UNIFIL said explosions went off close to an observation tower at its headquarters in the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura; it also said on Friday that an IDF bulldozer knocked over barriers at a U.N. position in Labbouneh; U.N. to begin second round of Polio vaccinations next week
Updated – October 11, 2024 07:33 pm IST
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres | Photo Credit: AP
The U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon says new explosions hit its headquarters in the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura on Friday morning, injuring two peacekeepers, a day after Israeli forces struck the same position. One of the injured peacekeepers was taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Tyre, while the other was treated at the site. It did not specify the cause of the blasts.
It also said an Israeli army bulldozer hit the perimeter of another of its positions in southern Lebanon while Israeli tanks moved nearby. Additional peacekeepers were sent to reinforce the position, it said.
U.N. chief Antonio Guterres on Friday (October 11, 2024) warned Israel there must be no repeat of an “intolerable” incident in which its forces fired on peacekeepers in Lebanon, wounding two.
Israel slammed a U.N. probe which concluded it was deliberately seeking to destroy healthcare in the Gaza Strip and abusing Palestinian detainees, branding the findings “outrageous”.
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Meanwhile, Iran said it is “fully prepared to defend its sovereignty” if its arch-foe Israel attacks as it has threatened to do in response to a barrage of about 200 missiles.
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October 11, 2024 19:24
2 peacekeepers injured after its base was hit by new explosions: UNIFIL
The U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon says new explosions hit its headquarters on Friday (October 11, 2024) morning, injuring two peacekeepers, a day after Israeli forces struck the same position.
The force, known as UNIFIL, said explosions went off close to an observation tower at its headquarters in the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura. One of the injured peacekeepers was taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Tyre, while the other was treated at the site. It did not specify the cause of the blasts.
– AP
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October 11, 2024 18:54
Israeli military bulldozers hit barriers at U.N. position: U.N. force in Lebanon
U.N. interim forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Friday (October 11, 2024) that an Israeli military (IDF) bulldozer knocked over barriers at U.N. position 1-31 near the Blue Line in Labbouneh, and IDF tanks moved into the proximity of the U.N. position.
– Reuters
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October 11, 2024 18:36
Israel military chief held security assessment in south Lebanon, army says
Israel’s military chief and the head of its Shin Ben security agency held a security assessment inside southern Lebanon on Thursday, the military said on Friday (October 11, 2024).
“We continue to operate against the enemy and will not stop until we ensure that we can safely return the residents (evacuated from the north), not just now, but with a future outlook,” said Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi in a video of the gathering released by the military.
“If anyone considers rebuilding these villages again, they will know that it’s not worth constructing terrorist infrastructure because the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) will neutralise them again.”
Ronen Bar, who heads the Shin Bet, said that “on a peaceful border, defence is on one side; on a wartime border, defence must be on both sides of the border with freedom of action.”
– Reuters
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October 11, 2024 18:30
Second round of polio vaccinations for children in Gaza: U.N.
The U.N. is getting ready for the start of a second round of polio vaccinations for children in Gaza next week and appealed for the implementation of a “humanitarian pause” to enable the campaign.
A first round of vaccinations was concluded last month after the detection of Gaza’s first polio case in 25 years. The new round is due to start on Monday (October 7, 2024) and aims to give a second dose to some 591,700 children.
Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization’s representative in the Palestinian territories, said on Friday (October 11, 2024), that a pause in fighting will once again be a “prerequisite” for a successful second round.
He said that “we renew our request for all parties of the conflict to implement this necessary humanitarian pause” in Gaza. He added that this is “particularly critical as new evacuation orders in the north of Gaza are threatening access to hospitals and protection of health facilities and health and community workers.”
– AP
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October 11, 2024 18:24
Israel says top Islamic Jihad commander killed in West Bank
On Friday (October 11, 2024), Israel’s army said its forces killed Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad’s top commander for the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
It said that Mohammad Abdullah was “eliminated” on Thursday (October 10, 2024) when Israeli aircraft struck the camp near the northern city of Tulkarem. An additional “terrorist” was killed in the raid, it added.
According to the Israeli army, Abdullah was the successor of Muhammad Jabber, also known as Abu Shujaa, who was killed in an Israeli strike in late August.
In a statement released overnight, the Palestinian health ministry said it had been informed of the deaths, naming the deceased as “Mohammad Iyad Mohammad Abdullah (20 years old) and Awad Jamil Saqr Omar (31 years old),” following the air strike.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 17:48
Israel’s deadliest strike in central Beirut leaves Lebanese stunned as they dig through the rubble
Hours after two Israeli strikes hit Beirut on Friday (October 11, 2024), rescue workers searched through the rubble of a collapsed building killing at least 22 people and wounding dozens.
The air raid was the deadliest attack on central Beirut in over a year of the war, hitting two residential buildings in neighbourhoods that have swelled with displaced people fleeing Israeli bombardment elsewhere in the country.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television and Israeli media said the strikes aimed to kill Wafiq Safa, a top security official with the group. Al-Manar said Mr. Safa was not in either building at the time. The Israeli military had no comment on the reports.
– AP
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October 11, 2024 17:12
Lebanon PM urges U.N. resolution on ceasefire with Israel
On Friday (October 11, 2024) Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the United Nations to pass a resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
In a TV broadcast address, Mr. Mikati emphasised his Government’s commitment to deploy the army on the border with Israel as part of a cessation of hostilities and said that Hezbollah agreed on the matter.
He also said that Lebanon’s Foreign ministry would ask the U.N. Security Council to issue a resolution calling for a “full and immediate ceasefire”.
He said his Government was committed to “the full application of Resolution 1701”, which was adopted in 2006 and called for the Lebanese army and peacekeepers to be the only armed forces deployed south of the country.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 16:23
More than 42 thousand Palestinians killed and 98 thousand injured in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023: Gaza Health Ministry
Gaza’s Health Ministry said that 42,126 Palestinians were killed and 98,117 were injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023 till date.
– Reuters
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October 11, 2024 15:57
Israel says top Islamic Jihad commander killed in West Bank
Israel’s army on Friday said its forces killed Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad’s top commander for the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
The military said Mohammad Abdullah was “eliminated” on Thursday when Israeli aircraft struck the camp near the northern city of Tulkarem.
An additional “terrorist” was killed in the raid, which recovered M-16 rifles and vests, it added.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 15:12
Lebanon says new Israel attack wounds U.N. peacekeepers
Lebanon condemned an Israeli attack that it said wounded United Nations peacekeepers in the country’s south, after state media reported a second such attack in as many days.
In a statement, the foreign ministry condemned “the targeting… carried out by the Israeli army” on the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon.
It said the bombing targeted “watchtowers and the main UNIFIL base in Ras Naqura, and on the Sri Lankan battalion’s base, which led to a number of wounded”.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 15:11
Lebanon PM calls for U.N. resolution demanding ‘immediate’ ceasefire with Israel
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October 11, 2024 14:58
Hezbollah says launched drone attack on Israeli base in Haifa
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October 11, 2024 14:58
Deadly Israeli strike on Beirut likely targeted Hezbollah security chief
Israel appeared to target Hezbollah’s security chief in air strikes on Beirut that killed 22 people, in the deadliest raid on the centre of Lebanon’s capital since the Israel-Hezbollah war began.
The raid came as Israel prepared to observe Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar which begins on Friday, while fighting wars against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
“The head of Hezbollah’s security apparatus, Wafiq Safa, was targeted,” a source close to the Iran-backed group said, requesting anonymity to discuss the matter.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 14:57
Israel U.N. peacekeeper firing ‘intolerable’: Guterres
U.N. chief Antonio Guterres warned Israel there must be no repeat of an “intolerable” incident in which its forces fired on peacekeepers in Lebanon, wounding two.
“There was naturally a reaction from many sides in solidarity with the peacekeepers that were wounded and in telling Israel very clearly that this incident is intolerable and cannot be repeated,” Mr. Guterres said after talks with Southeast Asian leaders at a summit in Laos.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 14:04
Iran says ready to ‘defend sovereignty’ against Israel attack
Iran said it is “fully prepared to defend its sovereignty” if its arch-foe Israel attacks as it has threatened to do in response to a barrage of about 200 missiles.
The Islamic republic launched the missiles at Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the killing of two of its closest allies, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, along with an Iranian general.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant vowed this week that his country’s response would be “deadly, precise and surprising”.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 14:03
China says ‘strongly condemns’ Israeli fire on U.N. peacekeeper base
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October 11, 2024 14:02
Belgain military evacuates 100 Europeans from Lebanon
More than 100 Europeans were evacuated from Lebanon on a Belgian military plane, most of them from Belgium, the Netherlands and France, the government in Brussels said.
The aircraft, which landed at Melsbroek military base near the Belgian capital was carrying “58 Belgians and dependents, 41 Dutch citizens, 11 from France and one from Luxembourg, a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP on Friday.
Over the past week nearly 150 of the 1,800 or so Belgians living in Lebanon have benefited from assistance to return to Belgium, he said.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 13:53
Israel slams ‘outrageous’ U.N. probe findings
Israel slammed a U.N. probe which concluded it was deliberately seeking to destroy healthcare in the Gaza Strip and abusing Palestinian detainees, branding the findings “outrageous”.
The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) said Israel had “perpetrated a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system”.
The country is “committing war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities”, it added, in a report released Thursday.
Israel said it firmly rejected the allegations, in a statement from its mission in Geneva.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 13:35
PM Modi calls for peace in Eurasia, West Asia; says solutions to problems cannot come from battlefield
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October 11, 2024 13:23
Blinken says U.S. wants Lebanon solution, not ‘broader conflict’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced hope Friday for a diplomatic solution in Lebanon and preventing a broader conflict, as he backed efforts by the fragile state to assert itself against Hezbollah.
Mr. Blinken again said that Israel, which has been carrying out deadly strikes on Lebanon, “has a right to defend itself” against Hezbollah, but voiced alarm over the humanitarian situation.
“We continue to engage intensely to prevent broader conflict in the region,” Mr. Blinken told reporters after an East Asia Summit in Laos.
“We all have a strong interest in trying to help create an environment in which people can go back to their homes, their safety and security, kids can go back to school,” he said.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 13:04
Much of southern Lebanon now uninhabited and increasingly uninhabitable: Head of U.N. Peacekeeping
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October 11, 2024 12:22
Blinken backs Lebanese state asserting itself against Hezbollah
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised support for efforts by the Lebanese state to assert itself as Israel strikes Hezbollah militants.
“It’s clear that the people of Lebanon have an interest – a strong interest – in the state asserting itself and taking responsibility for the country and its future,” Mr. Blinken told reporters after the East Asia Summit in Laos.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 12:19
IDF soldiers deliberately fired on UNP 1-32A in Ras Naqoura: UNIFIL
IDF soldiers deliberately fired at and disabled the position’s perimeter-monitoring cameras. They also deliberately fired on UNP 1-32A in Ras Naqoura, where regular Tripartite meetings were held before the conflict began, damaging lighting and a relay station: UNIFIL
– Dinakar Peri
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October 11, 2024 12:13
IDF soldiers also fired on U.N. position (UNP) 1-31 in Labbouneh: UNIFIL
IDF soldiers also fired on U.N. position (UNP) 1-31 in Labbouneh, hitting the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, and damaging vehicles and a communications system. An IDF drone was observed flying inside the U.N. position up to the bunker entrance, says UNIFIL
– Dinakar Peri
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October 11, 2024 11:59
UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters and nearby positions have been repeatedly hit: official statement
UNIFIL has issued an official statement saying UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters and nearby positions have been repeatedly hit.
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October 11, 2024 11:56
UNIFIL has directed force protection measures to be taken
UNIFIL has directed that force protection measures are being taken, according to defence sources.
Sources explained that force protection measures include: access control to the U.N. post, administrative movements are limited to what is necessary, operating from safe places while ensuring that U.N. mandate is fulfilled; and if they are under threat, take appropriate approvals and then take the requisite action.
Focus is on prevention and response is the last resort, sources stressed.
– Dinakar Peri
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October 11, 2024 11:25
Indonesia confirms two of its peacekeepers injured in Israeli fire
Indonesia confirmed two of its U.N. peacekeepers were injured in Israeli fire in Lebanon, and called the attack a violation of international law.
“In the attack on the tower in Nakura, two personnel were injured, and they were from Indonesia,” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a statement.
She added the two peacekeepers had sustained light injuries and are in hospital for further observation.
“Indonesia strongly condemns the attack,” she said. “Attacking U.N. personnel and property is a major violation of International Humanitarian Law.”
She called on all parties to ensure respect for U.N. territory at all times and under all circumstances.
– AFP
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October 11, 2024 11:18
Turkey condemns Israeli attacks against U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon
Turkey condemns Israel’s attacks targeting the U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon (UNIFIL), its foreign ministry said, adding Ankara would continue supporting similar peacekeeping initiatives and structures.
Israeli attacks against UNIFIL in recent days, amid the war in Gaza and the cross-border clashes with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, have wounded U.N. personnel and prompted international alarm.
– Reuters
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October 11, 2024 10:52
Israel’s airstrike warnings terrify and confuse Lebanese civilians
As the war between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies, Lebanese civilians are increasingly paying the price – and this dangerous reality often becomes clear in the middle of the night: That’s when the Israeli military typically warns people to evacuate buildings or neighborhoods to avoid airstrikes.
Moein Shreif was recently awakened at 3 a.m. by a neighbor calling to alert him that Israel planned to strike a nearby building in his middle-class suburb south of Beirut where Hezbollah has a strong presence.
Shreif, his wife and their three children quickly fled their multi-story apartment building and drove away. Within minutes, explosions rang out, he said later that day upon returning to see the smoldering ruins of his building and the one next door.
– AP
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October 11, 2024 09:38
Top Islamic Jihad commander killed in West Bank
Israel’s army said Friday it had killed Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad’s top commander for the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
The military said Mohammad Abdullah was “eliminated” on Thursday after Israeli aircraft struck the camp in Tulkarem.
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October 11, 2024 09:11
France, U.S. push at UN for stronger Lebanese army
Strengthening Lebanon’s army will be crucial to implementing a key United Nations Security Council resolution that aims to keep peace on the country’s border with Israel, the United States and France said on Thursday.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood told a meeting of the 15-member Security Council that the international community must focus its efforts on strengthening Lebanese state institutions.
“The solution to this crisis is a not a weaker Lebanon. It’s a strong and truly sovereign Lebanon, protected by a legitimate security force, embodied in the Lebanese Armed Forces,” he said.
-Reuters
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October 11, 2024 08:39
Kamala Harris says de-escalation needed in Middle East
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said on Thursday that de-escalation was needed in the Middle East.
“We have got to reach a ceasefire,” Harris told reporters as she departed Las Vegas, while commenting on the situations in Gaza and Lebanon. “We’ve got to de-escalate.”
Washington’s occasional condemnation of Israel over the war’s civilian death toll has mostly been verbal with no substantive change in policy.
-Reuters
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October 11, 2024 08:39
Israeli troops fire at three UNIFIL positions in southern Lebanon, U.N. source says
Israeli troops opened fire at three positions held by U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Thursday (October 10, 2024), according to a U.N. source who was not immediately able to specify the type of fire.
The source said one of the locations fired at was UNIFIL’s main base at Naqoura.
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October 11, 2024 08:38
At least 22 killed in airstrikes in central Beirut
Israeli airstrikes on central Beirut Thursday (October 10, 2024) left two neighborhoods smoldering, killing 22 people and wounding dozens, Lebanon’s health ministry said, as well as further escalating Israel’s bloody conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
The air raid on central Beirut — the deadliest in over a year of war — apparently targeted two residential buildings in separate neighbourhoods simultaneously, according to an AP photographer at the scene. It brought down one eight-story building and wiped out the lower floors of the other.
Published – October 11, 2024 08:37 am IST
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