UN calls on Israel to halt strikes and withdraw from Lebanon

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called Friday for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to stop launching strikes into Southern Lebanon and to “fully withdraw from Lebanese territory,” following strikes on Thursday night which “endangered peacekeepers and civilians.”

The IDF reportedly warned civilians in Mais al-Jabal, Kfar Tibnit, and Debbin to evacuate their homes. The IDF stated that its aircraft “struck terrorist targets,” listing the “Commander of Hezbollah’s Sinai Outpost” Ammar Hayel Qutaybani, a “Hezbollah “Radwan Force” terrorist” in Tebnine, and a “Hezbollah vessel used to gather intelligence on IDF troops” off the coast of Naqoura (where UNIFIL’s headquarters are situated). According to UNIFIL, peacekeepers stationed in Deir Kifa, near Burj Qalawieh, had to move to