mr secretary general, get the unifil — say. mr secretary general, get the unifil forces _ say.etary general, get the unifil forces out - say. mr secretary general, get the unifil forces out of - say. mr secretary general, get the unifil forces out of harms j the unifil forces out of harms way. it should be done right now immediately. in the last hour the israeli prime minister has been speaking to the italian prime minister george maloney and expressed regret if any un peacekeepers had been injured but there has been a strong response in lebanon to his call for the peacekeepers to leave their mission where they have been operating since they have been operating since the late 19705. earlier i spoke to our correspondent in the lebanese capital and she gave us more details about lebanon's reaction. i think a couple of different things are at play, the political and logistical. if we take to the political first of all, the peacekeeping mission unifil was put in place in 1978 by the un security council and they will say that it is for them to decide when and where those troops move

we have open channels with unifil. i open channels with unifil.n affected by the battle of what we need to keep in mind, it is a war zone happening between hezbollah the idf. we suggested to unifil that on a temporary situation, they should evacuate from the five km area across the border, where we are conducting our extensive operations.— conducting our extensive operations. conducting our extensive oerations. , . , operations. they have said they are not going — operations. they have said they are not going anywhere. - operations. they have said they are not going anywhere. primel are not going anywhere. prime minister netanyahu... it are not going anywhere. prime minister netanyahu. . .- minister netanyahu. .. it won't sto us minister netanyahu. .. it won't step us from _ minister netanyahu. .. it won't stop us from hiding _ minister netanyahu. .. it won't| stop us from hiding hezbollah. prime minister netanyahu claims unifil's prime minister netanyahu claims unifil�*s presence makes them hostages of hezbollah. what does he mean by that? but we

mr secretary general, get the unifil — say. mr secretary general, get the unifil forces _ say.secretary general, get the unifil forces out - say. mr secretary general, get the unifil forces out of - say. mr secretary general, get the unifil forces out of harms j the unifil forces out of harms way, it should be done right now immediately. in way, it should be done right now immediately.— way, it should be done right now immediately. in the last hour the israeli _ now immediately. in the last hour the israeli prime - now immediately. in the last i hour the israeli prime minister has been speaking to italy's prime minister giorgia meloni and expressed regret if any of the un peacekeepers had been injured but there has been a strong response in lebanon to his call for the peacekeepers to leave it layer mission where they have been operating since they have been operating since the late 1970s. earlier i spoke to our correspondent in the lebanese capital beirut and she gave us more detail about lebanon's reactions. i gave us more detail about lebanon's reactions. i think a coule leba

infact, to term, unifil will remain in the area. the whole force, 10,000 personnel at this time will be extremely dangerous and logistically very challenging so i think there is little choice but to have them remain on the ground, but they continue, despite being hunkered down in bunkers, they still maintain outposts, they are still doing observation and reporting missions which are very important that they are the eyes and the ears of the international community, we are getting objective reports of exactly what is happening on the ground. notjust what exactly what is happening on the ground. not just what the israeli forces are doing but also with hezbollah and the other armed elements to their role is still quite important. and i will also say that this conflict has to end at some stage. i realise there is little hope of that in the short term. and i would say —— see the un as being in a position to play a pivotal role in any ceasefire agreement that may come about and un forces will be needed then. it takes months to deploy un fo

mr secretary—general, get the unifil_ secretary—general, get the unifil forces out of harm's wax — unifilfil forces out of harm's way. this should be done immediately.— way. this should be done immediatel . , immediately. idf came under fire from israeli _ immediately. idf came under fire from israeli forces - immediately. idf came under fire from israeli forces in - fire from israeli forces in three separate incidents —— vote came underfire. the targeted a watch tower at one of the main positions and the un secretary—general once there had been violations of international humanitarian law. this comes at a rock bottom point in relations between the united nations and israel and the israeli foreign secretary recently declared antonio guterres persona non grata, and we will hear from anna. about lebanon's response to this call from the prime minister. in gaza — at least 29 people have been killed in israeli airstrikes in central and northern areas. in the north of the coastal enclave, israeli forces have intensified their operations, intensified their operations, in particular, encircling t

— particular issue, of what unifil does? ~ . ., , unifil does?does? well, certainly, we know that the _ unifil does? well, certainly, we know that the president i unifil does? well, certainly, i we know that the president has already expressed his concern, he has said publicly that he is telling the israelis privately to protect the unifil force, telling the israelis privately to protect the unifilforce, to protect the blue helmets and to ensure they are not causing harm. this message has also come from the secretary of defence, i am sure it is also coming from the secretary of state as well. this is a unified position, it is one that should be expected for any member of the un to take. we have heard _ member of the un to take. we have heard today that the pentagon has said that they will send another missile defence system to israel, which is known as thad. how significant a move is that? i understand it involves some american troops to operate it? yes, it does. it does, that has been the ploy to israel before, it was deployed to the united arab

the international force unifil— alongside it? the international force unifil mr _ alongside it? it? the international force unifil mr the presence i force unifil mr the presence didn't prevent the war previously and between israel and hezbollah. nevertheless their presence is extremely important because in peacetime they were the link between the lebanese army and israel. sometimes when there has been skirmishes across the border they were working for appeasement. that presence also is psychologically important for the inhabitants of south lebanon. without their presence and do not think the inhabitants of south lebanon would have peaceful times between works. that presence is extremely important for us. as for the lebanese army, the lebanese army is in charge, according to the un security council, is in charge of restoring the sovereignty of the state of evident in south lebanon. successive lebanese governments since 2010 a turnover living sort of schizophrenic. 0n turnover living sort of schizophrenic. on one hand, unc 1701, no weapons should be present south of the river exce

forces out of harm's wax — unifil forces out of harm's wax it_ unifil forces out of harm's way.should be done right now, immediately. —— mr un secretary—general. now, immediately. -- mr un secretary-general.— now, immediately. -- mr un secretary-general. lets get the latest on this _ secretary-general. lets get the latest on this developing - secretary-general. lets get the latest on this developing story i latest on this developing story with israel and the united nations in southern lebanon and anna foster nowjoins us from the lebanese capital, beirut, and we have a statement from israel saying it will not allow hezbollah to return to the border areas of southern lebanon after israeli forces pull out and we don't know when that will be. israeli operations are expanding, not retracting at the moment. what is the response from lebanon to these latest developments? it these latest developments? it has been a strong response, at doucet. — has been a strong response, at doucet, and it came from caretaker prime minister, najib mikati. — caretaker prime minister, najib mikati, not to

unifil blamed on israeli forces. been killed in israeli strikes on two villages to the north and south of beirut — while the israeli military says hezbollah fired dozens of rockets into northern israel. and in the last few hours, a0 nations — including the uk — that support unifil in southern lebanon have released a joint statement calling for an immediate halt to the attacks on peacekeepers. our correspondent anna foster is following from beirut. unifil, which is the un peacekeeping mission in south lebanon, have once again issued a statement today. it's the third in three days because they are increasingly concerned about their peacekeepers coming under attack from israeli forces. now, they say again, their headquarters at naqoura, which is a well—known base that has been there for many years, has again, it seems, come into the crossfire of some sort of fighting that was going on between hezbollah and the idf. we know that the us president, joe biden, said that he was asking israel not to hit peacekeepers, because

mr secretary general, get the unifil forces out of harm's way. right now, immediately. the israeli prime minister is saying that you should leave those bases along the border. we decided just the other day that we are staying. there was a unanimous decision. we are here at the request of the security council. we cannot let one member state decide the fate of an international organisation, of a peacekeeping mission that is there because of the will of the international community. israel says it's targeting hezbollah in lebanon, but the entire country is under attack, even the un. hugo bachega, bbc news, beirut. joining me live now is ray murphy, a professor at the irish centre for human rights at the university of galway. he also served with the irish contingent of uni—fil in lebanon in the 19805. prof murphy, you will have been following the situation at the un peacekeeper base in southern lebanon. how significant of an escalation do you think this is? it's hard to characterise but the overall evidence indicates that israeli forces are deliberate

it also raises questions about unifil going forward.rn lebanon, in accordance with the un security council resolution 1701, and it's really clear that they're not capable of doing that. so everybody needs to take a look at their mandate, going forward. i wanted to ask, how important is this peacekeeping mission to that region? well, i think it's probably going to have to play a meaningful role in any kind of diplomatic resolution of this war on lebanon, and there is a baseline i want to start with those a0 nations that do send troops force there, condemning what they call attacks on these troops. what do you make of it all? how much risk do you think this poses for groups in this region, but particularly for israel? i think it really raises some serious questions about the idf�*s rules of engagement and the extent to which they are trying to comply with international law in lebanon and also, of course, in gaza. i think it also underscores israel's international isolation, and we've seen that statement. the british and the french are tal

secondly, we have to acknowledge the role of unifil in terms of peacekeeping.uld say i fully understand and respect the right of israel to live in safety and security and absolutely the right of them to protect themselves and their people from terrorism. the question is it has to be done within international law and in a proportional manner. caitriona: you are here on this trip to washington, d.c. to mark 100 years of diplomatic relations between ireland and the u.s. you met president joe biden yesterday on that point. what did you say to him about the u.s. role in the conflict in the middle east? obviously very close allies, the u.s. and israel. >> i made the point and it won't come as any surprise because i have consistently said it in public and private and on the phone before that i do feel that israel has not listened or responded even to close allies and friends so far like the united states. therefore there is a need for us to dig deeper in terms of what levers are at our disposal. that will mean different things for different countries. it can mean huma

unifil has been there since 2006.ould be coordinates given to the israelis and in the days leading up to this and they were urging the u.n. troops to move. this allegation from the italians that it was not by accident presumably points to those three facts. >> yes, it does. these are places that had existed for a very long time. unifil's headquarters, where they say an israeli tank fired a shell at an observation post. those peacekeepers fell to the ground, injured, in hospital, lightly injured and doing ok. but this is not a new building, not a temporary structure. likewise, some of the observation posts over the area in the past few days which unifil says has been targeted by israeli troops, have been used for meetings and talks over several years. they are in constant contact with the israelis. the israelis know these positions they know they are there. that is why there is such concern. as you correctly noted, such a strongly worded statement from unifil, the fact that they use the word "deliberately." we heard fr

to the middle east now and the un peacekeeping mission in south lebanon, unifil, says another of its soldiers has been wounded, but says it doesn't yet know the origin of the fire. four un peacekeepers have been killed in previous incidents, which unifil blamed on israeli forces. the lebanese authorities say nine more people have been killed in israeli strikes on two villages north and south of beirut. the israeli army says hezbollah has again fired dozens of rockets into northern israel. the idf has declared another closed military zone in several towns along the border with lebanon. earlier, it issued a new evacuation order for residents in more than 20 villages in south lebanon. our correspondent anna foster is in beirut. unifil, which is the un peacekeeping mission in south lebanon, have once again issued a statement today. it's the third in three days because they are increasingly concerned about their peacekeepers coming under attack from israeli forces. now, they say again, their headquarters at naqoura, which is a well—known base that has been there for many years, has again,

you mentioned unifil the un peacekeeping i unifil the un peacekeeping force there. israel's activities in lebanon on and gaza. do they have any influence on what israel is doing? influence on what israel is doinu ? ,, �* , influence on what israel is doin? ., �* , ., doing? quite little, it's a problem. _ doing? quite little, it's a problem, it's _ doing? quite little, it's a problem, it's been - doing? quite little, it's a problem, it's been a - doing? quite little, it's a - problem, it's been a problem with the un since the un was conceived, that the un is basically simply a representation or a collection of member states but some member states at the un have more importance on others, depending on where the conflict is or where the issue is. in this case really, the un has significantly less influence than the united states does, the united states sits on the un security council which obviously has an inordinate amount of power compared to the general assembly. amount of power compared to the generalassembly. but amount of power compared to the general assembly.

they have always been very critical of unifil and they are particularly critical of unifil at this momentces interfering with their ground operations against hezbollah in that area. i operations against hezbollah in that area. . ., ., that area. i wanted to also get our that area. i wanted to also get your reaction _ that area. i wanted to also get your reaction on _ that area. i wanted to also get your reaction on this _ that area. i wanted to also get your reaction on this news - that area. i wanted to also get| your reaction on this news that president biden has confirmed that us troops are being sent with their missile system. how big a move is this from the us particularly with the presidential election so close? it is a significant move. we will pull away from that interview to take you to salisbury in wiltshire, because this is the start of the dawn sturgess inquiry, a public inquiry that will examine how a woman from wiltshire was killed in 2018 by a poisoning blamed on russian agents. dawn sturgess, who was 44 died after coming into contact with novichok, the same chemical weapon

it is unifil in lebanon. _ situation. it is unifil in lebanon, established i situation.ablished in situation. it is unifil in - lebanon, established in 1978 and its main mandate is to monitor the ceasefire according to the 1701 security council resolution after the war of 2006, so the un said israeli tanks went through the positions. the un secretary general antonio guterres said this might talens any attack on the peacekeepers, and it accused them of war crimes and international law. —— inaudible. there is debate between them but benjamin netanyahu called on the forces to withdraw because it is considered hezbollah hostages, but the un is insisting no withdrawal because it is inaudible a mandate so a stand—off between the united nations and mr netanyahu. thanks again for your update. let's get some of the day's other news now. the uk's foreign secretary will head to luxembourg later, where he'll become the first foreign secretary since brexit to attend a meeting of the european union's foreign ministers. david lammy is expected to discuss the wars in ukraine and the mid

. —— this one was from unifil.wer in the south, destroying two cameras and damaging the watchtower. it said it appeared to be direct and deliberate fire by israeli forces. the israeli military military has said nothing about this incident and it has denied attacks in the past. we are seeing growing incidents between unifil and israel. an israeli minister this week said that unifil was useless. a unifil spokesperson told me that if you put the incidents together, there are grave concerns about what israel are trying to achieve here.— trying to achieve here. thank you, hu~o. the disasters emergency committee, which is made up of 15 british aid agencies, is appealing for funds to help millions of people affected by the escalating crisis in the middle east. the charity says humanitarian needs in gaza and elsewhere are overwhelming. the uk government says it will match the first £10 million of donations made by the public. president zelensky will address european leaders in brussels later today to lay out his plans to e

you mention unifil, the un peacekeeping _ there. - there. you mention unifil, the un peacekeeping force there, l un peacekeeping force there, the un quite outspoken about israel's activities in lebanon on and israel and gaza, do they actually have any influence on what israel is doing?— what israel is doing? quite little it's — what israel is doing? quite little it's no _ what israel is doing? quite little it's no problem, - what israel is doing? quite little it's no problem, it's l little it's no problem, it's been a problem with the un since the un was conceived, the un is basically simply a representation a collection of member states, representation a collection of memberstates, but representation a collection of member states, but some member states and you and have more importance than others depending on whether conflict is or where issue is. in this case really, the un has significantly less influence than the united states does, the united states also sits on the united states also sits on the un security council which obvi

mr secretary—general, get the unifil forces out of harm's way.e done right now, immediately. israel is fighting hezbollah inside lebanon on the ground and from the air. israeli warplanes hit a market place in a southern city yesterday, and today a ioo—year—old mosque in a village near the border was destroyed. israels are also hitting targets deeper into lebanon, sometimes away from hezbollah strongholds. at least 15 people were killed in strikes on three villages in the north and centre, said the lebanese authority. there were also deadly attacks to the east in the beqaa valley. israelis are now fully merged on two fronts. dozens of people were reportedly killed in gaza at least 15 people were killed in strikes on three villages in the north and centre, said the lebanese authority. there were also deadly attacks to the east in the beqaa valley. to leave their homes several times in the last year say they have nowhere to go. "this is a process of attrition, a siege with artillery shelling", says this aid worker. "there are tanks and occupation fo

mr secretary general, get the unifil forces out of harm's way.ne right now, immediately. the israeli prime minister is saying that you should leave those bases along the border. we decided just the other day that we are staying. there was a unanimous decision. we are here at the request of the security council. we cannot let one member state decide the fate of an international organisation, of a peacekeeping mission that is there because of the will of the international community. gunfire. israel says it's targeting hezbollah in lebanon, but the entire country is under attack, even the un. hugo bachega, bbc news, beirut. as israel's offensive continues in gaza — its forces have struck what they say are hamas targets in the north. in the al—shati region — five young boys were reportedly killed by the strikes while they were playing on a street corner. a bbc correspondent was told seven others were injured in the attack. the israeli military has not yet commented on the incident. the idf is looking into a separate report — that an israeli strike on

five unifil troops have been injured by israeli fire in recent days, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu shoot statements sunday regretting any harm to the peacekeepers, accused hezbollah fighters of hiding behind the peacekeepers and urged unifil to withdraw from the combat zone. in south lebanon a spokesman for un secretary general antonio guterres said, unifil forces remain in place i'm ben wedeman, cnn reporting from beirut the us announced sunday, it will send an advanced anti-missile system to israel to help bolster the country's air defenses, along with about 100 us troops to operate it it comes as the aerospace commander of iran's revolutionary guard corps says, his country is ready to respond to any action or quote misstep by israel cnn, political and national security analyst, david sanger explains the significance of the pentagon's announcement i think president biden was looking for a way to help the israelis make the case that a another iranian missile attack on israel would fail as the previous two have failed. to do much damage and by putting this additional patr

unifil force. unifil forces play an important role in establishing security in lebanon. and ultimately, we want to see them able to do their job implementing un security council resolution 1701. >> do you still see what's happening in south lebanon? a limited operation? matthew: we do. sorry, i was when you rather i answered this question earlier. yes, at the time. and that is an assessment made today and we'll make our assessments on an ongoing basis. and if and when they change, we'll have a different assessment to offer. >> ok. you have confirmed several times that you are in contact with the lebanese and you are working behind the scenes. but the prime minister yesterday, he had an interview and he said not the au officials reached out to them since he saw a sin in new york before the assassination of hezbollah secretary general. today even, there was a statement by a bloc of opposition saying asking for the implementation of the resolution 1701 even 1559. and also some of them went far not from the opposition. one of the leaders, he asked to go back to the 1949 truc

the israelis claimed that the unifil forces assist hezbollah fighters. for example, knowing in advance about many illegal actions of militants, the peacekeepers do not undertake no action to prevent them. voices are heard in lebanon, syria: why doesn't russia protect syrians from israeli attacks? maybe russia has made some kind of deal and is going to leave the region in the future, handing everything over to the us and israel again. and such rumors, such a mood, must be kept in mind. i hope that common diplomatic sense will prevail. by the way, countries like china and russia could play the role of mediators. the iranian capital has long since turned into a megalopolis, the industrial political center of the country. a window of opportunity for those who are looking for better life. it is home to 9.5 million people, including suburbs and all 17. it would seem that such a concentration of population should contribute to the harmonious development of the capital, but in reality everything is completely. there are many shortcomings that spoil the image of

idf troops dug in just meters from the unifil base.ccused israel of using the peacekeepers as human shields. today's attacks are a significant escalation. the u.n. security council called an urgent meeting to discuss. ireland's foreign minister, the country with the biggest peacekeeper contingent, condemned the attack. andrea tenenti, unifil's spokesperson based at the headquarters fired upon today, called the idf's attacks a grave violation of international law. >> shelling has been ongoing between them and hezbollah with our base in between. it's also important to remind the parties that it's their obligations to ensure the security and safety of our troops. and that's something we have been reminding them. the shelling continued. leila: the idf says that it is taking care of its responsibility to preserve the safety of u.n. peacekeepers there by telling them to leave for their own security in the same way it says it's protecting people in lebanon by telling them to leave their homes. what's your response to that? >> it's definitely

secretary austin's remarks come as the un says a fifth soldierfrom unifil, the un peacekeeping missionsouthern lebanon, was injured by gunfire. it's not yet known who is responsible for the fire, which took place at the un base in naqoura — near the border between israel and lebanon. lebanon's health ministry said at least 15 people were killed in israeli strikes in different parts of the country on saturday. one of the targets was deir billa, in northern lebanon, which had not been hit before. the israeli military says hezbollah fired more than 300 rockets into northern israel on saturday. these are pictures from near the town of tamra, close to the port city of haifa. 0ur correspondent anna foster has been following the day's developments from beirut. well, unifil, which is the un peacekeeping mission in south lebanon, have once again issued a statement today. it's the third in three days because they are increasingly concerned about their peacekeepers coming under attack from israeli forces. now, they say again, their headquarters at naqoura — which is a well—known base that has bee

well, unifil have been in lebanon since 1978. after israel's first invasion of lebanon, and they've remained ever since with the mission of keeping the peace at the invitation of the lebanese government, essentially. and their presence authorised on an annual basis by the united nations security council, they are meant to monitor what's known as the blue line, to make sure that you know that either side is not engaging, engaging in military activity, that it shouldn't be. and they are authorised to use force only in self—defence or if civilians are under a direct attack. so they've been part of the picture for a long time. both sides have accepted their presence, but obviously in recent days and weeks we have had this war of words over their presence with israel, suggesting that they are now in the way of its operation to try and target hezbollah positions. the israelis have said that the un is essentially acting as a kind of human shield, making it very difficult for it to complete its military operation. unfil, of course, has p

so they have always been very critical of unifil and they are particularly critical of unifil at thisbecause they feel the un forces are interfering with their ground operations against hezbollah in that area. i operations against hezbollah in that area. . ., , ., that area. i wanted to get your reaction that _ that area. i wanted to get your reaction that president - that area. i wanted to get your reaction that president biden i reaction that president biden confirmed troops are being sent with this fad missile system. how big a move is this from the us especially with the election so close? if us especially with the election so close? , . , a, so close? it is a significant move because _ so close? it is a significant move because it _ so close? it is a significant move because it is - so close? it is a significant| move because it is actually putting american boots on the ground if you like in israel, potentially in harms way if this conflict escalates into a major exchange of missiles between iran and israel. so it is a strong sign of commitment to the defence of israel by the ame

four un peacekeepers were wounded in previous incidents, which unifil blamed on israeli forces.t 15 people have been killed in israeli strikes in different parts of the country. one of the targets was deir billa, in northern lebanon,

just days ago, a unifil forces spokesman said if you take all of the incident into consideration, thererying to achieve here.— trying to achieve here. thank you, hu~o. the disasters emergency committee, made up of 15 british aid agencies, have come together to appeal for funds to help millions of people affected by the escalating crisis in the middle east. the dec says humanitarian needs in gaza and elsewhere are overwhelming. the uk government says it will match the first £10 million of donations made by the public. president zelensky will address european leaders in brussels later today to lay out his plans to end russia's invasion of ukraine by the end of next year. he will also ask for extra military support, and fast—tracked nato membership. a number of cabinet ministers have written to the treasury to express concern about spending cuts to their departments, which could be included in the budget later this month. the chancellor, rachel reeves, is understood to be looking to raise £a0 billion. our chief political correspondent henry zeffman is in westminster. henry, morning to you.

they need to ensure the safety and security of lebanese armed forces and unifil armed forces. they do understand that. we will keep making it clear, keep pressing for details when we need more information. but i just don't have more to provide on the conversation. >> have you seen any indication that the u.s. is helping israel with certain isr? any indication there is iranian personnel inside lebanon operating? sabrina: i don't have anything to provide on that. >> some reports indicate that israel may have delayed its response, what everyone is expecting, their response to iran because of the leak. can you confirm that, any updates on this week? sabrina: i don't have any updates. i don't have more to provide then what general ryder provided on tuesday which is that the fbi is the lead agency when it comes to the leak of classified documents. dod is feeding into that investigation. it is in the early days, so we have to let the investigation take its course. in terms of any impacted israeli operations, when israel chooses to respond, that is not something i would speak to. i wo

also in the last hour, the french foreign ministry, rejecting mr netanyahu's demands for those unifill back from their positions in lebanon. how much pressure is this row putting on benjamin netanyahu and the israeli government? that's a very good question, because so far the israeli government has largely been able to turn away from international pressure and press ahead with its own agenda and what it says it is doing in southern lebanon, which is is effectively pushing back hezbollah militants from the border area to try and pave the way for displaced people to go back. our news correspondent jonathan head, is in beirut. he told me he's not convinced that the us moving more military assets into the region will have much influence on hezbollah�*s plans. we don't know whether the air defence system will cope or how iran will react when they launch their —— they have to defend against the much anticipated retaliation from israel. this morning we have had reports of an air strike in the northern village which is a christian village, although hosting a lot of displaced people, we have h

israel has quite a long record of attacking unifil. i went to a u.n.had been heavily shelled by israel, killing i think 106 civilians who were taking shelter there. it's not the first time these kinds of things have happened. i think israel is determined to carry on. it feels that what happened to the israelis last seven of october is absolute justification for what's going on and also their determination to make sure it doesn't happen again. there is now this pending retaliation against iran. i don't know if those reports about hitting solely military targets are correct. we will have to see what happens when it happens. i think it's going to be pretty certain that anything other than a very small response will elicit another response from the iranians. caitrÍona: jeremy bowen in jerusalem, thank you for that. with just three more weeks until the u.s. presidential election, both candidates are hosting campaign events in battleground pennsylvania. former president donald trump is set to hold a town hall just outside philadelphia, where he is seeking to

he emphasized that the unifill mission serves as the only channel of communication between the two sides. his comments came after the israeli military told peacekeepers to move more than 5 km from the southern lebanese border. currently the mission comprises over 10,000 troops from 50 countries and about 800 civil. stuff according to lebanese sources, nearly 108 workers have been killed since the beginning of israel's attacks on the country. nearly 20 palestinians have been killed in israeli air strikes, targeting the occupied west bank city of tolkaram and its refugee camp. palestinian sources say a senior member of the al-kassam brigades, the military wing of the hamas resistance. movement was assassinated in the strike, number of civilians, including woman, her husband and their child were among those killed. initial reports indicate that the popular cafe was the prime target of the strike. the number of fatalities is expected to rise as some victims are still under the rubble. hamas condommed the attacked as a proof to israel's failure to weaken the result of palestinians in ground o

unifil has opened up an investigation in the incident.nd current senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace. thank you forjoining us. we�*re told that talks are under way, indicating a cease fire and hostage release deal in gaza. talks stalled yet again. when we see the strike, how serious is israel about those talks? about as serious as hamas is. over the last year we seen talks, sometimes raising expectations that we were near a deal. but always tethered to the unfortunate sad and tragic reality for notjust tragic reality for not just the hostages and their families but the hundreds of thousands of palestinians who are suffering in gaza. there simply in urgency on sinwar when he was alive and certainly on benjamin netanyahu. and while sinwar death may have opened up while sinwar death may have opened up over time the possibility of a significant deal right now we�*re talking about a cease—fire, releasing hostages and perhaps an undetermined number of palestinians. when the presence of pain is so great that the advan

forces and going for targeting civilian areas. the head of un peaceekeepers in southern lebanon, unifill says his forces will remain in place defying an order from the israeli army to relocate. "i would repeat that protecting the safety and security of our peacekeepers is a responsibility to all parties, and i think it's a message that is very important uh to insist on and we uh also rely on our on our partners, on the member state, on the security council to also relay that important messages, which by the way they do. second, the liasal mechanism, well this is exactly." what enables us to talk to the parties and to convey to their messages to that effect that you know they have the responsibility, their obligation really is to protect the safety. and security of peacekeepers, yes, the peacekeepers are currently staying in all the positions, this is decision that we've made after thorough consideration of all the elements including safety and security of our peacekeepers, but also the the responsibility we have uh in regard to the mandate and and the population, jean-pierre lacroix said

the israelis claimed that the unifil forces were assisting hezbollah fighters. for example, knowing in advance about many illegal actions of the militants, the peacekeepers did not take any action to prevent them. in lebanon, syria, there are voices asking why russia does not protect syrians from israeli attacks, maybe russia has made some kind of deal and is going to leave the region in the future, giving everything back to the us and israel, and such rumors, the mood should be kept in mind. i hope that common diplomatic sense will prevail. by the way, countries like china and russia could would have to play the role of mediators in europe. to be active. security in the region is a condition of global security. war here would be a disaster for the whole world. the coming days will show how tightly the spiral of tension will twist. none of our interlocutors undertook to predict, and rightly so. a little more peaceful. in iran, they began to discuss moving the capital. no, not because of the threat of war, it just became crowded. from tehran, our regular authors.

you mention unifil, the un peacekeeping force there, the un quite outspoken about israel's activitiestually have any influence on what israel is doing? quite little. it's been a problem with the un since the un was conceived, the un is basically simply a representation, a collection of member states, but some member states have more influence than others depending on whether conflict is or where issue is. in this case really, the un has significantly less influence than the united states does, the united states also sits on the un security council which obviously has an inordinate amount of power compared to the general assembly but the general assembly in case of a voting bloc has been consistently critical of israel since december 2023, and its voting patterns even some of the allies of the united states have been quite critical of israel. however, it seems to be much more in the hands of a very small group of states, primarily the united states and its allies, in terms of exerting enough pressure on israel especially in lebanon, although that has happened before, under the reagan a

four un peacekeepers were wounded in previous incidents, which unifil blamed on israeli forces.the country.