Israel-Lebanon newest: Netanyahu urges elimination of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Iran on Sunday warned the US to keep its military forces out of Israel.

The comments came in a post on the social platform X and referred to the possibility that the U.S. might send one of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems to Israel.

A move of the complex system, known by the acronym THAAD, to Israel would involve the deployment of soldiers to operate it.

Israel has been escalating its campaign against Hezbollah with waves of heavy airstrikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion at the border after a year of exchanges of fire. Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hamas’ ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Israeli military ordered residents on Sunday of 21 more Lebanese villages to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River which flows through southern Lebanon, as it intensifies its attacks in the region.

An Israeli strike on the central Gaza Strip killed a family of eight, Palestinian medical officials said Sunday, as Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants in the territory’s north and airstrikes destroyed a century-old market in southern Lebanon.

The strike in Gaza late Saturday hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing parents and their six children, who ranged in age from 8 to 23, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, where the bodies were taken.

It said a further seven people were wounded, including two women and a child in critical condition. An Associated Press reporter counted the bodies.

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Israel’s military said it continues to operate in southern Lebanon to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure.

“Over the past day, the IAF (air force) has struck approximately 200 Hezbollah targets deep in Lebanon and southern Lebanon, including terrorist cells, launchers, anti-tank missile posts, and terrorist infrastructure sites,” it said.

Israel also said five launches that crossed from Lebanon were intercepted by the air force.

The Israeli military added in a statement on Sunday that one of its reservists and an officer were severely injured in two separate incidents during combat in southern Lebanon, with additional soldiers suffering light to moderate injuries.

The Israeli military also said that it captured a Hezbollah militant in southern Lebanon after discovering an underground tunnel leading to a hideout, where they found an area with weapons and supplies for extended use.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the United Nations on Sunday to evacuate troops in its UNIFIL peacekeeping force from combat areas in Lebanon.

Netanyahu said the military had asked the UN to evacuate the soldiers repeatedly, adding that their presence in the area made them hostages of Hezbollah.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz reiterated on Sunday that the country considers UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres persona non grata due to his failure to condemn Iran’s missile attack and what Katz described as antisemitic and anti-Israel conduct.

Katz had said on 2 October that he was barring UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country because he had not “unequivocally” condemned the missile attack.

Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on 1 October amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. Many were intercepted in flight but some penetrated missile defences.

Iran has “no red lines” when it comes to defending its people and interests, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X on Sunday, as the region braces for Israel’s retaliation following Iran’s recent missile attack.

US officials believe Israel has narrowed down targets in its potential response to Iran’s attack this month to military and energy infrastructure, NBC reported on Saturday.

The Middle East remains on high alert for further escalation in a year of war as Israel battles Iran-backed groups Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Tehran, a major oil producer, has threatened Israel with severe consequences if the Islamic Republic is attacked.

Israel has repeatedly said it will respond to Iran’s missile barrage on Oct. 1, which was launched in retaliation for Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Lebanon and the killings of a string of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

There is no indication that Israel will target nuclear facilities or carry out assassinations, the NBC report said, citing unnamed U.S. officials and adding that Israel has not made final decisions about how and when to act.

US and Israeli officials said a response could come during the current Yom Kippur holiday, according to the report.

Israeli officials have not publicly commented on the report.

The Lebanese Red Cross said paramedics were searching for casualties in the wreckage of a house destroyed by an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon on Sunday when a second strike left four paramedics with concussion and damaged two ambulances.

It said the rescue operation had been co-ordinated with UN peacekeepers, who informed the Israeli side.

Israeli forces have repeatedly fired upon first responders and UN peacekeepers since the start of the ground operation.

The military has accused Hezbollah of using ambulances to ferry fighters and weapons, without providing evidence. Lebanon’s Health Ministry denies the allegations.

Israel’s bombardment and ground invasions of Gaza have killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and left much of the territory in ruins.

Palestinian medical officials do not say whether those killed by Israeli forces are militants or civilians, but say women and children make up more than half the fatalities.

Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.