Israel ordered more evacuations in southern Lebanon and threatened to target ambulances after a third UN peacekeeper was injured in the escalating conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
The Israeli military on Saturday ordered residents of 23 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, which flows from the West Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean Sea.
The order, delivered through a military statement, referred to villages in southern Lebanon that have been targets of recent Israeli attacks, many of which are already nearly deserted.
The Israeli military also claimed on Saturday, without providing any evidence, that Hezbollah militants are using ambulances to transport themselves and weapons, and told medical teams to “avoid doing business with and not cooperating with Hezbollah operatives.” ” he called out.
In a post on X, the IDF's Arabic spokesperson threatened to target “any vehicle of any type carrying armed persons.”
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that five hospitals were damaged by Israeli airstrikes in the eastern city of Baalbek and the Bekaa Valley. The Israeli military had no immediate comment and could not independently verify the hospital attack.
The Guardian previously reported that at least 50 emergency workers have been killed since Israel launched its latest attack on Lebanon. All belonged to health services affiliated with either Hezbollah or Amal, another Shiite party. Human rights experts argue that these affiliations do not affect their protected status under international law.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was forced to close its clinic in Beirut's southern suburbs and suspend operations at another clinic in the north last week due to heavy airstrikes, the organization said on Thursday. announced in a statement.
A United Nations report last week accused Israel of pursuing a concerted policy of destroying the Gaza health system with a war in the Gaza Strip that includes “relentless and planned attacks on medical workers and facilities,” calling it a war. He said it was a crime and amounted to extermination as a crime against humanity.
Israel has rejected the findings, accusing the United Nations of institutional bias and claiming Hamas is hiding in medical facilities.
At least 15 people were killed and 37 injured in Israeli airstrikes across three different regions in Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said on Saturday. One of the locations targeted was the town of Deir Bila in northern Lebanon, which had not been attacked before.
According to the ministry, nine people were killed and 15 injured in the predominantly Christian village of Maaisra in the mountainous north of Beirut, and four people were killed and 18 injured in Barha, in the Shof district in the south of the capital.
In Deir Villa, two people were killed, four others were injured and “body parts” were left in an Israeli attack on Deir Villa, the ministry reported. The statement added that DNA tests are being conducted to determine the identity of the remains.
The National News Agency (NNA) announced that an “Israeli attack” had targeted the home of Delivilla, where a family from south Lebanon had taken refuge.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Hezbollah fired about 320 projectiles from Lebanon toward Israel on Saturday, without providing further details. The area around some towns in northern Israel has been declared off-limits.
Meanwhile, another member of the UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL in Lebanon was shot on Friday, the organization said on Saturday, adding that the man was in stable condition after undergoing surgery to remove the bullet.
The statement also said Unifil positions in the southern Lebanese town of Ramya suffered significant damage from explosions associated with nearby artillery fire, but did not identify those responsible for either attack.
On Thursday and Friday, Israeli forces opened fire on the UN peacekeeping headquarters in southern Lebanon, injuring four UN peacekeepers and drawing condemnation from international organizations and various countries. UNIFIL accused Israel of deliberately targeting its status.
The group of 40 countries participating in the UNIFIL mission issued a joint statement on Saturday condemning the recent attacks on peacekeeper bases and calling on all parties to ensure their safety.
“Such acts should be stopped immediately and properly investigated,” the joint statement said. It was posted on X by Poland's mission to the United Nations and signed by countries including major contributors Indonesia, Italy and India.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a phone call Saturday with Israeli Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant that he was “deeply concerned” by reports that Israeli forces had opened fire on UN peacekeeping positions in Lebanon in recent days. He called on the United States to ensure the safety of its country and Lebanese people. said the Department of Defense.
Austin also “stressed the need to transition from military operations in Lebanon to diplomatic channels as soon as possible,” according to a Pentagon statement.
Hezbollah said on Friday that it had attacked a Tel Aviv suburb with a swarm of drones, without providing details. Israel said there were no reports of casualties when its forces detected and intercepted two drones from Lebanon.
The Israeli military claimed to have hit about 200 targets in Lebanon with artillery and airstrikes, killing about 50 Hezbollah fighters and dismantling dozens of weapons caches.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants erupted a year ago when the Iranian-backed group began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war.
Israel has intensified in recent weeks, bombing southern Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, killing many Hezbollah leaders, and sending ground forces across the border.
Hezbollah fired rockets deep into Israel.
According to the Lebanese government, Israeli operations have forced around 1.2 million people from their homes since September 23.
Israel said the aim of the attack on Lebanon was to secure the return of tens of thousands of people displaced from northern Israel by Hezbollah rocket fire.
Lebanon's Health Ministry announced Saturday that the death toll since the start of the fighting as of Friday reached 2,255.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Saturday that more Lebanese are displaced than during the last major war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, when about 1 million people fled their homes.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
