Israel-Gaza-Lebanon updates: Netanyahu calls UN troops Hezbollah 'human shields'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement Sunday claiming the United Nation's refusal to pull peacekeeping troops out of southern Lebanon amounts to the organization being "human shields" and their soldiers "hostages" for Hezbollah.

Employing similar rhetoric as he has used to describe the U.N. in Gaza, Netanyahu said, "I want to appeal directly to the U.N. Secretary-General: it is time for you to remove UNIFIL [U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon] from Hezbollah's strongholds and from the fighting areas."

"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has repeatedly asked for this, and has been met with repeated refusals, all aimed at providing a human shield to Hezbollah terrorists," Netanyahu continued. "Your refusal to evacuate the UNIFIL soldiers makes them hostages of Hezbollah. This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers."

UNIFIL said it will remain in southern Lebanon and that its presence supports a "return to stability under Security Council mandate." It has repeatedly called on all parties not to target peacekeepers and to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Dozens of countries with troops in UNIFIL this weekend signed a letter calling on all parties in the war to respect peacekeepers' positions "so that they can continue to implement its mandate and continue their work of mediation and support for peace and stability in Lebanon."

-ABC News Victoria Beaulé

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

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

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.