An Israeli strike near Sour on Oct. 11, 2024. (Credit: Kawnat Haju/AFP)
What to know to start the day
Three Lebanese soldiers killed
"The Israeli enemy fired on an army post in the town of Kafra [Bint Jbeil district] in southern Lebanon, killing two and injuring three," the Lebanese army announced Friday on its X account. Later, a strike in Baissariyeh, in the Saida district, killed a Lebanese soldier and his two children, according to our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.
New attacks on UNIFIL
UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon) announced Friday that its headquarters in Naqoura "was hit by explosions for the second time in 48 hours." The statement specified that "two [Sri Lankan] peacekeepers were injured after two explosions occurred near a watchtower." Initially stating that the soldiers were injured "accidentally," the Israeli army later indicated that "soldiers operating in southern Lebanon identified an immediate threat against them and responded by firing at the threat." An "initial review" found that during the incident, "a shot hit a UNIFIL post about 50 meters from the source of the threat, injuring two UNIFIL personnel," the statement continued.
Like Thursday’s strike, this one triggered international reactions. When asked by a journalist, "Are you asking Israel to stop striking U.N. peacekeepers?" the U.S. president replied, "Absolutely, without question." The French president deemed it "completely unacceptable" that peacekeepers were "deliberately targeted by Israeli armed forces" and warned that France "will not tolerate" further attacks. The 10 non-permanent members of the U.N. Security Council expressed their "deep concern" after these attacks and "emphasized that any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a serious violation of international humanitarian law."
The cease-fire question and pressure on Israel
"The ongoing Israeli crimes do not spare our brave soldiers who fulfill their national duty of protecting our land and our people. And the international community remains silent. There must be a global awakening to put an end to this aggression," caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in the evening. Following the deadliest Israeli strikes on Beirut since the three-week war between the Israeli army and Hezbollah began, Mikati called on the U.N. on Friday to adopt a resolution for a "total and immediate cease-fire."
Commenting on Israel’s attacks against civilians, UNIFIL and the Lebanese army, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri stated that these were a "clear and outright attempt to assassinate U.N. Resolution 1701." He added, "We are holding the international community accountable; it must act to put an end to the war of annihilation that Israel is waging against Lebanon and everything related to morality, humanity and international legitimacy," in a statement.
U.S. Envoy Amos Hochstein stated Friday that Washington is working "tirelessly" for a cease-fire.
Emmanuel Macron, on Friday, emphasized that ''halting the export of weapons'' used in Gaza and Lebanon was the "only leverage" to end the conflicts while assuring that it was not about "disarming" Israel. "This is by no means a call to disarm Israel against the threats facing this country and its people, who are friends," he added.
Fighting in southern Lebanon
On Friday, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several attacks in southern Lebanon: a "drone attack" on the "air defense headquarters in Kiryat Eliyezer," a neighborhood near the port of Haifa; a rocket attack on Zvulun, north of the city, and on "the village of Kfar Szold," about ten kilometers southeast of the Blue Line, near the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The party also claimed an anti-tank missile strike that killed a Thai worker in Yiron, on the border, and a guided missile strike on "technical equipment" at the 'al-Abad' site, opposite Houla in the Marjayoun district. Additional strikes were reported against gatherings of Israeli soldiers "at the Yiftah barracks and its surroundings"; across from the Lebanese village of Blida in the Bint Jbeil district; at Ras Naqoura; in the Shomera area in northern Israel; across from Marwahine in the Sour district; in the Tell Chaar area, opposite the Lebanese village of Rmeich in the Bint Jbeil district; and in Ya'ara, a village near the border, opposite Alma el-Shaab in the Sour district.
On Friday, Hezbollah urged Israelis to distance themselves from military sites in residential areas in the north of the country.
"The Israeli enemy's army is using houses [...] as gathering centers for its officers and soldiers" in several northern regions of Israel and "maintains military bases" in major northern cities like "Haifa, Tiberias and Acre," Hezbollah stated in a message broadcast in both Arabic and Hebrew.
The Israeli army, for its part, carried out strikes in Yater in the Bint Jbeil district, killing three people and hitting a Civil Defense center of the Islamic Health Committee, affiliated with Hezbollah. Additional strikes in Burj Qalaway, also in the Bint Jbeil district, resulted in the deaths of three more people, while a strike in Jibsheet in the Nabatieh district claimed at least one life, and attacks on Majdel Zoun reportedly caused further casualties.
Mais al-Jabal mourns
On Friday, the village of Mais al-Jabal announced that several of its residents, displaced to Beirut, perished in Thursday night's Israeli strike that hit a building in Basta. Among the victims were Ali Youssef Ammar and his two granddaughters, Joud Ammar (3 years old) and Tala Choucair (7 years old), as well as Ali Kabalan and his two daughters, Tia (9 years old) and Lea (6 years old). Ali Ammar had already lost his daughter and family in an Israeli attack in May.
Thursday night's strike, which targeted Hezbollah’s head of liaison and coordination, Wafiq Safa, left no fewer than 22 dead and 90 wounded, completely destroying a building.
Israeli threats
"We will not stop until we have brought the residents back safe and sound," said Israeli Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi, standing amid a house claimed to be located in a village in southern Lebanon, in a video published on social media by the Israeli army.
Toll
Since Oct. 8, 2023, more than 2,100 people have been killed in Lebanon, including over 1,200 since Sept. 23, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The U.N. has reported nearly 700,000 displaced persons within Lebanon, while around 400,000 people have fled, mostly to Syria.
To recap, here are the main points from Friday:
1. Two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were injured by Israeli gunfire on Friday, adding to the two U.N. soldiers from Indonesia who were wounded the day before.
2. Three Lebanese soldiers were killed and three injured in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.
3. 22 people were killed and nearly 100 injured in Israeli strikes that targeted densely populated residential areas in Ras al-Nabaa and Noueiri in the heart of Beirut on Thursday night.
4. Southern Lebanon and the Bekaa region faced deadly bombings again on Friday, while clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli soldiers continued at the border.
5. The U.N. Human Rights Office reported that more than 100 doctors and paramedics have been killed in Lebanon since the onset of the war.