40 nations taking part in UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon condemn 'attacks'

Forty nations that contribute to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said in a statement on Saturday that they “strongly condemn recent attacks” on the peacekeepers.

“Such actions must stop immediately,” said the joint statement, posted on X. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Saturday that gunfire from an unknown source a day earlier had hit one of its peacekeepers, the fifth wounded in south Lebanon in just two days. Read our blog on the day’s developments in the Middle East.

Summary:

• The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Saturday that gunfire on Friday had hit one of its peacekeepers, the fifth wounded in south Lebanon near the Israeli border in just two days as Israeli forces battled Hezbollah. The source of the gunfire that had wounded the fifth peacekeeper was unclear.

• Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on two villages Saturday, one north of Beirut and another south of the capital, killed at least nine people.

• The Israeli military ordered residents of 23 southern Lebanese villages on Saturday to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, which flows from the western Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean.

• Israel observed Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, on Saturday amid a firestorm of international criticism over its military offensive in Lebanon and its soldiers firing on peacekeepers. 

• Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack Saturday on a military base in north Israel's Haifa, hours after claiming an attack on another base south of the city.

• More than 42,175 Palestinians have been killed and 98,336 wounded in Israel's military offensive in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza health ministry. 

Source: France24