BEIRUT/CAIRO – Israel on Saturday ordered further evacuations and targeted new strongholds in northern Lebanon after a third UN peacekeeper was wounded in the escalating conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health said at least 15 people were killed and 37 injured in Israeli airstrikes across three different regions in Lebanon. One of the locations targeted was the town of Deir Bila in northern Lebanon, which had not been attacked before.
The Israeli military also announced that 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.
Also on Saturday, the Israeli military 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 said the evacuation was necessary for the safety of the population due to increased Hezbollah activity, and claimed that Hezbollah was using the base to hide weapons and attack Israel.
Hezbollah denies concealing weapons from civilians.
In a telephone conversation with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galan, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed “deep concern” over reports that Israeli forces had opened fire on UN peacekeeping positions in Lebanon in recent days, and warned Israel that He called on Israel to ensure the safety of the Israeli and Lebanese forces. 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.
Five hospitals were damaged by Israeli airstrikes in the eastern city of Baalbek and the Bekaa Valley, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced on X news agency. The Israeli military had no immediate comment, and Reuters could not independently verify the hospital bombing.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that Hezbollah was using ambulances to transport fighters and weapons and would take all necessary actions. Reuters could not independently verify the Israeli accusations.
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 group said in a statement on Thursday.
At least 50 emergency workers have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in the past two weeks, MSF said, adding that heavy shelling has severely disrupted access to medical care across the country.
The Israeli military also said it had hit about 200 targets in Lebanon with artillery and airstrikes, killing about 50 Hezbollah fighters and dismantling dozens of weapons caches.
serious damage
Another member of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, 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.
Two United Nations peacekeepers were injured in an Israeli attack near a watchtower in southern Lebanon on Friday, drawing condemnation from international organizations and various countries.
A group of 34 countries participating in the UNIFIL mission issued a joint statement condemning the recent attacks on peacekeeper bases and calling on all parties to ensure their safety.
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 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, the southern suburbs of Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, killing many Hezbollah leaders, and sending ground forces across the border.
Hezbollah fired rockets deep into Israel.
The Israeli operation has forced around 1.2 million people from their homes since September 23, according to the Lebanese government.
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.
