Israel-Gaza-Lebanon updates: Netanyahu claims UN peacekeepers acting as 'human shields' for Hezbollah
U.N. peacekeepers claim IDF tanks breached their base in southern Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces continued intense air and ground campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The uptick in offensive operations came days after Israel marked the anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 assault and as Israeli leaders planned their response to last week's Iranian ballistic missile attack.
Key Headlines
- 51 killed, 174 injured in Lebanon on Saturday: Lebanese Ministry of Health
- Gallant describes southern Lebanon villages as 'military targets'
- Pentagon will deploy THAAD air defense system to Israel
- UN claims IDF tanks forcefully breached its peacekeeping base in southern Lebanon
- Netanyahu claims UN peacekeepers acting as 'human shields' for Hezbollah
Medics injured responding to Israeli strike, Red Cross says
The Lebanese Red Cross said it responded Sunday to the site of an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon to search for casualties. As medics worked at the scene, a second strike hit the same site, resulting in minor injurires to the first responders, the organization said.
"The lightly injured volunteers were transported to a hospital and are in good condition," the organization said on social media. "Lebanese Red Cross volunteers should be protected at all times while attempting to rescue casualties."
World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said on Saturday that 100 of Lebanon's 207 primary health centers have closed because of the fighting. Five hospitals have had to close because of damage sustained in attacks.
-ABC News' Victoria Beaule
40 countries condemning attacks on UN peacekeepers
Forty countries whose soldiers serve as U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon said they "strongly condemn" recent attacks on peacekeepers, in a joint statement released on Saturday.
The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, India and China were among the co-signatories.
"Such actions must stop immediately and should be adequately investigated," the statement said.
Poland's mission to the U.N. shared the statement on social media after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon reported a fifth member of the peacekeeping force was injured in southern Lebanon on Friday.
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian
Austin expressed 'deep concern' over UN attacks in Lebanon with Israeli defense minister
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday and "expressed his deep concern about reports that Israeli forces fired on UN peacekeeping positions in Lebanon as well as by the reported death of two Lebanese soldiers," the White House said in a statement.
The Secretary strongly emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety and security of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFL) and Lebanese Armed Forces and "reinforced the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway as soon as feasible," according to the White House.
However, Austin reaffirmed the "United States' unwavering, enduring, and ironclad commitment to Israel's security," the statement said.
Ambulance convoy evacuates critical patients from northern Gaza hospital
A convoy of nine ambulances evacuated 18 critical patients Saturday from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Doctors did not leave Kamal Adwan Hospital with the convoy, and that staff remains to treat many patients who remain at the hospital, health ministry officials told ABC News.
The convoy was coordinated by the Red Cross, according to the health ministry.
Officials from the Israel Defense Forces told ABC News IDF forces also assisted the convoy, which was canceled for three consecutive days for "security reasons."
-ABC News' Victoria Beaulé, Samy Zyara and Dorit Long