Israel-Lebanon latest: 19 dead and thousands trapped as Israeli forces strike Jabalia refugee camps
An Israeli tank fired on UN headquarters in southern Lebanon on Thursday, the organisation said
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At least 19 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the Jabalia city and refugee camp in northern Gaza, the Hamas-run civil defence agency told the AFP news agency.
A spokesperson said that a strike occurred before 9:40pm local time and had left “12 dead, including women and children”, adding that 14 people were still missing and likely trapped under the rubble
In southern Lebanon, children are among eight people killed in villages as Israel intensifies airstrikes in its fight against militant groupHezbollah.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, a strike on Baysarieh, a village in Sidon province, killed three people, including a 2-year-old and a 16-year-old, while another strike in the Bekaa Valley killed five more people.
It comes as Israeli forces faced international condemnation for an attack on UN peacekeepers operating in the region.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said an Israeli tank fired on its headquarters in the town of Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Thursday, hitting an observation tower and wounding two peacekeepers.
The force said its headquarters was affected by further explosions on Friday which injured two more peacekeepers.
“We were appalled to hear those reports and it is vital that peacekeepers and civilians are protected,” a No 10 spokesperson said.
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Hezbollah claims to push back advancing Israeli troops in border clashes
Hezbollah claimed on Monday its fighters have managed to push Israeli troops back near the border village of Labbouneh, having fired several rocket salvoes.
Further east, the Lebanese militant group said it had attacked Israeli soldiers in the village of Maroun el-Ras and unleashed missile barrages at Israeli forces advancing towards the twin border villages of Mays al-Jabal and Mouhaybib.
Video footage posted on social media and geolocated by Reuters had shown three Israeli soldiers raising their country’s flag in Maroun el-Ras, marking the first time for decades they are known to have done so on Lebanese territory Israel occupied from 1982-2000.
UN peacekeeping mission says Israel tanks ‘directly’ fired at its tower
The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said in a statement that its headquarters and positions “have been repeatedly hit” by Israeli forces.
It said an Israeli tank “directly” fired on an observation tower at the force’s headquarters in the town of Naqoura, Lebanon, and that soldiers had attacked a bunker near where peacekeepers were sheltering. The attack damaged vehicles and a communication system, it said.
The two UNIFIL troops wounded in the attacks and hospitalised were Indonesian.
The Israeli military acknowledged opening fire at a UN base in southern Lebanon yesterday and said it had ordered the peacekeepers to “remain in protected spaces”.
The UN peacekeeping chief said 300 peacekeepers in frontline positions on southern Lebanon’s border have been temporarily moved to larger bases, and plans to move another 200 will depend on security conditions as the conflict escalates.
Israel strikes kill 22 in deadliest attack on central Beirut
Israeli airstrikes on central Beirut killed 22 people and wounded dozens, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
The air raid on central Beirut — the deadliest in over a year of war — apparently targeted two residential buildings in separate neighborhoods simultaneously.
The bombing brought down one eight-story building and wiped out the lower floors of the other.
Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV reported that an attempt to kill Wafiq Safa, a top security official with the group, had failed. It said that Safa had not been inside of either of the targeted buildings.
Israeli soldiers demand hostage deal
Over 100 Israeli soldiers have threatened to stop fighting if Netanyahu’s government does not secure a hostage release deal.
In a letter addressed to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant, 130 soldiers said: “If the government does not change course immediately and work towards securing a deal to bring the hostages home, we will not be able to continue serving.
“For some of us, the red line has already been crossed, and for others, it is rapidly approaching: the day when, with broken hearts, we will stop reporting for service.”
The group includes both reserve and regular soldiers, some of whom have served in Gaza and on Israel’s northern border since last year’s 7 October Hamas attacks.
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