US President Joe Biden-led administration has cautioned Israel from widening its conflict against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah since it might push Iran to intervene, media reports said.
The Biden administration has cautioned Israel in recent weeks against the notion of “a limited war” in Lebanon and warned it could push Iran to intervene, two US officials and one Israeli official told Axios.
The warning was issued amid speculation that Israel might launch an operation against Hezbollah in the upcoming months.
Israel-Lebanon border clashes a grave concern: Guterres
The continuing exchange of fire between Israeli forces and militants in southern Lebanon along the UN-patrolled Blue Line frontier are a source of grave concern, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday.
In a statement issued in the evening from his Spokesperson’s Office in New York, the UN chief called for an urgent ceasefire.
“He remains gravely concerned that the exchanges of fire have not only ravaged communities close to the Blue Line but have also impacted deeper into the territories of both Lebanon and Israel, with the use of increasingly destructive weapons,” the statement continued.
“These exchanges of fire could trigger a broader conflict with devastating consequences for the region.”
IDF claims ‘terrorists’ killed during airstrike on UNRWA schools
The Israel Defense Forces has claimed they have killed several members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups during an airstrike on a school run by UN in Gaza City’s Shati neighbourhood.
The fresh strike occurred just a day after IDF hit another UN school housing what it said was a compound used by dozens of terror operatives.
The IDF has revealed the identities of those Hamas and Islamic Jihad group members who were killed in the strikes.
Speaking on Shati airstrike, IDF posted on X: “We eliminated Hamas terrorists in a precise IAF strike while they were operating in a container inside the premises of an @UNRWA school in Shati earlier today.”
“The terrorists carried out terrorist attacks from the U.N. school premises while using it as a shield for their terror activities. Prior to the strike, many steps were taken to mitigate civilian harm,” the force said.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees earlier told UN News, “The number of those reported killed is between 35 and 45. Scores others are injured. We are not able to confirm the above figure at this stage.”
Speaking at the regular noon briefing, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that the attacks were “another horrific example of the price that civilians are paying”.
Local officials in Gaza reported that 37 people were killed in the school building attack in the Nuseirat refugee camp near Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza. The toll included 14 children, it was also reported.
Israel and Gaza have engaged in a bitter conflict ever since Hamas members attacked on October 7, leaving at least 1200 people dead.
The Hamas members took more than 200 people hostage.