The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced today that 51 people were killed and 174 injured in Israeli attacks on the country on Saturday.
More than 1.300 people have been killed in Lebanon since pro-Iranian Hezbollah and Israel entered into open war on September 23, according to AFP figures based on official figures.
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United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned today that any attack on peacekeepers "could constitute a war crime", his spokesman said after Israeli tanks broke through the gates of a peacekeeping base in southern Lebanon, Reuters reported.
It was the latest accusation of Israeli violations of the law and attacks on the UN peacekeeping mission, known as UNIFIL, in recent days.
"UNIFIL peacekeepers remain in all positions and the UN flag continues to fly. The Secretary-General reiterates that UNIFIL personnel and premises must never be targeted. Attacks on peacekeepers violate international law, including international humanitarian law. They may constitute a war crime," UN spokesman Stefan Dižarik said in a statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron today called on his Iranian counterpart Massoud Pezeshkian to support a "general de-escalation" in the Middle East, the presidential office announced, according to Reuters.
In a separate discussion, Macron reiterated to interim Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati that it was "absolutely necessary" to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon without further delay.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said in a statement that today it attacked the Golani Brigade camp in the city of Binyamin in the north of Israel with a "swarm of drones", Reuters reports.
Earlier today, Israeli media reported that around 40 people were injured in the attack.
The Golani Brigade is an infantry brigade of the Israeli army.
In today's drone attack, around 40 people were wounded around the city of Binyamin in the north of Israel, N12 News television reported, reports the Reuters agency.
The head of the Israeli emergency service said that four people were in critical condition and that five others were seriously injured.
The Israeli military did not immediately release further details.
N12 said the drone was sent from Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
The Israeli army announced in response to allegations by the United Nations (UN) that Israeli tanks broke through the gates of a peacekeeping force base in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), that militants from the Iran-backed Hezbollah group fired anti-tank rockets at Israeli soldiers, wounding 25 of them, and that the attack was very close to the UNIFIL post, and that the tank that was helping to evacuate the victims under fire then returned to the UNIFIL position, Reuters reports.
"It was not an attack on the base. It was not an attempt to enter the base. It was a tank under heavy fire, an event with mass casualties, providing support," the army's international spokesman, Nadav Shoshani, told reporters.
In a statement, the military said it used a smoke screen to provide cover for the evacuation of wounded soldiers, but that its actions did not pose a danger to UN peacekeepers.
In today's drone attack, at least 20 people were wounded in the city of Binyamin in the north of Israel, N12 News television reported, as reported by the Reuters agency.
The head of Israel's emergency services said at least five people were seriously injured.
The Pentagon announced today that it will send the US military-operated THAAD anti-missile defense system to Israel in response to Iran's missile attacks.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin "authorized the deployment of a THAAD battery as well as a team of US military personnel to Israel to help bolster Israel's air defenses following Iranian attacks on Israel on April 13 and October 1," Pentagon spokesman Gen. Pat Ryder said.
He specifies that the THAAD battery was already deployed in Israel after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and before that in 2019.
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The United Nations (UN) said on Sunday that Israeli tanks had broken through the gates of a peacekeeping base in southern Lebanon, the latest accusation of Israeli law-breaking and attacks condemned by Israel's allies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the UN to evacuate UNIFIL peacekeeping troops from combat areas in Lebanon.
Hours later, forces reported what they described as additional Israeli violations, including two Israeli Merkava tanks destroying the base's main gate and forcing their way in before dawn.
Shortly after the tanks left, shells exploded 100 meters away, releasing smoke that sickened UN staff, causing 15 people to require treatment despite wearing gas masks, the statement said.
It was not stated who fired the grenades or what type of toxic substance is suspected. The UN also accused the Israeli IDF of stopping the logistics convoy.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the statement.
"Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and Resolution 1701," the UN forces said.
"UNIFIL's mandate provides for its freedom of movement in its area of operations, and any restriction on this is a violation of Resolution 1701. We have demanded an explanation from the IDF for these shocking violations."
In today's Israeli air attack on northern Gaza, five children were killed, the official Palestinian news agency VAFA and media linked to the militant group Hamas reported, reports Reuters.
A group of children were playing near a cafe in the Al-Shati area when they were killed in a drone strike, VAFA said, citing local sources.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the report.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni condemned today the Israeli army's attacks on the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, calling them unacceptable.
Meloni said this in a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom she invited to ensure the full implementation of Resolution 1701 of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), writes The Guardian.
Italy makes a significant contribution to the UN mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL.
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Three mosques in southern Lebanon were hit by Israeli fire, partially or completely destroyed during cross-border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel, reports CNN.
Videos posted on social media show a pile of rubble where the minaret of the Kfar Tebnit mosque once stood. The main building of the mosque remained intact, but some damage is visible.
Lebanon's state news agency NNA said the damage to the mosque was caused by an Israeli airstrike, which also killed four people and "caused serious damage to surrounding houses and vehicles."
Another video, also geolocated by CNN, shows a mosque in Dohaira apparently destroyed by Israeli fire.
The NNA reported that a third mosque was damaged in Nabatieh when Israeli planes repeatedly hit the city square overnight.
The Lebanese Red Cross said its team responded to a "major airstrike" in Nabatieh on Saturday night.
"Heavy fires are preventing us from reaching the affected area," it said on Platform X on Saturday, later adding that search and rescue efforts continued throughout the night.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health said in a preliminary report that at least eight people were injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that members of the UN peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon are serving as "human shields" for Hezbollah, after five members were injured in recent Israeli attacks.
Israel's military has warned the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to withdraw from southern Lebanon while it conducts air and ground operations against Hezbollah fighters, but the peacekeepers have so far refused to do so.
Netanyahu said their refusal to withdraw "has the effect of providing human shields to Hezbollah terrorists," saying they have become "hostages of Hezbollah," according to the Associated Press.
"We regret the injuries to UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing everything in our power to prevent those injuries. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone," he said in a video address to the UN Secretary General. António Guterres, who is banned from entering Israel.
The army ordered the peacekeepers to withdraw five kilometers to the north, which would effectively prevent them from carrying out their mission. They have already suspended patrols due to Israeli air and ground attacks.
At least two Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded during combat operations in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army (IDF) announced.
The IDF did not reveal the exact number, but said "several soldiers" were injured in two separate attacks.
The Galilee Medical Center stated in a statement that seventeen Israeli soldiers, wounded in the clashes in southern Lebanon, have been admitted to the facility since Sunday morning.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz reiterated Sunday that the country considers UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "persona non grata" for failing to condemn Iran's missile attack on Israel, as well as "anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli behavior."
On October 2, Katz said that he was banning UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres from entering the country because he did not "unequivocally" condemn the rocket attack, reports Reuters.
Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1, amid escalating fighting between Israel and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. Many missiles were intercepted in flight, but some managed to break through air defenses.
Iran has no "red lines" when it comes to defending its people and interests, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Arakchi said, CNN reports.
"Although we have made enormous efforts in recent days to prevent a full-scale war in our region, I say clearly that we have no red lines when it comes to the defense of our people and interests," Arakchi wrote on social media, while also criticizing US arms deliveries to Israel.
Israel's military told CNN it expressed "deep concern" after two UN peacekeepers were wounded in southern Lebanon on Friday.
A member of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon was hit by fire at the UNIFIL headquarters in the city of Nakura on Friday, according to a statement issued by UNIFIL on Saturday.
"He underwent surgery at our hospital in Nakura to remove the bullet and is currently stable. We do not yet know where the fire originated from," UNIFIL said.
Asked by CNN about the shooting that injured the peacekeepers, Nadav Shoshani, an international spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said two peacekeepers were "inadvertently injured during the IDF's fighting against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon."
"The IDF expresses deep concern about incidents of this type and is currently conducting a detailed investigation at the highest levels of command to determine all details," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations to evacuate UNIFIL soldiers from combat areas in Lebanon.
Netanyahu said the army has repeatedly asked the UN to evacuate the soldiers, adding that their presence in the area makes them hostages of Hezbollah.
More than 42.227 Palestinians have been killed and 98.464 injured in Israel's military offensive in Gaza since October 7, 2023, Gaza's health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
The Israeli army announced that it captured a Hezbollah fighter during a raid on one of the group's tunnels and hideouts in southern Lebanon.
"Forces surrounded the building, inspected the tunnel opening and located an underground complex about 7 meters deep, with 50 meters of space in which a Hezbollah terrorist was buried, along with weapons and equipment for long-term stay," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
A video shared by the IDF shows a man climbing a ladder and exiting a tunnel opening in his underwear and sneakers. He can be seen raising his hands as he surrenders to Israeli soldiers.
In the video, the alleged fighter is blurred, presumably to hide his identity. The Geneva Conventions require that prisoners of war be protected from "public curiosity".
The IDF said that after the surrender, the Hezbollah fighter was interrogated, arrested and transferred to a "detention facility for further investigation inside the country."
In response to CNN, a Hezbollah official denied that any of its fighters or members had been captured. "It is not true," the official said in response to an Israeli military statement posted on the X network.
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