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  • DPA

    Hezbollah drone attack injures dozens in Israeli town

    By DPA,

    4 hours ago

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=34AfsN_0w5U3GUB00

    At least 67 people were injured on Sunday in a drone attack on the Israeli town of Binyamina, some 60 kilometres north of Tel Aviv, according to the national emergency service Magen David Adom.

    Four of the injured were in critical condition, while 19 others suffered moderate to serious injuries.

    The Islamist Hezbollah militia in Lebanon claimed responsibility, saying it had fired a "squadron of attack drones" at an Israeli military training camp in the town.

    Israeli broadcasters reported that many emergency services were at the scene and that no warning sirens had been activated before the projectile hit.

    Israel's elaborate system of air defences usually prevents such mass casualty incidents, despite Hezbollah and other groups regularly launching barrages of drones and other projectiles.

    Across the border in Lebanon, the Health Ministry said 51 people were killed and 174 people injured in Israeli attacks on Saturday. The ministry said on Sunday that most of the casualties the day prior were in southern Lebanon, near the city Nabatiyeh.

    Amid ongoing aerial attacks from both Hezbollah and Iran, US officials said earlier they would send an advanced air defence battery to Israel and a contingent of soldiers to help operate it.

    The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) battery will strengthen Israel's air defence network, a spokesman said. Washington had already deployed a THAAD battery to the region last year in light of the fighting, although not to Israel itself.

    In fighting elsewhere, Hezbollah said that Israeli soldiers had attempted to enter the village of Ramyah in the border area.

    Hezbollah fighters had detonated an explosive device near the troops. "The clashes are ongoing," Hezbollah said. The Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen broadcaster reported that Israeli soldiers had hidden behind a UNIFIL post in Ramyah.

    The Israeli army reported that in various clashes, a reservist and an officer were severely injured.

    Israel forcibly enters UN peacekeeping base

    Despite mounting pressure from Israeli allies to stop firing on UN peacekeeping troops, Israeli tanks forcibly entered a United Nations peacekeeping base in southern Lebanon.

    "Two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the position’s main gate and forcibly entered the position. They requested multiple times that the base turn out its lights," the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.

    It added that the tanks left about 45 minutes later after UNIFIL protested through its liaison mechanism. The UN peacekeeping forces said the Israeli military's presence was putting peacekeepers in danger.

    About two hours later, another incident occurred at the same location, UNIFIL said. Shots were fired and smoke was seen rising, after which 15 peacekeepers suffered skin irritations and gastrointestinal problems, the UN forces said.

    The Israeli military also stopped an important “Unifil logistics movement” near the Lebanese border town of Mais al-Jabal on Saturday and denied its passage, the same statement said. The Israeli army has so far made no comment on the incidents.

    'The time has come for you to withdraw'

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier on Sunday that UN peacekeeping troops must "immediately" withdraw from the combat zone in southern Lebanon.

    Five members of the multinational peacekeeping force have been injured there this week amid the heavy fighting.

    Netanyahu addressed his appeal directly to UN Secretary General António Guterres during a Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, saying the UNIFIL force must exit so that Israeli ground troops can take on the armed militant group Hezbollah.

    Israeli soldiers began ground raids into Lebanon two weeks ago as the air force hits targets across southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut.

    "The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones," Netanyahu said in a Hebrew-language message.

    He accused Guterres of refusing to do so and thus making the UNIFIL soldiers "human shields" and "hostages of Hezbollah."

    Netanyahu said he "regrets" that UNIFIL soldiers have been injured after Israeli soldiers fired on their positions while going after the militants.

    UNIFIL's task with more than 10,000 soldiers has been to monitor compliance with a ceasefire following the 2006 Lebanon war. They have stayed on the sidelines during the current fighting.

    The United States and European countries have demanded that Israeli forces stop firing at the peacekeepers. On Friday, US President Joe Biden said he was "absolutely, positively" telling Israel to stop.

    Lebanese army also under Israeli fire

    The Lebanese army said that three of its soldiers were also wounded in Israeli fire while attempting to open closed roads in southern Lebanon.

    The army said Israeli forces "targeted" two military vehicles in the town of Burj al-Muluk.

    It added that the vehicles were transporting a bulldozer with the aim of opening roads damaged "as a result of hostile bombing."

    The Israeli army meanwhile told the residents of more towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate. It said they should flee north of the Awali river, which is about 60 kilometres from the border with Israel.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0GVr2J_0w5U3GUB00

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    MD35
    2h ago
    Israelis think Hezballah finished by just bombing the buildings. Now, getting the response.
    View all comments
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