UN peacekeepers in Lebanon warned on Saturday against a “catastrophic” regional conflict as Israeli forces battled Hezbollah and Hamas militants on two fronts, on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Israel has faced a fierce diplomatic backlash over the injuries suffered by five Blue Helmets serving in south Lebanon.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said on Saturday that Israeli airstrikes on three sites had killed at least 15 people, raising an earlier toll.
Hezbollah said it had fired missiles into northern Israel, where air raid sirens sounded, and the military said it had intercepted a projectile.
The Iran-backed militants have stepped up their attacks on targets in and around Israel's main northern city of Haifa.
Israel's military said Hezbollah fired about 320 projectiles into Israel over the weekend of Yom Kippur, which ended at nightfall.
It also said roughly 280 “terror targets” were attacked in Lebanon and Gaza over the same period.
For the third time, it declared a “closed military area” along the Lebanese border in northern Israel.
Such measures since late September have preceded ground operations inside Lebanon.
Peacekeepers to Stay
In an interview with AFP, Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the United Nations peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, said he feared an Israeli escalation against Hezbollah could soon spiral “into a regional conflict with catastrophic impact for everyone.”
There is “no military solution,” Tenenti said.
The UN mission said five peacekeepers had been wounded during fighting in south Lebanon in two days, and Tenenti said that “a lot of damage” had been caused to its posts there.
But he added, “There was a unanimous decision to stay because it's important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region, and to be able to report to the Security Council.”
Around Israel, markets were closed and public transport halted as observant Jews fasted and prayed on Yom Kippur.
After the holiday, attention is likely to turn again to Israel's promised retaliation against Iran, which launched around 200 missiles at Israel on October 1.
Israeli operations in Gaza continue, with the army besieging an area around Jabalia in the north, causing more suffering for hundreds of thousands of people trapped there, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee posted an evacuation warning on X for an area near Jabalia, saying it was “considered a dangerous combat zone.”
Sarah Benhaida and Jay Deshmukh, with AFP
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