Four Israeli soldiers killed, two injured in Lebanon

Jerusalem: The Israeli military said on Tuesday four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon where its forces are clashing with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

A military statement named three soldiers from the same battalion who were killed during combat and a separate statement said another soldier, who had not yet been publicly named, had died in the same incident.

Another soldier was severely wounded and a reservist moderately wounded, according to the second statement.

Israel’s military also said its air defences were responding to Iranian missiles on Tuesday as sirens rang out in Jerusalem.

“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel,” the Israeli military posted on Telegram.

Sirens sounded and at least ten blasts were heard over Jerusalem, an AFP journalist said.

After announcing that air defences were intercepting incoming missiles, a military statement said it was safe “to leave protected spaces in all areas of the country”.

Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB also reported that Iran had fired a missile towards Israel.

Two more UN peacekeepers killed

Meanwhile, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said two of its personnel were killed Monday in the second deadly incident in 24 hours in the country’s south, where Israel and Hezbollah are fighting.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said two Indonesian peacekeepers were killed “when an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle”. Two other peacekeepers were wounded, one of them seriously.

Also in the south, Lebanon’s army said an Israeli strike killed one of its soldiers, while a security source told AFP that three Hezbollah members were killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

UNIFIL said it had launched an investigation into Monday’s deaths, which came a day after another Indonesian peacekeeper was killed and three others wounded by a projectile, also of unknown provenance, that exploded near a UNIFIL position.

Israel’s military said on Tuesday it was also investigating the two incidents “in order to clarify the circumstances and determine whether they resulted from Hezbollah activity or from IDF activity.”

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN under-secretary-general for peace operations, strongly condemned “these unacceptable incidents”, adding that “all acts that endanger the peacekeepers must stop”.

Permanent Security Council member France said it was seeking a meeting of the body over the matter, while Spain also condemned the deadly attacks.

– ‘Direct’ attack –

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned “the targeting of peacekeeping forces” in a phone call with UNIFIL’s commander.

Aoun “continues to conduct multiple international contacts” in a bid to bring about talks with Israel, a statement from the presidency said.

UN special coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called in a statement for “an immediate truce to stop the devastation”.

State media reported Israeli air strikes on south Lebanon, as well as in parts of the adjacent West Bekaa area, cutting roads in the region after Israel’s army issued an evacuation warning for several towns there.

The Lebanese army said one of its soldiers was killed in “a direct Israeli attack on an army checkpoint” in the south’s Tyre region.

A military source told AFP the strike was the first direct targeting of an army checkpoint since the war began.

The army had previously announced the deaths of eight off-duty soldiers in southern and eastern Lebanon.

– ‘Command centres’ –

Also Monday, two strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, one targeting an apartment in the Bir Hassan district, according to an AFP photographer, who said Hezbollah gunmen then cordoned off the site.

A security source told AFP that three Hezbollah members were killed in the strike and three others wounded.

An eyewitness who declined to be identified said victims were evacuated following the strike, which came after an Israeli army warning for parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, where most residents have fled.

The building is located in a residential neighbourhood packed with shops and commercial establishments, several of which were damaged, the photographer said.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, claimed a series of attacks against Israeli targets in south Lebanon and across the border, including one targeting an intelligence base on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

It said its fighters were engaged in “fierce clashes” with Israeli forces in south Lebanon’s Ainata.