A United Nations (UN) official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli fire injured two peacekeepers in Lebanon by firing on Thursday at three positions of the UNIFIL, the peacekeeping force in the southern part of the country.
This morning, a new road connecting Syria with Lebanon, in the Qoussai region, was the target of a new Israeli attack with a drone, aiming to cut off the supply routes of the Lebanese Hezbollah. This is the second time this region has been attacked, following an initial attack on October 5 near the Masnaa border crossing with Syria, cutting off the main road between the two countries.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that these attacks, which have caused the displacement of 310,000 people, pose a "great risk" to displaced civilians from Lebanon trying to enter Syria and hinder humanitarian operations.
On the other hand, at least five Lebanese Civil Defense paramedics and rescuers died last night in an Israeli attack on one of their centers in the town of Dardaghya, where they were ready to respond to emergency calls. Over a hundred paramedics have died in Israeli bombings in a year.
Israeli airstrikes rained down on Hezbollah targets on Thursday as fighting continued in southern Lebanon, after Joe Biden warned Benjamin Netanyahu against any offensive in the country resembling the one that devastated the Gaza Strip.
Today, an Israeli attack on a school converted into a shelter in the city of Deir al-Balah, in Gaza, leaves at least 28 dead; 42,065 since the start of the Israeli offensive.
Israel is at war with Hamas in Gaza and its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, which began launching rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023, where 1,500 people have died in the last two weeks and over 2,100 in a year.
Meanwhile, the region is awaiting the announced Israeli response to Iran's ballistic missile attack on October 1. Netanyahu's security cabinet, meeting on Thursday, must decide among the following targets: oil facilities, nuclear plants, military bases, and leaders of the Revolutionary Guard and the Islamic Republic.
None of the Spanish UN peacekeepers in Lebanon were injured
None of the Spanish UN peacekeepers serving in the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon were injured in the Israeli attack on a watchtower at the headquarters of UNIFIL, and all of them are safe, sources from the Ministry of Defense informed EFE.
At least two peacekeepers were injured on Thursday in that attack, one of at least three attributed to Israel against UN troops in the last 24 hours.
"This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an Israeli Defense Forces Merkava tank fired its weapons at an observation tower at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura (south), hitting it directly and causing it to fall," the mission said in a statement.
Eight UN peacekeepers wounded in Israeli attacks on their positions in southern Lebanon
At least two peacekeepers were wounded on Thursday in an Israeli attack on a watchtower at the headquarters of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in one of at least three attacks attributed to Israel against UN troops in the last 24 hours.
"This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an Israeli Defense Forces Merkava tank fired its weapons at an observation tower at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura (south), hitting it directly and causing it to fall," the mission said in a statement.
The victims, whose nationality is still unknown, remain hospitalized, but their condition "is not serious."
Italian Defense Minister summons Israeli ambassador after attack on UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon
The Italian Defense Minister, Guido Crosetto, urgently summoned the Israeli ambassador to Italy on Thursday after the attack on the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at its headquarters in the city of Naqoura, official sources informed EFE.
"Minister Guido Crosetto urgently summoned the Israeli ambassador to Italy in relation to the events that occurred at the UNIFIL bases where Italian personnel work," Defense sources explained.
The meeting between Crosetto and Ambassador Jonathan Peled "is ongoing," they added. UNIFIL has around 1,200 Italian soldiers in its ranks.
Iranian Foreign Minister discusses regional de-escalation in Qatar
The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, discussed on Thursday in Doha with the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the importance of "reducing the escalation" in Gaza and Lebanon, as part of the regional diplomatic tour that began yesterday in Saudi Arabia.
According to a statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry, they discussed "the need for all regional and international efforts to come together to reduce the escalation and avoid expanding the cycle of violence in the region," following the expansion of the war in Lebanon in recent weeks.
Al Thani conveyed to Araqchi that Qatar is trying to deploy all necessary means to promote regional and international security and stability, alluding to its efforts as a mediator in both Gaza and Lebanon.
UNIFIL accuses Israeli army of firing at its headquarters in Lebanon and injuring two peacekeepers
Two UNIFIL peacekeepers, the UN force deployed between Lebanon and Israel, were injured by "shots from an Israeli tank" at their headquarters in southern Lebanon, the United Nations mission said on Thursday.
"This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an Israeli Defense Forces Merkava tank fired at an observation tower at the UNIFIL headquarters in Ras al Naqura (south), hitting it directly and causing it to fall," UNIFIL said in a statement.
Palestinian Ambassador warns that Israel seeks escalation and US involvement
The Palestinian Ambassador to Spain, Husni Abdel Wahed, warned that Israel intends to escalate the conflict in the Middle East to involve more countries and "would love for the United States to participate," although he also considered that this country is already "complicit" in the "crime" against the Palestinian people.
In a press conference on Thursday with the media after being received at the Rectorate of the University of A Coruña (UDC), where he will deliver a lecture this afternoon, he said he does not understand how the US "intends to be a mediator" or "intermediary" while supplying weapons to Israel and participating "in its war councils."
"In ordinary justice, when a person commits a crime and there is someone who supplies them with weapons, advises them, supports them, then that person is also complicit in the crime," he said, so he believes that the United States "has abandoned its role as a guarantor of stability and security" by protecting "those who aggress and commit genocide".