Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to withdraw peacekeepers from southern Lebanon, where the IDF continues to conduct ground operations against Hezbollah (the US has recognized it as a terrorist organization, while the EU has recognized only its paramilitary wing as such). , not a political party).
According to Netanyahu, “UNIFIL forces are in a 'risk zone' because they remain at their posts near the border, thereby effectively becoming hostages of Hezbollah.” The Israeli Prime Minister added that he “regrets the injuries to the peacekeepers and will continue to do everything necessary to prevent such incidents,” however, the simplest and most obvious way to guarantee the safety of UN forces is to “remove them from the danger zone.”
On October 1, Iran launched approximately 180 ballistic missiles at Israel. Tehran said that this is a response to the death of Iran's allies in the fight against Israel – the leaders of the groups Hamas (recognized as terrorist in the US and EU) and Hezbollah (both an armed group and a Lebanese political party, recognized as terrorist in the US organization).
Since late September, Israel has been striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, particularly in the capital Beirut. The Israeli army is also conducting a ground operation in Lebanon and at the same time continues military operations in the Gaza Strip against the Hamas group.
