Israeli strikes kill 22 in Beirut as Hezbollah leader evades assassination
Adds detail on Israeli killing of an Islamic Jihad leader in paragraphs 13, 14
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Israel says killed a local leader of Islamic Jihad with strike in Nur Shams camp in Palestine
Lebanon says 22 killed and 117 injured in central Beirut attack
Two UN peacekeepers injured in Israeli fire in Lebanon's south
Kamala Harris calls for 'de-escalation' in Gaza and Lebanon
By Maya Gebeily and Alexander Cornwell
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Oct 11 (Reuters) -Israeli strikes killed 22 people and injured more than 100 in central Beirut on Thursday, Lebanese authorities said, as a senior Hezbollah official evaded an Israeli assassination attempt in the city, according to three security sources.
In Lebanon'ssouth, two United Nations peacekeepers were injured when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower at the force's main headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura, prompting the U.N. to say its personnel were facing increasing danger.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted one year ago when the Iranian-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 Beirut's southern suburbs, the south and the Bekaa Valley, and killing many of Hezbollah's top leaders.
Wafiq Safa, who heads Hezbollah's liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies, was targeted by Israel on Thursday night but survived, the security sources said.
The Israeli strikes hit a densely packed residential neighbourhood of apartment buildings and small shops in the heart of Beirut.
Israel did not issue evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes and had not previously attacked the area, which is removed from Beirut's southern suburbs where Hezbollah's headquarters have been repeatedly bombed by Israel.
Lebanon's Health Ministry reported 22 people killed and 117 wounded. Among the dead was a family of eight, including three children, who had evacuated from the south, according to a security source.
The attempt to kill Safa, whose role merges security and political affairs, marked a widening of Israel's targets among Hezbollah officials, which previously focused on the group’s military commanders and top leaders.
There was no immediate comment on the incident by Israel.
However, Israel did say it had killed Muhammad Abdullah, the head of the Islamic Jihad’s network in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nur Shams.
Abdullah, who Israel said had been involved in a number of attacks against its soliders, was killed along with another "terrorist" in a strike near Tulkarm, the military and security agency said in a statement on Friday.
PEACEKEEPERS 'IN JEOPARDY'
The United Nations' peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said two of its personnel were injured when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower on Thursday at its main headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura, hitting the tower and causing the peacekeepers to fall.
The two peacekeepers were from Indonesia's contingent and were in good condition after being treated for light injuries, Indonesia Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a statement.
The safety of more than 10,400 U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon is "increasingly in jeopardy" and operations have virtually halted since late September, U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the Security Council. That coincides with Israel's escalation of its conflict with Lebanon.
UNIFIL called attacks on peacekeepers "a grave violation of international humanitarian law."
The White House said the U.S. was deeply concerned by reports that Israeli forces fired on U.N. positions and was pressing Israel for details.
Israel's military said in a statement its troops operated in the Naqoura area, "next to a UNIFIL base."
"Accordingly, the IDF instructed the U.N. forces in the area to remain in protected spaces, following which the forces opened fire in the area," Israel's statement said, adding it maintains routine communication with UNIFIL.
The peacekeepers are determined to remain at their postsdespite Israeli attacks and orders by Israel's military to leave, the force's spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said.
In New York, Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said Israel recommends UNIFIL relocate 5 km (3 miles) north "to avoid danger as fighting intensifies".
Danon said attacking Hezbollah was necessary so 70,000 displaced Israelis could return to homes in northern Israel.
The Middle East remains on high alert for further escalation in the region, awaiting Israel's response to an Iranian missile strike on Oct. 1.
U.S. vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said de-escalation was needed.
"We have got to reach a ceasefire," Harris told reporters as she departed Las Vegas, while commenting on the situations in Gaza and Lebanon. "We've got to de-escalate."
A ceasefire remains elusive in Gaza and Lebanon. Washington's occasional condemnation of Israel over civilian deaths has mostly been verbal with no substantive change in policy.
Israeli strikes have killed at least 2,169 people in Lebanon over the last year, the Lebanese government said in its daily update. The majority have been killed since Sept. 27, when Israel expanded its military campaign. The toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Hezbollah cross-border fire at Israel has killed 53 people over the same period, more than half of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations, Laila Bassam and Amina Ismail in Beirut, Tom Perry in London, Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Clauda Tanios, Tala Ramadan and Ahmed Elimam in Dubai, Kanishka Singh in Washington, John Irish in Paris; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan
Τελευταία νέα
Δήλωση αποποίησης ευθύνης: Οι οντότητες του ομίλου XM Group παρέχουν υπηρεσίες σε βάση εκτέλεσης μόνο και η πρόσβαση στην ηλεκτρονική πλατφόρμα συναλλαγών μας που επιτρέπει στον ενδιαφερόμενο να δει ή/και να χρησιμοποιήσει το περιεχόμενο που είναι διαθέσιμο στην ιστοσελίδα μας ή μέσω αυτής, δε διαφοροποιεί ούτε επεκτείνει αυτές τις υπηρεσίες πέραν αυτού ούτε προορίζεται για κάτι τέτοιο. Η εν λόγω πρόσβαση και χρήση υπόκεινται σε: (i) Όρους και προϋποθέσεις, (ii) Προειδοποιήσεις κινδύνου και (iii) Πλήρη δήλωση αποποίησης ευθύνης. Ως εκ τούτου, το περιεχόμενο αυτό παρέχεται μόνο ως γενική πληροφόρηση. Λάβετε ιδιαιτέρως υπόψη σας ότι τα περιεχόμενα της ηλεκτρονικής πλατφόρμας συναλλαγών μας δεν αποτελούν παρότρυνση, ούτε προσφορά για να προβείτε σε οποιεσδήποτε συναλλαγές στις χρηματοπιστωτικές αγορές. Η πραγματοποίηση συναλλαγών στις χρηματοπιστωτικές αγορές ενέχει σημαντικό κίνδυνο για το κεφάλαιό σας.
Όλο το υλικό που δημοσιεύεται στην ηλεκτρονική πλατφόρμα συναλλαγών μας προορίζεται για εκπαιδευτικούς/ενημερωτικούς σκοπούς μόνο και δεν περιέχει, ούτε θα πρέπει να θεωρηθεί ότι περιέχει συμβουλές και συστάσεις χρηματοοικονομικές ή σε σχέση με φόρο επενδύσεων και την πραγματοποίηση συναλλαγών, ούτε αρχείο των τιμών διαπραγμάτευσής μας ούτε και προσφορά ή παρότρυνση για συναλλαγή οποιωνδήποτε χρηματοπιστωτικών μέσων ή ανεπιθύμητες προς εσάς προωθητικές ενέργειες.
Οποιοδήποτε περιεχόμενο τρίτων, καθώς και περιεχόμενο που εκπονείται από την ΧΜ, όπως απόψεις, ειδήσεις, έρευνα, αναλύσεις, τιμές, άλλες πληροφορίες ή σύνδεσμοι προς ιστότοπους τρίτων το οποίο περιέχεται σε αυτήν την ιστοσελίδα παρέχεται «ως έχει», ως γενικός σχολιασμός της αγοράς και δεν αποτελεί επενδυτική συμβουλή. Στον βαθμό που οποιοδήποτε περιεχόμενο ερμηνεύεται ως επενδυτική έρευνα, πρέπει να λάβετε υπόψη και να αποδεχτείτε ότι το περιεχόμενο δεν προοριζόταν και δεν έχει προετοιμαστεί σύμφωνα με τις νομικές απαιτήσεις που αποσκοπούν στην προώθηση της ανεξαρτησίας της επενδυτικής έρευνας και ως εκ τούτου, θα πρέπει να θεωρηθεί ως επικοινωνία μάρκετινγκ σύμφωνα με τους σχετικούς νόμους και κανονισμούς. Παρακαλούμε εξασφαλίστε ότι έχετε διαβάσει και κατανοήσει τη Γνωστοποίησή μας περί Μη ανεξάρτητης επενδυτικής έρευνας και την Προειδοποίηση κινδύνου όσον αφορά τις παραπάνω πληροφορίες, τις οποίες μπορείτε να βρείτε εδώ.
