Israeli army threatens to attack ambulances in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army has threatened to strike ambulances in southern Lebanon, saying they are being abused by Hezbollah’s armed group, and has also ordered more villages to leave.

Peacekeepers were hurt when Israeli forces struck positions of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

According to Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli army, “Hezbollah elements are transporting fighters and arms using ambulances.” He did not provide any proof of his accusation.

He urged medical teams to avoid communicating with Hezbollah members and refrain from cooperating with them. Whatever kind of vehicle, regardless of its type, the Israeli military “affirms that the necessary actions will be taken against any vehicle carrying armed people.”

As Israeli troops fought Hezbollah fighters in the area, Adraee also cautioned residents of southern Lebanon against returning to their homes.

“For your own protection, do not return to your homes until further notice. Do not go south, anyone who goes south may put his life at risk”, he said.

According to a statement released on Saturday, the Israeli military also mandated that residents of 22 southern Lebanonese villages relocate to areas north of the Awali River.

Fighting ongoing

Hezbollah has launched rockets at Israel in response, and Israeli air attacks continue to grow all over Lebanon.

More than 1,200 people have died in Lebanon since September 23, when Israel increased its airstrikes against Hezbollah by bombing southern Beirut and other rebellious areas.

An Israeli air raid on Baysarieh, a village in Sidon province, killed three people, including a 2-year-old and a 16-year-old, and injured three others, Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said.

In Baalbeck-Hermel province, located in the Bekaa Valley, five more people were killed and five wounded in additional air attacks.

“It has been an intense night of bombing at many locations in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon as was the case yesterday”, said Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, reporting from Chtoura. Israeli attacks on residential buildings are what we’ve been seeing, “says the statement.

In its seventh attack on Israeli positions on Saturday, Hezbollah claimed to have used “qualitative missiles” to strike an Israeli military base south of Haifa.

The attack, according to the group, started at 6 a.m. (3 00 GMT), included rocket barrages launched at Israeli positions, artillery fire fired at Israeli soldiers close to the Lebanon border, and the launch of a “guided missile” at the Ramyah site.

Iran parliament speaker in Beirut

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and former air force commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), met with Nabih Berri, leader of the Amal Movement, in the Lebanese capital.

He stated in a joint press conference that he and Berri are “prepared to assist the war-stricken, displaced, and wounded people under the supervision of the Lebanese government and to offer assistance if an air corridor can be opened by the government for Beirut.”

According to the AFP news agency, Ghalibaf traveled to the site of an Israeli attack on the densely populated Basta region, where at least 22 people died, along with two Hezbollah legislators.