Israel fires at UN post in Lebanon

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM: Israeli forces fired at a watchtower used by UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Friday, injuring two, a UN source said, the third day in a row peacekeepers have reported Israeli fire at their positions as Israel wages war on Hezbollah.

Renewing his call for a ceasefire, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said a strike in the heart of Beirut late on Thursday had killed 22 civilians and wounded another 139. The target was a senior Hezbollah official - Wafiq Safa - who survived, according to three security sources.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified dramatically in recent weeks, with Israel bombing Beirut's southern suburbs, the south and the Bekaa Valley, killing many of Hezbollah's top leaders, and sending ground troops into areas of southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah firing rockets deeper into Israel.


Thursday night's airstrike marked the third in Beirut itself since Israel went on the offensive on September 23.

RUSSIAN OUTRAGE
The UN source said the UNIFIL peacekeeper tower which came under Israeli fire on Friday is located at the force's main base in Naqoura. On Thursday, UNIFIL said another two peacekeepers were wounded when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower at the same base, hitting it and causing them to fall.

The UN source said Israeli forces on Friday also breached the perimeter of another UNIFIL position which they had fired at on Thursday. The Israeli military said it had received a report regarding a hit on a UNIFIL outpost in the Naqoura area in which two UNIFIL personnel were injured and the incident was under review.