PARIS: UN peacekeepers on the Israeli-Lebanese border have never been more crucial, the force’s global chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said Tuesday, as fears soared of an escalation in the Middle East.
Since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, sparking a war in the Gaza Strip, Israel and Lebanese movement Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, have traded near-daily cross-border fire.
But worry has grown of a wider regional conflict, especially after the killing, blamed on Israel, of a top Hamas leader in Iran and an Israeli air strike that killed a Hezbollah commander in the Beirut southern suburbs last week.
The role of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, was today “more important than ever,” Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told AFP.
“It’s the only liaison channel between the Israeli side and the Lebanese side in all its components, such as Hezbollah,” he said.
“It’s fundamental because it allows us to clarify certain things and avoid misunderstandings... miscalculations, uncontrolled and unwanted escalations,” he said.
UNIFIL, which has around 10,000 troops based in south Lebanon, was also key in informing all sides “when, for example, there are people who have been wounded or even killed in the area and someone needs to go in to rescue them or remove the bodies.”
The troops also continued to carry out regular patrols “in liaison with the Lebanese army,” he said.
Lacroix said the peacekeepers were staying in place for now, and only if it became impossible for them to carry out their mission or if there were “very, very serious threats” to their security would their presence be reconsidered.
The peacekeeping force had already seen several of its members wounded, and damage done to some of its camps, he said.
In the past, UNIFIL patrols have occasionally faced harassment, and in December 2022 an Irish soldier with the force was killed and three colleagues wounded when their convoy came under fire in south Lebanon.
The UN peacekeeping chief said a Gaza ceasefire was key to de-escalation on the Israeli-Lebanon border.
“What we want is a cessation of hostilities in Gaza as well as between Lebanon and Israel straight away, because each day that goes by brings its batch of victims, destruction and displacements, and it cannot last,” he said.
“Every day that goes by also compounds an absolutely terrible risk of uncontrolled escalations, of conflagrations in the entire region.”
Almost 10 months of cross-border violence has killed at least 555 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also including 116 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, 22 soldiers and 25 civilians have been killed, the Israeli authorities say.
“Probably, after what has happened in the past days, the chances of progress toward a Gaza deal, at least in the short term, are weak,” he added.
“But it is hoped that a cessation of hostilities in Gaza would lead to the same thing between Israel and Lebanon.”
Once a ceasefire was in place, both sides would have to return to a “substantial negotiation process” to finally implement UN Security Council resolution 1701.
That decision ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and called for the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to be the only armed forces deployed in the country’s south.
Lacroix said he was optimistic the UN Security Council would renew UNIFIL’s mandate, which runs out at the end of the month, for another year.
UN peacekeepers on Israel-Lebanon border ‘fundamental’, says chief
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UN peacekeepers on Israel-Lebanon border ‘fundamental’, says chief
- The role of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, was today “more important than ever,” Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told AFP
- “It’s the only liaison channel between the Israeli side and the Lebanese side in all its components, such as Hezbollah“
Qatar Emir says Israel chose to expand ‘aggression’ to West Bank, Lebanon
DOHA: Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, said on Tuesday Israel deliberately chose to expand what he called its “aggression” to implement pre-planned schemes in the West Bank and Lebanon.
Iran’s Quds Force chief Qaani attends general’s funeral: state TV
- General Abbas Nilforoushan was killed last month alongside Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah
TEHRAN: Iranian commander Esmail Qaani on Tuesday attended the funeral in Tehran for slain general Abbas Nilforoushan who was killed last month alongside Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
The funeral procession for Nilforoushan, a general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, began at the Imam Hossein Square, according to a live broadcast on state television.
Qaani — who heads the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations arm — had disappeared from public view and was rumored in some media to have been targeted in an Israeli strike on Lebanon before reappearing.
Iran condemns EU, UK sanctions on Tehran, denies providing ballistic missiles to Russia
TEHRAN: Iran condemned new EU and British sanctions on Tehran and denied providing ballistic missiles to Russia, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, said in a post on X on Tuesday.
The European Union agreed on Monday to impose sanctions on seven people and seven organizations, including airline Iran Air, for their links to Iranian transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia.
The listings also include Saha Airlines and Mahan Air and Iran’s Deputy Defense Minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari.
At the same time, Britain added nine new designations under its Iran sanctions regime.
Last month, the United States, citing intelligence it said had been shared with allies, said Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran for its war in Ukraine.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson denied on Tuesday his country provided ballistic missiles to Russia.
“Some European countries and the UK have unfortunately claimed without evidence that Iran has militarily intervened in this conflict which is totally refuted,” Baghaei said, referring to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Baghaei condemned the fresh sanctions saying that imposing new sanctions by the European Union and the UK on Iranian individuals and entities goes against international law.
Also facing sanctions under the EU move are prominent officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard and the managing directors of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries and Aerospace Industries Organization.
The sanctions include an asset freeze and a travel ban to the European Union.
Nineteen Lebanese killed in Israeli airstrike
- Strikes follow Hezbollah drone attack that killed four Israeli soldiers on Sunday night in Haifa
- Israel has killed over 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 amid protests, outrage
BEIRUT: Israel killed at least 19 people in an airstrike on the Christian-majority town of Aitou in the north of Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Red Cross said.
The strike hit Aitou, located between Ehden and Zgharta. Operations across Lebanon also targeted towns in the south and Bekaa.
The building targeted by the strike was three stories high and had been rented five days earlier by a person from the Faqih family, originally from the border town of Aitaroun.
It was rented to house 25 people who had initially fled Aitaroun to the southern town of Srifa and from there moved to Aitou.
The increased intensity of Israeli attacks, along with the rising number of civilian Lebanese casualties, followed a severe blow to the Israeli military on Sunday night.
Hezbollah used a combat drone to target a training camp belonging to the Golani Brigade in Binyamina, south of Haifa, killing at least four soldiers and wounding more than 65 others.
The Israeli government stated that it “will not tolerate the recent strikes in Haifa and Herzliya.”
The attack was “difficult and painful,” said Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, while he inspected the training base on Monday.
The intensity of the Israeli strikes on Monday reached the point where dozens of airstrikes hit 12 towns in the Bekaa region within a few minutes.
The most dangerous was near a convoy of aid trucks bearing Red Cross flags passing through the town of Ain en route to Ras Baalbek.
One driver was injured, and the trucks were damaged due to the strike’s impact.
Caretaker Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamieh, who was following up on the convoy, said he was “surprised by the Israeli shelling near a truck bearing Red Cross flags after obtaining UN coverage to deliver the aid.”
Bashir Khadr, governor of Baalbek-Hermel, confirmed that “the trucks continued on their route despite the damages and successfully reached Ras Baalbek. The aid remained undamaged.”
A raid on the town of Sarbin on Sunday resulted in injuries to four Lebanese Red Cross paramedics and damage to two of their vehicles.
Israel said on Monday it captured a man in a Lebanese border town “named Waddah Younis, hailing from the town of Hula in the Marjeyoun district,” believed to be a member of Hezbollah.
Arab News learned that contact was lost with Younis, aged 50, around a week ago following an Israeli ground incursion into the town of Blida.
The party has not issued a statement confirming his capture.
He is the first member of Hezbollah to be taken prisoner in the support war for Gaza that Hezbollah initiated after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 last year .
The UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, emphasized that the UN was “doing everything possible to create an opportunity for diplomatic solutions to the current situation” after talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Hezbollah has authorized Berri to communicate with external parties regarding a ceasefire.
She stated: “It is essential to clarify that Resolution 1701 must be implemented by both parties to achieve a solution.
“The various provisions included in Resolution 1701 must be implemented, and the current situation does not allow for any partial implementation of the resolution.
“The discussion with Speaker Berri focused on the mechanisms for applying Resolution 1701, as we are keen to ensure that history does not repeat itself concerning this resolution.”
She stressed: “We need a ceasefire, as it is difficult to talk during a war.”
The official stated that both the UN and external organizations were coordinating to address humanitarian needs.
On Monday, no incidents of Israeli aggression against UNIFIL forces in the border area were reported.
In a conversation with UNIFIL Commander Gen. Aroldo Lazaro, Berri commended his “wise and courageous stance in maintaining UNIFIL forces at their positions under their assigned tasks.”
According to his media office, Berri affirmed that “this step preserves the integrity of Resolution 1701.”
Hezbollah condemned what it deemed a “violation of the sanctity of Lebanese territory, sovereignty, and laws by the entry of a BBC team into a southern village accompanied by the Israeli army and the publication of reports by the institution.”
In a statement, Hezbollah called for “the necessary legal measures to be taken against BBC and its teams in Lebanon.”
As Israeli forces continued their attempts to penetrate the border area, Israeli artillery targeted a house in the town of Debel, located near the town’s church.
The Israeli military had previously requested that residents evacuate, but the inhabitants insisted on remaining.
This shelling was followed by an airstrike, resulting in injuries to a young girl while a family of five managed to escape unharmed.
Fr. Fadi Falfala, the parish priest, stated: “The residents are staying in their town and have not relocated to any other area.”
Airstrikes on a residence in Khirbet Selm killed two people, while two others died in an attack on a house in the town of Ansar.
Additionally, airstrikes on two homes in the town of Maaroub led to four injuries, two of which were critical.
The Israeli military again employed incendiary phosphorus bombs in its attacks on the south.
It announced that it eliminated “Mohammed Kamel Naeem, the commander of the anti-tank missile system in the Radwan Force affiliated with Hezbollah, through airstrikes targeting Nabatieh.”
The spokesperson for the Israeli military, Avichai Adraee, issued additional evacuation requests for residents in the south, naming 25 towns located north of the Litani River in the Nabatieh region and the Deir El Zahrani area.
Aerial reconnaissance aircraft returned to the skies over Beirut and its southern suburbs after a two-day hiatus, while a cautious calm prevailed in the neighborhoods of the southern suburbs, allowing residents to retrieve their belongings from homes that remain intact.
In the Bekaa, the simultaneous Israeli raids included villages in the Baalbek district, targeting Duris, Bourdai, Safri, Sareen, and Brital.
Hezbollah said it targeted “two gatherings of enemy forces in the Ramot Naftali settlement and the Rweisat Al-Alam site in the occupied Kfarchouba hills.”
It added that it targeted an Israeli force attempting to infiltrate the town of Markaba, and foiled an attempt by a group of soldiers to advance toward the town of Aita Al-Shaab, striking a gathering of soldiers south of Maroun Al-Ras with artillery shells.
Hezbollah said it also targeted “a concentration of Israeli forces in Labouneh and Khillat Wardaeh.”
Hezbollah targeted a rehabilitation and maintenance center south of Haifa, the Stella Maris naval base northwest of Haifa, and the Beit Lid barracks east of Netanya.
The group also attacked the Kiryat Shmona settlement and the Zibdin barracks in the occupied Shebaa Farms of Lebanon.
Israel strikes Lebanon after Netanyahu vows no mercy for Hezbollah
- Hezbollah launched missiles at soldiers and a barrage of rockets at northern Israel
BEIRUT: Israel’s military launched strikes Tuesday on eastern Lebanon, official Lebanese media reported, as Hezbollah fought Israeli soldiers after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed no mercy for the militant group.
The premier’s pledge on Monday came a day after a drone attack by the Iran-backed Lebanese group on an Israeli base killed four soldiers, while volunteer rescuers said another 60 people were wounded.
“We will continue to mercilessly strike Hezbollah in all parts of Lebanon — including Beirut,” Netanyahu said on a visit to the base near Binyamina, south of Haifa.
Hezbollah said its “fighters clashed with” Israeli troops Tuesday who were trying to infiltrate on the outskirts of Rab Tlatin village.
The group also said it launched missiles at soldiers and a barrage of rockets at northern Israel, while the military reported sirens blaring near the border.
Israel’s military, meanwhile, said its “troops eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat” and strikes over the past day.
Since Israel last month escalated its bombing in Lebanon before sending ground troops across the frontier, the war has killed at least 1,315 people, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, though the real toll is likely higher.
Israel launched multiple air strikes early Tuesday in the eastern Bekaa Valley, putting a hospital in Baalbek city out of service, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The International Committee of the Red Cross’s regional director, Nicolas Von Arx, appealed Monday for the protection of ambulances and other health facilities and personnel, calling attacks on them “deeply worrying.”
Israeli strikes have targeted Hezbollah strongholds as well as other parts of Lebanon, including a northern Christian-majority village where at least 21 people were killed Monday, according to the health ministry.
Anis Abla, civil defense chief in the southern border town of Marjayoun, said rescuers were “exhausted.”
“Our rescue missions are becoming more and more difficult, because the strikes are never-ending and target us,” said Abla.
Fierce battles
Israel says it wants to push back Hezbollah in order to secure its northern boundary and allow tens of thousands of people displaced by rocket fire since last year to return home safely.
In Kfar Kara, a village in northern Israel, restaurant manager Yousef was shaken by the deadly Hezbollah strike on a nearby military base.
“Now they know where that base is, what if next time they fire and are slightly off target?” he said, declining to give his full name for safety reasons.
Hezbollah said it had launched the “squadron of attack drones” in response to Israeli attacks, including one last week that Lebanon’s health ministry said killed at least 22 people in central Beirut.
The group says its strikes are also in support of Palestinian militants Hamas who attacked Israel on October 7 last year, triggering the ongoing war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The war in Lebanon has displaced at least 690,000 people, according to verified figures last week from the International Organization for Migration.
Israel faced new criticism over injuries and damage sustained by the UN peacekeeping force which has been deployed in Lebanon since 1978, after a previous Israeli invasion.
The UN Security Council for the first time on Monday expressed “strong concerns” over peacekeepers being wounded.
UNIFIL has refused Netanyahu’s request for peacekeepers to “get out of harm’s way,” with UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix saying the blue helmets will stay in their positions.
War on Gaza
While deploying troops into Lebanon, Israel has kept up its bombardment of Gaza where it has been at war since the Hamas attack on southern Israel.
That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures, including hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed 42,289 people, the majority civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The UN has described the figures as reliable.
At a school-turned-shelter hit by an Israeli strike in the central Nuseirat camp, Fatima Al-Azab said “there is no safety anywhere” in Gaza.
“They are all children, sleeping in the covers, all burned and cut up, all burned,” she said following Sunday’s deadly strike.
In northern Gaza, the Israeli military announced it had effectively laid siege to the Jabalia area as it seeks to rout out Hamas fighters.
“The number of dead is high, and people are under the rubble, missing,” said Muhammad Abu Halima, a 40-year-old Jabalia resident.
Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Jabalia’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, confirmed “a blockade on food, medicine, medical supplies and even fuel.”
The Israeli military said it has “eliminated dozens of terrorists over the past day” in Jabalia.
Despite the violence, elsewhere in Gaza the second round of a polio vaccination campaign for hundreds of thousands of children began on Monday.
Since the Gaza war began Israeli forces or settlers have killed hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, with two more fatalities Monday in the northern city of Jenin.
Fears of regional war
With the war there and in Lebanon showing no sign of abating, fears of even wider regional conflict have seen Iran, which backs Hezbollah and Hamas, engage in diplomatic efforts with allies and other powers.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met a senior official from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement in Oman, his latest stop on a regional diplomatic tour.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II warned of “a regional war that will be costly for everyone,” during a meeting with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday.
Israel is still weighing its response to an October 1 missile attack by Iran, launched in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Tehran-aligned militant leaders in the region, along with a general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
A counterattack would only target Iranian military sites, not nuclear or oil facilities, US media reported Monday citing US officials.
