Rescuers search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanese, with villagers ordered not to return home.
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon have warned of a “catastrophic” regional conflict as Israeli forces battle Hezbollah and Hamas militants on two fronts on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Israel has faced intense diplomatic backlash over incidents in southern Lebanon that injured five UN peacekeepers.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said on Saturday that at least nine people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two villages near Beirut.
Official media later reported that an Israeli attack targeted a market in Nabatiyeh, a major city in the south.
A rescue worker searches for survivors at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh
The Lebanese Health Ministry said on Saturday that at least nine people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two villages near Beirut
Official media later reported that an Israeli attack targeted a market in Nabatiyeh, a major city in the south
Photos show the widespread damage caused by the airstrikes as rescuers search the wreckage for any survivors.
Israel had previously told residents of southern Lebanon not to return home as its forces fought Hezbollah militants in a war that has killed more than 1,200 people and forced more than a million others since September 23 to flee homes, Lebanese authorities say.
“For your own protection, do not return to your homes until further notice… Do not go south; Anyone who goes south could be putting their life in danger,” Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X.
Hezbollah said it fired rockets into northern Israel, where air raid sirens sounded and the army said it intercepted a projectile.
The Iran-backed militants have stepped up their attacks on targets in and around Israel’s main northern city of Haifa.
The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired about 320 projectiles into Israel over the Yom Kippur weekend, which ended at nightfall.
It was also said that around 280 ‘terrorist targets’ were attacked in Lebanon and Gaza during the same period.
For the third time, a ‘closed military area’ was declared along the Lebanese border in northern Israel.
Such measures have preceded ground operations in Lebanon since the end of September.
In an interview with AFP, Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the United Nations peacekeeping mission UNIFIL, said he feared an Israeli escalation against Hezbollah could quickly spiral out of control “into a regional conflict with catastrophic consequences for everyone.”
Photos show the widespread damage caused by the airstrike as rescuers search the wreckage for any survivors
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon have warned of a “catastrophic” regional conflict as Israeli forces battled Hezbollah and Hamas militants on two fronts on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Israel has faced intense diplomatic backlash over incidents in southern Lebanon that injured five peacekeepers
Israel had previously told residents of southern Lebanon not to return home as its forces fought Hezbollah militants in a war that has killed more than 1,200 people since September 23.
A rescuer searches for survivors in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiye
The damage caused by the airstrikes in the Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh
There was “no military solution,” Tenenti said.
The U.N. mission said five peacekeepers were injured in two days of fighting in southern Lebanon, and Tenenti said “a lot of damage” was caused to his posts there.
Across Israel, markets were closed and public transportation halted as observant Jews fasted and prayed on Yom Kippur.
After the holidays, attention will likely return to Israel’s promised retaliation against Iran, which fired about 200 missiles into Israel on October 1.
Tehran said the barrage was in retaliation for the killing of top militants and an Iranian general.
Israeli forces have been at war in Gaza since Palestinian militants from Hamas carried out the worst ever attack on Israel on October 7 last year.
Hezbollah, which it said acted as a “support front” for Hamas, had been exchanging cross-border fire with Israel for almost a year.
But on September 30, Israel launched a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon after intensifying airstrikes on targets there.
Major damage has been caused in Nabatiyeh after an Israeli airstrike
Rescuers begin their search for survivors in the wreckage
Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh on October 12, 2024
On Friday, Israel faced criticism from the UN, its Western allies and others over what they said was a “hit” on the UN peacekeeping position in Lebanon.
Two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were injured in the second incident in two days, UNIFIL said on Friday.
The Israeli military said soldiers had responded to “an imminent threat” about 50 meters from the UNIFIL base in Naqura, and promised to conduct a “thorough assessment.”
Irish Army Chief of Staff Sean Clancy said it was “not an accidental act”, and French President Emmanuel Macron said he believed the peacekeepers were “deliberately targeted”.
Both countries make troop contributions to UNIFIL.
Efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Lebanon have so far failed, but Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said his government would ask the UN Security Council to issue a new resolution calling for a “complete and immediate ceasefire” -the-fire’.