World
Hezbollah, Israeli troops clash near Ramya village in southern Lebanon
Israeli strikes have shaken the peacekeepers' main base in southern Lebanon
Beirut (Reuters): Hezbollah said on Sunday it was fighting Israeli forces trying to infiltrate Ramya village in southern Lebanon, as a third U.N. peacekeeper was wounded in Israel's escalating conflict with the Iran-backed Lebanese group.
Israeli strikes have shaken the peacekeepers' main base in southern Lebanon, prompting U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Western countries to condemn the attacks. The UNIFIL force called it a "serious development" and said the security of U.N. personnel and property must be guaranteed.
France summoned Israel's ambassador and issued a statement with Italy and Spain calling such attacks "unjustifiable". U.S. President Joe Biden said he was asking Israel not to hit the UNIFIL forces. Russia said it was "outraged" and demanded Israel refrain from "hostile actions" against peacekeepers.
Israeli military strikes on Gaza on Saturday killed at least 29 Palestinians, medics said, and forces kept pushing deeper into the Jabalia area, where international relief agencies say thousands of people are trapped.
Residents in Jabalia, in the north of the enclave and the largest of its historic refugee camps, said it was being pounded by Israeli forces from the air and ground.
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) said Hezbollah had fired nearly 320 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on Saturday, without giving further details. It declared areas around some towns in north Israel closed to the public.
Israel issued evacuation orders to residents of 23 southern Lebanese villages to move north of the Awali River, which flows from the western Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean.
The IDF said evacuations were necessary for the safety of residents due to increased Hezbollah activity, claiming the group is using sites to conceal weapons and launch attacks on Israel. Hezbollah denies concealing weapons among civilians.
The military also published evacuation orders on Saturday for two neighbourhoods on the north edge of Gaza City, saying it was a "dangerous combat zone". In a statement, Gaza's Hamas-run interior ministry urged residents not to relocate.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants erupted one year ago when the Iranian-backed group began launching rockets at northern Israel in support of Hamas, at the start of the Gaza war.
Israel has intensified its military operations in recent weeks, bombing southern Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, killing many of Hezbollah's top leaders, and sending ground troops across the border. Hezbollah for its part has fired rockets deeper into Israel.
Israel's expanded operation has displaced more than 1.2 million people, according to Lebanon's government, which says more than 2,100 people have been killed and 10,000 wounded in over a year of fighting. The toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but includes scores of women and children.