UN Chief Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Lebanon

Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike on a village in southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike on a village in southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Chief Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Lebanon

Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike on a village in southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike on a village in southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel October 1, 2024. (Reuters)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Tuesday for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country to be respected, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

"An all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs," Dujarric said in a statement, adding that Guterres spoke with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati earlier on Tuesday, telling him the UN was ready to help those in need.

"The Secretary-General will continue his contacts, and his representatives on the ground will also continue their efforts to de-escalate the situation," Dujarric said.

He later told reporters at a briefing that UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, had seen sporadic incursions by the Israeli military.

"The information they have and they've received ... is that they've seen sporadic incursions by the IDF," Dujarric said. "They have not witnessed a full-scale invasion."



Hezbollah Says it Repelled Israeli Forces Infiltrating Adaisseh

A picture taken from a position in Israel by the border with southern Lebanon shows a fire in the area of the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
A picture taken from a position in Israel by the border with southern Lebanon shows a fire in the area of the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
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Hezbollah Says it Repelled Israeli Forces Infiltrating Adaisseh

A picture taken from a position in Israel by the border with southern Lebanon shows a fire in the area of the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
A picture taken from a position in Israel by the border with southern Lebanon shows a fire in the area of the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

Hezbollah said it confronted Israeli forces infiltrating the Lebanese town of Adaisseh early on Wednesday, and forced them to retreat.

The military says that Israeli troops entered Lebanon late Monday, though it was not clear whether they remained inside or were moving in and out of the country.

In a surprise announcement, Israel said Tuesday that its ground forces have been operating covertly in Lebanon for the last year, carrying out dozens of small ground operations. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the army's spokesman, said the current raid is an expansion of these activities.

The Lebanese army and UNIFIL, a UN peacekeeping force stationed in southern Lebanon, have not confirmed that Israeli troops crossed the border, although UNIFIL said it was notified that they were going to.

A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity under briefing guidelines, said Israeli ground troops were “within walking distance” of the border, targeting the small Lebanese villages hundreds of meters from Israeli territory.

The military says Hezbollah fighters remain in the area, despite heavy Israeli bombardment over the past few weeks. It says they are using the areas to launch attacks on Israel and to store weapons.