Written by Amina Ismail and Ahmed Tolba
BEIRUT/CAIRO (Reuters) – Israel ordered a mass evacuation and targeted a new area in northern Lebanon on Saturday, as a third UN peacekeeper was injured in Israel's fierce clashes with the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
At least 15 people were killed and 37 injured in Israeli strikes in three different areas in Lebanon, the Ministry of Health in Lebanon said. One of the targets was the town of Deir Billa in northern Lebanon, which had never been hit before.
The Israeli military also said that Hezbollah fired about 320 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on Saturday, without giving further details. It announced that areas around some cities in northern Israel were closed to the public.
And on Saturday, the Israeli army ordered residents of 23 villages in southern Lebanon to move to areas north of the Awali River, which flows from the west of the Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean.
The order, relayed in a military statement, mentioned the villages in southern Lebanon that have been the target of Israeli attacks, many of which are now almost empty.
The Israeli military said that people must evacuate for the safety of civilians due to the increasing activities of Hezbollah, saying that the group uses the sites to hide weapons and launch attacks on Israel.
Hezbollah denies hiding weapons among civilians.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a phone call with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, expressed “grave concern” over reports that Israeli forces fired on UN peacekeeping posts in Lebanon in recent days and urged Israel to ensure security and the Lebanese army, the Pentagon said.
Austin also “reinforced the need to move from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic approach as quickly as possible,” according to a Pentagon statement.
The Ministry of Health in Lebanon said on X that five hospitals received damage caused by Israeli aircraft in the eastern city of Baalbek and the Bekaa Valley. The Israeli military had no immediate comment, and Reuters could not independently confirm the hospital strikes.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that Hezbollah was using ambulances to transport soldiers and weapons and would take any necessary measures. Reuters could not independently verify the Israeli accusation.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) last week was forced to close its clinic in the south of Beirut and temporarily suspend its operations in another one in the north, due to heavy airstrikes, the group said in a statement on Thursday.
In the past two weeks, Israeli strikes have killed at least 50 paramedics, MSF said, adding that the bombings have severely disrupted access to medical care across the country.
The Israeli military also said it had hit about 200 targets in Lebanon with artillery and aircraft and killed about 50 Hezbollah fighters and destroyed dozens of weapons caches.
HUGE DAMAGE
Another member of UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, was shot on Friday, the agency said on Saturday, adding that the suspect was stable after undergoing surgery to remove the bullet.
The statement also said that a UNIFIL site in the southern Lebanese city of Ramyah was heavily damaged by a nearby bomb blast, but did not specify who carried out the attack.
Two UN peacekeepers were injured in an Israeli strike near their observation post in southern Lebanon on Friday, prompting criticism from the international organization and various countries.
A group of 34 countries participating in the UNIFIL mission issued a joint statement condemning the recent attack on a military base and urging all parties to ensure their security.
Hezbollah said it attacked the outskirts of Tel Aviv with dozens of drones on Friday, without providing further details. Israel said no casualties were reported when its forces found and intercepted two drones in Lebanon.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah terrorists erupted last year when the Iran-backed group began launching rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas, at the start of the Gaza war.
It has escalated in recent weeks, with Israel bombing southern Lebanon, areas south of Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, killing several top Hezbollah leaders, and sending ground troops to the border.
Hezbollah fired rockets deep into Israel.
The Israeli campaign has forced an estimated 1.2 million people from their homes since September 23, according to the Lebanese government.
Israel says its attack on Lebanon is aimed at protecting tens of thousands of people who fled northern Israel due to Hezbollah rocket fire.
As of Friday, the death toll has reached 2,255 since the conflict began, Lebanon's Ministry of Health said on Saturday.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Saturday that more Lebanese have been displaced than during the last major war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, when about 1 million fled their homes.
