Strike on central Israel wounds 19
A missile strike in Israel’s Sharon area wounded 19 people, police said early Saturday, after the army reported three projectiles were fired from Lebanon into central Israel.
All 19, four of whom were ‘in moderate condition’, were taken to hospitals for treatment, the Israeli police added.
Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medical service earlier said that several people had been wounded in a strike on the central city of Tira, including ‘a male around 20 with shrapnel injuries’.
Videos posted by the Israeli Foreign Ministry on social media showed fire and smoke spilling from a building into the street and emergency responders swarming the site.
‘This is the result of a direct hit of a Hezbollah rocket on a building in the Israeli Arab town of Tira, injuring 19 civilians,’ the ministry said in the post.
‘We cannot and will not rest until Hezbollah is dismantled,’ it added.
The Israeli army said on Telegram that it had intercepted some of the three projectiles fired from Lebanon.
Tira, a predominantly Arab town, is located around 25 kilometres (15 miles) northeast of Tel Aviv, near the border with the occupied West Bank.
The war raging in the Gaza Strip has spread to Lebanon, where Israel has been carrying out air strikes against Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian group Hamas.
According to Israeli figures, at least 63 people have been killed on the Israeli side since cross-border exchanges with Hezbollah.On Thursday, rocket fire from Lebanon killed seven people in Metula, northern Israel, including four Thai farmers.
The UN peacekeeping chief said Friday that the blue helmet force in Lebanon will hold its line despite facing attacks in recent weeks, adding that its positions would be ‘occupied’ if it left.
More than 10,000 peacekeepers with the UNIFIL mission have been stationed in southern Lebanon since 1978 and are tasked with monitoring the ‘Blue Line’ of demarcation with Israel.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, under secretary-general for peace operations, said that ‘UNIFIL peacekeepers are staying, they’re holding their line, and they’re determined to continue doing what they’re mandated to do.’
He said the force had rejected an Israeli request that it move five kilometers from the Blue Line.
‘First of all, because there is a mandate… we are duty born to the mandate, the peacekeepers need to stay,’ Lacroix said in an interview with the UN Information Service.
‘Second, because we thought that if those positions along the Blue Line are abandoned, then they would likely be occupied by one party or the other. That would be very bad for many reasons, including the perception of impartiality and neutrality of the United Nations,’ he added.
On Wednesday, a UNIFIL spokesman said the force had recorded more than 30 incidents in October resulting in property damage or injury to peacekeepers, about 20 of them from Israeli fire or action.
Israel is fighting a two-front war, against Iran-backed Hezbollah—in fighting that has included Israeli forces invading Lebanon—and against Hamas in Gaza.
The current conflict was triggered by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
AFP
