Israel’s strike in central Beirut kills 22 ‘but misses Hezbollah target’ – latest

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.

“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 neutralize them again.”

Sir Keir Starmer was “appalled” to hear reports that Israel deliberately fired on peacekeepers in Lebanon.

Asked about reports that Israeli forces fired at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “We were appalled to hear those reports and it is vital that peacekeepers and civilians are protected.

“As you know, we continue to call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to suffering and bloodshed. This is a reminder of the importance of us all renewing our diplomatic efforts.”

Asked if the prime minister agrees with Irish leaders that this is a breach of international law, the spokeswoman said: “All parties must always do everything possible to protect civilians and comply with international law. But we continue to reiterate that and call for an immediate ceasefire.”

At least 42,126 Palestinians have been killed and 98,117 injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, 2023, the Gaza health ministry has said in an updated statement on Friday.

The United Nations human rights office has said that over 100 medics and emergency workers had been killed in Lebanon since a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began a year ago.

The conflict erupted when the Iran-backed group opened fire in support of Palestinian militant group Hamas at the start of the Gaza war. It has intensified dramatically in recent weeks, with Israel bombing parts of Beirut.

“In all, over 100 medical and emergency workers have been killed across Lebanon since October last year,” spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a UN briefing, citing figures she said were compiled by the United Nations humanitarian office.

“We’ve had several reports also of air strikes targeting other medical centres and of paramedics as well as firefighters being killed,” she said.

World Health Organization spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said that since 17 Septemeber there had been 18 attacks on health facilities in Lebanon, killing 72 health workers.

Israel says it targets military capabilities in Lebanon and Gaza and takes steps to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. It accuses Hezbollah, like Hamas, of hiding among civilians, which they deny.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has denounced what he said was an attack on the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon on Friday as a crime.

He also said he had discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Israeli forces fired at an observation post belonging to UNIFIL at its main base at Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Friday, wounding two people, a UN source said. Israeli forces also breached the perimeter of another UNIFIL position they had fired at on Thursday, the source said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that Israel should “stop killing innocent people”, and that its actions in the Middle East were backed by the United States and the European Union.

Pezeshkian was speaking to a Russian state TV reporter on the sidelines of an international meeting in Turkmenistan.

An Israeli strike late on Thursday in the heart of Beirut killed 22 people and injured more than 100, Lebanese authorities said.

An escalation of conflicts in the Middle East is a serious threat to global security and everything must be done to avoid all-out war in Lebanon, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday.

Guterres, speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos, also condemned Israeli attacks that wounded UN personnel. He said peacekeepers must be protected.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said there are deep concerns in Asia about the plight of people in Gaza and conflict in the Middle East and stressed Washington is doing everything in its power to prevent those from spreading.

Speaking in Laos after the East Asia Summit, Blinken said concerns about the Middle East came up in conversations with other leaders, during which he reiterated Washington was dedicated to diplomacy to control the situation in the face of what he called an Iranian-led axis of resistance.

“The intense focus of the United States, which has been the case going back a year, and doing just that, (is) preventing these conflicts from spreading. And we’re working on that every day,” Blinken told a press conference.

“We’re working very hard through deterrence and through diplomacy to prevent that from happening. There’s also obviously deep concern that we share about the plight of children, women, and men in Gaza, who for now a year have been caught in a terrible crossfire of Hamas’ instigation.”

Blinken also said the United States was directly engaged with Israel to stress how imperative it was that the humanitarian needs of people in Gaza are met.

Israel had the right to defend itself from attacks from Hezbollah, he added, and like the United States, it had a clear and legitimate interest in creating an environment where tens of thousands of displaced people in southern Lebanon can return to their homes.

“It’s also vitally important that in doing that, they focus on making sure that civilians are protected and, again, are not being caught in a terrible crossfire,” he said.