Netanyahu tells UN chief to move peacekeepers in Lebanon ‘immediately’
Addressing Guterres, the Israeli prime minister has demanded removing UN peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon after many of them were wounded in Israeli attacks.
“Mr secretary-general, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm’s way. It should be done right now, immediately,” Netanyahu said in a video statement issued by his office.
At least five UN peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as Israeli forces fight against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu’s appeal comes a day after the UN forces in Lebanon refused to withdraw from the border area despite five of its members being wounded in Israeli fire in recent days.
Netanyahu, speaking at a cabinet meeting, said Israeli forces asked UNIFIL several times to leave but it “met with repeated refusals” that provided a “human shield to Hezbollah terrorists”.
“Your refusal to evacuate the UNIFIL soldiers makes them hostages of Hezbollah. This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers. We regret the injuring of UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injuring. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone.”
Israeli army orders evacuation of 21 Lebanese villages
The order announced by the military’s Arabic-speaking spokesperson says residents from 21 more Lebanese villages should evacuate, in addition to the previous orders listed. Residents were told to move to areas north of the Awali River, which flows through southern Lebanon, according to a post on X.
The Israeli army has intensified its attacks on various parts of Lebanon against, it says, the infrastructure of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.
25 Israeli soldiers wounded in southern Lebanon fighting: Reports
We’re hearing from the Israeli media that about 25 soldiers were injured in battles in southern Lebanon this morning, and they’ve been transferred to hospitals in Israel.
That is one of the bigger numbers of injuries that we’ve seen in a single day certainly, as reported by the Israeli side. The fighting is taking place in three key areas, including Kfar Kila and Odaisseh, which aren’t that far from where I’m standing.
These battles are ongoing and seem to be getting a lot tougher for the Israelis. But Israel still has air superiority and its bombing campaign continues. There were huge attacks on the village of Aita al-Shaab and the market in Nabatieh.
What we’ve also heard is that Israeli soldiers are actually within about 2km (1 mile) of Lebanese territory, and that might suggest why they are sustaining so many injuries – because Hezbollah is fighting them on the ground and firing rockets.
Hezbollah claims new attacks on northern Israel
The Lebanese group says it carried out a rocket attack on the Kiryat Shmona settlement in northern Israel at 1:50pm (10:50 GMT). Separately, the group said it also hit an army base in the Tzurit settlement, west of Karmiel, with “a large missile salvo” about 15 minutes later.
About 115 rockets and other projectiles were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel on Sunday. There were no reports of casualties.
