Hezbollah fighting Israeli troops near Lebanon’s Ramiya village; third UN peacekeeper wounded

Hezbollah said on Sunday it was fighting Israeli forces trying to infiltrate Ramiya village in southern Lebanon, as a third UN peacekeeper was wounded in Israel’s escalating conflict with the Iran-backed Lebanese group.

Israeli strikes have shaken the peacekeepers’ main base in southern Lebanon, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Western countries to condemn the attacks. The UNIFIL force called it a “serious development” and said the security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed.

France summoned Israel’s ambassador and issued a statement with Italy and Spain calling such attacks “unjustifiable”.

US President Joe Biden said he was asking Israel not to hit the UNIFIL forces. Russia said it was “outraged” and demanded Israel refrain from “hostile actions” against peacekeepers.

Israeli military strikes on Gaza on Saturday killed at least 29 Palestinians, doctors said, and forces kept pushing deeper into the Jabalia area, where international relief agencies said thousands of people are trapped.

Residents in Jabalia, in the north of the enclave and the largest of its historic refugee camps, said it was being pounded by Israeli forces from the air and ground.