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.


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Israel recommends UNIFIL relocate to avoid danger 'as fighting intensifies'

Israel recommended that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon relocate farther north, after the mission said two troops were injured in the south of the country by Israeli fire.

"Our dialogue and coordination with UNIFIL will continue in southern Lebanon," Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, said in a statement Thursday. "Our recommendation is that UNIFIL relocate five kilometers north to avoid danger as fighting intensifies and while the situation along the Blue Line remains volatile as a result of Hezbollah's aggression.

The Israel Defense Forces said earlier Thursday that Hezbollah operates near UNIFIL posts, and that they told U.N. forces in the area "to remain in protected spaces." The IDF did not comment on the two UNIFIL peacekeepers being wounded.


22 killed in Beirut strikes: Health ministry

At least 22 people were killed and 117 injured after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut Thursday evening local time, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.

Israeli forces have since issued another evacuation warning to residents in Haret Hreik in the Dahieh area of Beirut.

Amnesty International on Thursday called Israel's evacuation warnings "inadequate" and "in some cases also misleading."

"Our analysis shows that not only did the warnings issued by the Israeli military include misleading maps, but they were also issued at short notice -- in one instance less than 30 minutes before strikes began -- in the middle of the night, via social media, when many people would be asleep, offline or not following media reports," Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International's secretary general, said in a statement.

-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz


2nd round of Gaza polio vaccinations set to begin next week: UNICEF

A second round of polio vaccinations in Gaza is set to begin next week, according to UNICEF.

An agreement on humanitarian pauses has been reached to allow for the second dose on Oct. 14, targeting 590,000 children under the age of 10, UNICEF said Thursday.

The first round of vaccinations ended in mid-September, reaching 90% vaccination coverage, UNICEF said at the time.


Northern Gaza bombarded with airstrikes in past 2 days: UNRWA

Northern Gaza has been bombarded with airstrikes, with 118 attacks recorded in the past two days compared to 140 in September, according to a United Nations agency.

"Ongoing military operations and continuous airstrikes on northern Gaza are heavily affecting the population," the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said on X on Thursday.

The World Food Programme warned the situation in the north is "worsening again," saying they are no longer able to distribute food in the region.

"Virtually the entire area is under evacuation orders, and thousands of families have been forced to flee amid intense airstrikes and military operations on the ground," the organization said in a press release on Wednesday. "There is nowhere for these people to go and hardly any way for WFP to reach them."