Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu He called on UN peacekeepers to heed Israeli military warnings to evacuate Lebanon immediately as fighting escalates. Israeli ground operations.
Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on the following locations: First responders and UN peacekeepers They have been present since the beginning of ground operations against Hezbollah. The military has accused Iran-backed militant groups of using the ambulances to transport fighters and weapons, and Hezbollah has said, without providing evidence, that it operates in close proximity to peacekeepers.
On Sunday, the Lebanese Red Cross said emergency workers were searching for casualties in the remains of a house destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. The second airstrike left four emergency personnel with concussions and damaged two ambulances.
The rescue operation is being coordinated with United Nations peacekeeping forces, which have informed the Israeli side, the statement said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
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Jagan Chapagain, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), called for protection for rescuers.
“We have said it before and we say it again today: the Red Cross emblem must be respected under international humanitarian law,” he said in a statement shared on X.
Five peacekeepers have been injured in Israeli attacks in recent days.
In a video addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who is banned from entering Israel, Netanyahu called on peacekeepers to heed Israel’s evacuation advisory and said Israel would provide Hezbollah with a “human shield.” “I’m doing it,” he accused.
“We regret the injury to UNIFIL soldiers and are doing everything we can to prevent this injury. However, the simple and obvious way to ensure this is to simply remove them from the danger zone.” he said.
He added: “Secretary-General, please move UNIFIL forces out of harm’s way. Do it now and immediately.”
Mohammad Zaatari/Associated Press
Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, began firing rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas attacked Israel. war in gaza. The conflict escalated dramatically in September, with the following waves: Israeli attack The incident resulted in the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his senior commanders. Israel launched a ground operation into southern Lebanon earlier this month.
At least 2,255 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the conflict, including more than 1,400 since September, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, which did not say how many were Hezbollah fighters. At least 54 people were killed in rocket attacks in Israel, nearly half of them soldiers.
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