Hezbollah reports three rocket attacks overnight
Two barrages of rockets were fired at the Israeli settlements of Kafr Yufal and Moian Baruch in northern Israel at about 8:40pm (18:40 GMT) and 10:00pm (20:00 GMT) local time, Hezbollah said on social media.
A third barrage of rockets targeted a “gathering of Israeli enemy soldiers” in the Wadi al-Khiam area of southern Lebanon at about 10:15pm (20:15 GMT), the group said.
Lebanese media reported earlier on Tuesday that Israeli tanks were in the region of southern Lebanon’s town of Khiam and a strike had hit a civilian home in the Wadi al-Khiam area where two families were present.
Contact was lost with the 17 people, including women and children, in the house that was targeted, Lebanon’s NNA news agency reported.
Austria’s FM in call with Lebanese counterpart after attack on Austrian UN peacekeepers
Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg has spoken to his Lebanese counterpart following the wounding of eight Austrian peacekeepers in a rocket strike on their UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) base near Israel’s northern border.
While Israel’s military has been responsible for several attacks on UNIFIL bases and peacekeepers over recent weeks, it was unclear who was behind the strike that lightly wounded the Austrians on Tuesday.
Schallenberg called for the “security of all blue helmets” in Lebanon after speaking with Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Bou Habib, noting in a post on social media that the protection of UN peacekeepers is an “obligation” under international law.
The Austrian minister also called on Hezbollah to “immediately cease its attacks on Israel” and abide by UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and requires the redeployment of all armed groups away from the southern border with Israel, except for the Lebanese army.
Sirens sound in dozens of Israeli towns following rocket attack
Israel’s Army Radio has said that a salvo of rockets has been launched from Lebanon, causing air raid sirens to be activated in several areas of northern Israel.
Israel’s Home Front Command reports that sirens are sounding in dozens of towns in the Sharon region, the Upper Galilee and the northern occupied Golan Heights.
The Israeli military has said that at least some of the alerts were caused by a surface-to-surface ballistic missile fired from Lebanon which exploded. No casualties or damage has been reported.
At least two children killed in Lebanon every day, rights group says
Save the Children said Israel’s attacks have killed more than 100 children in Lebanon since hostilities with Hezbollah escalated on September 23. That amounts to an average of two children a day, it said.
“We’re plunging into a humanitarian crisis that is, first and foremost, a children’s crisis. We’re starting to see the same pattern we’ve witnessed in over a year of war in Gaza: mass casualty events with civilians, including children; health workers killed while on duty; more than 50 attacks on healthcare facilities; UN installations attacked, and journalists targeted,” said Jennifer Moorehead, the NGO’s country director for Lebanon.
“The longer the conflict lasts, the more challenging it will be for children to regain a sense of normalcy. Six out of 10 public schools have been repurposed as shelters for the displaced, with the beginning of the school year now postponed to November 4, and possibly longer,” she said.
“Every day away from the classroom is a growing threat to children’s long-term physical and mental wellbeing. By law, children must be off-limits in war and must be protected. There is no time to waste. We urgently need a ceasefire, now.”
A woman walks with children while crossing from Lebanon into Syria on foot at the Masnaa border crossing, after an Israeli strike, in Al Masnaa, Lebanon on October 27
