UN warns of 'catastrophic' conflict

Israel faces fierce backlash over targeting peacekeepers

BEIRUT:

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon warned on Saturday against a "catastrophic" regional conflict as Israeli forces battled Hezbollah and Hamas on two fronts.

Israel has faced a fierce diplomatic backlash over incidents in south Lebanon that saw five Blue Helmets injured.

On Saturday, the Lebanese health ministry said Israeli air strikes on two villages located near the capital Beirut killed nine people. Official media later reported an Israeli strike targeted a market in Nabatiyeh, an important southern city.

Israel had earlier told residents of south Lebanon not to return home, as its troops fought Hezbollah fighters in a war that has killed more than 1,200 people since September 23, and forced more than a million others to flee their homes according to Lebanese authorities.

Hezbollah said Saturday it launched missiles across the border into northern Israel, where air raid sirens sounded and the military said it had intercepted a projectile.

Israel's military said Hezbollah fired about 320 projectiles into Israel over the weekend of Yom Kippur, which ended at nightfall.

For the third time, it declared a "closed military area" along the Lebanese border in northern Israel, this time including Shtula and nearby areas.

Such measures since late September have preceded ground operations inside Lebanon.

In an interview with AFP, UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said he feared an Israeli escalation against Hezbollah could soon spiral out of control "into a regional conflict with catastrophic impact for everyone".

There was "no military solution" to the conflict, Tenenti said.

"The situation needs to be discussed at the political and diplomatic level."

The UN force said five peacekeepers have been injured by fighting in south Lebanon in two days, and Tenenti said "a lot of damage" had been caused to its posts there.

Israel began pounding Gaza shortly after suffering its worst ever attacks from Hamas on October 7 last year, and it launched a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon on September 30, after intensifying air strikes on targets there.

On Friday, Israel faced criticism from the UN, its Western allies and others over what it said was a "hit" on a UN peacekeeping position in Lebanon.