Hezbollah says it is fighting Israeli forces trying to infiltrate Ramiya village in southern Lebanon after a third United Nations peacekeeper was wounded in Israel's escalating conflict with the Iran-backed Lebanese group.
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Israeli strikes have shaken the peacekeepers' main base in southern Lebanon, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Western countries to condemn the attacks.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called it a "serious development" and said the security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed.
Evacuation orders have been issued to residents of 23 southern Lebanese villages to move north. (AP PHOTO)
France summoned Israel's ambassador and issued a statement with Italy and Spain calling such attacks "unjustifiable".
US President Joe Biden said he was asking Israel not to hit the UN forces.
Russia said it was "outraged" and demanded Israel refrain from "hostile actions" against peacekeepers.
Israeli military strikes on Gaza on Saturday killed at least 29 Palestinians, medics said, and forces kept pushing deeper into the Jabalia area, where international relief agencies say thousands of people are trapped.
Residents in Jabalia, in the north of the enclave and the largest of its historic refugee camps, said it was being pounded by Israeli forces from the air and ground.
The Israel Defense Force said Hezbollah had fired almost 320 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on Saturday, without giving further details.
It declared areas around some towns in north Israel closed to the public.
Evacuation orders were issued to residents of 23 southern Lebanese villages to move north of the Awali River, which flows from the western Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean.
The military said evacuations were necessary for the safety of residents due to increased Hezbollah activities, claiming the group was using sites to conceal weapons and launch attacks on Israel.
Joe Biden has asked Israel not to hit United Nations interim forces in Lebanon. (AP PHOTO)
Hezbollah denies concealing weapons among civilians.
Israeli military also published new evacuation orders on Saturday for two neighbourhoods on the north edge of Gaza City, saying it was a "dangerous combat zone".
In a statement, Gaza's Hamas-run interior ministry urged residents not to relocate.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants erupted one year ago when the Iranian-backed group began launching rockets at northern Israel in support of Hamas, at the start of the Gaza war.
Israel has intensified its military operations in recent weeks, bombing southern Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, killing many of Hezbollah's top leaders, and sending ground troops across the border.
Hezbollah for its part has fired rockets deeper into Israel.
Israel's expanded operation has displaced more than 1.2 million people, according to Lebanon's government, which says more than 2100 people have been killed and 10,000 wounded in more than a year of fighting.
The toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but includes scores of women and children.
The Middle East remains on high alert for further escalation, awaiting Israel's response to an Iranian missile barrage on October 1, which was in retaliation for Israel's assassination of Hezbollah leader Syed Hassan Nasrallah in the Iranian capital Tehran.
On the holiest holiday for the Jewish people, approx. 320 projectiles were fired by Hezbollah toward Israeli civilians.— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) This should tell you everything you need to know about our enemies.October 12, 2024
US officials believe Israel has narrowed down targets to military and energy infrastructure, NBC reported on Saturday.
There is no indication that Israel will target nuclear facilities or carry out assassinations, the report said citing unidentified US officials, adding that Israel has not made final decisions about how and when to act.
US and Israeli officials said a response could come during the current Jewish Yom Kippur holiday, NBC reported.
In a sign of a spreading conflict, a Syrian security source said the US-led coalition in Syria had targeted Iran-linked sites near northeast Syria's Deir el-Zor airport on Friday night.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said in a statement on Sunday that it had targeted a military site in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights with drones as part of its support of the Palestinian people and Lebanon.
It said it would continue escalating attacks against Israeli strongholds.
UNIFIL said on Saturday that a third peacekeeper was wounded in an Israeli strike when he was hit by gunfire on Friday, adding that the man was stable after undergoing surgery to remove the bullet.
Two UN peacekeepers were wounded by an Israeli strike near their watchtower at the UN forces' main base in Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Friday.
UNIFIL has more than 10,000 personnel, with Italy, France, Malaysia, Indonesia and India among the biggest contributors.
Australian Associated Press