanon
The death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon continues to rise. Around one million people have been displaced, with many more still trying to flee the country. But as Lebanese airspace has become ever more dangerous, ways out are becoming more expensive and harder to find.
Israeli strikes kill 19 people in Gaza, medics say, as tanks push deeper north
Israeli military strikes on Gaza overnight killed at least 19 Palestinians, medics said on Saturday, while forces continued to push deeper into the Jabalia area, where international relief agencies say thousands of people are trapped.
Residents said Israeli forces continued to pound Jabalia, which is in the north of the enclave and is the largest of the enclave's historic refugee camps, from the air and ground.
There has been no fresh Israeli comment but the military said in past days that forces operating in Jabalia and nearby areas killed dozens of militants, located weapons and dismantled military infrastructure.
Russia, Syria, Iran should take measures after Israel's strike on Damascus, Erdogan says
Russia, Syria and Iran should take more effective measures to protect Syria's territorial integrity, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said, when asked about Israel's recent strike on Damascus.
"We will defend an urgent and permanent peace in Syria... Israel is the most concrete threat to regional and global peace," Erdogan said in an interview with Turkish media.
"It is essential that Russia, Iran and Syria take more effective measures against this situation, which poses the greatest threat to Syria's territorial integrity," according to a readout of the interview from the presidency.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday condemned the "deliberate" targeting of UN peacekeepers by Israel after two UN peacekeepers in Lebanon were wounded by Israeli fire.
Francesummoned the Israeli ambassador to discuss the attacks on three UN bases in south Lebanon, which constitute “serious violations of international law”, France’s foreign ministry said. “The Israeli authorities must explain themselves," the ministry added.
Israel slammed a UN probe that concluded it was deliberately seeking to destroy the healthcare system in Gaza and abusing Palestinian detainees, branding the findings "outrageous".
Israel's army said it had killed Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad's top commander for the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said on Thursday that de-escalation was needed in the Middle East.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
