Israel Warns People to Evacuate from More Areas in East, South Lebanon

Workers remove the rubble from the site of an Israeli airstrike the previous day that targeted the eastern Lebanese village of Bednayel in the Bekaa valley, on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Sam SKAINEH / AFP)
Workers remove the rubble from the site of an Israeli airstrike the previous day that targeted the eastern Lebanese village of Bednayel in the Bekaa valley, on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Sam SKAINEH / AFP)
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Israel Warns People to Evacuate from More Areas in East, South Lebanon

Workers remove the rubble from the site of an Israeli airstrike the previous day that targeted the eastern Lebanese village of Bednayel in the Bekaa valley, on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Sam SKAINEH / AFP)
Workers remove the rubble from the site of an Israeli airstrike the previous day that targeted the eastern Lebanese village of Bednayel in the Bekaa valley, on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Sam SKAINEH / AFP)

The Israeli military warned people to evacuate from more areas of the eastern city of Baalbek and south Lebanon, including a built-up Palestinian refugee camp.

Israeli airstrikes, meanwhile, killed at least ten people in different parts of the country on Thursday.

The Rashidiyeh refugee camp near the port city of Tyre is one of several dating back to the 1948 Mideast war, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven out of what is now Israel.

Israel invaded Lebanon at the start of October, after nearly a year of trading fire with Hezbollah. The group began firing rockets, missiles and drones on northern Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack triggered the war in Gaza. Iran backs both groups.

Israel has warned people to evacuate from large areas of the country, including major cities in the south and east. Over a million people have already fled their homes.

Israeli strikes killed seven people in eastern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News agency. Another strike killed a man on a motorcycle on the coastal highway between Tyre and Sidon.

The news agency also reported a strike on a car on a main highway running through the mountains outside the capital, Beirut. It said the strike in Araya closed the highway, diverting traffic through nearby villages.

Two people were killed in the attack, media reports said.



UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Lebanon Has Recorded over 30 Incidents Resulting in Damage

A Lebanese army soldier stands near UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
A Lebanese army soldier stands near UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
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UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Lebanon Has Recorded over 30 Incidents Resulting in Damage

A Lebanese army soldier stands near UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
A Lebanese army soldier stands near UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher

The UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon says it has recorded over 30 incidents resulting in damage to UN property or premises or injuring peacekeepers
Andrea Tenenti, spokesman for the mission known as UNIFIL, told a video press conference from Beirut Wednesday that it attributed about 20 of the incidents to Israeli military fire or actions, “with seven being clearly deliberate.”
In an incident Tuesday, he said, a rocket likely fired by Hezbollah or an affiliated group hit UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqura, setting a workshop on fire, with some peacekeepers suffering minor injuries, according to The Associated Press.
The origin of the fire couldn’t be determined for about a dozen incidents, he said.
“What has been very concerning are incidents where peacekeepers performing their monitoring tasks, as well as our cameras, lighting and entire watch towners, have been deliberately targeted,” Tenenti said.
He stressed that the actions of both Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters are putting peacekeepers in danger, whether through deliberate acts or crossfire.
“Despite a very tense situation, UNIFIL continues to stay in contact with Lebanese and Israeli authorities urging de-escalation,” he said.
Even with the dramatic surge in exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in the past few weeks, Tenenti said UNIFIL has also been working hard behind the scenes to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian aid by UN agencies and their local partners.