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The leaders of France, Italy and Spain have condemned “unjustifiable” Israeli attacks that have hit the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon amid heightened conflict in the region.

In a joint statement, the three EU countries, which contribute troops to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expressed “outrage” as they accused Israel of seriously violating its obligations under humanitarian international law and said such attacks should “immediately come to an end”.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez joined Emmanuel Macron in condemning what the French president called Israel’s “deliberate targeting” of UNIFIL soldiers.

“We condemn it, we do not tolerate it and we do not tolerate it happening again,” Mr Macron said.

Latest updates from Middle East conflict

US President Joe Biden said he was asking close ally in the region Israel not to strike UNIFIL forces and Downing Street said it was “appalled” by reports that Israel deliberately fired on peacekeepers.

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UNIFIL spokesperson discusses Israeli attacks

UNIFIL said an Israeli tank fired on its headquarters in the town of Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Thursday, hitting an observation tower and wounding two peacekeepers.

The peacekeeping force said its headquarters were affected by further explosions on Friday which injured two peacekeepers. One was taken to hospital.

The Israeli military on Friday expressed “deep concern” and said two peacekeepers, believed to be from Sri Lanka, had been injured by Israeli fire as it was engaging with Hezbollah fighters.

Rescue workers search for victims at the site of Thursday's Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Rescue workers search for victims at the site of Thursday’s Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Pic: AP

The Italian defence ministry summoned Israel’s ambassador in protest, and Ireland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris said he was deeply concerned, with the Irish Defence Forces serving with UNIFIL. He said all Irish troops in the south of Lebanon were accounted for.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres has also condemned the incidents.

Andrea Tenenti, a spokesperson for UNIFIL, told Sky News his peacekeepers have been attacked four times in the last 48 hours.

“Even the secretary general yesterday was very vocal,” he said. “This is a violation of international humanitarian law, attacking peacekeepers in peacekeeping operations.”

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Mr Tenenti said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) asked peacekeepers to move away from the “blue line” – a dividing line between Lebanon and Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights – where peacekeepers were tasked with reducing tensions by a UN resolution.

But UNIFIL decided to stay to provide humanitarian support to thousands of people stuck in the south, he said.

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Following the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, UN Resolution 1701 was designed to allow peacekeepers to help the Lebanese army keep the south of Lebanon free of weapons and armed personnel other than those of the Lebanese state.

The area they were instructed to operate within extends from the Israeli border and the Golan Heights to the Litani river.

A map of Lebanon showing the Litani and Awali rivers.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted a year ago when the Iranian-backed group started launching rockets at northern Israel in support of Palestinian militant group Hamas, at the beginning of the Gaza war.

It has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel bombing southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, killing many of Hezbollah’s top leaders, and sending ground troops across the border.

Hezbollah, for its part, has fired rockets deeper into Israel.

An Israeli strike overnight on Thursday in the heart of Beirut killed 22 people and wounded 139, Lebanese caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said.

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Scores killed in central Beirut strike

Lebanon’s army said two of its soldiers were killed and three others were wounded when Israeli forces hit a building near one of its military posts in Kafra in the south.

Israel said its campaign in Lebanon aims to make northern Israel safe for tens of thousands of people who were forced to leave over the last year by Hezbollah rocket fire.

More than 1.2 million people have been displaced by Israel’s expanded operation, according to the Lebanese government, which said more than 2,100 people have been killed and over 10,000 wounded in the fighting.

Meanwhile, Israeli military strikes killed at least 61 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics told Reuters.

Nearly half of the deaths happened in Jabalia – Gaza’s largest refugee camp. Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders, has warned that thousands of people are trapped in the camp as Israel attacks the area.

The Israeli military said it has killed dozens of militants in Jabalia.

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv – as commander ‘sacked for lying about war progress’

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv - as commander 'sacked for lying about war progress'

Russia launched a large drone attack on Kyiv overnight, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the attack shows his capital needs better air defences.

Ukraine’s air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attacks.

Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs and around 460 attack drones in the past week.

Warning that Ukraine needs to improve its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week”.

“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state.

“But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.”

Russia did not comment on the attack.

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It comes as Russian media reported that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the country’s southern military district, had been removed from his role over allegedly providing misleading reports about his troops’ progress.

While Russian forces have advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, forces have been much slower around Siversk and the eastern region of Donetsk.

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Russian war bloggers have long complained that units there are poorly supported and thrown into deadly battles for little tactical gain.

Russia’s ministry of defence has not commented on the reports.

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Russian forces capture ‘former British soldier’ fighting for Ukraine – reports

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Russian forces capture 'former British soldier' fighting for Ukraine - reports

Russian forces have reportedly captured a British man while he was fighting for Ukraine.

In a widely circulated video posted on Sunday, the man says his name is James Scott Rhys Anderson, aged 22.

He says he is a former British Army soldier who signed up to fight for Ukraine’s International Legion after his job.

He is dressed in army fatigues and speaks with an English accent as he says to camera: “I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment.”

He tells the camera he was “just a private”, “a signalman” in “One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron”.

“When I left… got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job,” he said.

“My dad was away in prison, I see it on the TV,” he added, shaking his head. “It was a stupid idea.”

In a second video, he is shown with his hands tied and at one point, with tape over his eyes.

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He describes how he had travelled to Ukraine from Britain, saying: “I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border.”

Russian state news agency Tass reported that a military source said a “UK mercenary” had been “taken prisoner in the Kursk area” of Russia.

The UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention”.

The Ministry of Defence has declined to comment at this stage.

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Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’

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Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE - as Israeli PM says he was murdered in 'antisemitic terror incident'

The body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been found, Israel has said.

Zvi Kogan, the Chabad representative in the UAE, went missing on Thursday.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office on Sunday said the 28-year-old rabbi was murdered, calling it a “heinous antisemitic terror incident”.

“The state of Israel will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death,” it said.

On Saturday, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad said it was investigating the disappearance as suspicions arose that he had been kidnapped.

The Emirati government gave no immediate acknowledgment that Mr Kogan had been found dead. Its interior ministry has described the rabbi as being “missing and out of contact”.

“Specialised authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report,” the interior ministry said.

Mr Kogan lived in the UAE with his wife Rivky, who is a US citizen. He ran a Kosher grocery store in Dubai, which has been the target of online protests by pro-Palestinian supporters.

The Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism, said Mr Kogan was last seen in Dubai.

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Israeli authorities reissued their recommendation against all non-essential travel to the UAE and said visitors currently there should minimise movement and remain in secure areas.

The rabbi’s disappearance comes as Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the two countries traded fire in October.

While the Israeli statement on Mr Kogan did not mention Iran, Iranian intelligence services have previously carried out kidnappings in the UAE.

The UAE diplomatically recognised Israel in 2020. Since then, synagogues and businesses catering to kosher diners have been set up for the burgeoning Jewish community but the unrest in the Middle East has sparked deep anger in the country.

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